May 05, 2018 (Norway) – An enthusiastic group of cross-country skiing coaches gathered in Skeikampen, Lillehammer (NOR) from April 27-29 for the first Youth & Children’s Coaches Seminar.

Organised by the FIS Sub-Committee for Cross-Country Youth & Children’s Questions, together with the Norwegian Ski Association, the seminar featured practical sessions on how to build a basic skills arena, how to train basic skills in various terrain and most importantly, how to play and have fun on skis. It also served as a perfect opportunity for thinking out of the box and exchanging knowledge and experience between the nations.

The seminar concluded with a basic skills team competition. More than 55 coaches and experts from 14 nations took part. In addition, 14 athletes, including Norwegian national team skier Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, participated in the activities and shared the message about the importance of technical skills training.

It was the first seminar of this kind initiated by the FIS Sub-Committee for Cross-Country Youth & Children’s Questions. Satu Kalajainen, who is chairing the Committee, commented: “It was a wonderful training camp and I would like say thank you especially to Helen Ingebretsen from the Norwegian Ski Association and Georg Zipfel from the German Ski Association for their efforts to prepare the seminar.

“We have been trying to find creative ways to bring kids and youth to the snow and keep them in cross-country skiing. Playing on snow, having fun on skis and developing the basic skiing skills is key to do this.

“Thanks as well to the athletes who helped the coaches with their feedback and especially to Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen for finding time to join the seminar,” said Kalajainen.

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