Twin Lakes Secondary School athletes recent skied into the history books, with the school's best ever result at the OFSAA Nordic skiing championship, bringing home five medals and attaining the rank of third in the province.
"It was an exceptional event for the team," said coach Jeff Irwin. “It was definitely a highlight for these hardworking athletes and as a school, it’s our best finish ever in Nordic.”
Anna Vurma, a Grade 9 student, captured a gold medal in the junior girls’ 5-kilometre race held at Lakefield College near Peterborough.
Her big brother, Erik Vurma, 17, came home with three medals. His first was silver in the 7.5 km senior boys' race.
“It was seven degrees out and the senior boys’ raced last, so everyone else had skied on it, so it was pretty slow and slushy, but there were certain sections in the shade you could kind find and they were a bit faster," he said.
What made the race extra tricky was the interval start, where an athlete is started every 15 seconds, rather than a mass start.
"You don't know how well you are doing. You don't have the people in front of you, that if you pass that person, you beat them," Erik Vurma said.
His time, along with the times of his teammates, resulted in a bronze medal.
Fellow Grade 12 student Elle Waite won a silver medal in the senior girls' 7.5 km individual race.
“I started a little fast and ended up slowing down at the end, but I had a good race," she said.
The sprint relays were held on the second day of competition, which attracted more than 600 student athletes. The morning was cool, but it warmed up, softening the snow when the finals were held, for the top eight teams, in the afternoon.
Like a running relay, a team member skis a one-kilometre loop and tags the next of four skiers in a transition zone.
The Twin Lakes senior boys' team was fast enough to capture the silver.
"That was a very exciting race," said coach Irwin.
Waite said the school has a good ski team "because we have really good coaches."
Sarah Vurma coached the team, along with Irwin and Charlotte Bruhn.
Senior girls' competitor Kaiya Robinson-Miller thanks the coaches who "worked really, really hard. Ms. Vurma is always finding new gear for us and she holds so many practices after school," she said.
Irwin said his fellow coach spent a lot of time accumulating and maintaining equipment for the school team, making the sport easy to access for new skiers.
"The No. 1 thing Ms. Vurma tells us before every race is just to have fun and smile," said student racer Danielle Irwin. "When we went to OFSAA she said 'just enjoy the experience.'"
Those smiles were meaningful to see at the competition that attracted Ontario's best high school cross-country skiers, said Sara Vurma.
"Seeing them smiling and proud of their accomplishments was awesome," said the coach, who also thanked Hardwood Ski and Bike for making ski passes for the students affordable and for their efforts on the trails.
