August 12, 2005 – Over the last two years our family has had the pleasure to host one of the best Japanese cross-country skiers. Katsuhito Ebisawa, Ebi to people who know him, is 33 years old and heading to his third Olympics next winter. He had his best year last winter as a competitor and plans to ski until at least 2006. He is thinking of maybe extending his racing career to 2007 because of the World Championship which will take place in his home country. Ebi has been coming to Canmore every summer since 2002 to train. The past two summers he has brought his wife, Ako to keep him company. To host them has been of great help for us since Ako takes care of my son, Xavier, whenever my partner Robin has to work and I need to get some training in. I asked Ebi a few questions before he headed back home to Japan.

How did you get into cross country skiing?

“The National Sport in Japan is Baseball so I played until I was 12 years old. Where I was raised in Japan, cross-country skiing was also a popular sport. I started at 7 years old, but it wasn’t until I stop playing baseball that I really got into it.”

Did you grow up looking up to a skier or somebody else?

“The first ever winter Olympics I saw on TV were the 1988 in Calgary. I was watching a cross-country ski race and saw this Norwegian skier who looked like he was going pretty fast and looked very good on skis. I remember I just wanted to be like him. The skier was Pal Gunner Mikkelsplass who finished second in that Olympic race. Years later, on my first trip overseas to ski on a glacier in Switzerland, Mikkelsplass was there also to train. He was the first foreign skier I met. That was an incredible moment for me.”

What are your best career results?

“My best result was a 9th in the first ever sprint World Cup in 1996. Then a 15th place at the 1997 World Championship in Trondhiem, in the 50km classic, where I skied for 30km of the race with the Bjorn Dahlie.” This past World Championship in Oberstdorf Ebi proved he could still compete against the best male skiers by finishing 21st in the 50km classic.

Why did you decide to come all the way here to Canmore to train during the summer months?

“The Olympics in Salt Lake City were not a good experience for me. I did not perform as well as I wanted so I figured I needed to change some things.” Did he ever! “ I had been training in Finland the last 6 summers previous to Salt Lake City because it is too hot and humid in Japan and we had to drive 15-30 minutes to access decent training terrain. I decided to change continents and ended up in Canada and chose Canmore because of the altitude and training opportunities. I realized after competing in Salt Lake City, which was at 1800 meters, that high altitude training is an important part to a cross country skier.”

What do you like most about being in Canmore?

“Xavier!!!! I also love the lifestyle, friendly people and I feel very comfortable living here. Also the bears sightings!” There is a joke with Ebi that he attracts bears and he should have a sight seeing tour. [I have been living in Canmore for 10 years and have only seen 3 bears over these years. In his first summer in Canmore Ebi saw 10 bears, and saw as many the next 3 years. I personally think he spends way too much time running in the woods!]

What are your favorite workouts in Canmore?

“Doing intensity on the special 15 ski trail at the Nordic Center, ski striding up “Riders of Rohan” (very steep trail) and the rollerski trails at the Nordic Centre.”

What is the biggest difference, coming from you, between the Japanese culture and other cultures?

“We don’t feel too different from the other cultures because we travel so much; we adapt easily to different places we travel to. But one thing that we have more difficulty with is food. We usually travel with some of our own food like Japanese noodles and speciality foods as well as a rice cooker. Our first question we ask when we arrive to a new hotel isn’t ‘how are the rooms’ but ‘how’s the food?’ We don’t care about anything else.”

Do you find the language being a barrier with other teams?

“Yes. Most of the Japanese athletes only speak Japanese, thus can’t communicate with other athletes from other countries. The language barrier causes the athletes to be shy which they really aren’t . They would love to socialize with others but can’t.”

I noticed that when the Japanese team sit down to eat the men and women are separate into their own groups. Is it because the two sex don’t get along?

“No, no, no..! We are all good friends. The reason is, in our culture men and women don’t sit together.”

Did you go to university?

“Education is highly important in Japan. In 1995 I obtain my degree in Commerce and Trade from the University of Tokyo.”

Is there anything a few people know about you?

“When I was 17 years old I was a Hip-Hop dancer! I still listen to rap and hip-hop but I slowed down on the dancing.” [I tried to get some moves out of Ebi but he would not budge!]

Lastly, what would you like to do after skiing?

“Take a walk with my wife of 6 years and Ebisawa kids!!!!”

Ako, Milaine, Robin, and Ebi with Xavier in Canmore.