In Jasper, we’re lucky to have several annual events which blend sport and community in a fun yet competitive fashion—think Totem’s storied Spring Run Off on Mother’s Day, the Freewheel Biathlon in October and the Astoria Hotel’s Root Romp.
For the last few years, however, another event has been making a strong case for the title of Best Event of the Year: The Association Canadienne Française de l’Alberta’s Winter Pentathlon Hivernal. Since that doesn’t exactly roll off la langue, let’s keep it simple and call the snowy festival what the locals call it: the ACFA Winter Pentathlon.
Besides the biking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, skating and running events, there are five things that make The Winter Pentathlon awesome—well, there’s probably more than that, but in the spirit of BuzzFeed, Chive and Vice, we’ve made a top five list for the millennial in you to easily digest.
1. IT’S NOT THAT HARD
OK, so participating in the Winter Pentathlon isn’t exactly a walk in the park; these are real events that take real coordination, stamina and strategy, but it’s not the Olympics; it’s not like you’re being asked to ski a steep mogul run or do a triple lutz in nothing but skates and a thong. In fact (with apologies to Jean-Yves Doucet, 2018’s only solo competitor), none of the events require a great deal of disciplined training—just the right equipment and an open mind. Never snowshoed before? Strap on those misery slippers and go for a jaunt. Don’t know how to properly shift your weight while cross-country skiing? Neither do 75 per cent of the people who do it on local trails! Haven’t skated since you were a kid? Doesn’t matter! You’re wearing a Chewbacca costume! Which brings us to our second point…
2. THE COSTUMES
The best way to know that you’re at a fun-first event is to look at your fellow competitors’ athletic wear. This is not an event where you see a lot of speed suits (unless you count Ange Blake and Robyn Bangle’s figure-hugging superhero numbers—yowza!). In general, the number of yellow wrap-around shades is low (Julie-Anne Weaver’s safety goggles didn’t have quite the right tint). Instead, you have impressively creative and hilarious costumes—the elaborate nature of which occasionally compromises participants’ competitiveness. But don’t tell that to the polyethylene suit-garbed Mike and Camus D’Antonio, who as a team of two beat the entire field! Likewise, the Minons, Caro Roy and Marie-Andre Acand, weren’t impeded by their ensembles, either. The Winter Pentathlon has seen all sorts of incredible outfit themes, from bashful bandits to dashing doctors, from Suessian sprites to radical Rastas, from voyageurs to villains. This year, the team of five Mad Scientists took home the hardware for best costume, after Geoff Fraser and company turned five lab aprons and five pairs of biohazard gloves into five gift certificates for five lunches at local eateries…which is a great segue to the next bullet:
3. THE PRIZES
There is no other way to put it: the prizes that each participant receives at the Winter Pentathlon are amazing—that is to say, the donations that various local businesses provide to Pentathlon organizers are amazing—that is to say, the businesses themselves are amazing! The $30 entry fee seems like chicken change when you’re walking home with an armful of loot and since organizers do a great job of encouraging all ages and abilities with prizes for Best Team Spirit, along with rewards for finishing first in the various categories, there is a terrific diversity of participants. Which leads us to…
4. THE MIXED BAG OF PARTICIPANTS
This is perhaps the best thing about the Winter Pentathlon. Not only is the event open to all ages and abilities, but a wide variety of demographics actually answer the call to participate. The image from the first iteration of the Winter Pentathlon, wherein an all-Filipino team was crowned with the Best Spirit Award, still melts my heart four years later. Some of them had never seen snow before that winter! Indeed, the all-kids team from Ecole Desrochers had the same effect on 2018 spectators. When young Léa Fortin flew around the final corner on the running course and deliberately wiped out in spectacular and athletic fashion—the rest of her team trailing behind in uproarious laughter—the crowd went nuts. Here was everything you wanted to cheer for: a group of young people playing outside together in a semi-competitive but fun environment and encouraging each other as teammates. Indeed, as parents took snaps of the Ecole Desrochers team in front of a sparkling Pyramid Mountain, one couldn’t help but think their tired, satisfied smiles were the perfect picture of what makes the Winter Pentathlon so cool. Which brings us to our last point…
5. IT’S COLD
OK so on the surface this part of the Winter Pentathlon doesn’t look so attractive and believe me, when it was minus 20 degrees at 9 a.m. and Facebook wasn’t giving me any signs that the Pentathlon was cancelled due to a dump of snow and frigid temps, I was pretty whiny. However, I knew that Parks Canada staff had been up grooming the course since before dawn and if they were willing to get frostbite on their faces for the good of the event, then who was I to bail on my teammates just so I could sit on my comfy couch in my warm housecoat and binge-watch Netflix with coffee, Baileys and cinnamon buns close at hand? Actually now that I think about it I’m shocked I made it. But I’m glad I did! Indeed, from talking to other participants, most folks’ day went thusly: get up, grumpily anticipate the worst; force yourself to follow through; then realize in the warm sun and the sparkling snow that it’s actually the best.
Winter Pentathlon, don’t ever change.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
