ALBERTA CUPS 7 & 8 March 27 & 28 2010 (updated March 29)

Welcome to the 13th annual Sharkfest!

Saturday RESULTS: www.zone4.ca
Sunday RESULTS: www.zone4.ca

Photos by Ray Schmidt:
Saturday Mass starts skate
Sunday Team Sprints

RACE NOTICE: Sharkfest Race Notice PDF (updated March 5)

Alberta Cup 7 on Saturday March 27 features the “traditional” mass starts by category.
Alberta Cup 8 on Sunday March 28 is new for Mt. Shark - Team Sprints (2 person teams). Details

Wind it up one more time for the traditional mass start by category races on Saturday. Then, on Sunday it’s the new 2 person Team Sprint Relay—find a partner and go for the gold, or a whack of great draw prizes from our local sponsors. These include sporting equipment from Lifesport and Trail Sports, Gord’s Running Room, Campione Cycles (2 x $200 gift certificates) for your cross training, a $500 gift certificate from Engadine Lodge, and many more.

COURSE MAPS:
Saturday Course Maps 5k 3.5k 2.75k (PDF)
Saturday Course Maps Jackrabbit (PDF)
Sunday Team Sprint Courses (PDF)
Team Sprint Jackrabbit stadium map (DOC)
Team Sprint Juvenile stadium map (DOC)
Team Sprint Midget Junior Open stadium map (DOC)

Course, Road and Weather Update (Mar. 26)
The course is in excellent condition. There was some precipitation earlier today, but no accumulation. The course will be set tonight.

The road is generally good with some muddy/washboard sections. There is some snow on the access road but mostly a gravel surface and should not be a problem. Watch for sheep and deer on the road.

The weather calls for a 40% chance of showers in early evening and then clearing, with a low of +1C. Saturday will be a mix of sun and cloud, turning sunny near noon, with a high of 12.

Snow and Road Conditions Update (Mar. 24)
There has been lots of snow over the last couple weeks, over 60 cm, with the latest dusting of 5 cm yesterday! The forecast for the area is sunny with some cloud, and highs of 80 C, so bring your suntan lotion.

We will update the RMR website (www.rmracers.ca) with road conditions into Mt. Shark on Friday night, and Saturday morning by 7 AM, if we receive any significant updates from Volker Stevin road and maintenance staff.

Remember to arrange car pooling if you can, and be aware of the road conditions if you are driving from Canmore to Mt.Shark. Skiers coming from the Calgary area are advised to take the Highway 40 route then Smith Dorrien Hwy. Expect snowy winter conditions from Mount Engadine Lodge to Mt.Shark parking lot, so have your vehicle equipped accordingly with decent winter tires or leave it home and car pool.

Other Reminders:

• don’t want to drive back – stay at Mount Engadine, contact Chris at 403-678-4080, or email lodge@mountengadine.com;
• save room for the famous RMR Mt. Shark smokies;

TEAM SPRINT

There is basic information on the format of the Team Sprint race in the Race Notice. In follow-up to some questions received about the make-up of teams, and the desire for optimal participation, more details are provided below:

Official teams for the category awards will have two members of the same gender in each category. Athletes can race up to oldest person in category, and masters can “race down”; i.e. to younger category or enter open men or open women.
The team members can be from separate clubs and qualify for individual category awards, but in that case their results would not count towards the CCA Club Team Sprint Award. To qualify for the Club award, both team members must be from the same club.

Participants for Sunday will initially register as individuals. In terms of finalizing team members, the ZONE4 registration has a box to “enter team member if known”. Please complete this item when registering if you know your team member. We will however accept names for team members at the Team Captain’s meeting on Friday evening March 26, and at the Mt. Shark site (Race office - ABC Trailer) until 2:00 PM Saturday March 27. This will maximize opportunities for communication within clubs and between clubs for making up teams.

Potential “unofficial” teams - mixed male and female, or mixed by more than one category, will be accepted in the “Sport Event” category that has been added to ZONE4. The “Male” category would accept mixed teams; the “Female” category would have only females.

This should give everyone who travels to the event an opportunity to have fun and participate.

OTHER DETAILS:

Regarding road conditions, we have been in contact with the people that maintain the road from Canmore to Mt. Shark and from Pocaterra to Mt. Shark. Volker Stevin (VS) has responded to our request to maintain the Canmore to reservoir hill, and also the road from Engadine Lodge to Mt. Shark parking lot. This is to include an early morning grading and sanding of the reservoir hill and the road to the parking lot, as required. VS knows that 300+ races and spectators will be on site for the 13th annual Sharkfest. As we are expecting a large crowd for the new Team Sprint Relay, please, please, please consider carpooling, and carpooling in a vehicle with good winter tires or all- or four- wheel drive, regardless of what the weather and road conditions may appear to be. The weather in the Rockies can change quickly in the spring.

There is an excellent snow base at Mt. Shark. It is warm now, but the forecast is for cooler than average temperatures over the next two weeks. Site inspections will occur at Mt. Shark March 16 and March 20, and we’ll have another announcement after March 20 with regard to snow conditions, road conditions, and preparations for the event.

From Chris Williams at Mount Engadine Lodge - a great supporter of Sharkfest, and again donating a feature draw prize worth $500:

“Just wanted to let you know and see if you could spread the word a bit,
we have lots of availability the weekend of Sharkfest and for any two
night stays we are offering a 15% discount. If you know of anyone who
wants to stay closer to the event than Canmore have them contact us
right away!

Thanks - snow is amazing up here right now - over 60cm this week alone!

Until next time…

Chris Williams
Innkeeper
Mount Engadine Lodge
Canmore, AB
www.mountengadine.com

“Get a new attitude at altitude!”

Accommodation possibilities:

Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge is a supporter of the event. Ask for the Mt. Sharkfest rate.
Phone 1-800-665-6111; FAX 1-403-678-6484
web site: http://www.rockyski.ca
email: info@rockyski.ca

For other accommodation visit:http://www1.travelalberta.com/en-ca/index.cfm?pageid=3&Search=Search&Locale=Canmore

Ed Gillmor- Event Chairman