As you know Scotland is beginning to relax many of its Covid rules.  The main things that effect us as a club is that the ski centre is beginning to open and the rules will also permit 30 people to take part in organised sport.  (There are further rules about how the sport must organise the sessions)

Like last summer we started sessions with the Sunday Morning Training group (rules for U18 relaxed ahead of adults & this group all have their own roller ski kit).  We have also managed to the Race Performance Group going on Wednesday nights (with youth skiers for the same reasons as the SMT).

So now we feel we can start adult session again on Thursday night.  Our first night will be Thursday 29th April.  We are offering club members to join Skate Roller Ski 101. 

Skate Roller Ski 101 will be a series of three evenings taking those that have at least been introduced to skiing or roller skiing & giving them the opportunity to enjoy stress free skate skiing.

So if you are:

a skier who has had roller skis on their feet but don’t feel comfortable

a skier who feels you could feel more confident on skate roller skis

a skier who would like to enjoy more roller skiing but feel their technique lets them down at times

anyone who wants to try skate roller skiing

Then SRS 101 is for you

To register for the first Thursday please click on the link below.

If you have (or can borrow) roller ski equipment that would be great but if you need to borrow please add the details in the registration form

Sign in before Wednesday at 18:00

Only 20 places on any evening at the moment.

Arrive at the front of the ski centre to check in at 19:15

Please keep 2 m distancing & wear mask until the start of skiing.  There will be hand sanitiser at the check in area, please use before the session and at the end.

Also bring a cycle helmet, glasses (safety/clear or sun) and gloves

Coaches this week will be Simon & Kirstie.

Click here for Registration form

For further information on Snowsport Scotland Covid rules please see…

With the Level 4 (stay at home) situation the club will not organise any activities that could lead to more than 2 households / 2 people meeting.

The Covid Team and Club Committee will keep the situation under review and send out updates and other information on club activity as things change.

Please be aware of the rules effecting the areas you live in and in particular exercise  – see

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/    “

We have also received a message from our Governing Body, Snowsport Scotland which has a summary of their advice
“The clear message from the Scottish Government, is ‘to minimise the risk of spreading the virus, you must stay at home as much as possible.’’

In light of the changes to covid tiers (Mainland moving to tier 4 in its entirety from 26th December) the Club Covid Committee has issued now guidance for both club events and for informal events which can be found on the links below:

For the next 2 club nights we have the following coached sessions

26/11
Adults  – Elizabeth is coach; Classic on mat (Starting on the hill)

Youth – Eileen & Roy coaching; Balance & Core – mat (& off ski) – swap to the downhill if need 


3/12
Adults  – Elizabeth is coach; Classic on mat (Starting on downhill)

Youth – Technical – Eileen & Roy coaching; mat classic – swap to the downhill (it is supposed to be hard session so we will do some intervals and some hard relays)
 
With everyone needing mat skis we are happy for everyone to bring their own clash skis if they want (Please note “own” in the relevant columns on the registration form.

If bringing your own boots but needing centre skis please make sure to add a “S”  (For Salomon SNS binding) or “P” (for Prolink or NNN binding)

Finally we are adjusting the registration form to ask for ski length and pole height – I think many of you have a good idea of this.

If there are any questions please contact Elizabeth or Roy.

Thank you for your support of the club during this period.

(Payment:  usual club fees of £1 for  Youth/ concession & £2 for Adults will be collected by monthly billing based on registration/ attendance)

At the moment we can continue to run the sessions we have been running.  These will be as covid secure as we can make them and we ask all who attend be patient and follow the guidance /methods we have evolved to make the sessions as safe as we can.

Please note a few conditions we have to apply to these ‘Covid Sessions’ for safety of all members.  Please respect these and stay safe.

 For sessions
1. We need to know what we need to get out of the centre hence the requirement to give shoe size & Ski size & Pole height (& if bringing own boots – the type of binding Salomon (S) or Prolink (P)

2. Arrival.  Please be as ready as you be once you’ve parked.  Head to the centre keeping 2 m.  At the centre find a free Adult or Junior  (under 18) space & then collect any kit and put it on at your place.  The coach/leader will tell you what groups are doing what.

3. Departure.  Please clean your kit and leave where directed for sanitising.  Then please depart the centre area following normal Covid rules.
  

Please note that the conditions do apply to the Sunday Morning and Race Performance Groups, although individuals may not need to make equipment bookings if using their own.

Aberdeenshire is currently at Covid Level 2.  Depending on your own area there may be travel restrictions that you need to follow.

Pease be aware that the club will share information on those members that go in to the ski centre (to use the loo for example) with the Ski Centre – we will share name and contact number.

All information collected will be deleted after 1 month – all data is being collected for Covid Tracing reasons.  If you have any questions please contact our Covid officer (Lynne Duncan on wpo@nordicski.co.uk)

Update from Snowsport Scotland 18th November 2020

After the announcement from the First Minister yesterday, we wanted to clarify a few of the restrictions going forward, especially those now within a Level 4 area. 

Please see attached an updated document from sportscotland highlighting the current guidelines. Some of the main points to consider are:

 • Those who current reside in a Level 4 local authority are still permitted to train (both u18s and 18+) but are strongly encouraged to stay within their local authority area, and not travel out with. 

 • Current safety measures including social distancing when not on slope and face coverings are strongly advised. 

 • Those who live in a level 1,2 or 3 area are not encouraged to travel to a level 4 authority area, but U18s can still travel in/out of a level 3. 

Some of the main things to consider around travel for sport are:

 • Participants 18 years of age or over (adults) should only travel locally (within around 5 miles of their local authority area) into or out of a level 3 area to take part in sport or physical activity outdoors.

 • Participants aged 18 years or over (adults) who live in a Level 0, 1 or 2 area should minimise unnecessary journeys between areas in different levels and avoid travel to Level 3 or Level 4 areas to take part in sport or physical activity.

 • Participants under 18 years of age can travel to and from Level 0, 1, 2 and 3 areas (but not Level 4) to take part in organised sport, physical activity, training and competition.

 • Operators should risk assess all activity and it is strongly recommended that where at all possible training and competition should take place locally.

More Info can be found here:

Phase 3 Return to sport and physical activity guidance 161120 FINAL

She Makes Tracks in Huntly invites girls of 10 years of age or older to join us for a fun and friendly girl only session on skis. This new group,run by Huntly Nordic Ski Club coaches, will meet every 6 weeks or more frequently if desired. It aims to encourage girls in sport with no performance or racing drive anywhere in sight. Beginners and established skiers are equally welcome.  Our ethos is to build fun,  friendships, and confidence through ski related activity. The first session on Sunday 22^nd November is free and runs from 11.00 – 12.30pm.

In subsequent sessions we will  charge £10 for a year’s Huntly Nordic Ski club youth membership and an additional fee of £15 = £25 in total, to cover a year’s “She Makes Tracks in Huntly” sessions including a special She Makes tracks headband,(which is currently in design and production mode).

Background – Snowsport Scotland ran a week long promotion of Women and Girls in Sport recently and lent support to both youngsters and coaches to build greater opportunity for Women and Girls in sport. The female coaches came together and thought that this new initiative might be a great space for young ladies to flourish during the the years of school transition and teenage pressures. Girls can be a member of this group on its own or add it to any of the other groups that they take part in at the ski centre already. How do you book in? There is a calendar event on the club website  where you can book in: https://www.nordicski.co.uk/wordpress/calendar/

We have been unable to hold any rollerski races this summer and the club’s activities have been severely curtailed. We are throwing out a challenge to all members to set their fastest time up the Clashindarroch Hill Climb course. The Clashindarroch Cup & Quaich will be awarded to the fastest gentleman and lady.

The rules, map and course profile are attached.

Please act in a responsibly and ski / behave in a safe and considerate manner at all times while completing this challenge.

Thursday night club sessions restarted on Thursday 20th August 2020.

It’s back – Club Thursdays 

Our next Club night is this Thursday, 5th November.

For the next 3 weeks we will run part of the acclaimed 7 Steps Programme to slowly build skills for roller skiing which are applicable to classic skiing.

Skiers and beginner or cautious roller skiers are invited to join the coached session which will develop skills off tarmac, on matting and grass for skiing and roller skiing. You can wear roller skis or classic skis for week1. Week 2 will introduce tarmac building blocks for roller skiers only and week 3 final roller ski development week. In Week 4-6 we will cover classic skiing skills on skis “Be ready for snow”.

All sessions need to be pre-booked (all can be booked at the club website
https://www.nordicski.co.uk/wordpress/calendar/  )
The booking form will give details of the session even if the home page doesn’t.

A leader will check you in to the session (Registration) & ask you to sanitise your hands.

There will be a place for you to place kit you have with you, you might want to ensure you have a visibly named black sack to put it into in case it rains 
Any prebooked loan kit will be available outside the centre (prebooking of kit is on the Booking form)

You should have hand sanitiser and a face covering on you in case you require first aid but face coverings do not need to be worn during the session unless you prefer.

After registration and distribution of kit, a leader will be around to keep things flowing & help with any issues.

At the end of the session kit should be returned to its return position. To minimise handling of kit only the designated people will put kit away.

Socially distanced cup of tea and chocolate biscuit at the stone circle for the moment are no longer allowed, so we have to leave after the end of the session. We will update the tea and biscuit situation as soon as rules allow.

Please remember to bring with you:
Hand sanitiser
Face mask

Booking

Please book on line by going to the club Website & then the events page where you will find a booking form by clicking on the date.

Click here https://www.nordicski.co.uk/wordpress/calendar/

(The form will ask for contact info & a Covid screening question as well as details of any hire needed)

We will limit the session to 30 people “in the field of play”. We are still able to run sessions under the new Covid19 regulations starting Monday 14th September as there is an exemption for organised sports.

The booking form info will be destroyed after 4 weeks – this is to make sure we are able to respond to any requests from Track and Protect

Departure

We intend to wind up the skiing at ~20:50 and, at the moment and under the rules in force form 14th September people will have to depart straight after the ned of the session.

Equipment

Where possible it would be great if members could use their own boots (& poles) & Rollerskis but the booking form will allow you to book all of this if needed.

If borrowing equipment please wear gloves as our leaders will have to put the kit out and away.

If rollerskiing please remember to bring your bike helmet and protective glasses

Finally

Bring a smile.  It seems a hassle to get this all together but as the junior members of SMT have shown that a positive attitude and enjoyment of the possible makes for a great session.

Look forward to seeing you at the session or one during the following weeks.

Please get back to the Club Chair if you have any worries or issues with the sessions.