November 9, 2002 – The countdown is on! Finally, after months of enduring long and arduous hours of training, cross-country ski racers across North America are wiping their brows and grinning widely. Winter, for the Nordic community, officially arrives in mere days. On November 9th and 10th , athletes from around the continent will congregate on Birchhill trails in Fairbanks, Alaska to put their off-season efforts to the test in the opening Continental Cup races of the year.

For the three members of the Canadian Senior Women's national ski team these races are the debut of what hopes to be an equally successful post-Olympic racing season. Beckie Scott, Sara Renner, and Milaine Theriault are back, and in full force to put their speed back on the international ski track.

The busy summer of training and traveling, including a three-week trip to New Zealand for on-snow and racing exposure, allowed the women to prepare in a variety of locations and make use of optimal facilities. Coach Dave Wood is optimistic for the coming months.

Having made steady improvements in both testing results and training efforts this summer, we generally progressed as was hoped. The camp down in New Zealand was especially beneficial (for the girls), as we did some very good training and got to compete as well.

The women were involved in the National Championships, during which Sara and Beckie placed in the top two. The trip was without a doubt a worthwhile excursion for the women. Two years ago, a training camp to this extent would never have been financially feasible for the team. However, due in large part to the Haywood Securities corporate sponsorship announced October 25th in Vancouver, the Women's cross-country ski team can finally focus on their task at hand.

This task led Coach Wood and the team to the far north last week. For 16 days the women are back to on-snow training. This involves bulking up the hours of long-distance work-outs, coupled with intensity sessions in preparation for the races. As the Continental Cups approach the load of hours gradually decreases so the women can store the extra energy and gain some speed come race day.

The events include a pursuit on Saturday and a sprint on Sunday. Returning to Canada on the 11th, Beckie and Sara will leave the following Saturday for Europe.The World Cup circuit already began October 26th and 27th in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Canadian team will be present for the subsequent events, which include a 5 km freestyle and 4×5 km relay in Kiruna, Sweden. Milaine will continue to train in Silver Star, Vernon, flying over to meet the group on the 29th in Davos, Switzerland.