Cross Country Saskatchewan

Board Profiles

Morris Brizinski, President of Cross Country Saskatchewan, has been active in cross country skiing for the past 15 years. For the past 10, he has been President of the Beauval Ski Club as well as coach of the Beauval Trail Blazers, and has been on the Executive of the Cross Country Saskatchewan for the past 5 years. He is also President of Sask Ski.

Morris enjoys skiing for the pure pleasure of being outdoors and being close to Nature. His personal goals for the year are to have one of his students reach the provincial podium in racing, and to attend as many loppets in the Passport Series as possible. Morris strongly advocates people to just get out and ski for the health of it.

David Martinuk - Vice President
David Martinuk lives in Humboldt where he has been an avid cross country skier for over 30 years. He began skiing in the 1970s when skiing had a major growth in Saskatchewan and the Carleton Trail Ski Club was formed.He had played a lot of competitive hockey but found the thrill of being outdoors with changing environments, beautiful scenery of many wonderful trails, the social aspects and physical challenges of loppets, and the never ending desire to ski better , an irresistible invitation to stick with the sport of Nordic skiing.

Over the years he has continued to enjoy with family and friends, many beautiful trails all across Canada, and had not lost the desire to ski new areas. He also has recognized the advantage of skiing on groomed trails as opposed to breaking trail through the snow. "I guess I just enjoy good gliding" he says. This quest for well groomed trails is just one reason Dave has recognized the need for formal organization in Nordic skiing--you need manpower and money to keep trails going.

Martinuk has donned various hats in the world of cross county skiing: he has completed Level 1 and is finishing off Level 2 of certification through NCCP coaching , he has been Jackrabbit instructor at Carlton trail Ski club for over 10 years , he has helped organize loppets, races , family fun days , instucted high school and special interest ski groups, has been chairman of 2002 cross country ski venue at Saskatchewan Winter Games held in Humboldt, and recently has been acting as interim president of Carlton Trail Ski Club and is likely going to be coaching the Zone 5 cross country team at the Melfort Saskatchewan Winter Games.

David has high hopes for the future of cross country skiing in Saskatchewan. It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm and dedication of our present board as well as the member clubs here at CCS. We have been able to build on all of the previous works of our predecessors and have got some great facilities, wonderful coaches and technical staff, and developed areas of skiing in this province-- whether it is the jackrabbit program which is crucial to the survival of skiing, the competitive racing program, the ever popular loppets, or just good old recreational skiing, we have a duty to continue to activate this sport and to promote it not only amongst ourselves but to others. To do this we need to support our local clubs financially and with our time and talents as well to run an efficient provincial organization which can help the clubs and special interest areas accomplish their goals.

Kent Pointon - Recreational Skiing and Facilities Director
Kent Pointon, originally from Calgary, became involved in alpine skiing in his early teens. His interests changed to cross country skiing in his early twenties and they have remained there ever since. The physical aspects of the sport are personally fulfilling while the opportunity to spend time on relatively isolated trails is invigorating.

Kent and his wife are very involved in all aspects of cross country skiing in their home community of La Ronge and at the provincial level. Their son is also interested in loppets, ski racing and biathlon.

Recreational and competitive skiing are both of interest to Kent. Assisting in promoting a healthy life style for youth and adults is also personally fulfilling. In general, Kent’s goals and objectives are to promote participation in cross country skiing for both youth and adults at what ever level they may be interested in. Kent volunteered for the Recreational Skiing and Facilities Director to further these goals.

Chris Fettig - PR Director/Nordic News Editor
Chris Fettig grew up in Regina and was not very involved in skiing, of any kind, until moving north 13 years ago. His interests have always included physical activity, involvement on sports and outdoor pursuits.

Since moving to Pinehouse, Chris has become very involved in numerous aspects of cross country skiing locally and provincially, including: NCCP Level 1 coach in Biathlon, NCCP Level 2 coach in Cross Country, Cross Country Canada Level 1 official, trail grooming, club president, and executive member of Biathlon Saskatchewan as well as the PR Director/Nordic News editor for Cross Country Saskatchewan.

Chris derives great enjoyment from seeing school students and adults alike enjoying themselves while participating in the healthy activity of skiing. His interest in photography has led to him recording memories of loppets, races or local events through photographs. It is for these reasons that he volunteered for the board position he has currently help for the past 2 years. It is his goal to provide an appealing, visual and written record of skiing events throughout the province in the Nordic News.

Janna Horne - Northern Director
Janna Horn is relatively new to the cross country skiing world as she joined the board only this year. Her involvement began when she started working for Northern Recreation Coordinating Committee (NRCC) in 2004 and oversaw the Ski Fit North program. She is now involved with the Don Allen Saskaloppet Committee and the 2008 Western Canada Cross Country Ski Championships Committee. Although she doesn't have skis and poles, she is dedicated to ensuring that the sport continues to grow and is accessible to all Northerners. One personal goal for her is to learn to ski this winter!

Bill Bishopp – Masters Rep./Funding and Finance Director
Bill began cross-country skiing in the back country of the Colorado mountains about 40 years ago. This was the era of cable bindings and pine tar. He continued cross-country skiing when he moved to Saskatoon in 1971. He was mostly involved with skiing with his family. This continued until the mid-1990's when he began skiing loppets. He soon began going to the Sask-Cup races, as the distances were shorter.

Bill enjoys all aspects of cross-country skiing, including touring, the loppets, and racing. This gives him contact with the entire community of skiers. In each case the social aspects are very important. Bill likes the fact that people of all ages, eight to eighty, and abilities can enjoy this sport.

On the competitive side, Bill likes the fact that everyone gets to participate. Each person can progress at their own rate, and the chance of getting hurt is very small. Also, everyone can improve their skiing.

Bill was the President of the Nordic Ski Club Saskatoon for three years, and is currently the Past President. He is in his second year on the Executive of Cross Country Saskatchewan. Bill had been involved with the Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club and was on the Saskatchewan Canoe Association Executive for many years. He was also a Nationally Certified flatwater referee. He brings this background in his role on the Executive.

Bill sees the future of the sport in the Jackrabbit program as an essential requirement for the introduction of young skiers to the sport. Second, and in conjunction with the Jackrabbit program, Bill sees the need for a strong competitive program, with high level coaching, officiating, and athlete performance. Thirdly, Bill sees an active touring program as essential to maintain the strong support and participation of adult skiers in the sport.

Bill’s main purpose for acting as an executive member is to help provide the organizational structure in the province required to encourage all aspects of cross-country skiing in Saskatchewan.

Al Theede

Al Theede has enjoyed cross-country skiing for almost 25 years. He and his family live in Saskatoon and are all very active in the sport. He and his wife have served on various skiing committees over the years. Their three children - two daughters and one son - grew up racing and participating in loppets. His son, now in Grade 12, continues to participate in competitive skiing events.

Theede particularly likes cross-country skiing because of the family aspect. He wanted an activity that could involve the whole family, including parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren. He feels it's important that his children have the chance to interact with people of all ages. Some of the Theedes' favourite cross-country skiing locations include Duck Mountain, La Ronge, and Blue Mountain.

Theede joined Cross Country Saskatchewan board of directors as the Coaches and Officials Director because he thought it was time to get involved at a higher level. He is particularly interested in competitive development. Since he's not only raced in the past, but has also completed a few officials courses, he's bringing with him knowledge and experience.

Keeping kids interested in cross-country skiing - especially those who are post-Jackrabbit age - is also very important to Theede. Along with wanting to see more certified officials, he feels events such as training camps, might be helpful in recruiting and retaining people of all ages.

Cross Country Saskatchewan
1860 Lorne Street, Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 2L7
Phone: (306) 780-9240 � Fax: (306) 781-6021
Email: ccs@sasktel.net