Welcome to the 2022-2023 season!
In the wise words of Snoop Dogg, the UBC Nordies are feeling toned, tan, fit, and ready for this winter’s races. While there isn’t much snow to train on (yet!), dryland training is well underway for this year’s 23 rostered athletes. We are beyond excited to have such a large, dedicated group this season, and even more stoked that a whopping 16 of us are new athletes. Although we are only a couple of months into the school year, we’ve had a busy schedule, doing lots of running, pool running, running in the rain, weight training, and running in heavier rain. Sometimes though, we get amazing days like this one, when we ran the Garibaldi traverse with blue skies and huge smiles!
Garibaldi Traverse!
Almost equally as important as endurance gainz, we got competitive off the trails as well. Last week we had a cutthroat pumpkin-carving competition to get in the spirit of spooky season. Huge shoutout to Alex and Mathias for taking the win on this one with a skiing dinosaur, and honourable mention to Chloe, Tilda, and Kiki for their interpretive pumpkin performance.
Pumpkin Carving winners!
Speaking of pumpkins, with a new season comes some new pumpkins leading the team as execs! Check out their bios below to see who’s manning the ship this year:
Mykal “With a Y and K” Bakker-Westeinde: Co-Club Lead
Pronouns: he/him/his
Year and Major: 5th year, Engineering PhysicsHometown: Chelsea, QC
Skate or classic? Sprint or distance? Classic Sprint or Skate Distance
If you could turn the ocean into a liquid other than water, which one would you pick? Does ice cream count?
What current fact about your life would most impress your five-year-old self? I’m not a super spy (yet)
What’s your go-to pre-race song? Let’s Get it Started
What’s the weirdest thing you do when you’re by yourself? Sing a lot
If you were a ski wax, which one would you be and why? Green because I am cold
What’s the best part of UBC Nordic? The people!
Isaac “Icky” Lowenthal-Walsh: Co-Club Lead
Pronouns: he/him/his
Year and Major: 2nd year, Forest Sciences
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Skate or classic? Sprint or distance? Classic Distance Ferda
If you could turn the ocean into a liquid other than water, which one would you pick? Salad dressing so that more people would be vegan
What current fact about your life would most impress your five-year-old self? That I have driven a garbage truck
What’s your go-to pre-race song? Paranoid – Black Sabbath
What’s the weirdest thing you do when you’re by yourself? Practice what I’m gonna say to Bogden (Ben Ogden) when we meet
If you were a ski wax, which one would you be and why? I hope one day to be as goated as Rode Green Special
What’s the best part of UBC Nordic? Having friends to ski/run with and keep you sane when school hits the fan!!
Reese “Roboboy” Critchlow: Travel and Safety Officer
Pronouns: he/him/his
Year and Major: 3rd year, Engineering Physics
Hometown: Vancouver, B.C.
Skate or classic? Sprint or distance? Both, but distance
If you could turn the ocean into a liquid other than water, which one would you pick? Probably like gatorade, the fish still need some sort of electrolytes…
What current fact about your life would most impress your five-year-old self? I drive a honda civic?
What’s your go-to pre-race song? LMFAO’s entire discography
What’s the weirdest thing you do when you’re by yourself? Wouldn’t you like to know
If you were a ski wax, which one would you be and why? Universal Klister
What’s the best part of UBC Nordic? Ski Mansion
Maggie “Mangy” Beckner: Finance Officer
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Year and Major: 3rd year, Behavioural Neuroscience
Hometown: Salmon Arm, B.C.
Skate or classic? Sprint or distance? Classic distance
If you could turn the ocean into a liquid other than water, which one would you pick? Red Bull
What current fact about your life would most impress your five-year-old self? I love mushrooms
What’s your go-to pre-race song? Currently no specific song but probably something by Drake or Jack Harlow (lol)
What’s the weirdest thing you do when you’re by yourself? Solo dance party in my room with my noise cancelling headphones on.
If you were a ski wax, which one would you be and why? Super blue because its always a perfect ski day when you’re using super blue.
What’s the best part of UBC Nordic? The people!!
Fiona “FEFE” Schute: Travel and Safety Officer
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Year and Major:4th, Geography- Environment and Sustainability
Hometown: Ottawa, O.N.
Skate or classic? Sprint or distance? A couple years ago my answer would probably be classic distance but now that I’m semi-retired from training, I’d say that the sprints are a bit more manageable.
If you could turn the ocean into a liquid other than water, which one would you pick? Does cereal count? Since it’s half liquid?
What current fact about your life would most impress your five-year-old self? That I raced at all… I used to think that the U14 racers were SO cool.
What’s your go-to pre-race song? 300 Violin Orchestra (Jorge Quintero)
What’s the weirdest thing you do when you’re by yourself? Talk to the dog
If you were a ski wax, which one would you be and why? Skins- I can’t be bothered to put on wax every time I go out.
What’s the best part of UBC Nordic? The community and friendly atmosphere!
Rachel “Bats” Bates: Marketing and Communications Officer
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Year and Major: 4th year, Behavioural Neuroscience
Hometown: Salmon Arm, B.C.
Skate or classic? Sprint or distance? Skate sprints
If you could turn the ocean into a liquid other than water, which one would you pick? Avalon chocolate milk
What current fact about your life would most impress your five-year-old self? I can crack an egg with one hand!
What’s your go-to pre-race song? L.E.M.O.N. by Rihanna
What’s the weirdest thing you do when you’re by yourself? Listen to science podcasts for kids
If you were a ski wax, which one would you be and why? VR60, because I’m annoying, but not as annoying as Klister
What’s the best part of UBC Nordic? My teammates!!!
That’s all for our season intro post, thanks for reading! Stay tuned for an upcoming blog about our November training camp at Silverstar (on snow!), and make sure to follow our Instagram at @ubcnordicskiing