How a high school student in Ignace turned a Christmas present into Nordic skiing success

Gavin Berube has turned a Christmas present into Nordic skiing success.

Within months of receiving a pair of skates, the 15-year-old from Ignace, Ont., earned a  provincial championship.

"I've seen my neighbours ski around the lake quite a bit, and it looked pretty fun," Gavin said. 

So he asked for skate skis for Christmas. He got his wish courtesy of his parents, and hit the snow with a neighbour teaching him some basic skills.

The teen isn't a stranger to high school sports, as he'd competed in cross-country running. In fact, the school's athletic director and guidance counsellor, Johann Prager, said Gavin is a "natural athlete."

"We were down in the Toronto area for cross-country running," Prager said. "We had some long delays.

"So we kind of got to talking, and he's like, 'Yeah, I want some skis for Christmas and I want to do cross-country skiing.' And I was like, 'Well, if you like cross-country skiing, you'd love skate skiing, so I'd look into that.'"

Prager was in contact with Gavin's parents and the neighbour who was helping with training, and they decided to enter him in a race at a high school meet in Dryden.

"He ended up winning the meet," Prager said. "Then he ended up competing some more, and we knew we wanted him to compete at the junior level to have the best possible chance."

Gavin then raced in Kenora, where he earned a spot in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSSA) Nordic skiing championships, which were held in Lakefield in February.

He placed first in the high school junior boys division, with a time of just over 16:51, about 48 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Gavin also finished 10th in the 20-kilometre race at this year's Sleeping Giant Loppet in Thunder Bay.

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