The Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club got their first race of the season underway this weekend, after the first of the two Don Sumanik Memorial Races.

"It's always nice to get the first race of the season under our belts,” said technical delegate Claude Chabot.

Saturday's race was the freestyle component to the Don Sumanik Memorial races.

The classic-style race will follow next Saturday.

The club was working with new timing equipment purchased over the summer, and this was their first official race run under the new system.

Chabot said that not surprisingly, there were a few technical glitches, but the back-up system kicked in and all data was salvaged.

"It all worked out well,” said Chabot. "We had just a fun day overall.”

The first race of the season is a good time to learn new lessons and remember old ones, Chabot said.

"It's kind of really good to refresh ourselves,” said Chabot, referring to the officials.

"It was really good.”

Chabot said getting the first race out of the season for the young skiers is good to see as well.

The same big names in Whitehorse cross-country skiing popped up at the top of their age groups as expected this weekend.

Chabot said a stand-out performance was John Parry, returning from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks for the race.

"As expected, he cleaned up,” said Chabot.

Parry came in to the finish area at 17:43 over the 7.5-kilometre course.

Following Parry in the overall category were juniors Knute Johnsgaard at 17:55 and Jeff Wood at 18:31.

The women competed in a five-kilometre race with Janelle Greer topping the field. Greer, a member of Canada's Junior Cross Country Ski Team came in at 14:07, the fastest female time, followed by Juvenile National Award winner Dahria Beatty at 14:31 and junior Kendra Murray at 14:56.

"Janelle Greer always skis well,” said Chabot. Greer races in the junior female division, and Beatty in the juvenile female division.

Greer and Beatty had an exciting weekend outside of the race. Greer was nominated for International Athlete of the Year by Sport Yukon.

"Janelle is just doing very well at the national level,” said Chabot. She ultimately lost the award to swimmer Alexandra Gabor.

Beatty however, won the National/Territorial Female Athlete of the Year award. The awards ceremony was held Friday at the Westmark Inn.

"I think we'll see a lot of good things from her in the next couple years,” said Chabot of Beatty.

Also awarded in cross-country skiing for Coach of the Year was coach Nick Stratis.

Chabot said another huge success was adding the Tim Horton's Ski'll Fest, which is usually held separately.

"That was really exciting to see,” said Chabot. "It was a fun day, just seeing all the kids together.”

The kids worked on drills and did non-timed fun activities.

The Ski'll Fest showed off some young skiers who could be up-and-comers on the Whitehorse cross-country ski scene.

"We've got a huge number of young kids coming up,” said Chabot.

Chabot said the day saw about 100 people involved all together.

The race this weekend was one of two qualifiers for the Arctic Winter Games in Grande Prairie in March 2010. While most of the top skiers in the juvenile and junior categories moved forward in the trials, several key names are missing from the list.

Chabot said this is due to a number of reasons. Many top skiers are focusing their attention on the Haywood Nationals to be held in Whitehorse the week following the Arctic Winter Games.

"It's just a question of how many races can you do, and what your focus is,” said Chabot. Beatty, who did well this weekend has opted out of the trials to focus on the nationals, while Greer is on the list to qualify.

The Don Sumanik Memorial Races continue next weekend at 12:30 p.m. again with the classic-style component. The race will be held at the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club, an awards ceremony for both races will follow.

"We're hoping we're going to get a little more snow in between,” said Chabot. "We can always use more snow.”

The course will be slightly different next weekend for the classic race, and times are expected to be a bit slower than Saturday's due to the change in style.

Don Sumanik Memorial Free

Technique Race results

Junior Male

Place/Name Time

1. Knute Johnsgaard 17:55.5

2. Jeff Wood 18:31.9

Open Male

1. John Parry 17:43.6

2. Douglas de la Mare 19:29.6

3. Marcus Waterreus 19:54.7

4. Bill Parry 20:29.8

5. David Gonda 20:57.7

Juvenile Male

1. Izak Baril-Blouin 20:22.5

2. Fabian Brook 20:22.8

3. Trevor Bray 24:24.9

4. Reid Seal 29:36.9

5. Montana Bailey 29:47.6

Open Female

1. Sara Nielsen 16:01.6

Junior Female

1. Janelle Greer 14:07.2

2. Kendra Murray 14:56.2

3. Heidi Brook 16:09.6

Juvenile Female

1. Dahria Beatty 14:31.7

2. Katie Peters 15:49.5

3. Holly Bull 16:18.3

4. Nesha Wright 17:01.4

5. Emily Wilson 18:05.5

Midget Girls

1. Cambria Fuerstner 18:35.8

2. Alexis Gee 18:41.5

3. Kassi Wright 19:12.9

4. Eliza Paul 19:48.8

5. Anna Janowicz 21:07.5

Midget Boys

1. Marcus Deuling 09:11.4

2. Tristan Sparks 09:58.6

3. Mac Prawdzik 11:16.5

4. Andrew Seal 11:35.9