Ski club in small B.C. town hosts Western Nordic Championships

Over 400 athletes from B.C., Alberta and Washington State are competing in the East Kootenay this weekendat theWestern Nordic Championships, one of the largest annual gatherings of skiers in North America.

The Kimberley Nordic Club is hosting athletes of all ages who are competing in three different styles of races.

"It's super exciting that we're hosting Westerns in Kimberley," saidPauleen Forren,head coach for the club, during Friday's races in the town, which is about165 kilometres westof Alberta's border.

"It's such a big race and it's cool to see racers from all over Western Canada coming here to Kimberley."

This is the first time the club hasheld such a large-scale event, and it's been planning for years to make it happen.

In addition to coaches and athletes,volunteers are working to make sure the races go off without a hitch.

"There's a lot of lead time, I know they've been planning for years, for this event, but in terms of the volunteering, we just need a good group of people who are eager to help each other out and learn a new skill," said volunteer Kat Henry.

Mike Thomas,an assistant technical delegate with Nordiq Canada, is helping run the races.

"It's just amazing to have so many people here enjoying the facilities and discovering Kimberley," said Thomas."Some folks here, it's their first time even recreational skiingso it's great that Kimberley can showcase what they have to people from all around."

Nearly a centuryof nordic skiing

The history of nordicskiing in Kimberley began over 90 years ago.

According to the Kimberley Nordic Club, racers would ski down the streets of what is now known as the Blarchmont neighbourhood.

For several decades, before the club was established, cross-country skiing in Kimberley took place on the mining exploration trails in town.

Today, nordic skiers enjoy dozens of groomed trails onNorthstar Mountain.

'Conditions are so pristine'

Athletes have been training for weeks for the Westerns, as they call it, some skiing six days a week in preparation.

"It's fun to be back here for the Westerns, a bit of a higher level of competition, but no stress for us, we'll just come out here and have some fun," said Ben Thompson, an athlete with the Canmore Ski Club.

WATCH | Small-town B.C. ski club makes history hosting championships:

History in the making for small-town B.C. ski club

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A ski club in Kimberley, B.C., is hosting the Western Nordic Championships.

Zara Butker of Salmon Armagrees.

"I'm really excited to race here because this is my first time being here,"Butkersaid."The conditions are so pristine, the snow is so nice, it's not icy, so it's really exciting."

Charlie Bruce, from Kamloops, is one of the oldest competitors.

"It helped to start early, as an older athlete, they let the oldersgo I guess, knowing full well that we're going to get passed by these young bullets that ski so well," said Bruce.

"It's been a wonderful experience, good turnout, Kimberley certainly welcomed this event with open arms and you can't say enough about the organizers."