Masters World Championships 2021
Current news
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Covid19, the Organising Committee of Canmore are planning to hold the Masters World Championships (MWC) as planned, in March 2021. So the MWC will be held from 4th to 12th March, 2021 at the world-class Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park. Organizers plan to attract over 1 000 masters cross country skiers from around the world to this outstanding event. Canmore last held the Cross Country Ski Masters World Cup in 1995 and it is one of just three worldwide towns to have the honour of hosting this prestigious event twice.
Athletes from around the world will come to Canmore for the MWC 2021. Racing in the different age groups, female and male athletes will range in age from 30 to 90+ years old. “The MWC 2021 will be a tremendous celebration of cross country skiing as a life-long sport”, according to Norbert Meier, Event Director for the AWCS, “and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to show skiers from around the world our beautiful town of Canmore and the world-class trails at the Canmore Nordic Centre."
Some people (mistakenly) believe that a trip to North America is expensive, but this is not necessarily true. There may well be some excellent flight bargains once we are allowed to travel again, as major airlines try to encourage people to fly again (according to the boss of Ryanair). So if you book early, as soon as the event is confirmed, and you hunt around, the trip might well be very good value. With the MWC in Cogne 2020 having been cancelled, there is already interest from British skiers in making the trip - why not join us?
The Canmore ski stadium - just look at that snow!
Travel
Calgary International Airport is a 75 minute drive from Canmore and there are direct flights from the UK and other European airports (another possibility is a connecting flight through Vancouver). There are regular airport shuttles, and car hire might also be a reasonable option. Even if it's cheaper, it might be best to avoid a connecting flight through the US, because this will require you to obtain an ESTA (entry visa), and getting through the connecting airport can be a long process.
Accommodation
I’ve not yet booked any accommodation but I'm happy to coordinate it. You can find the full list of properties at:
https://www.albertaworldcup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MWC-2021-Hotel-Directory.pdf
A further option might be an AirBNB rented apartment and, if you're happy to consider this then, again, let me know.
It is possible that prices might be lower than those shown in the above list, if there are problems attracting enough people. Further details will become available as I receive them. We learnt from the Cogne experience that bookings made through the Event Organisers are safer because, should anything go wrong, any deposit will be refunded, whereas this may well not be the case if you book privately.
When
The official dates for the event are from Thursday 4th March until Friday 12th March or Saturday 13th March. The schedule is:
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Thursday 4th March: free training, registration
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Friday 5th March: free training, registration
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Saturday 6th March: middle distance free technique races (30, 15, 10 km depending on age)
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Sunday 7th March: middle distance classic races
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Monday 8th March: short distance classic races (10/5 km) morning, free technique races afternoon
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Tuesday 9th Cultural Experience Day, rest day with cultural events
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Wednesday 10th March: relays
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Thursday 11th March: long distance free technique races (45, 30, 15 km)
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Friday 12th March: long distance classic races
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Saturday 13th March: Departure.
You are able to enter any three races, as always. Departure on Friday (or even possibly late Thursday) is possible if you opt for the free technique long distance race.
We've found that a longer stay, arriving Sunday 28th February or Monday 1st March works well so, again, if this is of interest to you, please let me know if you want me to find suitable accommodation.
The tracks
I’ve chosen the 15 km track because it’s fairly representative, in terms of profile, of the other tracks and most of it are going to be using it for two races. Canmore is at 1425 metres, so some acclimatisation for altitude might be needed.
Likely weather conditions
Average temperatures at the beginning of March, over the last 11 years, suggest something between -12 and +2 oC (see below for more detail). Typical snow depths early in March are not huge (about 22 cm), but the tracks remain in excellent condition because of the low humidity and excellent grooming.
Entries and deadlines
The entry form will be on the general website, http://www.mwc2021.com in due course but, this time, you have just option, which is to enter via the Datasport platform (your entry will be sent to me to verify). As always, the entry fee is €200, irrespective of how many races you take part in. The deadline is likely to be the 31st January, but check the website for this.
Please remember that you can now enter any three races; you do not have to enter one of each distance. So if you’re a nutcase, and fancy one 30 km, the relay and two 45 km races on consecutive days, knock yourself out!
Further information
If you want any further details, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I hope that we will get a good-sized team to Canmore, a venue rated by many elite skiers as one of the very best. You can read the full Canmore bid document here (but note that this document gives the wrong dates), and the event is held at a very good time towards the end of the season, with plenty of opportunity to train and prepare earlier in the season. The World Masters Association encourages us to send as big a team as we can, because they want people from outside the traditional cross-country nations. So, get your entry in soon, to prevent disappointment.
Imagine this - you're leading your race because everyone else has been too scared to fly to Canmore. This is what you'll
see; pristine tracks and no one in front!
