Sleetmute attends rural state ski and biathlon championships in White Mountain

by Keith Conger

Skiers from across Alaska attended the 35th Annual Western Interior Rural State Ski and Biathlon Championships in White Mountain from March 31 to April 2. In all, 54 competitors came from as far west as Wales, which looks out on the Bering Strait, as far north as Shishmaref, which sits on the shores of the Chukchi Sea, and as far east as Nenana, which watches the Yukon flow by. But for the first time in decades, the southern border of participation at the event was defined by a Kuskokwim River village – Sleetmute.

Longtime Sleetmute lead teacher and ski coach Angela Hayden brought seventh-grader Brian (BJ) Derendy Jr. and fifth-grader Ethan John to White Mountain.

“The meet was perfect for them,” she said.

Derendy and John share the same hurdles as other rural Alaska skiers. Because of the early season’s scarcity of snow, darkness and cold, unlit trails, lack of professional grooming, and no warming huts, it is harder to train in the bush in November and December than it is in the big cities. The best race conditions off the road system typically occur when the snow in Anchorage and Fairbanks is already melting or gone.

A Western Alaska teacher named John Miles responded to these challenges in 1978 by creating a yearly, mid-March ski gathering of Bering Strait School District students. In 1986, Miles looked to further expand the sport across rural Alaska, so he joined forces with coaches from settlements on interior river systems. The result of that cooperative effort was the Western Interior Ski Association (WISA) and the establishment of the annual Western Interior Rural State Ski and Biathlon Championships in late March/early April.

The 2023 Western Interior Championships opened with a skate-ski race on a warm, sunny Friday evening. After the high schoolers worked their way around the 7.5-kilometer Sweetheart View course, Derendy and John joined other junior high racers (5th – 8th grades) to scoot around the 3.7-kilometer Far Side trail. Derendy earned a ribbon for his tenth-place finish in the junior high boys division.

Like Sleetmute, schools attending the three-day event in White Mountain provided ski equipment for their students. But to compete against big city schools, rural racers must obtain two sets of skis, boots, and poles – one for a skate ski race and one for the classic ski race. WISA’s solution to avoiding the added equipment expense was substituting a biathlon competition for the traditional classic event. Organizers soon found out that the combination of skiing and shooting was a perfect activity for remote Alaskan athletes who regularly use rifles as part of their subsistence lifestyles.

“To attend the WISA meet, we needed only skate ski gear,” Hayden said. “The guns and the ammunition were provided.”

The WISA biathlon competition was held on Saturday in a snowstorm. During the race, Derendy and John skied to a six-point range where they found identical .22-caliber target rifles, and range monitors, waiting for them. Then each took five shots at 4.5-inch targets in the prone position from 50 meters away. Every missed shot resulted in a mandatory, time-consuming, 60-meter penalty loop. All biathletes completed two laps around the course and fired a total of ten shots.

Hayden said the boys were ready for the race and settled their heart rates before shooting their rifles. “I really appreciated the biathlon,” she said. “It levels the playing field for someone like BJ, who is a good shot. The biathlon gave him an opportunity to shine. He was proud that he hit 6 of 10 targets.”

Derendry and John joined forces Sunday morning in the team sprint relays. Each skied around a 2.7-kilometer course that featured a 200-foot elevation gain, and a long, steep, straight downhill section. After the race, Derendry said, “Going up the hill was hard work, but going down the hill was wonderful!”

Hayden says that when she arrived in Sleetmute 15 years ago, the principal had just received a grant to purchase classic ski gear. Then, about nine years ago, an Anchorage-based ski outreach program called Skiku came to the village.

“The Skiku volunteers were surprised to learn that our kids were already on skis,” said Hayden. They came with skate equipment and saw that Sleetmute was invested in the sport, so they left some gear. When Hayden inquired about rural ski racing, Skiku put her in touch with a WISA representative. Skiku and WISA then collaborated this past winter to send a biathlon instructor to the village.

Although Hayden’s ninth-grade daughter, Kylie, competed in Anchorage this year, the ski coach realized that Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) races were only available for high school athletes, but she had many upper elementary and middle school kids.

“I really wanted to have my younger skiers do something, so we set our sights on WISA.”

Hayden says that many schools in her region have had visits from Skiku over the years, so these sites have ski gear and some recent history in the sport. She is invited to address staff members at the Kuspuk School District’s August in-service in Aniak, (the site that won the very first WISA high school boys team trophy in 1987).

“My plan is to say, hey, let’s get more kids out on skis.” She finds that the most challenging part about the sport is identifying good places to ski, so some of her presentation will talk about how to create and maintain trails.

Hayden envisions hosting races in Sleetmute next year with skiers from other KSD schools attending.

“I’m thinking, bring ‘em all to one place, do a little clinic, and teach them how to race,” she said. Hayden hopes Skiku will come to help with the race organization.

The Sleetmute skiers are already looking forward to the 2024 WISA Championships, which will be hosted by Nenana. When asked about his WISA experience, John replied, “I like skiing and meeting new people. But I want to bring more kids from Sleetmute.”