Cross Country Ski Club sees spike in memberships
Miramichi, N.B.
The Miramichi Cross Country Ski Club is just one of the many outdoor clubs and activities that has seen a spike in membership since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Due to social distancing restrictions people have had to get creative when it comes to socializing.
“On the positive side the ski club has been very busy this season, because of the pandemic where people want to get outdoors in the fresh air and get some exercise without being in a crowd,” said Norm Brown, club president.
Brown said membership and day passes for trails is extremely high this year.
“I like cross-country skiing because it’s a great way to break up the winter, it’s a good way to get outside and get some sun and it’s a really good way to spend time with family and friends,” said new skier, Melissa Davidson.
Located in Nelson, just outside of Miramichi, the club is run almost exclusively by volunteers. They are responsible for trail grooming and maintenance, as well as running all the ski programs. Their jacket rabbit program is for children aged six to 19. It has been sponsored by Cross Country Canada and has been running since 1980.
“I have my son in the Bunny program for younger kids and my daughter in the Jack Rabbit program, they’re always really excited to get to the club,” said Helen Ward, club member.
Child attempting skiing for the first time.
The Chatham Rotary Club helped the ski club complete a huge project. “We just completed an expansion, improvement project – it was a million-dollar project,” said Brown, “the Rotary Club of Chatham was a big contributor financially to that project, providing 150,000$.”
Ten years in the making, a new clubhouse, a 24-lane stadium range and four kilometers of new ski trails were completed last year. Planning started in 2008 and was finally completed after starting from scratch multiple times.
“On the negative side, because of COVID, we haven’t been able to have any competitions at our site,” said Brown, “so our new biathlon range, we were not able to have any meets or loppets at the club.”
The club usually hosts multiple events each year, bringing in people from all over the Atlantic provinces. There is usually a provincial loppet every year, a one-day ski event that brings large numbers of skiers to the area. While the biathlon stadium was completed just before the pandemic hit and has not been in use, the plan is to host provincial events yearly.
Trail signs.
Brown feels optimistic for the following years. The club is in the running to host the Cadet National Championship for 2022 and 2023.
The old ski club is being maintained and used as a waxing hut. Through the off season, local, provincial and federal groups, such as the cadets or Girl Guides, are using the building.
“I love getting my kids outside at the ski club, my daughter goes to Girl Guides here in the fall and we ski in the winter, there is a great sense of community here,” said Ward.
