February 27

It was great to get out last weekend. The weather hasn't been kind to the trails, but we can certainly ski! This weekend we are going to do our wild (stuffie) animal hunt! This will mostly be a ski around the course to find various animal friends hidden in trees and other places along the path. We'll also do some warmup in our groups and maybe some skills work on the grid or time on the hill (it will depend a bit on conditions Saturday). 

In terms of COVID safety, please remember:

1. if you are sick, stay home. 
2. screen before you come (use the screener in team snap)
3. wear a mask (neck warmers don't count)
4. maintain 2m distance (if your poles or skis can touch, you are too close)

Please indicate your attendance on TeamSnap  (you'll get a reminder). It is how we are recording for contact tracing. 

Parents/Guardians are encouraged to ski with their children for the hunt. It will let us spread out a bit more and we can be a bit more independent in terms of time to complete the course. It is also a fun family activity! 

We also have Jackrabbit Toques and Books, If you haven't received your toque or booklet, please see coach Chad. Speaking of toques, the 2022 Toque Design Contest is open! Deadline is March 11 and it is open to all skiers 5-9 years old. 

Return to Sport! Saturday Feb 20 10:30

We are thrilled to be able to gather for skiing practices starting Saturday!

As you can imagine, there are lots of things we need to put in place to be safe. We have had lots of conversations about how to make this work and good support from our provincial and national bodies. That said,  if you see things that you are not comfortable with, or suggestions to make this better, please let us know. Fundamentally, you need to be comfortable with all this and you need to make the choice that is right for you and your family about attending. 

There is lots to cover, so here we go!

General precautions:

If you are sick, self isolating or have been in contact with someone who is sick or self isolating, stay home. This is one of the most important things we can do to limit the spread of COVID.  

All participants (adults and children) should self-screen before attending using the Government of Manitoba Screening tool (https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/screening-tool/). If you are in doubt, stay home.   

Physical distancing. At all times stay 2m apart. Luckily for us our sport has built in devices we refer to as POLES (Personal Offset Length Evaluators): if you can touch someone or their skis or poles with your skis or poles, you are too close. Now, we don't want kids waving their poles around to see who is too close, but it is a good visual. Parents/Guardians, please help remind your kids of this before and during the sessions. Kids have a terrible time with physical distancing (as you are likely all very well aware). 

Masks are required except while actually out on the trails skiing. Neck warmers (alone) don't count as masks. 

We will be doing contract tracing using TeamSnap. You have probably seen an invitation to that already, please register for your child and record their attendance. You'll get reminders. It is pretty cool and easy actually. Email us if you have problems. Using this will also let us plan for the kids who will be coming instead of needing to adjust the day-of based on who attends (which is more challenging given all the COVID restrictions). 

The clubhouse is closed. We always meet outdoors anyway, but the clubhouse has been opened for 'bathroom emergencies'. It isn't now. 

Groups

We are going to have 4 groups that will stay completely separate for the session. We will meet at different places as indicated by the map below. It is important to arrive on time and be ready to go at 10:30 as the groups will be splitting up and heading out quickly to limit contact. 

If you have concerns about any of the group assignments or would like siblings to be together (or not) let us know. These can be adjusted. Track Attack 2 is the most advanced, experienced skiers. Jackrabbits 1 are the most junior (and often youngest) skiers. Kids are mostly grouped by age, with some adjustments for skill. 

Parents/guardians are free to ski with their kids. Jackrabbits 1, this is more important as you need to be able to help your kids. For the other groups it is less critical and you are also free to go enjoy a ski on your own if you like. 

As this is the first session for many, we should note that we meet on the golf course across the road from the soccer field that is north of the Clubhouse. There is a parking area right off the road. If you are coming down Oakenwald, turn left at the stop sign at North drive and the parking is right there. We will have a sign. It is generally fairly obvious. Don't go to the clubhouse. 

[Please contact us for group information]

Arrival and Departure

Please be at your spot and ready to go at 10:30. The groups need to head out promptly so we don't have a lot of congestion. 

When you arrive, please go directly to your group's meeting spot. There will be coaches around to help. 

Departure will be from your groups. We will try to stagger this a bit. Please proceed directly back to your car. We have in the past had chocolates after the sessions. Unfortunately that isn't something we can do during covid. For new kids that won't be a big deal (just don't tell them!). For some of our returning skiers, parents may need to prepare them for serious disappointment, or take chocolate dispensing matters into your own hands. 

The entrance area onto the golf course and soccer field are a bit narrow, so please wait by your car if there is congestion. Please also take your gear into the field or golf course to put on (don't linger in the entrance area). Only take what you need so there isn't too much scattered around. 

Jackrabbits 1

A special note for our youngest skiers. Poles will not be needed during this lesson. You can leave them in the car. 

A few last notes. 

There are lots of rules and constraints, but mostly the basics of physical distancing and mask wearing will keep us on the right track. While we are excited to have everyone out and skiing, we are also very aware that we need to do everything we can to run a program that is safe given our current reality. Above all patience and kindness will win the day. 

Please email us with any questions or concerns.

Of Pandemic Restrictions and Polar Vortices

Good news and bad news. 

Good news! :)

We have curved the cases down and the health restrictions are loosening up. It looks like we will be able to get back to skiing! The new changes that will take affect Friday say this:

"allowing outdoor sports facilities to reopen for casual sports as well as organized practices and games, with multi-team tournaments not permitted;"

This seems to fit us, and doesn't speak to any limit on people. We are working with the CCSAM to see if there is any more specific guidance. There will of course be instructions on social distancing and whatnot, but it looks promising. Lucky for us we have our POLES (Personal Offset Length Evaluators) - if you can touch someone with your pole you are too close. And also, don't touch people with your poles. So stay tuned, but we are hopeful. 

Bad News :(

The forecast shows the coldest time in the next 10 days is... you guessed it...10am Saturday morning, with a face-freezing -47. So even if we could ski, we probably wouldn't... probably. We are watching the forecast closely. Think warm thoughts. 

So if it isn't a global pandemic, it is a polar vortex conspiring against our skiing. But! The long term forecast shows a very respectable -21 the following Saturday.

We'll keep you posted on pandemic protocols, and a safe return to skiing.  

For now, do a little snow dance to encourage some fresh snow and gear up for the 20th. 

More to come.

Snow Snow Snow!

 

Zoom Meeting January 29th at 7:00pm

We are coming out of the deep freeze now and the weekend is looking awesome. We are offering another virtual coaching session Friday for anyone would would like. We'll take your lead on what to chat about. We can talk dressing for the weather, games to play, waxing, gear, you name it, we are ready! We'd love to here where you have been and what some of your successes are. 

As always, this is totally optional. There is not pressure to attend. If it is helpful, we are here.

 

We are pegging this for 30 minutes. We are happy to go longer if we need. 

Email if you'd like a link to attend. 

Also, registration closes on the 31st of January. If you are holding out hope to participate, then now is the time! Consider it an act if defiant hope!

Zoom meeting January 22 7pm

We are going to have another zoom meeting this Friday for those unable to attend last week, or,  after another week of skiing, have new questions. 

As with last time, this is a fairly informal conversation to chat about anything ski related that would make skiing better and more enjoyable for you and your family. We'll have some cool websites on tap to show you. These can help with where to ski,  trail conditions and weather. We can also go over some of the more popular destinations and what to expect. We'd also love to hear where you have been!  We've got a bit of a waxing demo prepped if people want to dive into that. Whatever works. And if this isn't something that is helpful for you, there is no requirement or pressure to attend. Us coaches like hanging out talking about skiing, so we'll have a good time regardless!

A link and calendar invite has been emailed to everyone who is registered. If you haven't yet and would still like to attend, please email the coaches. wildwoodjackrabbits@gmail.com.

Jackrabbit Zoom Meeting Friday Jan 15

Friday will be having one of our (hopefully) recurring meetings to help you with you skiing while we are not able to be together. We have a few things planned, including a waxing clinic to go into some more details about how to wax effectively. But we are really open to what you want to discuss. What is helpful for you and your kids, hints and tips, where to ski - whatever help you need. 

A link has been emailed to everyone who is registered. If you haven't yet and would still like to attend, please email the coaches. wildwoodjackrabbits@gmail.com

Jackrabbits 20/2021 Season - Lets Get Skiing!.... Well lets get YOU Skiing anyway

We hope many of you have already had a chance to get out and enjoy this fantastic weather and the great conditions at many of the trails in and around the city.  Usually by now we would be well into our season, but not this year. With the current restrictions, gathering is still not possible. That may be changing (fingers crossed!), but for now, we are all on our own. Getting out for physical activity is important and encouraged under provincial health restrictions, and skiing is a great way to enjoy the winter. 

Here is how the program is going to work until we can actually meet. Basically you are going to go skiing, and we are going to wrap some ideas, tools and support around that. 

Starting next Friday (January 15th) we are going to offer a weekly parents meeting to talk about skiing - the weather, how to prep, where people may want to go, what to expect at different places, and some skills to work on. Depending on the interest we can break that into different meetings for different levels. We are also more than happy to have one-on-one meetings with families (including kids if you like!). This first Friday meeting will be some general stuff, with conversation about what you would find helpful.  We'll also have a more detailed waxing clinic and talk about the Jackrabbit booklets, stickers and skill progression that families can use for motivation (if that is helpful). From there we'll build these sessions to meet what you need. We are also working on some 'on your own" activities that you can choose to do as well. All of this is to help you get out skiing with your family. None of it is required, use what works for you.  

In terms of places to go, here are some ideas. 

Wildwood is tracked and in great shape. Our usual ski playground area is a bit of a mess because of all the people sledding, but once you get on the trails they are great. 

Windsor Park Nordic Centre is excellent. Well tracked. And lit for evening/night skiing, which is super fun. Look up the map online because there are lots of ways to go. Adam's kids like to follow the main drag out to the blue oval and then do the black diamond loop and all the little 'loops' (dog tooth, deer leg, fox hole, coyote run) back to the clubhouse. An easy 45 minute ski. (the black diamond isn't bad and you can easily skip it). You do need a pass to ski here. They can be bought online. We haven't ever seen them check for passes, but a good idea to get one to support them. 

Beaudry Park is also great. Chad's family skied the Wild Grape - Elm loop, which is a great place start.  You can always skip Elm with littler kids. The path across the river to the Basswood trails is open now, and that is a nice loop to add on if you want a longer ski. 

And Birds Hill is always great for a fairly close adventure. Page 2 of the trails map shows the ski trails. You can start at the Chickadee parking lot (first parking on the map) or further along at the ranch just off Nimowin road. There are lots of trails here, so take a map for sure. Lots of great loops for whatever distance you want to tackle. The viewing tower is a fun stop, and Chickadee will take you straight there.  

You need a park pass for provincial parks (that applies to Beaudry and Birds Hill). Remember that no warming shacks or club houses are open - so go prepared! 

Let us know what your favourite place to go is and any tips you may have!

In the meantime if you have any questions about skiing at all - how to get started with your kids, or anything, shoot us an email. 

And one last thing. If you haven't registered, this is the last mass email. We will be sending all further emails just to the registered folk, and posting on our website. 

Registration is via ZONE4: https://zone4.ca/reg.asp?id=24872   

We are looking forward to connecting next week!