A video from earlier this season of Lars Berger with perfect shooting. It's what every biathlete dreams of!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
XC Nationals in Canmore start Friday!
Cross Country Ski Nationals kick off this Friday in Canmore! The races will start with the very exciting, spectator friendly team sprint down town on Main Street Saturday at 10am. My first race is the 10km Free on Sunday followed by the 15km Classic on Tuesday. For full schedule check out (http://www.skinationals.com/2011/schedule-races-events). The forecast for the weekend is sunny with "warm" weather the rest of the week... perfect for spectating!
Trail sports webcam http://www.trailsports.ab.ca/webcam.htm
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Great Day for Canadian XC Skiing!
After Becki Scott won her Olympic gold in Salt Lake City it seemed to spark a sudden improvement in the Canadian women's performance. I think Dev and Alex's race today is breaking the international ice for Canadian men. Both have already had phenomenal results at the Vancouver Olympics and Tour de Ski this year, and I think these results today will really benefit the entire team. It gives a confidence that they have the skills to win and the Euro's ARE beatable! I'm looking forward to the rest of World Champs and Sochi in 2014!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Bronze wraps up the week!
BC finished the week strong with a gold medal in the women's relay and a bronze for the men's side! Alberta had a favored team, winning by a comfortable 15 seconds( in the 4X 5km) and I was in a sprint finish for 2nd with Quebec in the anchor leg. I skied the last leg with Etienne Richard and passed the line a second behind him. It was a nice way to finish the week on the podium with team mates Matt Wylie, Joey Burton and Geoffrey Richards. I was upset to lose a position in the final meters but was happy to start my leg with less pressure knowing I was on the podium. It keeps me hungry and every mistake has a lesson!
Results below!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Canada Winter Games
Results from the 10km Mens Skate race: http://cg2011.gems.pro/Result/Event_TI_I_O.aspx?Event_GUID=81c4885f-68a4-4d82-8594-a11787c2b6cd&SetLanguage=en-CA&SetLanguage=en-CA
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Lake Placid North American Cup #6/ European Championship Trials
Qualifying for the European Championships (Ridnaun, Italy) has been my goal all year! The team selection was this weekend in Lake Placid, New York and was based on two races (sprint/pursuit). I relied completely on my skiing to carry me through some "rough" shooting and finish 3rd qualified, behind National Team members Marc-andre Bedard and Tyson Smith. The tour includes:
1. European Championships U26, Ridnaun, ITA., Feb.21-27
2. Alpen Cup, ITA, March 4-6
3. IBU Cup #8, Annecy, FRA, March 10-13
It would be my first senior tour with the Canadian Team and would be an amazing opportunity to perform at an international level. It would be the highest level I have competed at and would give me a good indication of the level I am aiming to reach. I'm skiing well and if I had my best races on the tour, I could be eligible for national team carding ($$$)! Everything seems perfect right? Unfortunately, the tour came with a $5500 team fees. This was a deciding factor in my heart breaking decision that I couldn't afford to attend. I hope to never use money as an excuse again, especially if it means turning down an international opportunity to perform! The costs of daily living, eating, training, and equipment are all an athletes responsibility. I receive less than a thousand dollars a year from my National sport organization which is even more than most athletes. I think its unrealistic for a 21-year-old full-time athlete to write a five thousand dollar check and not be worried about finances! This decision has increased my bitter-ness towards how sport is so insignificant in Canada and how expensive it is to reach your goals!
For the rest of the season I have Halifax 2011 Canada Winter Games, Cross Country Nationals (Canmore), Biathlon Nationals (Charlo, NB) and Biathlon North American Championships (Callaghan Valley, BC) in my schedule. I am excited to ski as fast as I can and leave all the money problems behind!
Check out the results from this weekend and leave a comment if you have an opinion!!
Overall Trial Results: http://nybiathlon.org/blog/?p=781
Pursuit Results: http://nybiathlon.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/noram6-pursuit1.pdf
1. European Championships U26, Ridnaun, ITA., Feb.21-27
2. Alpen Cup, ITA, March 4-6
3. IBU Cup #8, Annecy, FRA, March 10-13
It would be my first senior tour with the Canadian Team and would be an amazing opportunity to perform at an international level. It would be the highest level I have competed at and would give me a good indication of the level I am aiming to reach. I'm skiing well and if I had my best races on the tour, I could be eligible for national team carding ($$$)! Everything seems perfect right? Unfortunately, the tour came with a $5500 team fees. This was a deciding factor in my heart breaking decision that I couldn't afford to attend. I hope to never use money as an excuse again, especially if it means turning down an international opportunity to perform! The costs of daily living, eating, training, and equipment are all an athletes responsibility. I receive less than a thousand dollars a year from my National sport organization which is even more than most athletes. I think its unrealistic for a 21-year-old full-time athlete to write a five thousand dollar check and not be worried about finances! This decision has increased my bitter-ness towards how sport is so insignificant in Canada and how expensive it is to reach your goals!
For the rest of the season I have Halifax 2011 Canada Winter Games, Cross Country Nationals (Canmore), Biathlon Nationals (Charlo, NB) and Biathlon North American Championships (Callaghan Valley, BC) in my schedule. I am excited to ski as fast as I can and leave all the money problems behind!
Check out the results from this weekend and leave a comment if you have an opinion!!
Overall Trial Results: http://nybiathlon.org/blog/?p=781
Pursuit Results: http://nybiathlon.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/noram6-pursuit1.pdf
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Top 10 Results from Lake Placid IBU Cup Trials
Senior Men
Name/PS/Finish Time
1. Nathan Smith (0,0) 0:28:45
2. Marc-andre Bedard (0,1) 0:28:55
3. Russell Currier (1, 2) 0:30:12
4. Wynn Roberts (0, 2) 0:30:23
5. Tyson Smith (0, 0) 0:30:31
6. Zachary Hall (1, 1) 0:30:31
7. Matt Neumann (1, 2) 0:30:42
8. Beau Thompson (1, 2) 0:31:52
9. Joel Pacas (1, 2) 0:31:53
10. Patrick Cote (0, 3) 0:32:48
Name/PS/Finish Time
1. Nathan Smith (0,0) 0:28:45
2. Marc-andre Bedard (0,1) 0:28:55
3. Russell Currier (1, 2) 0:30:12
4. Wynn Roberts (0, 2) 0:30:23
5. Tyson Smith (0, 0) 0:30:31
6. Zachary Hall (1, 1) 0:30:31
7. Matt Neumann (1, 2) 0:30:42
8. Beau Thompson (1, 2) 0:31:52
9. Joel Pacas (1, 2) 0:31:53
10. Patrick Cote (0, 3) 0:32:48
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Calforex/Noram #3 Canmore
My first official biathlon race of the season! January 8th and 9th. I had a 3rd place finish in Saturday's 10km Mens Sprint and a 2nd place finish in Sunday's 12.5km Mens Pursuit. I had satisfactory races with medium shooting (77%) and medium skiing. I felt I gave a huge effort in my skiing but just wasn't going as fast as I can. It was enough to make some prize money and keep me hungry for the next Biathlon race IBU Cup Trials/Noram #5 in Lake Placid, New York (January 29th/30th).
Sprint Results: http://www.biathloncanada.ca/dbfiles/1361.pdf
Pursuit Results: http://www.biathloncanada.ca/dbfiles/1363.pdf
Photo credit to Sylvain Beaudry
Pursuit Results: http://www.biathloncanada.ca/dbfiles/1363.pdf
Photo credit to Sylvain Beaudry
A New Beginning
I’ve been cut down and grown more in the last four months than the last 20 years of my life. I wouldn’t be able to create what has happened since I moved to Canmore, but the New Year has started and so have more growing and more goals. Since the day I first shot a gun 11 years ago, I’ve had to work to move ahead. I’ve endlessly prayed that money or speed or skills would fall into my lap, but I’ve grown to realize, if you want it, YOU have to earn it, and it feels so much better than been given to you. I am chasing my dreams and personal goals, but I also rely on a supporting structure of my parents, friends, supporters and sponsors. I had a good start to the season but I’m using the New Year as a platform to start over. For 2011 I’m trying a new mindset of no excuses. No matter what surrounds me, I’m in charge of my emotions, decisions, reactions and training. There are things you can’t control and it took me 21 years to realize (start to realize) that you actually can’t control them. For 2011 I’m concerning myself with my training, my goals, my health and my happiness.
I’m pursuing the New Year with few result oriented goals, but a sharp image of where I want to go. I have IBU Cup Trials in Lake Placid, Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Canadian National Biathlon Championships in New Brunswick and Canadian Nation Cross country Championships here in Canmore just to name a few. I am focusing on technical aspects of my skiing and shooting as well as some shooting percentage goals. I am confident the results will follow. My big goal (the reason I continue to put up with minimal income, freezing hands, sore muscles, burning lungs and horrible weather) is still the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi Russia.
Cheers and Happy New Year!
Friday, January 7, 2011
New Boots for the New Year!
2010 ESK Elite Carbon Skate and the ECL Elite Carbon Classic
Ive been skiing on Alpina for three years and 2010/2011 will be my first year sponsored! A big thank you for their support and I look forward to trying out the new boots! check them out at www.alpinasports.com!
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