The Fernie Nordic Society has been talking for a few years about the need to establish a ‘home base’ for our Club. They have seen significant growth in our Kids Skill Development programs, with 67 kids participating this year. 9 new coaches join our team this year alone – this almost doubles the number of coaches from last year. Membership is growing and there is increasing excitement around the sport of cross country skiing.
Acknowledging that creating a home base for the Fernie Nordic Society is no easy task, the Board of Directors in 2012 set out in developing a phased process by which the development of a nordic centre would be guided. They envision Fernie hosting high-level races of regional, Provincial and National scale. They see kids program expanding, membership growing and nordic skiing becoming another draw for visitors to the community.
The Board of Directors has committed to following a process that is professional and methodical. They are conscious of the generous funding we have received, the donations from the public and countless hours of time that our volunteers put into coaching, programs and grooming. To that end, they want to ensure every dollar spent on this project is being used as effectively as possible.
They have recently gone through a careful competitive bidding process to identify a trail designer to help us priortise and design trail options for nordic skiing. They are pleased to bring Reidar Zapf-Gilje to work with us on trail design options. Reidar is one of the country’s top nordic trail designers. He has designed over a dozen club ski trails in British Columbia alone, working with non-profit organizations like the Fernie Nordic Society to design trails that meet Cross Country Canada’s criteria to host races to a national level. Most recently notable, Reidar completed the design and layout for the Olympic Legacy trails at Whistler Olympic Park, the design of the Paralympic Cross Country trails for the 2010 Olympic bid package and was involved in the review of the 2010 Olympic Centre nordic trails. Reidar brings a wealth of experience and a passion for design of community trails systems. We look forward to working with Reidar to identify opportunities for the Fernie Nordic Society as we move into the first phase of our planning process.
Stay tuned for more information as they proceed with Phase 1. They’re excited to be embarking on this journey and hope you’ll join us, skis in hand, for what’s sure to be an exciting ride!
