OTTAWA, ONT.: Emma Archibald has had quite the start to her 2022-2023 skiing season with the University of Ottawa.
Archibald, a Lockview High alum, and Fall River product, won double gold last weekend at the Candy Cane Cup (Eastern Canada Cup), hosted by Nakkertok Nordic Ski Centre in Gatineau, Que.
Races were organized on a 1.2 km sprint and a 2 km distance course, on the homologated “Nakkertrak” training and race loop, which is supported by artificial snowmaking.
Known as the Candy Cane Cup, this racing event is part of the Nordiq Canada Eastern Canada Cup series, the Ontario Cup, and the Quebec Cup.
Provincial Team alumni, Maggie McClure and Colin Ward, members of the Carleton U Ravens Varsity Nordic Ski Team, also delivered strong results.
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At that race more than 580 racers from across 55 clubs in the U.S. and Eastern Canada took part.
On Dec. 10, Archibald took gold in the 1.2 Kilometre Para Nordic Standing Class Sprint race.
The next day, Dec. 11, she claimed gold again, this time in the Para Nordic Standing Skate five-kilometre distance race.
“Emma had a fantastic weekend of racing – her dedication to the sport is evident as her technique has improved so much since last year at this same event,” said University of Ottawa Nordiq Ski Team head coach Sheila Kealey.
The next race for Archibald will be the US. Nationals from Jan. 2-3, 2023 .
Information on it can be found here: https://my.raceresult.com/224346/info
At the U.S. Nationals, Archibald will get internationally classified. This means there will be a qualified person at this major race, who can classify her to race internationally.
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And there’s more for Archibald. She has been named to the National Para Nordic Prospects Team.
What this does is put her in the national stream of athletes training for the Paralympics.
Archibald will have the opportunity to go to training camps throughout the year and receive support from high-level coaches for races (logistics, waxing on-site, etc.).
She will have the opportunity to be coached by high-level coaches.
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An example of this is the last training camp she went to in November she received tips from Brian McKeever (Canada’s most decorated PN athlete).
Her coach, Graham Nishikawa, competed as an able-bodied skier at the World Cup level, and went on to be a guide for Brian McKeever, winning medals at multiple Olympics and World Championships.
Archibald is also a candidate to represent Nova Scotia at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in P.E.I. The team has not been announced as of Dec. 16.
