(rdnewsNOW/Dan Hermanutz)

By Dan Hermanutz

tradition continues

Students hit the snowy trails for annual ski loppet

Feb 12, 2020 | 10:57 AM

Over 500 students hit the trails on Tuesday for the annual ski loppet put on by Red Deer Public Schools at River Bend.

The event has been running for over thirty years and features students from grades three to twelve from over 15 schools in Red Deer Public, Red Deer Catholic Regional and from outlying communities such as Innisfail.

Colin Christensen is a teacher at Don Campbell Elementary in Red Deer and has been a part of the organizing committee for five years. He said that an event like this can be special for the students.

“It’s giving the kids an opportunity to ski, it’s something you can do for the rest of their life. Just watching kids have fun, the smiles on the faces, them having fun and enjoying themselves. That makes it worth it,” said Christensen. “I would say that the number we have today is close to the largest we’ve ever had, I think I saw that there are 527 students registered here today. Usually we hover around the five hundred mark.”

Students at the event are separated by grade, with medals at the end of the race for the competitors. The students have the choice between two races. A three kilometer trail or a five kilometer version. The event is open to any and all students, as long as your school or yourself can provide the equipment.

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“It can be logistically a little bit tricky, especially the start. We do a mass start at the beginning so it can be a bit of trouble. But there are five of us that are involved in the committee and we all have our parts and share the load,” said Christensen. “Keeping track of five hundred anything can be tricky, but we have experience with it so it usually doesn’t amount to too much trouble.”

The annual event gives students a chance to get out of the classroom for the day and try something they normally might not have the chance to do.