SkiBlackJack.ca X-Country Skiing, Rossland BC Canada

Fun! Food! Prizes! Lots of laughs! .

IS TERRIFIC GROOMING YOUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY? Contribute to the “BIG CAT KITTY FUND” today!

The first item on our wish list is a new snowmobile and Ginzugroomer. We will be collecting funds for that purchase as well as creating a fund to replace one of our old groomers. Once we have some significant funds in the kitty we will be looking for matching grant money.

FUNDRAISING FOR A NEW GINZUGROOMER (operator shown, not included)

YTS Ginzugroomer at 2002 Olympics

Here is a Ginzugroomer in the capable hands of Brian Wadsworth at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. The stadium was often set with the 84" Ginzugroomer.

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Black Jack is fundraising for new grooming equipment now. We want to purchase a heavy duty snowmobile & groomer like this one for next season. This Ginzugroomer costs about $5000. Snowmobiles are between $10-15K. The Big Cat is a Big Ticket item and will be purchased as soon as we have raised enough money through your donations and matching grants. (Rough estimated cost: $85-120k depending on age and use).

With the Ginzugroomer we will use 1/10^th the amount of fuel as the large machines and it will be easier and less costly to repair. Using a snowmobile with the Ginzu and our large cat in combination will be an excellent improvement to our grooming efforts. We want to purchase it by the beginning of next winter.

We already have $3600 in the fund. $2500 of this money was donated by the Nelson and District Credit Union, the rest came from members. Contact Kathy Moore 362-3319 km@2cats.net and she will gratefully receive your donation on behalf of the Club.

The generosity of our friends… Nelson & District Credit Union-as usual the credit union has been one of our best friends this year- donating $8k for biathlon targets for the BC Winter Games, $2500 for the new Ginzugroomer and over $1k for new lycra racing bibs. With the bibs donated by the BC Winter Games we now have 200 bibs.

Gerick’s Cycle & Sport also contributed to the cost of the bibs and donated lots of great prizes this year for club races. Gerald himself was our announcer for the entire three days of the Games and did such a terrific job we invited him back to announce the Canadian Masters Championship next February!

Teck Comino, always a strong community partner donated $8k to construct the timing & officials’ cabin at the Hanna Creek Nordic area for the BC Games biathlon event. It is a lasting legacy for the Club.

Columbia Basin Trust has helped us with several very generous grants totaling over $25k the last several years which have enabled us to expand our trails, install lights and in many ways improve our facilities.

SICEAI grant we received in 2004 from the softwood timber initiative enabled us to create the biathlon range, install lights and make other significant improvements to our facilities- creating the new stadium area and widening trails

BIATHLON 2005/2006

The biathletes have had a great season.

The athletes had practices shooting and running in the summer and fall months. Anna Apel and Paige Ewings attended training camps in Prince George in July and at the Telemark Cross Country Ski Club in Kelowna in the fall.

The first competition, BC Cup 1 & 2, was held at Telemark, on Dec. 17/18. Four local athletes competed and one athlete was too young to compete, but looked like he skied just as far and just as fast (‘round the stadium area) as the “official competitors”: Holly Sones -6^th– juvenile girls 4 km individual

5^th– 3 km sprint Paige Ewings-5^th– junior girls 6 km individual Samara Steenvorden-6^th– junior girls 6 km individual Scott Gurney-7^th– junior boys 6 km individual

9^th– 4 km sprint Hunter Sones-skied a lot during the competition!

Jan 21/22, Paige Ewings and Anna Apel made the long journey to Vanderhoof for BC Cup 2 & 3 Paige Ewings-3^rd– junior girls 5 km pursuit 5^th– 4.5 km Anna Apel-6^th– senior girls 7.5 km pursuit 4^th– 4.5 km

The BC Winter Games competitions were the first events held at Black Jack’s newly constructed biathlon range and trails at the Hannah Creek site. The success of the event was a result of the cooperation of many. Samara Steenvorden, Paige Ewings, and Scott Gurney competed in the games, and several of the biathletes volunteered. Samara Steenvorden-12^th - sprint, with exceptional shooting Paige Ewings-7^th– individual, 6^th- sprint, 8^th- super sprint Scott Gurney-5^th– individual, 5^th– sprint, 4^th– super sprint

An open house was held at the Hannah Creek site March 25^th after the regular practice. At least 50 people of all ages came out to give biathlon a try. The metal targets were in use so it was easy to see who needed to do the penalty laps!

The final competition for the biathletes was be the BC Championships at Mount Washington, April 8/9.

FOCUS GROUPS

Thanks to all who have participated in the focus groups. Come to the AGM to hear what people have been saying about where they think the Club should be going in the next 5 years. The final report will be posted on the website later.

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION

We want to celebrate you, the volunteers of the Club. Look for more information about our upcoming volunteer appreciation bash. In the meantime, we don’t want to forget anyone. If you have volunteered with Black Jack over the last few years, please send Susan van Asselt your name at svanasselt@telus.net. We will contact you when we have the date & event planned.

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

As a new column in the newsletter, we will be showcasing someone at Black Jack who has been volunteering with our club. If you have someone you would like to nominate, please email Susan at svanasselt@telus.net.