Scottish Roller Ski Series enjoys successful visit to Huntly
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THE fourth and penultimate race in the 2023 Scottish Roller Ski Series was held at Huntly Nordic Ski Club (HNSC) on Saturday, September 9.
With the support of Aberdeenshire Council, Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre provided the venue for a variety of races and age categories, ranging from under 10s to super veterans (over 60).
Many roller ski clubs from around the United Kingdom were represented, with people travelling from as far as London and the south coast to race in this prestigious event, which was also part of the British Roller Ski Series.
The Huntly-based Sunday Morning Training and Junior Development Squad groups have given local youngsters the confidence to enter these competitions with Ciaran Grant and Isabella Stirling winning the under 10 races.
Eilidh Shannon from HNSC won the girls intermediate race with Lorcan Morrison from Fife Club winning the boys race.
There was some tough competition in the under 12 category with three local athletes winning medals; Daniel Limond in third place, Joshua Higginbottom in second and James Taylor in first place.
Another hotly-contested category was the under 14s with joint third places in both girls and boys: Findlay Taylor (HNSC) and Euan Shannon (HNSC) in third, Hamish Ball (Fife) in second, Aiden Grant (HNSC) in first place.
Gwen Somerset (HNSC) and Phoebe Sykes (HNSC) battled for third place, Astrid Ipsen (HNSC) got second and Annabelle Medler came first.
The ongoing jostling for position between Ewan McAdam (Fife) and Rasmus Ipsen (HNSC) continued with Ewan coming first in the under 16s on this occasion. Rasmus finished in second place with Jack Rauscher (Fife) coming third.
A large contingency from the British Biathlon Union (BBU) joined the action, with Isla Birch (BBU) getting second place in the under 16 girls and Elspeth Cruickshank delivering an amazing race and getting a new course record of 15 minutes and 1 second. Danny Hamilton from BBU came second in the under 18s with Jack Somerset (HNSC) winning the trophy for first place.
In the senior championship, Scott Dixon took third place with Gregor Fijalkowski from Cairngorm Biathlon and Nordic Ski Club (CBNSC) in second place and Cameron Cruickshank (HNSC) winning the top spot.
In the ladies seniors, Charlotte Narducci came second with Hannah McHugh from CBNSC in first place.
The Veteran category saw Dave Horsley (HNSC) in second place with Marek Pasterny from London Region Nordic Ski Club (LRNSC) in first place.
Another biathlon athlete, Marketa Hamilton (BBU) got second in the women's veteran category with Beata Novak (CBNSC) taking first place.
Martin Watkins from Wessex Biathlon and Nordic Ski Club took first place in the super veteran category.
A Huntly Nordic Ski Club spokesperson said: "Thanks to Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre for helping us to host this event and to the local public who were able to join us to support the athletes.
"It is great to see such enthusiasm for this sport that we have so much success in, from local events to competing in international events and Olympic Games around the world.
"The athletes look forward to another gruelling day for the fifth and final race of the Scottish Series where they move to Glenmore to compete in the Cairngorm Hill Race."
