Thunder Bay's Loch Lomond Ski Area 'good to go' for national U16 championships

Loch Lomond Ski Area in Thunder Bay, Ont. has been given the green light to host a major national alpine ski championship next year.

National downhill skiing officials overseeing the Under-16 Canadian Alpine Championships paid a site visit on Thursday, and, according to event chair Dave Bradley, the facility is "good to go," despite needing a few upgrades.

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"We have to do quite a bit of removal of trees and opening up some more slope area and making the slopes a bit wider and safer," he said, adding that the main start ramp also has to be reconfigured.

New timing facilities also need to be set up, Bradley said.

Overall, the venue received a positive review, he added, especially the facilities on-site for para-skiiers. Twentypara-athletes from across Canada are slated to compete in Thunder Bay, along with 170 to 180 athletes.

Loch Lomond 'perfect' for some alpine events: national officials

Loch Lomond, while a smaller hill compared with some other facilities in Canada, works well for a number of events, according to national skiing officials.

"While it is not among the biggest hills in the country, it is perfect for slalom and GS (giant slalom),"Dusan Grasic, a director for Alpine Canada in Thunder Bay was quoted as saying in a press release issued by local organizers.

"We are challenged with vertical distance for Super G, but the terrain has the features where if we are a little creative we can gets results by allowing athletes to make two competitive runs."

Hosting the national event in the city will give the alpine skiing community a chance to promote the sport, especially to people with disabilities, according to the national governing body for para-skiing in Canada.

"We will be reaching out to the children's treatment centre, the school boards, First Nations to get some young people with disabilities to come out and experience coming down the hill," Gwen Binsfeld, with Para Alpine Canada, was quoted as saying in the media release.

The championships run from Feb. 21 to 25, 2017.