Wax It to Win It: a Golden Algorithm
for Team Canada
Invented by Sitka Land-Gillis
Algorithm Update

Work on the algorithm continues!
​Hi, I’m Sitka - a 14 year-old Nordic ski racer from Whitehorse, Yukon. I’m building Wax It to Win It: an AI algorithm that makes ski wax selection more accurate and efficient - for everyday skiers, and also for Team Canada at the 2026 Olympics.
I’ve been cross-country skiing since I learned to walk. Now I’m on the Yukon Ski Team, where we train 15-20 hours a week to be competitive – so of course we need our ski wax to give us the best possible glide – especially since races are often decided by to milliseconds. Just ask Sonjaa Schmidt – Yukon’s own 2024 Under-23 World Champion.
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Climate change is altering our snow, especially in the North. And the fastest ski wax ingredient – fluoro – just got banned because it’s terrible for human health and the environment.
Whether in Whitehorse or on the World Cup tour, nordic skiers can take hours to test waxes before every race. There are so many factors affecting ski glide, and hundreds of different waxes to choose from. Even Team Canada still uses trial-and-error to choose their waxes at international events - which can cost $5,000 per race weekend just in wax.
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So why not use new technology to crunch all that data, and predict the best wax for the current snow conditions?
This winter, I’m learning how to code with online university courses, while also testing waxes every week to gather a large and accurate dataset to train the algorithm.
I'm also working with Team Canada’s lead wax technician, to make my algorithm as useful as possible – for recreational skiers, all the way up to Team Canada to get on the podium at the 2026 Olympics.
Finalist
2024 Youth Innovation Showcase
Recipient
2024 STEM
Project Grant
Finalist
Canada-Wide Science Fair
Recipient
YukonU STEM Scholarship
Recipient
Skiwax.ca Tech Sponshorship