October 16, 2009 (Barre, ON) – Team Hardwood athletes are well into fall dryland training in preparation for the 2009-10 cross-country ski racing season. Canadian Thanksgiving weekend saw roughly 40 athletes converging at Hardwood Ski and Bike near Barrie, Ontario, for ski-striding and rollerski intervals, strength training, and active games—all set against a backdrop of blue skies and glorious fall colours!

Over a dozen members of Team Hardwood’s “Devo Squad” came out for ski-striding and double-poling intensity workouts as part of their preparations for the upcoming Ontario Cup Race series and the national championships. Last year, under the leadership of Head Coach Mark Doble, Team Hardwood produced 4 individual Ontario Cup age group champions, and placed second in the club aggregate. Team Hardwood will be looking to recapture the overall club crown this season, which it has held for six out of the last seven years. Team Hardwood also has its eye on the World Junior Trials in Val Cartier, Quebec, and the 2010 Ski Nationals in Whitehorse, YK, where the team will try to improve on its 2009 haul of 7 medals and 19 top-10 finishes. Joining the squad this past weekend were a number of Devo alumni who are preparing for the NorAm and World Cup circuits at other training centres, including Lenny Valjas (NTDC-Mont Ste. Anne), Harry Seaton (NTDC-Thunder Bay) and Bob Thompson (Alberta World Cup Academy – Canmore).

New to Team Hardwood this season is the “Junior Devo” squad, coached by Graham Longford and Mark Doble. The Junior Devo squad will field a team of midget-level racers (aged 9-13) in the Ontario Cup series and the Ontario Midget Championships. A dozen young athletes joined Graham and Mark this past weekend for a series of workouts focused on balance, technique, agility, strength, and aerobic conditioning. The session concluded with a fast-paced game of “Hats vs Toques”.

Also hard at work were a dozen members of Team Hardwood’s “Team 2011” Masters racing team. Lead by former Canadian National Team Coach and Team Hardwood founding Head Coach Jack Sasseville, the Team 2011 program was launched in the spring of 2009 in anticipation of the Masters World Cup races being held at Sovereign Lake, B.C. in 2011. Building on the 5 medals won at the 2009 Canadian Masters Championships, Team 2011 is looking forward to fielding an even larger and more competitive group of athletes at events this season, including the Muskoka Loppet, the Gatineau Loppet, and the 2010 Canadian Masters Championships in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland.

Team Hardwood’s winter racing programs provide seasonal and year-round training, coaching and racing support for nordic ski athletes of all ages and abilities, from midgets to Masters. Athletes work with our team of certified and experienced coaches to improve their fitness, strength and technique in order to achieve their nordic ski racing goals. Team Hardwood’s nordic racing program is a proven success. Our athletes have achieved hundreds of medals and podium finishes at high school, university, Masters, provincial, national and even international competitions over the last decade. For more information about Team Hardwood visit: http://hardwoodskiandbike.ca.