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Ski club helps Saultites embrace winter while keeping Finnish traditions alive

Hiawatha's trails bustle with children weekend after weekend as they perfect technique, fitness, and speed
jack rabbit ski 4
Jack Rabbits of all ages and skill levels out enjoying the trails

While the Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club stems from the community of Finnish immigrants settled in Sault Ste. Marie in the mid-1900s, its name is now associated with all-things winter sports related in the Algoma region.

From clearing the trails for winter runs to training kids to ski in their popular Jackrabbits program to hosting the 2019 Special Olympics Ontario Winter Games, the Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club has kept people engaged and fit even in the worst winter weather. 

But its star program is clearly Jackrabbits. The program is named after Herman “Jackrabbit” Smith-Johannsen – a Norwegian immigrant who lived and skied to the tender age of 111. “Jackrabbit” attributed his long life partially to cross country skiing, a healthy dose of the outdoors, and always striving for his personal best. 

Many of our Canadian Olympic stars, including Beckie Scott and Sarah Renner, got their start in their local Jackrabbit programs. The program has specific skills for different ages and follows the Long Term Athlete Development model guidelines set by Nordiq Canada. You can quickly identify a Bunyrabbit (younger child) or Jackrabbit in a school playground by their toque, and each year there is a toque design contest organized by Nordiq Canada. Last year, Finnley Aho, a member of Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club won the national contest and every jackrabbit across Canada wore a toque with Finnley’s fox drawing on it. 

With over 180 youth participating in programs each week and a compliment of over 50 volunteers, Hiawatha is bustling with kids of all ages cross-country skiing on the weekend. “There’s no other place I would rather be on a Saturday morning. Volunteers get what they give. To be part of Jackrabbits, you need to have a family club membership and volunteer,” says Cassandra Nielsen, a volunteer at the club. 

Nielsen, who grew up in North Bay, but moved to Sault Ste. Marie from Toronto, says she was amazed to see what the Soo had to offer. “In Toronto, our family spent so much time apart and in transit,” she explains. “Once we moved here, someone recommended the Jackrabbit program in Hiawatha and we were in complete awe at what happened each Saturday.” From 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Hiawatha Highlands, children under ten fill the trails, learning the three important aspects of cross-country skiing: “Technique, fitness, and speed."

By the end of the Jackrabbits program, skiers will have developed skate and classic ski skills. “The program encourages an active lifestyle,” says Nielsen. “As children in our program get older, they ski more often: Our ski team practices three times a week and they also train in the off season. But this is a practice that continues into their adulthood.” 

While Jackrabbits invites people of all nationalities, the club still tries to keep some of its Finnish traditions alive. “When we host an event, we make ‘hot grape, a thinned grape juice mixture, heated,” says Nielsen. “And for example, it’s common to see this drink at the finish line at our events (rather than commercial sports drinks like Gatorade) and also at training events.” 

Parents interested in Jackrabbits should begin thinking about registration in September with the first call for students as the program fills up quickly. 


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