July 24, 2015 (Norway) – Athletes from nine different countries took part in last year’s inaugural Global Talent Junior Nordic Ski Camp in Norway, where former world champions and Olympic medalists, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen and Eldar Rønning, shared their inside knowledge of what it takes to make it to the top. Five things to know about the upcoming Global Talent Junior Nordic Ski Camp:

1. What it is: The Norwegian Ski Federation invites up to 120 Elite Junior Athletes with a maximum of 10 athletes per nation. The camp includes aggressive training sessions and presentations from coaches and World Cup athletes from a host of countries. This is the first year that the U.S. will attend.

2. The U.S. athletes that go were selected from the National Ranking list and criteria set by coaches at the USSA Congress.

3. The National Nordic Foundation will support the camp with $10,000 of funding bringing the overall cost of the camp down to $600 for the week in Norway, exclusive of airfare.

4. The athletes that will attend the camp are:

Women:
– Katharine Ogden, SMS
– Julia Kern, CSU
– Hannah Halvorsen, Sugar Bowl Academy
– Hailey Swirbul, AVSC
– Alayna Sonnesyn, SISU / UVM

Men:
– Zak Ketterson, LNR
– Max Donaldson, Fairbanks
– Lars Hannah, Steamboat
– Karsten Hokanson, Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy

5. Video and a Periscope livestream event for the camp to bring news of the coaching sessions and education back to the U.S. are planned. Stay tuned for more information via the National Nordic Foundation at www.nationalnordicfoundation.org.