Big names in the world of ski cross are in North Bay this weekend
A major ski cross event is taking place in North Bay this weekend.
While the competition at Laurentian Ski Hill is for young skiers many members of the National Team and former Olympians are on hand.
About 70 youth athletes from across both Ontario and Quebec have made the trek to North Bay for the Live Like Miki Fundraiser.
"It's absolutely unbelievable this has never happened in northern Ontario, that I know of,” said coach Jason Sullivan.
“To have 10 World Cup athletes on a small hill, in North Bay, Ont. is pretty amazing. I'm just so ‘tickled pink’ that these guys are here, the athletes are in heaven."
Two of the A-list athletes have strong connections to the area – Olympic skiers Hannah and Jared Schmidt’s parents grew up in North Bay.
"We're here just to help out the younger athletes and watch them kind of grow threw out the weekend,” said Hannah.
“I think having the technical and that kind of background, hearing that from us is pretty cool for them and I think they really enjoy it."
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Jared told CTV News it was ‘cool’ to be here in the winter and see the ski hill city has to offer.
"Out west, it's pretty strong, the ski cross community – but to have this happening in the east, from where we're from, where my families from it's super special to see here,” said Jared.
The Schmidts say they are hoping that this event will inspire more young skiers to work towards bigger goals like the Olympics or the National Team.
"It's really cool to watch all these athletes rip down this track, ski down and progress even through the first few runs and make those changes and come at it with different approaches,” said Jared.
“It's really cool to see the younger and even the older athletes in the 15-16 age group, develop and ski faster."
The event will wrap up on Sunday.
For more information on the event, visit the Laurentian Ski Hill’s Facebook page.
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