Whitehorse Daily Star

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GOLDEN GIRL – Emily Nishikawa returned from the World Cup circuit to win gold for the Yukon at the 2015 Haywood Ski Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ont. Photo courtesy of MARTIN KAISER

Nishikawa joins Yukon ski team, scores gold

The Yukon’s top cross-country skier parachuted into the national championships Tuesday – and immediately earned the territory its second gold medal.

By Marcel Vander Wier on March 20, 2015

The Yukon’s top cross-country skier parachuted into the national championships Tuesday – and immediately earned the territory its second gold medal.

Emily Nishikawa, 25, outraced fellow national team member Perianne Jones to win the 10-kilometre open women classic ski race at the 2015 Haywood Ski Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Her time of 31:36.2 bested Jones by just two seconds.

The medal was the Yukon’s second gold of the event, following Dahria Beatty’s golden effort on Sunday.

Annah Hanthorn added to the medal tally with a bronze Tuesday in the 10-km junior women classic event with a time of 33:35.1.

Other than those performances, the Yukon ski team appears to be struggling with fatigue courtesy of the 2015 Canada Winter Games, said coach Alain Masson.

“Some of our top skiers are feeling the effects of the Canada Games,” he said today. “They’re not coming into the championship as fresh and energetic as they may have in the past.

“But doing really well at the Canada Games is more important, as it happens just once every four years.”

The future continues to look bright, Masson noted, as the team’s younger skiers have logged some impressive results.

Competition wraps up tomorrow and members of the team will return home to Whitehorse on Sunday.

Whitehorse is currently ranked fourth and still has a shot at third place.

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Meanwhile, the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club has launched a month-long initiative in an effort to help chart the facility’s future.

The club is seeking input from its 1,300 members and other winter users of the Mt. McIntyre trails via an online survey that will conclude with group dialogue evenings in mid-April.

“The club is wrestling with some big issues, including the increasing use of the winter trail system at Mt. McIntyre by other non-motorized users, such as snowshoers and snow bikers,” club president Craig Thur said in a press release.

“The club wants to consider feedback on how we can evolve and ... how we could adapt to other uses,” Thur said.

“Our operations and maintenance costs have increased as the club has grown and we need to ensure financial sustainability for the next 10 years and beyond.”

Thur recently married longtime club member Hayley Henderson on the ski club trails on March 8.

The online survey is www.surveymonkey.com/s/imaginewccsc2. The survey asks questions about users’ activities on the club’s trails, thoughts on the club’s services and costs, and expectations for the future.

The survey will close April 9 and will be followed by a World Café format evening of fun, food and brainstorming that night from 7 to 9 p.m. in the club’s Grey Mountain Room.

The ski club especially wants to hear from youth members and users.

Everyone who takes part in the survey or the brainstorming meetings will be eligible to enter a draw for one of two club season passes for next year.

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