July 08, 2010 (Thunder Bay, ON) – Big Thunder Nordic Ski Club hosted the Lake Superior Ski District (LSSD) Camp June 29th through to July 3rd. This is the 7th annual event and the biggest to date. Fifty one athletes attended from NOD, SOD, LSSD, Manitoba and Newfoundland. The focus of this camp was on development athletes, but by no means was it restricted to just these athletes. In attendance were also very capable and accomplished athletes from the Ontario team and University skiers.

The strength of this camp is in the quality of coaching and attendance of role models. Again this year, the National Development Centre of Thunder Bay trained and assisted with the participating athletes providing respected role modeling. Coaches in attendance were: Adam Kates (Big Thunder Head Coach and camp organizer), Eric Bailey (NDC- Thunder Bay Head Coach), Lisa Patterson (High Performance Coordinator for Eastern Canada), Patti Kitler (former coach of Big Thunder, Head coach of Walden Cross Country, and Eastern Para-Nordic Coordinator), and Amanda Holdsworth (assistant coach Big Thunder).

The theme of the camp was, “Being a Champion”, where by the athletes were reminded of the attitude and effort of what it takes to be a champion. Throughout the 5 day camp there was a mix of serious work and fun activities. Athletes had 4 rollerski and ski striding sessions to work on technique, push themselves in an intensity workout, test their strength in the NST Strength Test, learn about proper Nutrition for an athlete, and work on core and flexibility. The camp finished off with a gruelling 3 hour run up to the chest of the Sleeping Giant, the geographic landmark that depicts Thunder Bay. Incorporated into the camp were extra-curricular activities such as: Paint Balling, Yoga, Beach Volleyball, inflatable joust and river tubing.

Aside from the endurance and strength training, athletes formed key friendships that will play an important role in their continuation of their ski careers. Congratulations to all skiers who participated.