Local skiers compete at Canadian Birkebeiner event

Left to right: Lakeland area skiers Nicholas Agnemark, Kurt Poulin, Pierre Lamoureux, and Vincent Mannion at the Canadian Birkebeiner event on Saturday, Feb. 8. Image credit: Monique Poulin.

Local cross-country skiers took part in a massive competition in early February that begins at the Ukrainian Village.

The Canadian Birkebeiner cross-country ski meet advertises itself as the country’s premier classic style cross-country ski festival.

And it’s impressive, with over a thousand skiers ranging from 10 to 84-years-old, gathering for different race lengths.

These races range from 7KM to a 31KM run, to a monster 55KM.

“You live in a winter country, you have to do something in the winter,” said Rene Champagne, a veteran skier from the Lakeland.

He’s been going to this event for years and marvels at the take-off, where hundreds gather and set off all at once.

This year, Champagne did the 31KM run and it took him four years.

Not bad for an 84-year-old. In fact, Champagne was the oldest skier there.

“This year, I was the only one in my age group, the 80-plus group,” he told Lakeland Connect. “It’s really quite impressive when you see all those people out there.”

Champagne aims to ski 1000KM a year and it’s made easier that he’s helped create trails that begin right on his property, that other skiers also use.

The Lakeland Cross-Country Ski Club is driven by volunteers who maintain trails at the St. Paul Golf Course and the Westcove Municipal Recreation Area in the County of St. Paul.

Also, the Bonnyville Nordic Ski Club is quite active. Les Parsons, a ski instructor that lived in the Lakeland for a few years, also proclaimed the opportunity that local ski enthusiasts have at their disposal here.

The Muriel Lake trails are always a big hit.