'A really good place to be': Newcomers to Sask. learn ski lessons at Mission Ridge
For the second straight year, the Canadian Ski Patrol (CSP) Qu’Appelle Zone along with Mission Ridge Winter Park invited the Regina Open Door Society (RODS) and the North Central Family Centre (NCFC) for a day of family fun.
Tubing and skiing were just some of the activities offered at the day long event. Among the attendees were many newcomers to Saskatchewan.
For some, the event marked a first time skiing experience. Omar Ahmed, who moved to Regina from Egypt, was one of them.
“It means so much because in my home country we don’t have ice at all,” he said.
“We do a lot of activities in water but not on ice.”
Victoria Flores, a spokesperson for RODS, said it’s important for new families to get outside and experience winter.
“When it comes to winter sports and winter activities, it’s a really great way for them to feel part of the community and maybe find a new hobby or new sport for them to do in the future,” she said.
CSP was on location providing free hands on lessons to the youth.
“The Canadian Ski Patrol loves to be out here at Mission Ridge,” Roseann Nasser, CSP Qu’Appelle president, told CTV News.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts sent to your device
“We love to see people skiing and we like to see them skiing safely, as part of this opportunity the kids are taking the lessons to learn basic skills and to be safe on the hill.”
For newcomers to Saskatchewan, skiing is a way for families to experience a winter with a seasonal favourite.
“The first thing you want to do is [ask] ‘Where is everything? What do I do for friends?’ And they [friendships] usually happen in schools or with your neighbours and in activities you join,” Flores said.
Skiing the hills, mixed with the cold weather can be a challenge for new Canadians, but Ahmed said the two are similar.
"It’s like skiing, it is very hard at the beginning but like you have to keep warm and wear a lot of clothes and it will work out eventually,” Ahmed said.
All in all, Ahmed enjoyed the day, and the lessons learned along the way.
“It was a really fun day with a lot of helpful staff and it is overall a really good place to be.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.