The Don Allen Saskaloppet is one of the largest annual sporting events in the community. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

competition

Saskaloppet draws hundreds of skiers

Mar 4, 2024 | 3:15 PM

The 40^th annual Don Allen Saskaloppet was held over the weekend, attracting approximately 250 skiers from across Saskatchewan.

“We were not sure what the turnout would be like given the weather we’ve had with all of the lack of snow earlier in the winter,” said Nichole Robinson, the sponsorship and promotion chairperson of the event.

“We had pretty much the same number as last year, so almost 300 people registered and then the day of we were guessing about 250 actually skied, which is pretty amazing because it was a very cold day, but it didn’t stop people from coming out and showing up.”

At the mass start held Saturday at 10 a.m. in La Ronge, the temperature was -24 C (-31 C with the wind). While the cold did prove to be a challenge, Robinson noted most skiers were likely more concerned with the impact the cold has on the snow. When the temperature is as cold as it was, the conditions make it more difficult to move fast when compared to when it is warmer.

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“People were all kind of bundled up, but it’s a lot tougher of a ski, so we all have this kind of attitude of let’s get through this together and battle these cold conditions,” Robinson said.

Robinson explained she is grateful to all of the volunteers who helped make the competition a success. She noted because of the large amount of snow that fell the night before, volunteers had to race out before the event to ensure the trails were groomed.

“We’re super grateful to [the Lac La Ronge Provincial Park] and then our own volunteer crew,” Robinson said.

“It was a really challenging winter, so of course we had months of not enough snow and we had to do a lot more willow cutting to get it down to the level where the snow was at, so even in the last few weeks, we had people going out by hand and hand shoveling the hills that had problems.”

Some of the locals who took first in their categories during the Saskaloppet were Matthew Koebernick and Rochelle Yelland in the 35-kilometre 18 to 49 event, Hilary Johnstone in the 12-km 18 and older event, Ben Bayda in 12-km 17 and under event, Noa Bayda in the seven-km 17 and under event, Warren Kelly in the seven-km 18 and over event, Finn Potts in the seven-km 17 and under event, Colleen Clark in the five-km 18 and over event, and Tyson Thompson and Makenna Galloway in the five-km 17 and under event.

A full list of results can be found online here.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com