by CBC News, Colleen Jones, February 23, 2021 (CBC News Facebook Post)
Colleen Jones, CBC News, reports on the growth of cross-country skiing across Nova Scotia during COVID-19. As featured on CBC evening news on February 23, 2021. View the video to enjoy ski scenes from across the province, along with interviews featuring key people involved in our sport.
Video
CBC Nova Scotia video, Colleen Jones reporting (video link).
Video Text Highlights
At Haliburton House in Windsor, you’ll find so much more than history here. Meet Bekah Craik, she’s responsible for active living ideas throughout all of West Hants. They’ve just opened groomed trails at this historic site.
“Stunning. It’s so beautiful going around all of the sink holes and through the old growth forest and the field, it’s beautiful.”
Bekah Craik | Active Communities Programmer | Municipality of the District of West Hants
“The growth is enormous.” That’s Lorenzo Caterini, president of Halifax Nordic Ski Club. He’s been busy bringing groomed trails to Oakfield Golf Course, Paragon Golf Course, Brunello, and now here at the Haliburton House site.
Cross-country skiing has become the it sport?
“It’s the perfect storm. We’ve been doing good grooming for a few years. Everybody’s in Nova Scotia. The snowbirds can’t go away. It’s just the perfect confluence of events where all of a sudden there’s tripple to five times the amount of people outdoors, as there used to be.”
Lorenzo Caterini | President | Halifax Nordic Ski Club
Meanwhile at Brunello golf course, they’ve had groomed trails for a few years now, COVID has brought even more people out.
“It’s a good escape from the house, and it’s definitely positive. We have about 11 kilometres of trails.”
Chris Carlaw | Manager | Links at Brunello
Shawna Krisuski and Tamara Monroe are out for the first time on their skis with their dogs.
“I think just in general people wanting to do stuff outdoors in the winter where they normally wouldn’t. It’s definitely something that people are more into since you can COVID distance, as well as, just experience things that we’re not allowed to go on trips.”
Tamara Monroe
Same trend in Cape Breton where cross-country skiing has always been big. I find Daniel Murray, the provincial coach, in Sydney.
“People have been coming to me asking where can I find skis.”
John Hudec is the president of Cape Breton Nordic.
“This is the year. This is a social distancing sport. It’s been a good promotional tool. Because getting outside and doing things outside is probably the safest way to be active this winter.”
John Hudec | President | Cape Breton Nordic
Now that they have record numbers trying their sport, they want to keep them outdoors and on their skis forever.
Colleen Jones, CBC News Halifax.
Photo Highlights from Video
Links
Cross Country Nova Scotia 