Nighbor Named to Attend European Tour

Canmore Alberta - North Bay's David Nighbor has been named to the European OPA Cup/U23 Championship Team by Cross Country Canada. The team selected for international-level races were recently named following a series of five qualifying races at the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup Circuit at Mont-Saint-Anne, Que, earlier this month.

Nighbor, who recently turned 20, and is the youngest member of the team, graduated as Canada's top junior nordic skier this past spring with 5 gold medals at nationals in Charlo, New Brunswick.

The North Bay native put in solid performances during the Quebec series, and stepped onto the medal podium for the first time as a senior. He placed 3rd in the 15 km free-style event, 4th in the 10 km free-style race, 8th during the 15 km classic race, 10th in the free-style sprint event and 13th in the 30 km classic race.

"It was a stressful couple of weeks", claimed Nighbor, who is at home in North Bay for the holiday season.

"There's strong competition at that level, and the pace is
very fast. I'm pleased with my results (in Quebec) and I'm happy to qualify.

There's going to be a lot of races during the European tour, and it'll definitely teach me to go faster."

Nighbor will be part of a 6 member team of 4 men and 2 women. Joining Nighbor includes Drew Goldsack of Red Deer Alberta, Adam Kates of Sault Ste Marie Ontario,Graham Nishakawa of White Horse, Dasha Gaiasova of Montreal, and Madeline Williams of Edmonton.

Nighbor leaves January 9 and will return late February. During the five week tour the Canadian squad will race in Italy, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.