When Christine Dorion was the mother of toddlers and needed a family-friendly activity for her kids, Kaitlyn and Bryson, she started going to Porcupine Ski Runners.
She found the club’s cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails, along with its comforting chalet, were great places to spend a snowy day.
Now, about a decade later, the two kids are teenagers who’ve spent a good deal of time growing up at the club, located just off Highway 101 in Schumacher.
“I think it’s contagious,” Dorion says. “I brought my kids to the (youth) program and it just spilled over to being very involved in the club.”
Dorion is now the club’s president and youth co-ordinator. She works to ensure today’s kids have the same opportunities hers did growing up; a chance to get outdoor exercise in the winter amid breathtaking trails, groomed over thick Northern Ontario snow.
The Porcupine Ski Runners club is one of the largest ski clubs in Canada. It’s a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organization that boasts nearly 1,000 members.
It has nine trails, ranging from the 1.25-kilometre Green trail for beginners, to the 13.5-kilometre Olympic trail for experts. It also has about 3.5 kilometres worth of lighted trails, so users can go out at night.
Dorion is particularly proud of the Jackrabbit youth development program for kids between ages three and 12 and how it doesn’t just offer a chance to ski, but also a chance to socialize in the club after. It takes place on Sunday afternoons and when skiing is done, kids can grab a hot chocolate and do activities, such as colouring, in the chalet.
There’s also the Biathlon Bears program, for kids nine to 14, who want to learn the competitive sport, which includes using an air rifle.
Dorion, who also delivers cross-country lessons herself, says she’s seen many local kids take to cross-country skiing quickly.
“It’s easier for kids than it is for adults,” she says. “I find it’s the fearlessness (that kids have). If you learn to ski when you’re older, you’ll have a harder time than if you’re younger, because you have fear.”
50 years of cross-country skiing
As the Porcupine Ski Runners was founded in 1972, the 2022-23 season is being celebrated as the club’s 50th year.
To celebrate the milestone, Dorion was part of organizing some special events this year, including two Loota Loppits. Members brought a gift to leave on a table for someone else and got a chance to bring home a gift themselves — kind of like a Secret Santa for skiers.
The club’s annual Loppet, which skiers can attend to ski competitively — or just for fun — took place on Feb. 25 and was followed by a celebratory banquet.
This weekend, the club is hosting a provincial youth championship, bringing elite cross-country skiers from across the province to the club to ski competitively.
All this work keeps Dorion busy — she often tells her friends she’s not available to see them until the spring — but, she’s ok with the workload. She feels her work allows the club to carry on a long-traditional of building a healthy skiing community in Timmins.
“It’s something we have locally here,” she says. “We have such a nice facility. I might be biased, but I think we have the best Northern Ontario cross-country club here. That’s why I (organize) races; they all love coming to Timmins.”
She says the fact that the club is a non-profit is often forgotten, but that’s what makes it special. She says her work is to the benefit of an entire community, not one person.
Dorion, by day, is the owner of telecommunications company Northern Connections.
“But this is like my winter job,” she says. “I have two jobs in winter.”
However, her role with club is volunteer-based. Kaitlyn and Bryson now volunteer for the club, too. It’s volunteers that make the club so successful, Dorion says.
“A lot of people think the Porcupine Ski Runners is a business, but it’s not at all,” she says. “It’s solely run by our members and our volunteers. If we didn’t have those two things, we wouldn’t have a club.”
