October 28, 2005 – It has been a busy ‘off-season’ for the United States Snowshoe Association. As preparations for the Sixth Annual U.S. National Snowshoe Championships continue at the Bolton Valley Resort in Bolton Valley Vermont next March 24th-26th, 2006, the USSSA has been busy expanding its calendar of Regional Snowshoe Qualifying events from 8 events in 2005 to 20 events in 2006. Over 200 of the country’s finest endurance athletes, representing 20-30 different U.S. States, are expected to converge on Bolton Valley for two days of exciting snowshoe events. Four National Championship Titles will be presented in the Junior Boy’s and Girl’s 5km and Senior Men’s and Women’s 10km events. A 5km Citizens Race, Kid’s Kilo, 4 x 2.5 km Team Relay and 10km Nordic Trek (Walk) will also be conducted over the two days of competition.
This past April, the USSSA’s Board of Regional Athletic Delegates (the BORAD) voted to allow each region to host from 2-5 regional events next season, rather than the maximum of 2 regional events they were limited to this past season. Consequently, the USSSA’s National Snowshoe Championship Series has now expanded to include 20 Regional Qualifying events culminating in the National Championships in Vermont next March. The USSSA is very excited about this new development as it is hoped that it will introduce new athletes to the Sport from all across the United States. The new Regional calendar of events is shown here, presented by region:

Northeastern U.S. (NY, VT, MA, NH, ME, CT, RI, DE, PA, MD, NJ, VA)

1. January 8th at the Bolton Valley Resort in Bolton Valley, Vermont.
2. January 21st at the Mendon Ponds Winterfest in Mendon, New York.
3. January 21st at the Hoffman Notch 6 Mile Wilderness Snowshoe Challenge, Schroon Lake, NY.
4. February 4th at the Northfield Mountain event in Northfield, Massachusetts.
5. February 18th at the Pennsylvania State Championships in Drums, Pennsylvania.

North Central U.S. (MI, MN, WI, IO, IL, OH)

1. January 28th at the Bigfoot Boogie Race in Traverse City, Michigan.
2. January 28th at the Grand Marais Moose Stomp Festival in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
3. February 4th at the Iowa State Snowshoe Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
4. February 11th at the New World Championship Snowshoe Races in Luck, Wisconsin.
5. February 25th at the Twin Cities Snowshoe Races in Minneapolis, MN.

Rocky Mountains (CO, MT, UT, TX, NM, WY)

1. January 14th at the Swift Skedaddle Race in Silverthorne, Colorado.
2. January 14th at the Rail Trail Snowshoe Stomp in Park City, Utah.
3. January 15th the Snow Snake Stomp Snowshoe Races in Red River, New Mexico.
4. February 12th at the Screamin Snowman Race in Nederland, Colorado.
5. February 18th at the Gallatin Gallop Race in Bozeman, Montana.
Western U.S. (CA, OR, WA, AZ, ID, NV)

1. January 8th at the Resort at Squaw Creek Challenge in Olympic Valley, California.
2. January 14th at the Atlas Snowshoe Shuffle in Bend, Oregon.
3. January 22nd at the Western Regional Snowshoe Qualifier in Flagstaff, AZ.

Alaskan Region

1. February 4th at the Alyeska Resort Winterfest event in Girdwood, Alaska.
2. February 4th at Fairbanks Snowshoe Classic in Fairbanks, Alalska.

To learn more about the specific qualifying procedures, go to the USSSA’s website at
www.snowshoeracing.com.

Sixth Annual United States National Snowshoe Championships:

-Friday-Sunday March 24th-26th, 2006: Bolton Valley Resort in Bolton Valley Vermont.
-Saturday 3/25/06: 5km for Junior athletes 19 years of age and younger. 10km event for Senior athletes 20-70+ yrs. of age (5 yr. age group increments). 5km Citizen’s Race. 1km Kid’s Kilo event.
-Sunday 3/26/06: 4 x 2.5km Snowshoe Team Relay & 10km Nordic Snowshoe Trekkers Event.
For more information contact Mark Elmore, USSSA Sports Director, at 518-643-8806, email: snowshoeguy@yahoo.com, website: www.snowshoeracing.com.