November 9, 2004 for immediate release


November 9, 2004 for immediate release
CIS Sanctions National Cross-Country Ski Championships
The 2005 national cross-country ski championships in Prince George willmark the first time that UNBC will compete in competition sanctioned byCanadian Inter-university Sport (CIS).

Cross-Country Canada and the CIS have announced that the 2005 nationalswill be held in partnership with CIS. Although the nationals havepreviously served as championships for college and university Nordicski teams, they have never - before this year - been sanctioned by CIS.

"It's normal to see teams from Carleton University, Trent, Waterloo,UBC, and the Alberta universities attend the nationals, so this willprovide our team with some great exposure," says Tuppy Hoehn, coach ofthe UNBC nordic ski team. "To have the nordic skiers be the first UNBCathletes to compete at the CIS level says a lot about the potential ofdeveloping a first-class Nordic ski training centre in Prince George."

"Achieving CIS status is one of our goals in Athletics, and thisdevelopment is an important step for us," says Len McNamara, UNBCAthletics and Recreation Coordinator. "Simply put, no other sportorganization in the country can match the breadth and scope of the CISand we want to be able to provide our student-athletes with theopportunity to compete at that level."

CIS is the national governing body for university sport in Canada,comprised of 50 member-schools, more than 10,000 student athletes, and550 coaches in eleven different sports. Their endorsement will helpboost the profile of this year's national championships, which arebeing hosted by the local Caledonia Nordic Ski Club.

The National Cross-Country Ski Championships will be held in PrinceGeorge at the Otway Nordic Centre from February 27 to March 6, 2005.