When the 2006 Northwestel Western Canadian Cross Country Ski Championships got underway at Mount McIntyre this past weekend, two questions hung in the air how would Yukon skiers compare against their counterparts and would Whitehorse pass the next in a long line of tests for the 2007 Canada Winter Games?

On Tuesday, as the final awards were handed out following the long-distance skating event, two things became clear the future of Yukon skiing looks incredibly bright and Cross Country Yukon will certainly be ready for 2007.

The Yukon Ski Team finished with 33 medals at Westerns, 10 of them gold, and local favourite Graham Nishikawa, who is a member of the national team and trains in Alberta, clinched the Canada Cup title the championships are also part of the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup Race Series.

The title means Nishikawa, who picked up gold in the open men's 10-km classic Sunday and gold in the open men's 15-km free Tuesday, has a spot reserved for him at the World Cup races next fall. Whether or not he attends those races will be up to Cross Country Canada, but no matter what, the victory is 'something good to have on your resume.

'I've never won it before,' said the modest athlete, who capped a great season which also included World Cup races in Alberta and B.C. in January. 'I'm definitely right there (along side the top skiers in Canada). The best two guys weren't here this week and it's difficult to judge because everybody is really tired since it's the end of the season. It's just a nice bonus for me.

'Racing at home and winning here is a lot of fun. I'm right in there with all the Olympians, so I'm definitely hoping to carry this momentum into next year.'

Two of Canada's Olympic male cross-country skiers, Drew Goldsack and Dan Roycroft, competed against Nishikawa at Westerns. Chris Jeffries, along with female Olympian Amanda Amar, was supposed to take part but pulled out at the last minute.

The University of Alaska also sent a couple of their strongest male skiers, making the field 'very impressive' for a western championship, said Chief of Race Claude Chabot.

'The quality of competition was wonderful. The national team, obviously we already knew they're awesome skiers and we expected that, but we had great skiers from everywhere. It shows there's an awful lot of talent.

'If this is any indication, we can say the future of Canadian skiing is assured.'

From those in the open men's category right down to the mini-midget males and females, there were strong performances for Yukon skiers in particular. Emily Nishikawa, Graham's younger sister, and Bryn Knight collected several medals in the junior girls category including a gold for Emily in the sprint races.

Janelle Greer grabbed two gold and a silver in the juvenile girls division while Fabian Brook took home two gold medals in mini-midget boys action. Dahria Beatty also picked up two gold medals, as well as a silver, and Heidi Brook won a gold and a bronze.

'I had a pretty good classic race the first day (bronze),' said Heidi. 'It probably wasn't my best ski, but it was fun. I've never been strong in sprints, but this week, I did pretty good (sixth). (The long-distance free) was probably one of my best races all year.'

The comfort of being at home and the familiarity with the facilities may have played a role in some of the Yukoners' success. Graham pointed out earlier in the week it was also nice for the local skiers to have so many spectators cheering them on, especially for the final two races on Monday and Tuesday, when the weather was more co-operative.

'My biggest fear was the weather and finally it broke for us,' said Chabot. 'I can't imagine a nicer day (Tuesday) to finish everything off. I think our out of town visitors actually can't believe they're in the Yukon now.'

Graham was proud of the job done by his hometown in hosting the event, calling the trails at Mount McIntyre 'amazing,' especially with the lack of snow this year. He said every national team member he talked to thought the long-distance free, or skate, course is 'one of the fastest courses in Canada for sure.'

'It's more of a good race course whereas Canmore (Alberta) is more straight strength.'

Edmonton's Tara Whitten, who was the top female skier of the competition, winning the Gord Taylor Memorial Award along with Graham, said the Northwestel Westerns were a great way to finish off the season.

'It's been amazing. Canada Games are going to be awesome here next year. The trails are great and the volunteers did an unbelievable job.'

Chabot said all of the feedback he received from the athletes and coaches over the course of the championships was positive. He said officials with Cross Country Yukon will obviously have to do a bit of fine-tuning before 2007, but there will be no major changes needed.

'Our stadium design is beautiful. It's perfect for spectators and it makes for some extra exciting finishes, for both the spectators and the skiers too. The plans we had worked very well. Obviously, we can always do better, but there's just small things left.

'We're ready for the Canada Games. Bring em on.'

Here are the results of Tuesday's free races:

Open Men 15-km Free

1. Graham Nishikawa, 37:03.1

2. Dan Roycroft, 37:03.3

3. Erik Carleton, 37:04.2

4. Gordon Jewett, 37:31.0

5. Brian Gregg, 37:31.7

Masters Men 15-km Free

1. Bobby Burton, 44:51.3

2. Marcus Waterreus, 45:20.0

3. Roderick Leighton, 47:58.8

4. Scott Fraser, 47:59.1

5. Scott Gilbert, 53:03.1

Open Women 10-km Free

1. Tara Whitten, 32:10.4

2. Brittany Webster, 32:21.3

3. Rhonda Sandau, 32:38.9

4. Tasha Betcherman, 32:40.5

5. Jacqui Benson, 32:55.5

Masters Women 10-km Free

1. Margaret Hillhouse, 42:10.8

2. Andrea Wulf, 44:21.3

3. Liza Holdyk, 47:22.5

4. Cheryl Brown, 53:30.3

5. Christine Birnie, 55:38.7

Junior Boys 7.5-km Free

1. Lex Treinen, 21:23.6

2. Curtis Merry, 21:24.1

3. David Greer, 21:24.5

4. David Norris, 21:27.3

5. Georg Jalkotzy, 21:28.0

Junior Girls 7.5-km Free

1. Amy Glen, 25:20.1

2. Emily Nishikawa, 25:48.4

3. Bryn Knight, 25:48.8

4. Zoe Braul, 26:21.8

5. Sarah Murray, 26:46.0

Juvenile Boys 7.5-km Free

1. Tristan Flock, 22:29.9

2. Nansen Murray, 22:45.2

3. Logan Potter, 22:46.0

4. Alistair Hardy-Poirier, 22:56.8

5. Joey Burton, 23:00.3

Juvenile Girls

1. Caitlin Patterson, 14:04.9

2. Janelle Greer, 14:07.3

3. Andrea Lee, 14:31.7

4. Allyson Cummings, 14:35.9

5. Brittany Smith, 14:36.1

Midget Boys 2.5-km Free

1. Eric Ryan, 7:22.7

2. Scott Patterson, 7:24.3

3. Cole Hetherington, 7:39.5

4. Jeff Wood, 7:40.0

5. Silas Talbot, 7:40.6

Midget Girls 2.5-km Free

1. Heidi Brook, 8:21.9

2. Samantha Reid, 8:42.9

3. Megan Hall, 8:45.1

4. Laura Norman, 8:49.5

5. Breanne McClusky, 9:00.6

Mini-Midget Boys 2.5-km Free

1. Fabian Brook, 8:46.8

2. Jake Burton, 10:11.8

3. Anatole Tuzlak, 10:22.9

4. Trevor Bray, 11:38.2

5. Dylan Meikle, 13:04.5

Mini-Midget Girls 2.5-km Free

1. Dahria Beatty, 8:38.3

2. Marie-Louise Roy, 10:46.9

3. Holly Bull, 11:18.3

4. Elizabeth Roy, 10:46.9

5. Emily Wilson, 14:00.8