The second xc-ski event of the Youth Olympic Games took place today at Seefeld, Austria, a skating sprint.

Maya MacIssac-Jones(M-J) qualified 15th behind Silje Theodorsen of Norway, to move on to the quarterfinals.

Matthew Saurette was 23rd in men's qualifying, as another Norwegian, Andreas Molden was the top men's qualifier.

Maya MacIsaac-Jones and Matt Saurette are off to the Youth Olympics in Austria.

Photograph by: Rick MacWilliam, edmontonjournal.com

For results, copy and paste the following in to your browser: http://www.innsbruck2012.com/en/sports/disciplines/cross-country_skiing

These and other trail conditions are updated regularly so check the Quick links Trail conditions on the right of the CCA web page

The Hornbeck Cross Country Ski Trails were groomed and trackset Wednesday December21st. We have a good base of snow and have had a few centimeters of newsnow in the past week. Temperatures have been fluctuating, with some verywarm and windy days. Conditions are generally good to very good forclassical and skate skiing, though there are some sections with dirty snow fromthe warm winds.

I will be away for a week, so in my absence contact Ralph Rix at 780-723-5145...

2012 Midget Championships:

This year, most divisions will host a Midget Championships. This event gives skiers between 10 and 13 years of age the opportunity to participate in high quality races in a relaxed atmosphere among friends. In addition it allows young athletes to live a real "sport fraternity" experience, and is a great opportunity to develop racers. For more information on how to host these popular events, contact your division office.

Plans are well underway for the 2012 Alberta Youth Cross Country Ski Championships being held in Bragg Creek, AB from March 2-4, 2012. You are invited to participate with children from your club in this event. The hope is that as a ski community we can build this event into a meaningful and important event for 10-14 year olds from all over the province. To do this, the organizing committee have taken the best parts of many successful events such as the Quebec Midget Championships, Alberta Winter Games, and bundled them into this event. Food services (5 meals) plus accommodation (at the Kiwanis...

Kershaw, a native of Sudbury, Ont., is an amazing athlete in a sport that doesn't get a ton of play in Canada. That said, cross-country skiing is the most-contested winter sport of all in Europe. It's tough to win, which is what Kershaw did with some amazing regularity in 2011. First, there was the Tour de Ski through Germany and Italy. Kershaw won medals in four of the 10 stages and took one gold. Then he combined with Alex Harvey in the team sprint to win Canada's first-ever gold medal at the world championships before 100,000 fans in Oslo, Norway. Simply put, Devon Kershaw is one of the best...

The Northern Sport, Culture and Recreation District (NSCRD) is seeking two individuals for the seasonal positions of Grass Roots Fieldworker and Competitive Coach/Fieldworker in the sport of cross country skiing. Positions in Ski Fit North run from December 2011 to March 2012. For more information, please link to www.nscrd.com to our Ski Fit North Employment Ad and call Gabriel Thompson at NSCRD at (306)-425-3127 Ext. 4 or email at gthompson@nscrd.com. Deadline is Friday December 2 2011.

In an effort to provide Canada's nordic athletes with the ability to train on snow at home in October, the Frozen Thunder initiative stored enough snow last spring to cover two kilometres of trail in a large pile under a thick layer of sawdust, used to insulate it during the summer months. The Canmore Nordic Centre, which is the first facility in North America to take on the initiative, became the first nordic venue on the continent to open (October 15) for training and recreational enjoyment.

The Alberta Loppet Series is underway again in 2012! The ALS will highlight 14 loppets throughout Alberta, for people of all ages and abilities to participate in and enjoy.

Prizes provided by Mountain Equipment Co-op will be awarded based on participation, and will be announced at the end of the season. The more events you attend, the better your chances of winning!

Cross Country Alberta has a vacancy on its Board of Directors for the position of Events and Scheduling Director.

An opportunity exists to represent Cross Country Alberta on the Board of the Alberta World Cup Society.

CCA is also looking for individuals for an ad hoc bylaw review committee.

Expressions of interest for these positions may be forwarded to CCA's Chairperson - Vaughn McGrath (chairperson@xcountryab.net) by October 20, 2011.