Students at Mount View School strapped on skis to try cross country ski relay, an Olympic sport that was brought to them by actual Olympic athletes.
“A lot of them have never skied before, and they are just having a ball with it,” said teacher Amanda Duncan.
Police officers and fire fighters joined in the fun on a track that was built at the school for just this purpose through funding from Altagas.
“We just help them with the funding to get the track set up,” said Patrick McNaught of Altagas.
“Foothills Nordic is the one that provides the instruction to help them, you know, these kids, a lot of them have never skied before so it’s a really fun opportunity to try something new.”
The hope is to broaden kid’s horizons, get them interested in physical fitness, and maybe even help them set a course for life, like the athletes who were ski racing with the kids.
“There are so many examples of athletes who have had very humble beginnings and they have turned very simple experiences into incredible Olympic journeys,” said Olympian Sara Renner.
“You never know where the next Olympic champion or World Cup skier is going to come from, so these are really cool days to be a part of,” said Olympian Jesse Cockney.
The Altagas Ski at School program matches school or ski club fundraising with $7500 to build tracks and teach children to ski. The program has been running in Calgary for several years, and is now expanding to schools in seven other cities across Canada.
