Elite skiers from Chelsea, Que. get skis after four-day wait ahead of major competition

A team of young elite skiers from Chelsea, Que. says their equipment has now arrived, four days after their flight to B.C. It comes just in time for a major competition.

The skiers are in Prince George, B.C. to qualify for the world junior cross-country championships in Whistler next month, but the bags that were on their Air Canada flight were stuck in Vancouver since Saturday.

The delay was causing stress for the coach and the athletes Tuesday, as the first race is on Wednesday.

Coach Maurice “Moe” Samm made a plea on social media for help Monday night.

“The skis are sitting in Vancouver. There have been seven flights since we arrived and no ski bags and we’re not the only team,” he said in an Instagram post that has since been removed.

Samm confirmed to CTV News just after 6 p.m. Tuesday that the skis had finally arrived.

He told CTV News Ottawa earlier in the day Tuesday that he knew of several teams without their bags. 

“I know every team is missing a bag. In Quebec, there’s more than 20. Every team that flew to Prince George is missing a bag,” Samm said.

At this level of competition, these skiers rely on their personal equipment. Tenths or even hundredths of a second can mean the difference between qualifying or not, and the proper gear is essential.

“We can borrow skis but they’re not fitted to them. It puts our athletes at a disadvantage,” Samm explained.

Tory Audet, 17, says she has 13 pairs in her bag alone. Her Apple AirTag showed the bag was at the Vancouver airport while they were waiting for it to arrive.

“They keep being moved in the airport but we’re not entirely sure where they are right now or what they’re doing to them,” she said in an interview with CTV News Ottawa. “It looks like they’ve been brought out onto the tarmac and brought back in.”

Tory Audet says her Apple AirTag shows her bag with her skis (identified by the dinosaur icon) is still at the Vancouver airport, more than four days after flying to Prince George, B.C. for a major event. (supplied)

She says her coach went to the airport in Prince George seven or eight times, hoping their bags would be there.

“It’s very stressful,” Audet said earlier Tuesday. “Right now, it’s been long enough without our skis. We thought we would have gotten them by now.”

Air Canada responded on social media to skiers missing their bags to apologize for the delayed items.

There is no word on why it took so long for them to be delivered.

--With files from CTV's Graham Richardson.