December 29

Tomorrow we will have a "jackrabbits lite" day. Coach James and Coach Ted are off visiting family, so we won't be able to split into groups. We'll do some warm-up, a game or two, and then head out for a ski. Tomorrow is going to be chilly. According to the models it will be -17 at ski time, but feel like -24. So dress warm. Layers, good socks, and mitts instead of gloves. 

Pro tip. Bring your skis in tonight and wax them tomorrow morning while the skis, the wax, and your hands are warm. It is WAY easier to wax a warm ski.

For those of you off doing holiday stuff tomorrow, - the best of the season to you! And for those of you able to join us, we'll see you there! We are bringing some of our extended family along! Yours are welcome too. No excuses not to get out and embrace winter!

Saturday December 15

Saturday is looking warm and should be a nice day for skiing. We'll be doing some relays and movement games and then head out on our nicely groomed trails for a ski. We are still working on getting our grid tracked in - which will be important as we start to do more work on skills and technique.

As always, if you have any questions let us know.
See you Saturday!

Saturday December 8

We have our first ski under our belt now. This week depends again on whether or not we have our grid tracked. For the younger ones, we are still focusing on movement on skis. The hill is a great tool for that and we'll spend some time there as well as other games. For the older ones we'll have a good enough track for distance ski for sure. We have a few other surprises in store as well!

We'll try to get going as close to 10:30 as possible, so if your little people (or anyone in your crew) needs some more time, please arrive in time to prep.

It looks like it will be about -12 at ski time, but will feel like -19 -- a winter day for sure.

Saturday November 24

There is still not enough snow to ski - so practice up that snow dance!

Tomorrow will be games and a run. We'll use poles again so bring them if you have them. Pretend poles are also ok.  It looks like it will be warmer than last week, and will feel like -11 by the time we start.

If you are interested, we use spotwx.com to get the weather for Jackrabbits, and in particular decide when to cancel because it is too cold. This mostly matters in January and February. Here is what the next 24 hours hold:

https://spotwx.com/products/grib_index.php?model=gem_lam_continental&lat=49.8495&lon=-97.13063&tz=America/Winnipeg 

Add here are the details on when we cancel because of cold.
http://skiwildwood.blogspot.com/p/too-cold.html

See you tomorrow! 10:30 at the soccer field.

November 17

It is Swap Shop this Saturday. It is always a bit nutty, but a good place to get gear.  Early is better!
https://www.ccsam.ca/event/swap-shop-2018/

There is still not really enough snow to ski, so we will be doing games and a run. Boots and good socks are important... and layers - always layers.

We would like people to bring their poles. Yes, you read right, poles. We practice with skis and no poles when there is snow, and now is a great time to practice poles and no skis! We will use them on our run and for some of the other activities. Don't worry if you don't have them yet - for what we are doing, pretend poles work almost as well as the real thing.

See you at 10:30 at the soccer field.

Parent Coaching

Parents often have questions about how to support their children in cross country skiing.  Cross-Country Canada in partnership with the Coaching Association of Canada, has established an easily accessible coaching development pathway that all cross-country ski coaches follow. The starting point is two online learning courses that are important for coaches, but can also be very helpful for parents!

These courses were specifically developed for aspiring community coaches, but many parents (coaches or not) have expressed how useful and valuable taking this training has been for them.

The two courses are

CAC’s Coaching Initiation in Sport: $15 (takes about 1 hour)
CCC’s Intro. to Community Coaching: $52 (takes 4 to 5 hours)

If you are interested at all in these courses or would like more information, please visit the CCSAM website or talk to one of your friendly and helpful Wildwood Jackrabbit coaches (all of whom have been through the CCC and CAC training).

https://www.ccsam.ca/parent-coaching-101/

And, one last carrot, if you think coaching may be for your (and we are looking for more coaches!) the Club will fund your coach training, including this training.

Saturday November 10

We have snow! But not enough to ski yet.

This Saturday we'll meet again at the soccer field at 10:30. Warm clothes, layers, and boots are the order of the day. It is interesting to note that come February, when we say "dress warm" we'll mean an entirely different thing. And come March these temperatures will seem be positively balmy!

We'd like to start relatively promptly at 10:30. This time of year it is pretty easy to just get out of the car and go, but come ski season there will be time needed to get the skis out and get setup. It may be a good idea to start the habit now of arriving early so we can be sure to start on time.

Based on the weather, we may need skis sooner as opposed to later, so if you have questions about gearing up, let us know.

And, of course, if you haven't had a chance to register yet, please do.
https://zone4.ca/register.asp?id=19248  

It Begins! First Session November 3

Our first session of the season is Saturday, November 3 at 10:30. We'll meet at the soccer field to the north of the community club. Look for the Jackrabbits sign.

This "dry land" session (meaning no snow) will be mostly games, exercises and a run - stuff to get our ski muscles back in shape. Dress warm, but we'll be moving lots - so layers, as always, is important. Running shoes and warm socks for sure.

And if you haven't had a chance to register yet, please do.
https://zone4.ca/register.asp?id=19248  

Registration Open!

Welcome to another season of Jackrabbit Cross Country Skiing at Wildwood Community. We are pleased to announce that Registration is now open online through Zone4. 

https://zone4.ca/register.asp?id=19248 

The fees this year the same as the last few year: $55 per child or $110 per family. Please make sure to register everyone - parents and children. If you registered last year and created an account, then this year should be easy peasy.

Some notes on registration: 

1. In order for us to plan, we need to know numbers, so please register in the next few weeks, even if you intend to only join us in the new year or after your fall activities are complete. 
2. You can donate to trail grooming and to Cross Country Canada through this tool - those are optional. Trail Grooming goes directly to the Wildwood Community Club. The CCC donation goes to the national racing program. 

Important dates 

• The Wildwood Park Community Club Ski and Skate Swap will be held on Oct. 27, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This a a great chance to buy and sell used equipment! More information can be found on the Wildwood Club website. http://wildwoodcc.ca/ 
• Our first Session will be November 3rd, 10:30am at the Soccer Field to the north of the community club. We'll send more information out the week before.

If you have any questions about the program or gear or anything, please email us, or come chat at our first sessions. If you would like to help with the program, we are always looking for more coaches (or assistant coaches!), email us and we'd love to chat. There is good training available and the club will cover it.

We are looking forward to another great season of skiing!
Adam, James, Ted
Coaches, Wildwood Jackrabbits.

2018/2019 Season Coming... soon?

We still have lots of summer left... well some summer left... but it is never to early to start thinking about snow! Wildwood Jackrabbits will be gearing up for another season soon. Here are some of the basics for those other keeners out there planing the activity rosters for their kids for the fall and winter seasons. 

Startup: We start in early November and go until we run out of snow (March sometime usually)

Registration: opens in mid October. We'll announce it here. Email us if you'd like us get on the announcement email list. wildwoodjackrabbits@gmail.com

Cost: in the $55/kid range. we are nailing that down. 

Skis: You need them. We don't have them. There are lots of options, from annual rentals, to purchasing new and used. We'll talk more when the season starts. 

The Program: Wildwood Jackrabbits aims to foster the love of Cross Country Skiing in children, youth and their families. This group is affiliated with the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba and uses the Jackrabbits and Bunnyrabbits skills development programs of Cross Country Canada as  our base. We are geared to families who want to ski together, develop their skills and and have fun. We have specific programming aimed at beginning and intermediate skiers from 3 up.

Sessions run every Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 (weather permitting). We meet at the soccer field next to the Wildwood Community Centre. Parents, caregivers, grandparents, are all encouraged to ski and learn with their children.

Coaches: our coaches are NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) Cross Country Skiing Certified Community Coaches.

Want to help? Wildwood Jackrabbits is volunteer led and run. We are always looking for volunteers to help coach (or help the coaches coach) or just help organize things. If this is you, or you'd like more information please emails us.  

Thanks for a great season!

The ski season is pretty much done. With the rain and melt and freeze that we are having now, the snow that is left is basically terrible. But we had a great season! As coaches we have been really impressed with how the kids have developed and progressed this year. My favorite moment was at a session a few weeks back where we said "ok, everyone to the top of the hill" -- and they all just did it!! Impressive.

A few last housekeeping things as we close down the year:
- We'll work on sending stickers out in the mail.
- If you have any questions about ski storage or prep for next year, shoot us an email.
- If you have any feedback on the seasons - what worked, what didn't, we'd love to hear from you.
- If you have ever though of coaching, let us know. There is training available through the national skills development program of Cross Country Canada. 

Registration for next season will be in October some time, with our first session likely in November.  We'll use our email list and the blog to keep you posted.

We hope the rest of your spring and summer is tolerable -- we know that in our hearts we are all just waiting to get back onto the snow again!

Thanks for great year!

Adam, Ted, James, Tom
Coaches

Last Ski - March 24th

Given that we are starting to hit that magic +4 more consistently, the snow will likely be gone pretty soon. But not before one last(?) ski! We'll be out as usual on Saturday morning with games, skiing and fun. The trails will likely be pretty slick, so wax on the warmer side.

Jackrabbit Jamboree March 10

Just a reminder that this Saturday, March 10, is the Jackrabbit Jamboree. There will be no Jackrabbits at Wildwood. If you haven't registered for the Jamboree, then this may be a great weekend to get out to on of the parks close to the city for a family ski! If we don't see you at the Jamboree then we'll see you next week (weather permitting!)

Racing, Cookies, Toques and a Jamboree

Lots of skiing stuff happening in the next few weeks as we try to cram all we can into the last part of the season.

TOMORROW! TUESDAY Feb 27. Dash For Cash. This is a fun racing event that is open to everyone. It is basically the time trials that we have already done, but in race format. Registration starts at 5:30 at Windsor Park. If you don't see any of us coaches in the clubhouse, look for the Wildwood sign out on the ski grid - we'll meet up there and prep before the races. Let us know if you are coming so we can watch for you!
https://www.ccsam.ca/event/the-dash-for-cash/

SATURDAY March 3. Cookie Party! This will be a regular jackrabbits session with some extra features. We'll do the time trials again to see how we have improved over the year. We'll end with hot chocolate provided by Tim Horton's. We are asking families to bring come cookies to share.

TUESDAY March 6. Deadline for toque design submissions. If your jackrabbits are budding artists, then enter the contest for the design for the next jackrabbit toque. Did you know that 10,500 jackrabbits get toques every year!! If you enter, let us know so we can get the vote out!
http://www.cccski.com/Programs/Athlete-Development/Skill-Development-Programs/Jackrabbits/Jackrabbit-Colouring-Contest-2018.aspx

SATURDAY March 10. Jackrabbit Jamboree at Windsor Park. This is a fun event for jackrabbits across the city. Stay tuned for registration information. We will be doing this instead of a Jackrabbits session at Wildwood.

February 24

This Saturday is looking pretty nice, though still -17 with the windchill. We are going to have the Jackrabbit Olympics tomorrow! If you have a noise maker you can bring it to cheer on your team as you compete in lots of different skiing events.

Don't forget that next Tuesday is Dash For Cash. This is a really fun race night for kids. Let us know if you are planning on going so we can be watching for you.
https://www.ccsam.ca/event/the-dash-for-cash/

Also, it is toque design contest time again! Every year Jackrabbits from across Canada submit designs for next years Jackrabbit toque. If you wan to give it a shot this year, the deadline is March 6. The contest is open to all registered Jackrabbits from ages 5 to 9.
http://www.cccski.com/Programs/Athlete-Development/Skill-Development-Programs/Jackrabbits/Jackrabbit-Colouring-Contest-2018.aspx

February 17 and Beyond

First, we are very excited to officially welcome Tom Sutton to the coaching team. Tom is an avid skier and former Jackrabbit himself. He has been helping out for a few weeks now, but we want to officially welcome him. He will be operating as an assistant or "sous" coach until he gets his official coach creds. We are thrilled to have more coaching support, particularly since we have quite a few more kids this year! If you are interested in coaching - talk to us! There is lots of support and training available.

Second, Plans! We have them!
The coaching team met this week to figure out the schedule for the rest of the year. Our general approach is we ski until we can't. That means that the end of the year is always weather dependent. Here are the plans:

Feb 17 (tomorrow)
Normal session. A focus on skills and then some fun on the hill.

Feb 24
Jackrabbit Olympics! We are planning some races and fun competition including another time trial to see how we have improved. More info to come (and we may need some parent help!)

Feb 27 (TUESDAY) Dash for Cash
This is a fun night of racing with other jackrabbits. Downtown Nordic and Assiniboine Park Jackrabbits host at Windsor park. This is geared to younger skiers with little or no racing experience. All the kids get something (chocolate dollars usually). And race winners at the various age levels get medals. We'll keep you posted about registering and attending. We had a good contingent last year and won a few races!

March 3
Cookie party!
Games and skiing fun followed by hot chocolate (generously supplied by Tim Horton's) and Cookies (generously supplied by you - thanks!)

March 10
Jackrabbit Jamboree. This annual event brings together all the Jackrabbits in the city. We will be moving our base to Windsor Park Nordic Centre to attend. Separate registration is required and space is somewhat limited.

After the 10th it will be regular sessions until (theoretically) we run out of snow.

Tomorrow is looking nice, but not really warm. As always, layers are important, and don't underestimate the windchill!
Remember that if you are skiing with the family, the kids can earn Snow Goal stickers! (there are some details of that here http://skiwildwood.blogspot.ca/2017/11/saturday-november-18-and-notes-for-year.html)
If you are taking in Festival  this weekend, have a great time! HE HO!

Adam, Ted, James, Tom
Coaches.

January 20

Well it certainly isn't to cold. The model is showing about -4 (-7 with the windchill). This is a warm wax day for sure. Waxless skis love this temperature - they tend not to do as well when it gets really cold, but tomorrow you should be great.

Coach James is away tomorrow. Ted and Adam will be coaching. We've got some games planned and some snow-plow work on the hills. If the trails are in good shape the older kids may work on skating - we'll play that by ear depending on how the snow is. This kind of weather is terrible for ski trails (though it is nice for humans who have been dealing with -40).

Saturday January 13 - Indoors

It is too cold to be outside for skiing, so we'll be meeting in the clubhouse for some games and work on waxing. Please bring your skis, wax, cork and scraper.

January 6 Session

Happy New Year Jackrabbit Families!

We are snapping out of this deep freeze just in time for skiing. Looking at our local weather model it is right on the edge of our cutoff. The model says -28 (with the windchill) at 10 and -26 by 11. Our cutoff is -27 with the windchill. The air temperature is about -17 and we should be out of the wind for the most part, so we are making the call to go. Still, it will be a nippy one. Layers is key. If you have little ones who don't do so well in the cold then you may want to take a pass for tomorrow. You know your kids. And while it is important to encourage (cajole, insist, drag) them to get out, we also need to set them (and us) up for success.

We'll do some skills drills, probably some work on the hill, and games.

A reminder to please label your polls and to check to make sure you have the right ones. There are still some mis-matched sets.