Tay Valley Cross Country Ski Club

The club is taking steps to improve access to the cross-country ski trails and to reduce our club’s carbon footprint by organizing a weekly shuttle bus service from Perth to Murphys Point Provincial Park. This FREE service is a trial partnership between our ski club and Lanark Transportation. Check out our Shuttle page for all the details.

Our digital registration page is up and running. Click HERE to join.

This year, at the AGM, members stated a desire to freeze membership fees again for this year. So, the cost to join remains the same: $75 for a family, $50 for an adult individual, $25 for students and Jackrabbits (who aren’t part of a family membership).

Please note that our club pays the national governing body $20 for each membership. This provides the club with liability insurance as well as funding the provincial and national sporting bodies.

The snow is on the way…so join the club!

The first in-person AGM since the fall of 2019 saw a good turnout of new and returning club members.

Members of the executive presented past minutes, the financial report, the trails report, the programs report, and the membership report. There was also a report from Murphys Point Provincial Park. Of note, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the club’s partnership with the Park. After the reports, elections were held for three executive positions. More on that in a later post.

Following the presentations, reports, and elections, there were was good discussion about how the club can reduce its carbon footprint by improving the grooming and trail maintenance equipment, planting trees, and encouraging/facilitating ride-sharing. Many of these ideas will be discussed at the upcoming executive meeting.

One item of note for all members is that the membership fee will NOT change this year. The fee structure will remain the same as we do our little bit to help keep life affordable.

The final act of the evening was a fantastic presentation by Park Naturalist Samantha Allison who explained how all the creatures who overwinter in the park survive using adaptation, hibernation, brumation, or diapause. Thank you, Samantha!

The club’s annual general meeting will take place on Monday, November 14th, at 7pm. This in-person event will be held at the Perth & District Indoor Pool. Masks are welcome and hand sanitizer will be available.

We are excited to announce that we will have a guest speaker once again. This year’s talk is “Frozen but not forsaken”. Join Senior Park Naturalist, Samantha Allison, to hear the stories of survival and community which are told through Murphys Point Provincial Park’s winter landscape.

The AGM is also a chance to look back at last season, to look ahead to the upcoming season, to meet other club members, to buy a club toque, and to pick up a free copy of the TVCCSC history book. Of course, there will be opportunities to help shape the future of the club by voting on proposals or volunteering to help.

See you there!

On Saturday, November 5th, two dozen members headed out onto the trails on a beautiful fall day to help get them in shape for the ski season. Here is the write up from “Trail Boss” Phill:

Thanks to all for the very important work you put in for the ski club this morning! 

The beautiful weather made it a pretty nice day to be out in the woods, and the  large, pleasant crew was very effective in tackling the tasks. As I mentioned, there may be another call out to volunteers for a simple walk of all the trails to remove debris/ identify larger fallen trees that need chainsawing. November winds often put a fresh deposit of obstacles on our ski trails. When you’re skiing the trails this winter, you can pause and be proud of the work you have done to make everyone’s experience better. 

We’d love to see as many members as possible at the AGM on November 14 at the Perth Pool. Come on out and meet other skiers and snowshoers.

Again, there will be a deal on stylish club tuques and the highly cherished club history book will be available to all participants.  

Thanks again, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Phill

Mary Stewart, this year’s Kilometre Count Distance Challenge (KCDC) winner for female skiers, received her award on a sunny spring day.

Just days after returning from a Latin American trip to Panama and Costa Rica, Mary switched her attention back to skiing from soccer long enough to receive the club’s KCDC trophy.

Congratulations Mary!

Jim Reain, one of this year’s Kilometre Challenge Distance Award winners, received his trophy recently.

The custom made two-of-a-kind trophy was presented to Jim by last year’s winner, Robert Mears. The trophy, though not quite as prestigious as the Stanley Cup, is handed from one winner to the other year-over-year in much the same way. There are no witness accounts to confirm or deny the presence of an RCMP escort.

Jim skied 364 kilometres this season to earn the trophy! Well done!

All club members are invited to complete this survey now that the season has wrapped up. Over the last two years, the Tay Valley Ski Club has almost tripled in size and we want to know what you think and how you feel about how the Club is doing.

Please take a few minutes to complete this membership survey in Google Forms.

The club is also planning a post-season wrap-up event (either virtual or in-person) before the end of March. This would be a great way to meet other club members and to learn about the Club activities and organization. Stay tuned for details.

The Tay Valley Cross Country Ski Club Kilometre Count Distance Challenge is officially closed for 2022!

However, it’s not too late to enter your ski information. If you kept track of your outings and know how many kilometres you skied, enter the information on our Google Form. We will accept entries until Friday, March 25th.

Access our form and enter your information HERE.

The new club toques have arrived get yours here through our Zone4 Registration site. They cost $28. Get one before they disappear!

PICK-UP LOCATION: Currently, the only pick-up location is Heritage Bikes, 16 Conlon Dr, Perth, from 10am to 5pm from Tuesday to Friday. Bring your receipt.