December 29, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – The National Nordic Foundation will invest $35,000 in Nordic Combined Pillar Projects for its 2011/2012 Nordic Combined funding.  Nordic Combined joined the National Nordic Foundation in May of 2011 to bring together, streamline and reinforce the parallel Nordic Combined and Cross-Country efforts to support tomorrow’s Nordic stars today.  Fund raising efforts that began in the late spring and continue daily have exceeded $35,000 in Nordic Combined support.  As with Cross Country, investments are made to support “Tomorrow’s Stars Today” by subsiding developing athlete’s critical first trips to the world stage.  These investments are made possible by the generous donations of nearly 1,000 individuals who donated primarily through the Drive-for-25 campaign this fall.  THANK YOU NORDIC COMMUNITY!

These Nordic Combined Investments are in addition to the $83,000 in Cross-Country investments the National Nordic Foundation pledged earlier this week. Combined the NNF has pledged $118,000 in support to supporting tomorrow’s Nordic stars today!

The NNF will invest $35,000 in 2011/2012 Nordic Combined Pillar Projects. These projects are primarily Continental Cup trips and the all-important World Junior Championships.  The remaining balance of this year’s fundraising will be used to start a reserve fund to guarantee continued support year after year.  Details of the funding allocation are as follows;

$1,200 – Aug 2011: Training & Competition trip to Europe.  (The funds subsidized the cost of the van rental.  The total trip cost was $33,000 and was paid for by the athletes & their families).
$1,000 – Nov/Dec: Pre-Competition training preparation.  (This involved a trip to Park City in addition to expenses incurred in training before the start of the competitions).
$4,000 – Dec 6-15: COC’s in Park City, UT.  (The US athletes in their host country competitions, receives no funding.  $2,000 went to support the USNC team which paid about 50% of their costs and $2,000 went to support the organizing committee who paid over $70,000 to host 5 competitions in six days).
$8,000 – Dec 31-Jan 17: COC competitions in Erzurum, Turkey and Szczyrk, Poland.  (Trip costs estimates exceed $25,000).
$10,000 – Jan 20-Feb 19: COC competitions in Klingenthal, GER, Eisenerz, AUT, Kranj, SLO.  (Trip cost estimates exceed $30,000).
$10,000 – Feb 16-Mar 5: World Junior Championships & COC competitions in Val di Fiemme, ITA (Trip costs estimates exceed $30,000).

Support Tomorrow’s Stars Today
The National Nordic Foundation exists to help America’s young, dedicated, and driven Nordic talent realize their, and America’s, long term potential in sport and in life. The biggest hurdle facing American Nordic racers is gaining consistent access to international quality coaching, training, and racing experiences from ages 15 through 25. Providing future generations of U.S. Nordic athletes earned access to a progression of high-quality international competitions, their life enriching lessons, represents this nation’s greatest Nordic development opportunity and funding need. The National Nordic Foundation and its Pillar Projects exist to fulfill this need. Please donate to the National Nordic Foundation and support tomorrow’s stars today as their quest for athletic accomplishment on the trails prepares them to achieve their potential in life while inspiring others to do the same.

These Nordic Combined Investments are in addition to the $83,000 in Cross-Country investments the National Nordic Foundation pledged earlier this week. Combined the NNF has pledged $118,000 in support to supporting tomorrow’s Nordic stars today!

Join the Tribe of supports and donate here:  Select Nordic Combined or Cross-Country or both.