Season Summary

I put together a summary of my season for those of you that haven't had time to wade through all my blog posts. Here it goes:

November Convergence Trip: 
Based on my results from the previous season and my dryland training I was one of three athletes selected to travel to Europe with the Canadian World Cup Team in November. Poor snow conditions resulted in fewer race starts than originally planned but I still raced in two World Cup weekends. I completed the Kuusamo mini-tour with a 50th in the sprint as my best results and competed in my first distance World Cups. The following weekend I raced in Dusseldorf and was 38th, only 0.77 seconds out of the top-30.

December NorAms:
I returned to Canada at the beginning of December in time for the start of the NorAm circuit. I competed in 4 races in Vernon and Rossland. I had good fitness after competing in Europe and raced to three silver medals.

Midwinter NorAms:
I raced 3 NorAm weekends in January and February in Whistler, Canmore and Ottawa. I won 2 golds, 4 silvers and 1 bronze in the individual events and won the overall mini-tours at the Western and Eastern Canadian Championships. This gave me the lead in the NorAm series and a ticket for the last month of World Cup racing.

Photo: Peter Collins

Photo: Kathy Wylie

OPA Tour:
I headed back to Europe in early February where I joined the OPA trip group and raced in a Scandinavian Cup in Albu, Estonia. I finished 7th and 15th. It was fun to explore new territory in Latvia and Estonia.

March World Cups:
After OPA I met the World Cup Team in Seefeld, Austria. I raced World Cups in Poland, Drammen, Stockholm and Falun. The highlight of the month was a 28th place finish in Stockholm, achieving my season goal of a World Cup top-30! It was an amazing experience and despite some tough times it fueled my desire to be competitive on the World Cup.

Photo: Fasterskier.com

National Championships:
I flew straight from Falun to Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec for the National Championships. After a long travel day and midnight arrival I raced the 10km skate the next afternoon. I won a silver medal in the skate race and bronze (6th international) in the sprint.

Photo: CCC

Final Summary:

• Winner of the NorAm Series and Teck Sprint Series
• Competed in 13 World Cup races and earned 3 World Cup points
• Ranked 4th woman in Canada in both sprint and distance (CPL)

This has been a breakthrough year for me and I have been so fortunate to be able to pursue my dreams. I would like to thank my coaches, teammates, family, friends and sponsors for your continued support! I start official training again in May and I am excited for another year of racing!

Happy spring!