XC Ottawa 09-10: The Few, The New, The Old...
By:  Karl Saidla   (2009/06/05)

THE NEW PEOPLE:

Lee Hawkings (09-10)

Given that Craig isn't going to be skiing as much this year, we needed somebody on the team over 200lbs to protect us in the rough neigbourhoods of Gatineau Park. Lee fits that criteria, and has really made some big marks in the tracks over the last couple of seasons. He was in the top 10 in Junior Men three times at the Nationals, and placed 5^th in one of the races at World Junior Trials. He'll be aiming to make his presence felt again this year at places like World Junior Trials and the Nationals.

Anna Geiger-Whitlock (09-10)

Our “medical team” took a hit with the departure of Andrew a couple of seasons ago. Anna will be working in Ottawa as a nurse so this should improve things substantially. Apparently, we've also got finally got a woman on the team who is pretty keen on on the Gatineau Loppet 53k CLASSIC event, which hasn't been the case ever, I don't think.

Kyle Power (09-10)

This guy doesn't need a nickname. After all, his last name is POWER! But then again, the Carleton U team call him The Hulk for some reason. Either way, this guy's reputation has been earned, and he's going to continue to earn it. Kyle is from somewhere called Big Land, Labrador, where he enjoyed long ski seasons and no traffic jams. He'll fit in well around here because he says that one of his favourite activities is “crazy epic skis”. Kyle raced for Carleton last year, and did as well 3^rd at an OUA qualifier race in Sudbury, as well as placing 13^th Junior Boy at the 2008 Easterns in the Skate Sprint. This year he's looking to be among the top 20 Junior Men in Canada.

THE OLD PEOPLE:

Colin Abbott (08-09)

Colin figured out how to move to Ottawa from Whitehorse and continue to improve as a ski racer at the same time, which really is no small accomplishment. He's a member of SEVERAL cross country ski teams this year: Junior National Team, Yukon Ski Team, Whitehorse Ski Club, and XC OTTAWA. We are in the process of making him a ski racing suit which will represent all of these entities at once. We're not letting the design out of the bag yet, but it might involve a racing hat with ear flaps. We also might require that he arrive at all ski events by dog team this year to show his heritage.

Danielle McVicar (08-09)

Given that Danielle is the one who makes sure we all show up at the right time and right place for practice, she is a pretty key member of our team. She also has the assignment of flying our flag south of the border during the winter. Those collegiate locker rooms she gets make us all feel jealous. Jealous-that's what a few people will feel like when they wish they could ski like her.

Matthias Purdon (08-09)

If everyone rode their bikes in place of driving their cars the way Matthias does, we would have a nation of fit people and a huge pile of clean air to breathe. With just Matthias doing it, we have moderately cleaner air and Matthias is pretty much guaranteed to be in good shape.

Alana Thomas (07-08)

Alana likes the workouts the rest of us hate: Weights, intensity and rollerskiing. This is an influence we need to have around. She's pretty handy with balance drills and making skiing look pretty, not to mention going plain fast when she puts on a race bib.

Justin Demers (07-08)

“Strawberry cheesecake”-this man can eat it like no other. Actually he can eat anything like no other. He's getting fast on skis in a hurry too, so we thought we better keep him on the team. If you have any “gear” related questions, talk to Justin. Every team has a “gearhead”. Justin is ours...

Sheila Kealey (04-05)

“Captain organization” to the rescue. Don't worry if we forgot the cook book. Sheila's here-we'll be eating really well on this trip. Her age is a secret, but really kind of irrelevant when you ski like her...it's going to take Evan a few more years to beat his mom...

Karl Saidla (01-02)

Skiing makes him feel young. Kind of like Peter Pan was drinking. That drink is addictive. As it says in his bio, so is skiing on single massive loops, anything point to point, and any trail with a name like “Curve of Destiny”.

Megan McTavish (01-02)

The “money lady”, and “general rule keeper” are her nicknames. She's been with the team since the beginning of time. She'll show most men how to ski this year. She'll show the rest of us how add, subtract, and deal with the banker.

People we have to thank for doing inhuman and monstrous amounts of work for us:

Coach: John Suuronen (03-04)

The “Slavedriver”. This man has been teaching people how to race for a long time, and it shows---I mean, those rock skis he uses were made before most of us were born. Given the # of skiers he's coached who have beaten everybody else into a bloody pulp, there is obviously some valuable knowledge being put to good use here.

Web guru: Craig Storey (01-02)

Craig's gonna be a Dad this year. On the team, he is known as “Uncle Craig”, and before that, some people called him Craig the Egg. What does he call himself now? “ Maybe “Uncle Big Daddy Cr. Egg”?The website demands a lot of work. Craig has always met that demand while making it look too easy. Hopefully, he makes being a Dad look easy too. He WILL be one of those guys skiing faster than everyone else while towing a kid in a pulk around the park.