January 28, 2017 – Kikkan Randall is a four-time Olympian, member of the U.S. National Nordic Team and President of Fast and Female. Randall is also a mother to her young son Breck. With the help of her husband Jeff and close family, Randall has balanced both her racing and starting a family. This has been made easier with the introduction of Baby Rooms provided by Organizing Committees at races Randall and her family have been attending. Other top skiers like Marit Bjoergen (Nor) and Aino Kaisa Saarinen (Fin) have recently had kids as well. SkiTrax talked with Kikkan to find out more about this service available to families, and this is what she had to day:

How has attending races and training camps changed with bringing your son along?
Kikkan Randall: So far it’s worked out pretty well.  We’ve found a good balance of being together with the team but having our own space so we don’t disturb the other athletes.   

You have been utilizing baby rooms which have been provided by the Organizing Committees at races – is this common?
KR: We have definitely been utilizing the baby rooms, especially during the race days when whomever is over caring for Breck (usually one of either Jeff or my parents) needs to take Breck inside to be warm and change diapers. As far as I know the baby rooms on the world cup this year are the first of their kind.

Are baby rooms available at all the races you have been participating at, or only a select few?
KR: There have been baby rooms available at all the venues so far but some have been more elaborate than others. A couple were just a specified container without much inside but some have had changing tables, spare diapers, toys and nice furniture for feeding.

How high do you feel the demand is for baby rooms – are they well used?
KR: The demand isn’t as high for the female racers as we thought, as some of the new moms have not been bringing their babies to every world cup. However, there have been some other parents utilizing the rooms, for example the assistant TD in Val Di Fiemme had a 7-month old and she used the room. In Oberstdorf, former racer Katrin Zeller used the room for her 15-month old son Vincent. It’s a fun place for parents and kids to come together.

What comments are you hearing from other mothers?
KR: I am close friends with Aino Kaisa Saarinen and she has been my partner in advocating for these baby rooms and mother-support.  I know she has been quite impressed with many of the baby rooms and she used the baby rooms in Ruka and Davos to change her daughter’s diaper.

Do you feel that having access to this type of service will encourage more families to continue pursuing high-performance athletics while also starting a family?
KR: Having these baby rooms makes it a lot easier to have the babies on site with a caretaker which is essential for some of us that spend most of the winter on the road. It’s making the whole process very doable. It’s also been really important to be able to bring a caretaker with us that is accounted for in the staff quota so they can have access to the world cup room and board rate and a credential for getting into the venue.

Would you make and recommendations for improvements to these services based on your experience?
KR: This is the first year and everybody is learning how to setup these services. We will learn a lot after this initial season. So far though I am really impressed and it’s really nice to see the organizers so willing to be supportive!

Any recommendations for people attempting to balance raising a young family as well as compete?
KR: I would say that it’s totally doable and a really enjoyable way to combine career and family. Without good support from all the major partners: FIS, your national federation, coaches, teammates, family, etc. it would be much harder but now everyone wins!