By Greg Dell’Agnese, Kawartha Zone Director of 365 Events (greg.dellagnese@skipatrol.ca)
In late February Caledon Ski Club Patrol Leader Blair Wallhouse called out to members on the CSP M-ERU (Canadian Ski Patrol Motorcycle Emergency Response Unit) to help his patrol provide sufficient numbers for the Canadian junior national aerials and moguls competition, being held over two weekends in the first part of March. This call-out was subsequently forwarded to all patrollers within Kawartha Zone and a number of them responded to help over the entire event, to Blair’s appreciation. Caledon was one of the few hills in south central Ontario I had not yet skied, so this was a wonderful opportunity.
The patrol was very friendly and welcoming to visiting patrollers. Patrol procedures were a bit different than those in Kawartha Zone (each area has area-specific procedures), but not much different from my previous experiences in CSP Central Zone. As the ski area is larger and there was an event, the contingent of patrollers was greater than I have become accustomed to in Kawartha Zone; it was fun meeting new and familiar faces. The morning briefing was led by the day leader and race and event duty was assigned by the designated race leader. There was a large whiteboard in the patrol hut with your selected sweep assignment and chosen lunch rotation. It was very professional.
The Caledon Ski Patrol has some very nice additional equipment some of which can be found in Kawartha Zone’s summer events trailer, but not at the ski areas. Those of us visiting received some brief training on using that equipment. There are three first-aid rooms across the hill. For this event, there were two toboggans with trauma equipment on standby between the two runs used for the competitions.
It was a fun first day, learning the ways of a different patrol and how it functions as a team, plus patrolling a major event. Patrollers took various event shifts and it certainly provided a different perspective to how a competition runs being inside the boundaries. Boots-off didn’t happen until the day leader gave the day’s wrap up.
I thoroughly enjoyed my day and returned the following weekend for both days. All of the Kawartha Zone patrollers who helped out brought back new ideas and experiences which have been shared with their own patrols. No doubt the next time a call for assistance comes out, there will be an even longer line from the zone of those wanting to participate! Thanks for the experience.
Photos by Greg Dell’Agnese