Calgary based club victorious with 8th consecutive aggregate championship after the biggest recount since the 2000 Presidential Election
Pete Norwood - Associated Press – Foothills Nordic Ski Club head coach Chris Jeffries can sleep easy tonight. After a tense two days of recounting and waiting, Cross Country Canada has admitted to wrongfully awarding the Nakkertok Ski Club from Cantley, Quebec the 2009 Club Aggregate title, and has rightfully bestowed Foothills Nordic with the coveted honor.
What many are calling “The Great Battle of our Time”, FNSC was once again favored to win its 8th consecutive title at the 2009 National Championships in Duntroon, Ontario. But with its smaller starting lineup than previous years and competing against a team that seemed to recruit every juvenile skier in Canada, it ended up being a much harder battle than originally thought. After Nakkertok claimed a 55 point lead over Foothills after 4 days of racing, the team’s dream started to fade.
“The night prior to the [final] races, I sat everyone down, and we had a good old fashioned ho-down. Shayla [Swanson] gave an incredible speech about perseverance and perspective and it really opened everyone’s eyes. Kevin Sandau capped off the night with the “Inches Speech” from “Any Given Sunday” played from his cell phone that got everyone pumped and excited, I couldn’t have planned it better myself”, the head coach was quoted saying.
The ho-down paid off. After an amazing set of races on the final day of competition, with numerous medals and countless top-30’s, FNSC was poised to grab the title again. At least that’s what many had thought. After the final points tally, Nakkertok seemed to have won by slightest of 30 points, something analyst were calling “suspicious”.
“We immediately called the race TD and performed our own independent recount. The results were startling.” recalls this senior VP of Foothills Nordic.
An inquiry into the matter revealed improper calculation methods and lack of attention were the cause of the false results. After correct calculations were employed, Foothills Nordic had a 6 point lead over its new rival team, something that has everybody saying “My club wins in style.”
“Any club can win with hundreds of points over the next team, but to win by systematically planning out results within 10 points, that takes skills”, one young racer was quoted saying.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” stated [Mike] Viera, Nakkertok Ski Club’s head coach, after being notified of the change on Monday. “The athletes will be disappointed but it will give them more motivation to go after the Aggregate crown at next year’s Championships in Whitehorse. We aren’t going to give up!”
Long time FNSC member Kevin Sandau had this to say about the Nakkertokian’s comments. “I don’t think Mike knows what he’s getting himself into. We have taken his threat of claiming our 9th title very seriously and we will be prepared fight hard for it in Whitehorse.”
To ensure victory at the 2010 Nationals, Chris Jeffries has begun a recruiting campaign, calling all FNSC members or potential members to arms. “This year we had no juvenile boy’s, which hurt us a lot. We were able to pin point our weaknesses and will take steps to correct them in 2010.”
Club officials have confirmed that the aggregate banner will be moved to its rightful club by armed caravan later today. Word of whether or not the Nakkertok club has contaminated it with their autographs is still unclear.
Conspiracy theorists have already flooded online chat rooms giving their own theories on the false results, ranging from bribes, to Chris Jeffries having a soft spot for his old club, even the involvement of extra-terrestrials. Nonetheless, that is for NBC Dateline to uncover.
“We rising against Nakkertok’s onslaught of points is a direct analogy of the Rohirrim’s victory over the Uruk-Hai in the Battle for Helm’s Deep.” Jeffries told reporters after news spread about their win. “We were greatly outnumbered but we stuck together and pulled through.. That’s what really counted.”
In the end, Foothills Nordic has once again proved it is one of the strongest clubs in Canada. And to all those clubs eager to break this clubs winning streak, Jeffries has only one thing to say. “We’ll see you in 2010.”
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