Nordic Combined Canada

Nordic sports in Norway are not just a past time, but a way of life. Everywhere you look there are trails or stadiums or people skiing on the streets and paths. In Canada, to go Cross Country Skiing is an outing, an escape or a way to get exercise. In Norway its just what you do on a Sunday afternoon. In Canada, as a kid you play hockey in the winters, but in Norway as a kid you go and ski. I met and old coach for the Canadian Nordic Combined/Ski Jumping team and he put it right, “you were not a boy if you didnt (ski) jump or (cross country) ski”. That was when I drew the paradox between a Canadian playing Hockey and a Norwegian skiing. I have always heard that it is this way here, but I never knew that skiing was this ingrained into the Norwegian society.

When I was first in Lillehammer for the world cup last season, I had no idea to the amount of skiing that was available. Having spent more time here now I have come to realize that there is not just enough skiing that you could get lost, but enough skiing that you could get lost and find yourself in a serious amount of trouble. I was skiing in Hamar (a little town between Oslo and Lillehammer) and for a town they had over 700 Km of maintained ski trail. If you are familiar with the Canmore Nordic Center, there is around 65 Km of skiing there, and that serves the town of Canmore and the City of Calgary. Imagine the Nordic Center in Canmore is 10 times larger and serving a population that is 20 times smaller. This place is not special though, in Lillehammer there is just as much skiing, in Oslo there is skiing in the city, I can not even fathom a guess as to the amount of maintained cross country ski trails in Norway.

Now in Oslo at the World Championships I have truly found the respect that the Norsk have for cross country skiing. On Saturday I had my first race in front of tens of thousands of spectators. More people watching then you could pack into Saddledome (the home of the Calgary Flames). On the 2.5 Km course there were people the whole way lining the course, sometimes 10 people deep and I wasn’t in the stadium. While on my warm-up I was skiing behind on of my friends who is Norway’s top Nordic Combined skier, and people were calling his name and cheering for him and the race had not begun yet. During the race I have never heard a crowd so excited about racing, the fans cheer for everyone regardless of where you are from. There is no boo’ing like you would hear if the Oilers scored against the Flames. There is just pure excitement and joy for the love of racing from everyone. During the races today you could not hear the announcers over the crowd they were so excited about “their” skiers.

The World Championships is my Stanley Cup, this is the best nordic athletes in the world competing for their names to be entered into nordic immortality. This is the pinnacle of racing this season, and I am competing amongst the best in the world. It is an amazing opportunity for me to learn and grow from watching and competing against the best skiers in the world at the highest level possible.

Having thrown myself into this nordic culture I have gained a whole new respect for the sport and for the people who love it. It was an eye-opening experience to see just how in love Norway is for skiing, and very gratifying to know that at least somewhere in the world there is a haven for the things that I love. To race in the birthplace of skiing is an honour and a thrill, and I am very privileged to have had the experience.