Skip to main content

For Immediate Release – February 16, 2021

Canada emerged as a nordic powerhouse at U23 World Junior Champs in Finland and now Black Tusk Nordic Events Society is poised to host the event in Whistler in 2023!

The 2021 FIS Junior and U23 Nordic Ski Championships wrapped up this past weekend in Vuokatti, Finland and Canadian skiers made our nation proud with stellar results! Canada is emerging as a Nordic powerhouse; highlights include a bronze medal for Olivier Leveille in the 10km skate, Tom Stephen had a fifth place in the men’s 30 km classic race, and Canada had great success with three relay teams who placed in the top ten: Junior men skied to 6th, junior women to 9th and the U23 mixed relay squad placed 9th as well.

Olivier Leveille celebrates after historic bronze

Nine of the 20 athletes on the squad were from BC!

Juniors:
  • Joe Davies (Whistler Nordic Ski Club, Whistler)
  • Jasmine Drolet (Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club, Rossland)
  • Molly Miller (Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club, Kimberley)
  • Alexandra Luxmoore (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, Revelstoke)
U23s:
  • Elizabeth Elliott (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, Revelstoke)
  • Hannah Mehain (Sovereign Lake Nordic Club, Vernon)
  • Rémi Drolet (Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club, Rossland)
  • Annika Richardson (Hollyburn Cross Country Ski Club, North Vancouver)
  • Beth Granstrom (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, Revelstoke)

You can see the full results here:

https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/event-details.html?sectorcode=CC&eventid=48553&seasoncode=2021

U23 and Junior Women Training in Voukatti

Norman Laube, Chair of Black Tusk Nordic Events Society had the following to say:

 “What an amazing showing for Team Canada at the World Juniors in Finland. Following our Silver Medal performance in the Junior Men’s relay at the 2020 World’s in Germany, our athletes continue to move up the charts with fantastic results. Olivier’s Bronze Medal in the 10km skate followed by Tom’s 5th place in the 30km classic were outstanding results. The entire team posted solid finishes in the individual and relay events. Many of these athletes will still be eligible in the Junior and U23 categories when we host the World Championships at Whistler Olympic Park in January 2023. We are looking forward to giving our athletes the home venue advantage.”

Norman Laube, Chairperson – Black Tusk Nordic Events Society
Antoine Cyr – U23 15km Skate

In preparing to host the 2023 World Junior/U23 Nordic Championships and the two large preceding events a major task for Black Tusk Nordic Events Society is to ensure that adequate financial support is in place. While we still have a long way to go, our early fundraising has seen good success with both the BC provincial government and Sport Canada showing solid support and a growing number of generous private donations providing an encouraging start. If you are interested in supporting us, please contact Reid Carter at [email protected]. The society is also appreciative of donations and they can be made here (select Black Tusk
Nordic Events Society-donations over $20 will receive a tax receipt): https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/Cross-CountrySkidefondCanada/club- donation.html.

See more details on our website www.blacktusknordic.com. For all media inquiries contact Jeneen Sutherland at [email protected].

Black Tusk Nordic Events Society focuses on encouraging sport excellence to the World Championship and Olympic levels by hosting FIS sanctioned Cross Country, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined competitions at Whistler Olympic Park. They are committed to fostering community and driving economic opportunities for Nordic sports in the Sea to Sky corridor of British Columbia, Canada. Between now and 2023, they will host a variety of events in preparation for the 2023 FIS Nordic Junior/U23 World Ski Championships. www.blacktusknordic.com

Leave a Reply