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Masters World Cup comes to Canmore Nordic Centre

“We have 728 skiers coming to Canmore for a week of competition and camaraderie. We are very excited to have such a diverse group of skiers in terms of age and nationality. The Masters World Cup 2020 event in Italy was cancelled and the 2021 event was postponed to this year. We see a pent-up demand for this group to get back to racing and enjoying being part of a dynamic and fun movement.”
20210112 Nordic Centre 0397
Nordic skiers ski along the Banff trail in the evening under the lights at the Canmore Nordic Centre on Jan. 12, 2021. The Masters World Cup will run from March 4-11, with more than 700 skiers from 18 different countries taking part in the championship event hosted by the Alberta World Cup Society. EVAN BUHLER RMO PHOTO

CANMORE – The Canmore Nordic Centre will be buzzing for the next week.

The Masters World Cup will run from March 4-11, with more than 700 skiers from 18 different countries taking part in the championship event hosted by the Alberta World Cup Society.

The annual event has the top masters age cross country skiers, ranging from 30 to 89 years old compete in three individual distance races and the opportunity to represent their country on a relay team.

“We have 728 skiers coming to Canmore for a week of competition and camaraderie,” said Greg Thompson, organizing committee chair for the Masters World Cup in a media release. “We are very excited to have such a diverse group of skiers in terms of age and nationality.

“The Masters World Cup 2020 event in Italy was cancelled and the 2021 event was postponed to this year. We see a pent-up demand for this group to get back to racing and enjoying being part of a dynamic and fun movement.”

The athletes began trickling into the valley on Feb. 21, but the majority arrived on March 2-3. The unofficial training day was on March 3, while the official training day and opening ceremonies are March 4.

The races begin on March 5 and continue until March 11, with relay day being on March 9. The opening ceremonies will take place at 5:30 p.m. and the closing ceremonies will be on March 11 at 7 p.m. with both being at the Canmore Civic Centre.The awards ceremonies will happen March, 5-7, 9-10 at 5:30 p.m. The event is run by about 180 volunteers and spectators are allowed in the stadium and the course.

The event was supposed to be held in Canmore in 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canmore previously hosted the prestigious event in 1995.

The provincial budget that was released on Feb. 24 also had $17.5 million earmarked for upgrades such as replacing the biathlon building, the stadium and refreshing infrastructure to help snow-making capabilities and storage capacity.

The Nordic centre features two national teams – Biathlon Canada and Nordiq Canada – and has several Olympians and Paralympians train at the facility that was built for the 1988 Winter Olympics. Alberta Alpine is also based out of the facility.

The Alberta World Cup Society’s mandate includes bringing as many high level competitive events to compete at the Nordic centre.

“We have an excellent track record of bringing World Cup Cross-Country Ski events to Canmore, having held 6 FIS World Cups and 3 Para-Nordic World Cups since the 2005 Alberta Centennial World Cup,” said Norbert Meier, the events chair for the Alberta World Cup Society. “Our facilities continue to be among the best in the world and we appreciate the hard work done by the Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park staff working with our event team to achieve the highest international standard of hosting excellence.”

For a full schedule of events, visit: www.albertaworldcup.com.

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