Photo: Peggy Hung

Vernon's Hannah Mehain competing in the women's 10 km classic distance race on Sunday

More than 500 athletes from across North America competed at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre over the weekend in the first stop on the Haywood NorAm race series.

"This race weekend is always a fantastic start to the season," says Sovereign Lake Nordic Club Head Coach, Eric de Nys. "Many first-time experiences for local athletes which is all part of building a strong future."

The Haywood NorAm race series is a national-level competition for cross-country ski racers across Canada and the U.S.

One of the local athletes competing was, Paige Latta, a is Junior Woman who qualified 17th in Saturday’s sprint qualifiers and ultimately finished 21st in the heats on home turf.

"I felt good in the qualifier and went out strong pushing over the hills into the finish," explains Latta. "The home course was challenging but fun and made for a good battle with other competitors during the heats."

Former U.S. Ski Team member and Olympian, Andy Newell, also competed at Sovereign Lake over the weekend and won first place in Saturday’s sprint races. 

There were also members of the Canada National Ski Team in attendance as well.

This event was good practice for many volunteers as the Nordic club prepares to host Ski Nationals in March 2020.

The next race stop for on the Haywood NorAm will be in Canmore this week.

For race results click here.