Ski champs head to Corner Brook for international contest

Cross country skiers from across the province, Canada and the rest of the world converged on Corner Brook this weekend.

Blow Me Down Trails Ski Club is playing host to the Haywood 2014 Ski Nationals.

The competition started on Saturday, with over 400 skiers taking part through to March 22.

Shawn Leamon, manager of the ski club, said the more local folks who come out to watch the competition, the better.

"You're going to see people who just skied in Sochi. Graham Nishikawa — he's scheduled — he was the partner of Brian McKeever who just won a paralympic [medal] like last weekend in Sochi," Leamon said.

Nishikawa skied as guide to McKeever, who won an Olympic gold medal on Wednesday in the men's visually impaired 1-kilometre race despite an early fall.

Leamon said there will be other skilled competitors coming from all over the globe to compete in Corner Brook.

"We've got one competitor from Japan, one from Noway, so we've got them coming over from all over."

The Haywood Nationals is said to be one of the largest cross-country ski competitions in Canada.