Our Board members are working steadily behind the scenes to figure out what the upcoming ski season will look like under Provincial COVID-19 protocols and / or a second wave. We are hoping to be able to have the lodge open in some capacity and most programs operating with modifications. Stay tuned for further updates in the coming weeks. Thank you to everyone who practiced 2m physical distancing over the summer months and helped keep our facility open. Please save the date for our Fall General Meeting on Wednesday, November 4th @ 7:00pm. It will be broadcast on Zoom - a link will be shared closer to that date.

Kudos to Race Director Lori Brough for getting creative with the format for 2020 to meet COVID-19 protocols and still manage to host a very successful event with just over 100 participants staggered over three days and distances. Thanks also to Lori's right hand volunteer Doris Gordon for her time donated to assisting with the event. And special thanks to all those who participated this year!

Between May 1st and September 30th, 2020 we sold 208 day passes compared to only a handful in 2019, primarily due to ease of purchase on our website e-store. Thank you to all trail users who did the honorable thing to support trail maintenance at Wapiti Nordic. The $5 Fall (Summer) Day Pass will remain in place until the snow flies. Winter memberships will go on sale November 1st (yes, the usual 10% early bird discount will be available). Information on 2020-21 rates will be posted on our website and social media towards the end of October.

We are very fortunate to have a diverse, educated, passionate and informed membership from all walks of life! The primary focus of our Board members should be governance of the club yet historically they have ended up also shouldering a majority of the operational functions as well which isn't a healthy or sustainable balance. Soooo .... we would like to put out a call to our general membership for volunteers to fulfil the following opportunities:

Please email us stating which role your are interested in and we will connect you with the lead person. A huge shout out to the Members who have been helping with trail clearing this past Summer and Fall. Our recent work bees have focused on trimming the trees and bushes that have grown up and need to be removed before ski season. As you can tell from the theme in this newsletter, volunteerism is the foundation of Wapiti Nordic! You can indicate your preference when you renew your membership this Winter or reach out to us at any time! And yes, we are still tracking volunteer hours for the remainder of 2020. If you haven't already sent in your year to date hours as of Sept 30th, please email them by Oct 15th.

Would you be willing to help out with one "end of day" light cleaning shift over the course of the Winter season if it helped keep the Lodge open and your 2020-21 membership fees reasonable? If we are to open the lodge to the general membership this Winter we will be expected to adopt enhanced cleaning procedures under COVID-19 protocols. We can either hire a daily cleaner (membership fees will increase) or split the duties amongst our membership. Please complete our October survey to indicate your preference. No commitment required at this time - it is purely to gauge your preferences. Please respond by October 15 2020.

Unfortunately, our major annual fundraiser, the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is likely to look different this year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Your local Tour Hosts are working with the Banff Centre and GPRC to determine how the show can go on in either a virtual on demand format or reduced attendance capacity. We will do our very best to keep this great tradition alive in 2021, and look at other ways to offset the loss of funds.

Congratulations to WNSC tireless volunteer Treasurer, Board Member, DGLW Race Director AND Mountain Bike Program Leader ...Lori Brough!! Her sport involvement has led her to being selected in the province wide Women in Sport Leadership Community of Practice program. Listen to Lori in a short video clip about what inspires her to pursue a leadership role at WNSC and encourage female sport participation. Thanks for everything that you do Lori - and always with that killer smile!!

And congrats to Liam Tinworth who won this year's JUPI Award (bursary) at Biathlon Alberta's AGM. Great start to the season!

Want to offload some gear or pick up some previously owned equipment? Check out our Buy & Sell page periodically for updated items or to post your items for sale.

If you see something - jump on it fast! Just like Costco it may not be there when you go back!!

We now have an e-newsletter archive section on our website if you ever missed an edition or need to check back on something. Plus we have tidied up the Minutes & Agenda page to make it more user friendly. We would love to hear if you have any other suggestions for our website or e-newsletter.