The head coach of the Alberta cross-country ski team is busy doing the snow dance with the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games only two weeks away.
“You’ve got to believe it and it involves ski boots and poles,” laughed Holly Burton, an occupational therapist from Calgary. “I know there is a lack of snow, but I really hope that the St. Albert venue is good to go for the Games.”
The unseasonably warm weather is a major concern for the Games organizers with 87 skiers scheduled to make tracks at Kingswood Park during the seventh annual national winter festival for athletes with an intellectual disability.
The four-day competition starts Feb. 29 and there are no plans to bring in or create snow if the problem persists. In charge of the trails is the St. Albert Nordic Ski Club.
“We can’t control the conditions and the weather, but what we can control is that each person does the best that he or she can and has fun too,” Burton said.
Alberta will be represented by 11 skiers, from teenagers to 50-year-old Trevor Boardman of Calgary.
“We have athletes who have only been cross-country skiing for a few years and we have athletes who have been skiing for many years and have really honed their technique,” Burton said. “Spectators will be able to see the skiers going around in loops and what they will see for sure is focus and effort.”
The majority have raced at various national and world championships.
“There is some built-in leadership,” Burton said. “What I’ve really noticed about this group is how they’ve gelled as a team.”
Ten of the skiers train together once a week in Calgary. The other skier, Kirsten Hudson, hails from Edmonton. They gathered last month in St. Albert and in early February in Canmore for team training sessions.
“It’s been challenging getting together where there is snow,” Burton said. “It’s been a bit of a solitary time in some ways for people just because they’ve had to train on their own, but when they’ve come together as a team they’re really cheering for one another. They’re a pretty positive group of individuals.”
Over four days the skiers will race for medals in a variety of distances, ranging from 100 metres to 10 kilometres in both classic and free technique.
“This is a group of athletes who put forward their best effort always and I don’t expect any less at the Games,” Burton said. “I believe they will rise to the occasion. They have and did so at provincials so that enabled them to be selected to the provincial team.”
Coaching at previous nationals in Quebec City and Ottawa was an emotional experience for Burton.
“I had to bring tissues,” she said. “They’re there to compete but they’re there to cheer on their fellow competitors too. There isn’t a sense of one over the other but let us all do our best.
“They’re also there because they want to be there and they love the sport. They’re really a joy to work with. They respond to coaching and they really do put forth their best effort. It’s awesome.”
Burton joined the Special Olympics movement by answering an ad for volunteers.
“I thought that would be a good reason to get out and meet people and keep active in the winter,” said the former Whitehorse resident. “It’s a great organization.”
