Prince George, B.C. – The University of Northern British Columbia is joining the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club (CNSC) in providing the country’s elite cross-country skiing athletes with an exceptional experience at next month’s 2023 Nordiq Canada Selection Trials and Nordiq Cup (COC) in Prince George.

For the first time in Nordiq Canada event history, a post-secondary tuition credit will be available to participating athletes, as UNBC will offer a $2,000 Nordiq Cup Tuition Credit to eligible participants.

“We’re thrilled so many young athletes and their parents are coming to Prince George to experience the spectacular facilities at the Caledonia Nordic Ski Centre. We hope this incentive, combined with UNBC’s close connection with and proximity to the Club, will encourage participants to return for their post-secondary journey,” says UNBC President Dr. Geoff Payne. “UNBC is well-positioned to offer elite athletes participating in winter sports the ability to balance a rigorous training schedule with achieving their academic goals.”

The Nordiq Cup Tuition Credit builds on a longstanding relationship between UNBC and CNSC focused on supporting high-performance student-athletes. In 2013, this partnership led to the creation of the UNBC Otway Nordic Legacy Scholarship Fund, championed by CNSC members, which provides financial awards to Nordiq athletes studying at UNBC.

"This is absolutely fantastic; we're so appreciative of UNBC for this incredibly generous initiative,” says Kevin Pettersen, Chair of Competitions, Caledonia Nordic Ski Club. “Our vision has been to strengthen the linkage between UNBC and CNSC, allowing us to bring both academic excellence and Nordic sports excellence together at our world-class Nordic facility that is so close to UNBC. In addition, our vision embraces the entire UNBC student body such that the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club becomes like a second home and an integral part of the student's recreational, social and community experience and helps inspire their active and healthy Northern lifestyle."

Approximately 250 high-performance athletes, aged 16 to 23, will converge on CNSC’s world-class facilities from January 18 to 21 to compete for the opportunity to represent Canada at the Junior/U23 Nordic Skiing World Championship in Whistler the following week. The Nordiq Cup Tuition Credit is open to all athletes who compete at the event and wish to study at UNBC at the undergraduate level, up to and including entry to the September 2024 semester.

“Nordiq Canada understands the importance and challenges student-athletes face in finding the balance in a dual pursuit of academic and athletic excellence. So much so that we believe it is of critical importance to support and integrate academic pursuits as a critical component of the athlete development pathway in Canada,” says Chris Jeffries, high-performance Director, Nordiq Canada. “This generous tuition credit by UNBC to student-athletes participating at the Selection Trials in Prince George is another step our community has taken with its partners to help ease the financial burden on these young athletes who continue to chase their performance goals on snow, while staying on track towards pursuing a career after sport in the classroom.”

To be eligible, athletes who compete in the Nordiq Cup must complete an online prospective student profile by February 1, 2023.