This year, NDC Thunder Bay is a fourteen athlete, two coach, one equipment/wax guy, and one admin operation. As part of my mission to deliver the stories of my ski career, I have taken on writing short biographies for each of my teammates to create a bigger picture of my life through the people I interact with most. Last year the “NDC Roster” series was very well received, so I’m a bit nervous to venture down the same path a second time for fear that I’ll just be repeating myself… Hopefully this is not the case, as I can assure you that my teammates’ personalities cannot be completely captured in my off-the-cuff biographies.

With thirteen teammates, it was difficult to break people up evenly into logical groups based purely on racing category or seniority on the team, so I got boring and went in alphabetical order. Sorry.

Part 1) NDC Roster: Alannah, Andy, Angus
Part 2) NDC Roster: Bob, Dave, Evan
Part 3) NDC Roster: Julian, Katherine, Mia, Mike
Part 4) NDC Roster: Sadie, Sam, Scott

I would also like to apologize for taking the photos after a training session. I know this is a bit of a faux pas, but it had to be done…

Part 1 feat. Alannah, Andy, Angus

Alannah MacLean

Alannah is starting her 5th season with NDC Thunder Bay and her final year in the Under 23 category. For the past four years, she has maintained a full-time academic course load and will be graduating following the completion of her undergraduate thesis! This past season, Alannah earned her first Senior podium, placing third in the skate sprint at the Canadian Eastern Championships and was co-winner of the CCUNC aggregate at the National Championships. Alannah was one of my first training partners when I joined the NDC, she is now the veteran female on the team and is looking to lead us to the world stage this year by qualifying for the Tour of Canada.

Andy Shields

Spandy Andy, as some call him. A nickname I haven’t taken to using myself, but has a good ring nonetheless. Andy is starting the transition from “seasoned veteran” to “grizzled veteran” on the NDC as he enters his 6th year with the team. Last year Andy earned his first NorAm and Senior National podiums, most notably in the team sprint where he and Mike Somppi skied a dominating, gold medal performance for Lappe and then going on to place 1-2 in the 10k skate the following day. He was also selected to represent Canada on the European B-Tour and finished third in the overall NorAm. Next season, Andy has his sights set on improving his overall NorAm ranking and earning World Cup starts.

Angus Foster

Angus, aka Goose, is a new member of the team and a first year Under23 skier from Big Thunder Nordic. Angus joins a strong group of U23 and Junior men, armed with international sprint experience from the 2014 World Junior Championships. Also the athlete representative for his club, Angus brings a wealth of experience, enthusiasm for the sport as a whole, and occasionally sage-like wisdom to the NDC. Looking forward to suiting up for Canada again next season, Angus’ main focus lies with the World U23 Championships and Tour of Canada.

And that’s all for now, folks. Hope you enjoyed reading about these three terrific teammates; Bob, Dave, and Evan are next on the chopping block – check back in a couple days!