Face of the Day - Tony Chin

I don't even know how it happened, but I ended up joining the Nordic Racers ski club here in Vancouver and made contact with Tony. Like Murray, Tony had essentially no experience with para-nordic skiing, but he too got right into it. Over the past few years, he's given me a lot of coaching and if you want to know what is new in cross-country gear, talk to Tony. Ever heard of skikes? Tony has. Know anything about catskis? Tony does! he is the technology guru of nordic skiing, if there ever was one! If it's new or has been improved, Tony knows about it!

Tony was fantastic as a coach and is the reason I am now skiing with Andrea. He started a para-nordic training group through the club and started recruiting other skiers to join the program as support staff and guides. Andrea, who was relatively new to Vancouver at the time, thought it might be a good way to find others to ski with so she joined the group. The following October, with Lisa being seven months pregnant, I was looking for a guide so Tony held an impromptu race between me and two potential guides. First one to the finish line got to guide me, unless I got there first! Luckily, Andrea got there first and me second, so the other potential guide was out of the running and Andrea was in!

If it hadn't been for Tony, my technical knowledge would not be what it is today. If it wasn't for Tony, I wouldn't have been able to ski as much as I have over the past few years because he gave me a ride up to Cypress more than just one time. Okay, more like a few dozen times! If it wasn't for Tony, I never would have learned how to really wax skis (thanks for the handy dandy wax chart Tony!) If it wasn't for Tony, I never would have met Andrea. So truly, me being at the Paralympic Games is in part thanks to Tony. So thank you Tony for everything! I've learned a lot from you! Happy coaching!