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."
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it’s too late
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.