Para nordic skiing with the assistance of a guide is old hat for Sudbury teenager Logan Larivière.

That said, receiving an administrative helping hand far removed from the snowy trails has made a world of difference in the athletic trajectory of the 19 year-old Paralympic hopeful.

Born and raised in Lively, Larivière had already made in-roads in terms of becoming a player on the national scene as he left for Prince Edward Island in March of 2023, representing Ontario at the Canada Winter Games.

First introduced to the sport at the ripe old age of four and having worked in tandem with renown local para nordic coach Patti Kitlar, Larivière was about to receive some very good news. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) was in the process of taking another look at the medical criteria that determines eligibility for various classes of para nordic skiing.

“They broadened the spectrum a little bit and he (Logan) was right on the cusp of what they were looking for,” noted his mother, Melissa Larivière, her son having recently been named as top VI (visually impaired) athlete at a recent camp and competition setting in Argentina.

“That opened up a big window for him.”

Having devoted hours and hours to his training for several years, Larivière had dealt previously with the disappointed of falling short of the criteria, of not quite being “blind enough” to compete internationally despite having spent a handful of years attending the W. Ross MacDonald School for the Blind in Brantford.

Not to mention the fact that he was allowed to make a name for himself on a Canada-wide basis, a goal towards which he was clearly making headway. The “big” Games, however, had remained out of reach.

“I was kind of at my limit,” he said.

In late spring of 2023, that all changed as Larivière was deemed to be part of the NS3 classification. To the average person, becoming part of the grouping that includes athletes whose “vision is constricted to a diameter of less than sixty degrees and/or they have a static visual acuity of equal to LogMAR 0.9, or worse” likely means a whole lot of nothing.

To Logan Larivière, it meant the world.

“I was so excited to know that I would get a chance to ski at World Cups and have a chance to qualify at the 2026 Paralympics,” he stated. His first opportunities would come during the 2024-2025 season, events which went very well for the local talent.

After recovering from a broken collarbone (sustained while snow-boarding) that forced him to miss the 2024 Canadian Championships, Larivière put his nose to the grindstone. “I did lots of roller-skiing, lots of running, lots of strength work,” he said.

At the Continental Cup last November in Canmore, Lariviere's performance earned him a spot on the World Cup race team that travelled to Vuokatti (Finland), a first for him - and a meet where he accumulated sufficient points to make his way to a second WC competition in Italy in February (2025).

There was so much to take in, both on and off the trails.

Having qualified in Canmore with guide Nicholas Randall, he would have to adjust and compete on the heels of the skis of Matthew Strum in his international debut. Chemistry would be build, game plans devised.

“I like to pass,” said Larivière with a smile. “And that depends on how many laps the race is, so we plan out how fast to do each lap, before the race or the night before. You decide what technique you want to use at certain times.”

In race communication can be limited, with Larivière stressing that his main requirement of his guides is that they simply “ski fast”. “I don’t need much talking when I race – but before a race, I definitely like to talk. We can talk about anything, not just skiing.”

The near day-long darkness of northern Finland caught his attention – as did a world reknown Finnish tradition. “They had saunas in every room,” exclaimed Larivière. “Finland was more flat. Italy had lots of hills.”

With the added boost to his confidence, the graduate of Lively District Secondary School kept his foot on the gas this past summer, rewarded with very strong results in South America. “My times are faster and I am stronger,” said Larivière.

These days, the excitement is mounting as he prepares for another trek to Canmore and the Continental Cup racing in October. That serves as the qualifier for a World Cup event at the same venue a month later – which in turn serves as the Paralympic qualifier.

Achieving goals that he never thought possible, Larivière and family can look back thankfully on the break that came his way.

“He was going to a blind school, living his life as a visually impaired person, but then gets told that he is not visually impaired enough,” recalled Melissa. “That was a hard time.”

But that is now behind him, allowing Larivière to look ahead – at very least, to the back of the skis of his guide, blazing their way to the next achievement of note for this resilient young man.

Kivi Park has partnered with Larivière and family to help fundraising efforts to defray expenses that are not covered by Nordiq Canada, with the young man on hand with swag and such this coming weekend for the Kivi Park Artisan Walk on September 13th and 14th.

Anyone looking to help support otherwise is welcome to visit: https://www.snowathletes.ca/index.php/athlete/logan-lariviere