• Ski Tracks: 100 Years of Skiing in Manitoba
  • Book info (Adobe PDF)
    Melanie Tooley writes in October 2006:
    Contact me at REMOVE_THISmelanietooley@shaw.ca for orders. The book will be in ski retail outlets and resorts in a couple of weeks. This is a fantastic and very unique book. It will make an excellent Christmas gift. There is a large chapter on cross country skiing in this province, and the builders who made it happen.
  • Book cover
• Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame honoured members for cross country skiing
  • Gordon Konantz -- builder.
  • Lindsay Gauld -- athlete
• The story of the Jackrabbit Ski League (by Gordon Konantz, Vancouver BC, January 2004)
  • This item recounts the history of Cross Country Canada's Jackrabbit program, but given that the Jackrabbit Ski League originated in Winnipeg, it is also a story about the formation of CCSAM in the 1970s.
  • CCSAM's Jackrabbit page.
• CCSAM's Awards history
• My ski beginnings by Ed Innes
• From CCSAM Chairperson Brent Bottomley's recollections:
  • Brent started cross country skiing in 1968-1969 when he was 13. When CCSAM was formed in 1972, he was a cross country ski instructor at Fresh Air Experience, and he became a member of the original CCSAM Board of Directors as the CANSI rep. Brent has been the Chairperson of CCSAM for 13 of the last 15 years.
  • Gord Konantz (see The Story of the Jackrabbit Ski League, above) and Dave Wellard basically ran cross country skiing in Manitoba in the 1960s. Dave really promoted skiing in Manitoba. He was a teacher at St Johns Ravenscourt who started a great racing program. His graduates went on to race and instruct at the original Fresh Air Experience where Pat McCarthy and Jack Sasseville also worked, along with Ted Bigelow and Lyle Wilson (the store owner). This store was the genesis of the provincial team, Jackrabbits, and the original cross country ski association that was affiliated with downhill skiing.
  • The Puffin Ski Club was active during the 1950s and early 1960s. It was mainly a downhill ski club, but also had jumpers and cross country skiers. There used to be three or four ski jumps in Manitoba, and it was quite a big sport.
• Cross Country Ski Museum
  We've been approached by a 74 year-old avid skier who has artifacts from the 1940s that he'd like to donate. We're thinking of establishing a cross country ski museum at the Windsor Park Nordic Centre. Stay tuned. If you have items you'd like to donate, please contact Kevin Miller.

   This page was last updated on April 7, 2007