December 26, 2011 (Salt Lake City, Utah) – The National Nordic Foundation will invest an additional $25,000 in two Cross-Country Pillar Projects in its second round of 2011/2012 funding. Of this additional investment $13,000 will go toward subsidizing the World Junior Championships & Under 23 World Championships trip. $12,000 will do toward reducing World Cup expenses by athletes who have qualified to compete on the World Cup but are not funded by USSA or FIS. This brings the NNF’s 2011/2012 investment in the sport to a record $83,000 nearly doubling its 2010/2011 funding allocation.  These strategic investments, made to Support Tomorrow’s Stars Today, are made possible by the generous contributions from over 1000 individuals who donated through the Drive-for-25 and other NNF fundraising efforts this fall. THANK YOU NORDIC COMMUNITY!

As NNF Board member Yuriy Gusev explains, “We are pleased to be able to increase the investment in both the World Junior/U23 World Championship and World Cup teams to a total of $38,000. Representing the country at this level is a privilege deserved by an athlete through years of focused dedication. We have seen our next generation of U.S. athletes step up and preform at the early season World Cups with unprecedented results and we expect similar results throughout the winter.  We believe that we have to do wherever it takes so athletes do not receive an invoice at the end of trips of this significance.  Complete funding might not happen overnight but this is something we need to work towards.  As the National Nordic Foundation, we are pleased to be able to make these strategic investments on behalf of over one thousand individuals who have pledged their support. Now the skiers feel they have 2000 hands pushing them up each hill.”

As Jessie Diggins states,”Waaaay cool! – Awesome to hear about the amazing fundraising. It is so cool to see the Nordic community step forward and support its developing skiers! This will help so much; not only for fundraising to pay for the World Junior/U23 trip, but as motivation while we’re there. It’s much better to race knowing your family, friends, community and country is backing you up.”

The National Nordic foundation will be supporting 5 Pillar Projects with a total of $83,000 in Round 1& 2 of 2011/2012 funding:

– $38,000 ($25,000 + $13,000) – World Junior Championships & Under 23 World Championships; Erzurum, Turkey  February 10 – 27, 2012
The World Junior U23 Ski Championship is where then nation’s top junior athletes first see how they stack up against the very best juniors in the World. This annual World Championship are often a precursor to the (Senior) Nordic World Championships 2-4 years later. For US athletes the Junior and U23 world championships are the foundation and stepping stone for a successful future.
– $25,000 ($13,000 + $12,000) – World Cup; 2011-12 Circuit
The World Cup Pillar funding allows America’s future stars who have qualified to compete on the World Cup but are not funded by USSA or FIS to get exposure to the World Cup.  The World Cup is the premier race circuit. Available money is split amongst qualifying athletes throughout the individual World Cup “periods”. Because the money available and the money needed will always be a changing number, NNF is not required to split the money evenly between World Cup periods.
– $3,000 – National J2 Elite Camp; Sun Valley, Idaho August 1-8, 2011
– $5,000 – J1 Junior Scandinavian Championships “Scando Cup”; Mammaste, Estonia, Feb 14-27, 2012
– $15,000 – Europe Continental Cup “OPA/Scandinavian Cup”; Jan 20 – Mar 15, 2012,
For more details on the $53,000 of round 1 funding please click HERE.

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. The Nordic Combined Funding allocation will be announced later this week.  Please Donate $25 or $2500 Here Now!