May 2, 1952
August 4, 2017
Reijo Puiras
Born in Canada in 1952, Reijo and his family moved to Kukonkyla, Finland when he was a baby. He spent his childhood helping his parents on the family farm. In 1967, at the age of 15, the family returned to Canada permanently and settled in Island Lake, Ontario. Reijo attended high school in Sudbury, where he was involved in a variety of sports, including football. He also took up competitive cross country skiing while in high school – a decision which defined the rest of his life’s work.
Reijo was named to the Canadian National Ski Team in 1974. His first international competition was the 1974 FIS World Championships held in Falun, Sweden. In 1976, Reijo competed at the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
Over the course of his skiing career, Reijo won nine medals at various Canadian National Championships medals and several more in Masters skiing after he had retired from the National Team. He was a ten-time City of Thunder Bay ski champion.
His competitive career ended when health problems robbed him of his ability to ski and race, but he immediately devoted his boundless energies to building up the sport both locally and nationally. In 1975, Reijo married Tuija, the love of his life, and they purchased land at Lappe, near Thunder Bay, Ontario so as to grow potatoes and raise a family. Reijo also decided to clear some of the land for ski trails in order to pursue his personal training goals.
Over time, the potato patch diminished and the trail network grew, and In 1979 he opened Lappe Nordic Centre, which now has more than 12 kilometres of groomed trails over hilly terrain, including five kilometres with lights for night-time skiing. The daylodge has large waxing rooms, saunas, showers, a well-stocked kitchen and plenty of space for meetings, socializing and sports functions. Reijo paid for this entire venture with his own private funds.
Over the years, the Lappe Nordic Centre has hosted the Canadian Nationals on several occasions, as well as World Junior Trials, Canadian Masters Championships and many other local, regional and national competitions. At every one of these events, Reijo was always present to welcome visitors and competitors and to ensure that all events ran smoothly. He frequently took the role of Chief of Course, operating the Piston Bulley to make sure tracks were of the highest standard.
Reijo was involved at all levels of skiing and ski racing – club, division, national and international. He was a consummate expert on the sport of cross country skiing, with a thorough, in-depth knowledge of the sport, its history and all the technical aspects required to make competitions fair, well-run and above all, enjoyable. He passed on his love of the sport to younger generations through coaching and by his constant presence at so many events.
In 1993, Reijo was inducted in to the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame as a builder, and in 2011 he was recognized for his outstanding volunteer contributions to the sport when he was presented with the Dave Rees Award by Cross Country Canada.
Reijo passed away in August 2017 after battling ill health for several years.