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Biography

Quick Facts   -   Biography   -   Why I Ski   -   Goals   -   Results

Quick Facts

Place of Birth: Ottawa, Ontario

Hometown: Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario  

Residence: Thunder Bay, Ontario

Date of Birth: March 19th, 1991 (Age: 28) 

Years in Skiing: 24* (*I'm told I started skiing at around age 3. I don't remember my first time on skis so for all I know I'm being fed tall-tails.)    

Category for the 2018/2019 Season: Senior Men 

Club: 

Teams: 

Greatest Skiing Moment: Anchoring Canada to a 9th place finish at 2011 Nordic World Junior Championships in Otepää, Estonia. We just edged out the Americans! VIDEO LINK!!!

Biography             CiteZoneBiography

     My name is Andy Shields and I am a full-time Cross Country Skier. I started skiing before I can remember in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario. Although my hometown rarely offered great skiing conditions, I was still able to ski consistently over the short winters - often resorting to more creative methods of finding or making places to ski. I joined Waterloo Region Nordic’s Jackrabbits at a very young age and enjoyed it immensely right from the start. I progressed through the program and did my first ‘real’ race (‘real’ because there were medals only for 1st, 2nd and 3rd) at the age of eight. My first racing experience was so fun that I eagerly participated in my club’s racing team that raced provincially in subsequent seasons. My father eventually became the coach of the racing team and with his and many others’ guidance I was able to remain competitive with the top skiers my age in the country since my first Nationals in 2007.

 

     My skiing career took a huge leap forward during the 2009-10 season where I qualified to represent Canada at 2010 Nordic World Junior Championships in Germany.  My performances that season also allowed me to be selected to the National Development Centre - Thunder Bay (the highest level ski team in Ontario and one of the best Nationally) for the next season. I moved to Thunder Bay in the summer of 2010 to train full-time with NDC - Thunder Bay. Training with NDC - Thunder Bay went very well and I was able to pull off a very successful 2010-11 race season: I qualified to represent Canada at 2011 World Juniors in Estonia, became National Junior Champion, was voted North America’s Best Overall Junior Male by skitrax magazine and was named Cambridge, Ontario's 2011 amateur athlete of the year!

 

     The 2012-13 season marked two new milestones in my career: I qualified for my first World Under-23 championships in Liberec, Czech Republic, and raced my first world cups in Quebec City and Canmore, Alberta. In 2014 I represented Canada for the second time at World U23 Championships. In 2015, I earned my first Senior Nationals medals and finished 3rd overall in the NorAm tour.       

Biography

Why I Ski

     I ski for fun! I ski to find how far my specific set of traits can take me in the world of competitive cross country skiing.  

 

      Winning or doing well in a race gives me the greatest sense of accomplishment. Since joining the Development Centre team, I’ve found that I really enjoy the lifestyle of a full-time skier; objectives to complete every training day, terrific teammates and coaches, traveling the country and the world, and being a part of the incredible Thunder Bay skiing community. My skiing pursuits also allow me to promote an active, healthy, doping-free lifestyle, and to be a role model for young skiers as well as for people in the general community. Through competitive sport, I am able to learn and teach the concepts behind the pursuit of dreams – lessons that will be useful for my life beyond skiing. 

Goals

My goals for the 2018-19 season are;

  • To be a consistent competitor with North America’s best for top-five finishes and podiums on the NorAm circuit

  • Qualify and race in the 2020 North American World Cups

 

 

Results and Accomplishments

Career Accomplishments:

 

World Cup Starts: 2 (Quebec City QC. and Canmore AB. with a best preformace of 41st in Quebec City.) 
 

Represented Canada at World Under-23 Championships;

2013 in Liberec, Czech Republic and

2014 in Val di Feimme, Italy. 


Represented Canada at World Junior Championships; 

2010 in Hinterzarten, Germany and

2011 in Otepää, Estonia. 

 

 

6th Senior Men (2nd U23 Men) aggregate at 2014 Ski Nationals, Corner Brook, NFLD

Ranked 2nd U-23 male in Canada after the 2013-14 season

First NorAm Podium in the Senior Category: 3rd - Skate Sprint, 2013 Western Canadian Championships, Grande Prairie, AB.  

Ranked 1st Junior in Canada after the 2010-11 season

Skitrax Magazine’s North American Junior Man of the Year, 2011

Cambridge Amateur Athlete of the Year, 2011

Represented Ontario at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, NS. (Silver Medalist in the Skate Sprint)

Junior Aggregate Champion at 2011 Ski Nationals, Canmore, AB.

Junior National Ski Team member, 2010-11

1st Aggregate (1991 YOB) at 2008 Ski Nationals in Whistler BC. 

Southern Ontario District Outstanding Skier Award: 2007, 2008, 2010

 

2013-14 (Senior Men) Results:

  • 5th – 15km Classic Ind. Start, Rossland NorAm, Rossland BC

  • 7th - Skate Sprint, World Junior/U23 Trials, Canmore AB.

  • 6th - (1st U23) 30km Skiathlon, World Junior/U23 Trials, Canmore AB.

  • 39th – Skate Sprint, World U23’s, Val Di Feimme, Italy

  • 43rd - 15km Classic Ind. Start, World U23’s, Val Di Feimme, Italy

  • 6th – 10km Skate Int. Start, SuperTour, St Paul, MN.

  • 4th – Classic Team Sprint (With Michael Somppi) Ski Nationals, Corner Brook, NFLD.

  • 4th - 15km Skate Ind. Start, Ski Nationals, Corner Brook, NFLD.

  • 4th – 50km Classic Mass Start, Corner Brook, NFLD.   

2013-14 (Senior Men) Results:

  • 41st - Skate Sprint, World Cup, Quebec City, QC.

  • 61st - Skate Sprint, World Cup, Canmore, AB.

  • 7th - (1st U23) 30km Skiathlon, World Junior/U23 Trials, Thunder Bay ON.

  • 3rd - (1st U23) Skate Sprint, Western Canadian Championships, Grande Prairie, AB.

  • 7th - (1st U23) 30km Skate, Western Canadian Championships, Grande Prairie, AB.

  • 1st  - U23 Overall Mini-tour, Western Canadian Championships, Grande Prairie, AB. 

2012 and earlier:

  • 8st - Skate Sprint, 2011 Haywood NorAm, Rossland, BC.

  • 7th – Skate Sprint, 2012 World Junior/U23 Trials, Whistler BC.

  • 9th – 10km Classic Ind. Start, 2012 NorAm, Mont Orford, QC

  • 31st - 20 km Pursuit, 2011 World Junior Championships, Otepaa, Estonia

  • 1st - 3km Skate Prologue, 2011 Eastern Canadian Championships, Cantley,  QC.    

  • 4th - (Open Men) - Skate Sprint, 2011 Eastern Canadian Championships, Cantley, QC.    

  • 1st - (6th Open Men) 30 km Classic, 2011 Eastern Canadian Championships, Cantley, QC.

  • 1st - (7th Open Men) Mini-Tour, 2011 Eastern Canadian Championships, Cantley, QC.

  • 2nd - Skate Sprint, 2011 Canada Winter Games, Halifax, NS.

  • 1st - (6th Open Men) 15 km Classic Ind. Start, 2011 Ski Nationals, Canmore, AB.

  • 1st  - 30 km Skate Mass Start, 2011 Ski Nationals, Canmore, AB.  

  • 4th - Skate Sprint, 2010 Ski Nationals, Whitehorse YK,

  • 42nd - Skate Sprint, 2010 World Junior Championships, Hinterzarten Germany

  • 2nd - 20 km Pursuit, 2010 World Junior Trials, Québec City QC.

  • 4th - 15 km Mass Start Skate, 2009 Ski Nationals, Duntroon ON.

  • 4th - Skate Sprint, 2008 Ski Nationals, Whistler BC.

  • 2nd  - 7.5 km Mass Start Skate, 2007 Ski Nationals, Mont-Sainte-Anne QC.

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