What a whirlwind of a year we’ve had! After a full year of racing hiatus, our athletes are coming out of this year’s season in a happy daze (and with some fantastic results to add). As we wrap up the year, we have some great stories to tell, and equally as important, a lot to be thankful for.
BC Cup #1:Whistler, BC
After a busy winter break of eating and sleeping fueling up and tapering, our first race of the year was held in Whistler, BC in early January. Despite four members of our team having to miss out due to COVID-19, the remaining athletes came away from the weekend with some stellar results. In the classic sprint on Saturday, Maggie Beckner’s strong classic stride led her to take the win in her category. In the Men’s categories, Michael Murdoch and Mykal Bakker-Westeinde also skied into 1st place in their respective age groups.
Maggie catching some rays in her Classic Sprint Qualifier
On Sunday, both Maggie and Michael demonstrated their versatility yet again in the distance skate race, taking the win in both of their categories. We had a strong showing in the men’s category at this race, with Reese, Isaac, Mykal, and Matan all within the top 3 of their respective age groups.
Check out the detailed results here on Zone 4
BC Cup #2: Salmon Arm, BC
In the midst of midterms and a steady stream of Vancouver rain, six of our athletes escaped to Salmon Arm, BC for the second race in the BC Cup series. Despite some challenging conditions and DIY waxing, the team had a blast on and off the racecourse thanks to the generosity of our hosts, the Beckner family.
On course highlights:
- Maggie, Rachel, Ludovic and Erin placed top two in their respective categories after a nail-biter of a skate sprint.
- Ludovic’s steady pace and killer technique helped him come away with a win in the 15k classic.
Isaac and Ludo after the 15k Classic
Off-course highlights:
Team Sandwich Making Party!
- An epic but merciless ping-pong tournament
- Suzy Beckner’s (a.k.a. super-chef-waxer-extraordinaire) unbelievable French toast and instrumental waxing expertise
Check out the detailed results here on Zone 4
The Payak Loppet: Whistler, BC
A team favourite, the Payak consists of a 25k or 50k full of feeds, prizes, and loads of type 2 fun on a beautiful course at Callaghan. In the women’s 25k, Camilla Lie and Claire Grall had a thrilling UBC face-off in the finish chute, with Claire taking the win by a mere two seconds.
Michael in 1st and Ludo in 5th
In the men’s 50km, Michael Murdoch also had an incredible race to 1st place, with a time of 2:05:10.
Camilla and Claire at the Finish
We were happy to see so much TBird blue on the podium, with Ludo placing 5th behind Michael in the 50k and Rachel placing 4th in the 25k behind Claire and Camilla. A special mention goes to Katia and Dave Lumb for some killer costumes (pictured below).
“Banana Banana” and “Gorilla Gorilla”
Check out the detailed results here on Zone 4
Canadian National Ski Championships: Whistler, BC:
National Championships this year was a special one. Not only was it the first championship back after two years of cancellation, but it also took place close to home. This proximity meant that we were able to send more athletes than ever before, with a total of twelve of us racing.
The Men’s Team Sprint Crew
One of the biggest highlights was the team sprint day, in which we had three teams in the Women’s CCUNC category and two teams in the Men’s CCUNC Category.
In an exciting women’s race, Claire’s strong one-skate and Maggie’s persistent pacing led them to 5th place on the podium, which is a record placing for UBC Nordic in a Nationals team sprint. In the Men’s category, our two teams of Isaac and Ludovic, and Reese and Mykal both had excellent performances, placing 7th and 8th respectively.
Claire and Maggie in 5th Place in the Team Sprint CCUNC Category
In the earlier individual races, Maggie’s renowned classic technique placed her 11th in the Women’s 10k classic race, and Claire had a speedy 5k skate to finish 18th. Isaac and Ludo both killed it in the 15k classic, finishing just six seconds apart in the top 25.
Maggie in race mode in the 10k Classic
Claire killing it in the 5k Skate
Ludo smiling through the 15k Classic
On the day of the very last race, a 50km, mass start skate, we woke up to a steady drizzle of rain, and snow closely resembling mashed potatoes. Nonetheless, five of our athletes (loaded up with extra socks) took on the challenge ahead. In horrid conditions, Michael Murdoch blew the competition out of the water, finishing in second place in the CCUNC category.
Freya grabbing a feed during the 50km Skate
Mykal looking soggy!
A big shoutout to Mykal, Ludovic, Isaac, Freya, and Michael for skiing in some of the toughest conditions we have ever seen, and a 50k skate at that!
Michael wins Silver in the CCUNC 50km Skate
Check out all of the Nationals results here
Goodbye, Grads!
On a final note, all good things must come to an end, and although we are sad to see them go, we would like to celebrate our graduating athletes this year.
Claire Grall:
Claire is the type of person who will have a glorious win and immediately turn around to cheer on her teammate, and the type of person who will wake up at 5 am to test skis so that the team will have good wax. She is also the type of person to have the weirdest dance moves of any of us, and laugh maniacally when someone spills food all over themselves. She has been a star finance exec/ co-club lead, making sure all loose ends are taken care of and dedicating countless hours to the team. Most of all, Claire has contributed immensely to an inclusive team environment, and although we are sad to see her go, her impact on the team (and hopefully her dance moves) will stay for years to come.
Katia Lumb:
Also known as the bread expert, pro runner, and dog mom, Kat is always the first to step up to host a potluck or throw out a run invitation. Katia has done an amazing job as our Travel and Safety exec, never missing a beat to make sure we are set to go for races. We will miss her sense of humour (and her baked goods), but we are excited to see what’s in store for her in the future.
Wassim Ghazi:
Wassim’s infectious sense of humour and endless energy made our race weekends the best (we’re still not sure if he ever gets tired). Wassim has led some awesome fundraisers as our Sponsorship Officer, organizing successful silent auctions and Krispy Kreme sales for the team. Despite being new to skiing when he joined, Wassim always has a positive attitude and gives it his all in races. He will be dearly missed, but we’re sure that he will bring the same energy wherever he is going!
Freya Hik:
We could probably write a book about how cool Freya is, but this about sums it up: after a 50k skate race in the pouring rain, the first thing she said was “That was SO FUN!!”. Our resident “Type 2 fun” queen, Freya always has an awesome weekend adventure to tell us about (coupled with cute photos of her dog, of course). We’re so proud of her for finishing up her Master’s degree, which she has worked incredibly hard on, and we will definitely see her often on the trails.
Camilla Lie: 
We are so lucky to have had Camilla on the team from Norway this year, not only is she incredibly fit (in fact, she often complained about our intervals being too easy), but she is also hilarious, hardworking, and kind. We hope she enjoyed her year with us in Vancouver, as she definitely made ours better. We wish her the best on her travels home to Norway, but we will surely see her soon.
Thank you for the Support!
Looking back at our year, all of this would not have been possible without the generosity of our donors. In December, we put on a silent auction to raise some money to cover some of the costs of racing, and blew past our target of $1,000 to raise a total of $1,318. This support goes towards our waxing costs, race registration fees, travel costs, and ski passes, and helps us immensely in continuing to ski at a high-level while in university.
We would like to give a huge and sincere thank you to the following for their generous contributions:
- Jane Pike
- Amanda Lazar
- The Poole Family
- Suzy and Kevin Beckner
- Marcia and Jim Beckner
- Megan Sheffer
- Shelagh Anson
- Darlene Williams
- The Johnson-Grall Family
- The RF Guys
- Pam Johnson
- Karen Reid
- Rain or Shine Ice Cream
- Steve’s Poke Bar
- Thomas Haas Chocolate
- CLIF
- Grounds for Coffee
- Deep Cove Kayak
- Penderfund Capital Management
- Tality Kombucha
- The Source Bulk Foods
The Nordic community at UBC would not be possible without your continued support.
We would also like to give a big thanks to our amazing coach/wax tech Carrie Pomeroy! With that, as we head into final exams, we’re excited to start summer training, and we look forward to seeing you on the trails next season!