Janaury, 2, 2009 – At the 2008 NCAA Skiing Championships, the Central Collegiate Ski Association was represented by six schools, had a top-three Nordic team and boasted a national champion. What will 2008-09 bring? Most of the CCSA programs began their seasons in December, and several will be attending the U.S. National Cross Country Championships Jan. 3-8 in Anchorage, Alaska. The most important regular-season events this year, however, are the four sets of NCAA qualifying races that will determine which 11 women and nine men will participate in the NCAA Championships March 11-14 in Rumford, Maine.

The qualifying races are January 24-25 in Coleraine, Minn.; Jan. 31-Feb. 1 in Cable, Wisc.; Feb. 14-15 in Little Falls, Minn.; and Feb. 28-Mar. 1 at the Central Region Championships in Houghton, Mich. Press releases will be distributed summarizing each of the qualifying events as well as the NCAAs.

The CCSA includes six teams from Minnesota (the College of Saint Benedict, College of Saint Scholastica, Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint John’s University, Saint Olaf College and St. Cloud State University), two from Wisconsin (Northland College and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay), two from Michigan (Michigan Tech University and Northern Michigan University) and Alaska (Fairbanks).

For more information, visit the Central Collegiate Ski Association’s Web site at www.ccsaski.com