After countless drills, off-season training days, and two winters without competitions, the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Team is celebrating a historically successful racing season.
From March 20 to March 27, the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Team competed in the 2022 National Championships in Whistler, B.C. Finishing fifth overall, the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Team is now the top nordic ski club in British Columbia.
On the podium, the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Team is celebrating two aggregate wins, five aggregate podiums, five gold medals and ten podium finishes. Multiple athletes also celebrated their best career finishes.
“We focus on Nationals as our biggest event of the season,” explains Zach Hill, head racing coach for the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Team.
“It was really nice to see most of our racers get to realize their potential on our biggest stage of the year.”
Overcoming ‘learning curves’ while racing to the finish line
While the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Team triumphed at Nationals, this winter proved challenging after athletes spent two winters without competitions.
“We hit our first races in early December, and that was basically the first ski races that anybody had done in over a year and a half,” explains Hill. During the pandemic, the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Team raced drills and donned pinnies — but did not compete against any other clubs or teams.
Thanks to dedicated off-season training from the spring into the fall, the team built up their confidence and started this winter season strong.
“I think with endurance sports in particular, there’s a huge mental component to it. I think having confidence in your abilities plays a big role, and I definitely saw that throughout the winter with our group,” Hill elaborates.
“Once we got back into it this year, I think that enthusiasm for racing really blossomed once we hit that stride, [seeing] how excited everyone was to compete. It was pretty neat.”
Revelstoke Nordic Ski Racing Team results from the 2022 National Championships
The 2021/2022 season was Hill’s first year coaching the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Team, and he credits the athletes for doing “all the hard work.”
According to Hill, all he had to do was keep enthusiasm high on the road to the podium.
Overall, the team celebrated the following results from the 2022 National Championships:
Top three year-of-birth aggregates:
First: Meya Musseau and Alexandra Luxmoore.
Second: Maeve Macleod.
Third: Marlie Molinaro.
Top U23 aggregates:
First: Beth Granstrom.
Top category aggregates:
First: Meya Musseau, U16 Women.
Second: Alexandra Luxmoore, U18 Women.
Third: Maeve Macleod, U16 Women.
Congratulations to the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Team for all your hard work, and a successful racing season!