BLACK JACK CROSS COUNTRY SKI CLUB
NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2006
The leaves are
changing and skiing is just around the corner…yeah!!! Welcome to the first newsletter of the
2006/2007 ski year. It is an exciting
year as we are hosting both the Norams for athletes
under 23 and the Masters for athletes over 30.
We will need lots of volunteers for these events, so look for
information in the newsletter and around town.
The Masters will be taking place on Feb 4-11 and the Norams
is taking place on Jan 4-7. If you
haven’t already marked it, don’t forget to bookmark our website www.skiblackjack.ca
and our phone number at the kiosk-362-7163. If you have anything that you want posted into
this newsletter, please email Susan van Asselt
at svanasselt@telus.net
As many of you
probably know, the beginning of the ski season comes with the death of an avid
cross country skier and contributor and founder of Black Jack Ski Club. His name was Roger Crisfield. We will start our newsletter this year with a
tribute to him.
IN MEMORY OF A DEAR
FRIEND
Dr. Roger
Crisfield came to Rossland from England
in 1974 drawn by the world-class downhill skiing close by. He soon discovered
the joys of cross-country skiing and applied his usual vision and vigor to
improving the rudimentary trails at the Black Jack Ski Club. To ensure
well-groomed trails, he provided the club with its first snowmobile and he voluntarily
set the tracks himself. He could be found after each snowfall between 4:30 and 7:30 a.m. grooming the tracks before heading off
to the OR.
He was club
president for several years and during that time Roger also pushed for and
procured the club’s first Thiokol, funding much of it himself. He was confident
that the club membership and revenue would grow and repay him – AND IT DID,
multiplying tenfold over the next several years. Also during those years, the
two original club huts on Gibbard’s trail were built.
Roger’s infectious
enthusiasm for cross-country skiing was the introduction to the sport for many
people. He remained faithful to the love of cross-country skiing to the end of
his life. He was also passionate about many other sports, including
snowboarding, white-water kayaking, and windsurfing. Many local athletes
benefited from his renowned surgical skill and from the efficient surgical
daycare unit he pioneered in Rossland. He was the first to introduce
arthroscopy to Western Canada.
Just as he lived
his life on the edge, he fought a valiant battle against multiple myeloma for four and a half years. He died on August 25th
of this year at the age of 62. He will be joyfully remembered for his
many contributions to the community as well as his good nature and sense of
humor.
To honor his life
and to raise funds to continue the search for a cure for this cancer, his wife
Brenda Trenholme and friends Kailey
McLachlan and Cheryl Ewings will be running in the
New York City marathon on Nov. 5th, 2006.They have pledged to raise
$2,500 each, and this amount will be matched by Team Continuum (a nonprofit
group that promotes patient care and fundraising).
Every dollar donated makes a difference… twice the
difference. If you would like to help, please make cheques
payable to the:
ROGER CRISFIELD MEMORIAL FUND
2071 Columbia
Ave.
Nelson and District CREDIT UNION
ROSSLAND, B.C. V0G 1Y0
TRAIL MAINTENANCE
We had our first Trail Maintenance day of the season in September
and 9 people showed up to start maintenance of the trails. There is still more work to do and you can
email Ethan Meginnes at ethan@pipeline.com
to volunteer with Trail Maintenance. To
date, Mugwamp has been widened to 20 feet and so has Spitzee and the Connector
trail. Thanks guys! We will all appreciate your efforts when the
snow flies and we can get on the trails earlier.
JUNIOR RACERS/SKIER
DEVELOPMENT
Due to the fundraising efforts of Al Fisher, we will be
hiring a full time coach for the racer development program at Black Jack this
year. Al was able to get funding from
Heywood and CCBC to allow us to hire a coach this year. We still need volunteers for the Jack rabbit
and Junior Racer programs as well, so watch for requests for volunteer coaches
for these programs. This year, the cost
to join Junior Racers will be $200 and the cost to join Jack Rabbits will still
be $25. If you have any questions about
this, please don’t hesitate to phone Al Fisher.
UPCOMING COURSES
Introduction to
Community Coaching Oct 20-21
Community Coaching
Dec. 1-3
CC 1 - Learning to
Train Jan 12-14
These courses are progressive so you need to start with the
Intro to CC and work up. The minimum
that you would need to be a Rabbit leader would be the first course. To work with the Jr. Racers you would need
both the Intro. and Community Coaching courses. The cost of the course is picked up by the
club if participants get actively involved in helping with the development
program. The courses will all be held in Rossland so
it’s a great opportunity to participate without having to travel. Fred Bushell is the
contact person for all the courses. You
can contact him at kootenayfred@hotmail.com or phone him at 362-7134.
RESERVIOR UPDATE
The City is continuing to do work out at Black Jack this
year. Once they have completed the work,
we will be able to open Gibbards again and skiers
will be able to ski there. Along with
the work the City is doing on the Reservoir, Black Jack also recently built a
new stadium. Almost all of you will have
skied at some point in the stadium area.
When Black Jack had this work done, we requested to the BC Ministry of
Transport that we move an existing road that ran through the stadium area to
the side of the stadium. The Ministry
agreed to this but said that we would have to foot the bill. They required that a survey be done and also
required that we put in a ditch and culverts.
It has been estimated that this will cost $23,500. We will be sending out notice of a Special
Resolution asking the membership if they are in favour
of us borrowing from the existing mortgage to pay for this expensive but
necessary work. We will vote at the Ski
Swap in November. If you require further
information about this, please email our president, Kathy Moore at km@2cats.net
or check the minutes that are posted on the website. We are also looking for anyone who can do
this survey work. You can contact Kathy
if you are that person.
LIGHTING
We now have the materials for 1.2 km of lit trails. Scott Mattheson
from Fortis is helping with this, as well as Renu Rasku. The lit trail
will be Jeldness to Aqueduct to Pipeline to Jeldness.
FEES/VOLUNTEER
REMUNERATION
Our fees are going up again this year. We are raising fees based upon the feedback
we received last year during the forums.
This feedback stated that people would be willing to pay more if it
meant that the Club would break even.
This raise in fees is to offset increasing fuel prices and to allow us
to break even based upon the number of skiers we estimate will ski at Black
Jack this year. We anticipate that it
will cost $118 per member and the new fees reflect this amount. Please see the breakdown of fees below. New at Black Jack, we also have a volunteer
incentive program as well. Once you have
completed 30 units of volunteer time, you will be eligible for $30 off your season’s
pass. Different volunteer activities
have different values, so, for example if you volunteer with Jack Rabbits for
the season, you will accumulate 30 units for your volunteer discount. You will receive the rebate at the end of the
season at the AGM. Marilyn Nelson is the volunteer coordinator, and you
can reach her at _____. New fees are as
follows:
Before Dec. 1 30
units of volunteering After Dec. 1 30 units
Adult $122.00 $92.00 $147.00 $117.00
Family $276.00 $216.00 $336.00 $276.00
SPF $154.00 $124.00 $189.00 $159.00
Junior $42.00 $ $52.00
KIOSK
Bridget has decided to take a year off this year at the
Black jack Kiosk. We wish her all the
best in all that she does this year. We
will miss her smiling face and her welcoming hi as we ski by flashing our
passes as we go. As a result, we are
looking for new kiosk attendants. We are
looking for friendly people who are 16 years of age or older and are bright and energetic individuals who like to work with the public. Telephone and computer skills are an
asset. This is a seasonal position starting in November when grooming
begins and ends in March approximately when the snow departs. Shifts are
available through out the day and vary from 3 to 6 hours. Please forward resumes to hiller@septen.com
RACES
Our Masters race takes place on February 4-11 and the Norams take place on January 4-7. The Masters are open to anyone who is 30
years of age or older and Norams is a qualifying
event for elite skiers under 23 years of age.
The Masters will be a week of ski racing and will culminate in our 23rd
annual loppet event.
Mark your calendars for volunteering or for racing. We will keep you posted as the events get
closer.
BIATHLON
Biathlon Practices
The first practice will be September 23rd, 3 PM, at the new Black Jack
biathlon facility at Hannah
Creek. Thereafter,
practices will be Saturday mornings.
For further information, please contact Gord Gibson
365-5381.
BLACK
JACK BIATHLON
Warm-up
Jackets, Warm-up Pants, and Race Suits
We will be placing an order again with Podium Wear,
September 2006, for warm-up jackets, warm-up pants, and two piece racing suits.
If orders are placed in September and all money collected by
the end of September, we should be able to receive the order by November
2006, in time for the snow.
PRICES below include shipping and handling, are in
Canadian dollars, and include PST and GST.
Black Jack Ski Club
Warm-up Jacket $138.85
Black Jack Biathlon
Warm-up Jacket $138.85
Warm-up Pants $104.65
Black Jack Ski Club
Race Suit $173.05
Black Jack Biathlon
Race Suit $173.05
Please contact Cheryl
Ewings (362-9667) regarding orders. Please make cheques
payable to Black Jack Ski Club
( a deposit of $580. has already been
collected towards the biathlon order)
SIZES
Size Waist Chest
XXS 23-25 30-33
XS 26-28 34-36
S 29-31 36-38
M 32-34 38-40
L 35-37 42-45
XL 38-42 46-49
XXL 43-45 50-53
(for accurate sizing it is
recommended that you check with a club member who ordered last year; the sizing
chart is not the most reliable)
Warm-up Jackets
Lined, wind breaking fabric
Warm-up Pants
Wind proof fabric for front panel
Breathable fleece blend on the back panels
Racing Suits
Two piece
Lycra
Double helixing flat stitching,
drawstring waist, no-slip cuff
GROOMING
We are almost at our targeted amount for buying the Ginzu Groomer. Please
donate if you would like to see this new groomer being used at Black Jack.
BUILDINGS COORDINATOR
We are currently looking for someone with knowledge and
expertise to be our cabin coordinator.
This person would be responsible to make sure the cabins are stocked
with wood and ensure that the buildings are in reasonable shape for storage or
people throughout the winter. If you are
the person for this job, please email Marilyn, our new volunteer coordinator at
mnelson_ross@hotmail.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
At this time we would like to acknowledge Ed Mayer for his
tireless work he does for the club. In
fact, we are so appreciative of the work that he does, we have decided to name
the stadium after him and it is now called Ed Mayer Stadium. Thanks, Ed!
In case you don’t know Ed, he is the man who moves the dirt at Black
Jack. It was his handiwork that allowed
the stadium to be built.
We would also like to acknowledge Steve Harder of Interior
Signs again this year. Steve volunteers
his time to create the signage out at Black Jack as well as the brochure that
we put out every year. This is very appreciated.
Thanks, Steve!
We would also like to acknowledge and thank sue Bushell for
creating the new historical signs that you will see out at Black Jack this
year. If you see Sue on the trails
skiing, be sure to tell her a new piece of information you have learned from
the signs!
We have also had a number of large financial donors to the
Club. Look for the next newsletter where
we will acknowledge these people in person.
