The cross country season ended in early November for the Elphinstone Coug-ars and other schools on the North Shore.
Head coach Tom Daniels said the 2010 season was a little different from the previous few years where the Cougars were one of the top teams on the North Shore.
He said with the schedule of races alternating between Tuesdays and Thursday, and the ferry schedule using a shoulder season schedule until after the Thanksgiving weekend, Elphi decided to concentrate primarily on training and to compete in only a couple of races after the holiday weekend in October.
"It's difficult for the schools on the North Shore to understand that by changing the race days from Wednesday to Thursday, many of our athletes were unable to compete," said Daniels. "We can't just go and race for half an hour, then leave to take part in other organized evening activities. For us, a competition day is a five to seven-hour ordeal. Add to that the revamped ferry schedule, and our younger athletes would not be able to make the start of their races without going in on the noon ferry.
"We decided to train, go to a couple of races after the Thanksgiving weekend, attend the zone finals at the end of October, and hope for the best."
Daniels said the young group of runners trained hard and showed a strong competitive spirit, but in the end, only Alex Cloherty qualified for the provincials in Victoria in November.
Both coaches, Lexa Pomfret and Daniels, said they were pleased with the effort and spirit demonstrated by this young team.
-Submitted
