March 4, 2009 – I can think of at least a hundred times over the years that I would have liked to been able to have a chance to change waxes during a race and actually did it two different times. But, that of course was illegal, and I got caught one of those times. Well, now it is legal, and FIS is in the experimentation stage of letting this happen – actually ski changing is what is taking place, and wildly so in the World Championships of all places.

The more FIS evolves the more daring it seems to get. Actually what you saw going on in Liberec, at the championships this past week, during the 30 and 50km free style mass start races was just the second time the FIS has done this. The first being at Holmenkollen in the spring of 2007 with good success in both the men’s and women’s long distance interval start races. So, interval and mass start races, both fall under these guidelines.

I know some race outcomes would have been different in the shorter races earlier in the championships if the skiers had been allowed to change their skis, especially with the prevailing temperatures and snowing and rain changes that were occurring every day in Liberec. Waxing ands ski selection was a nightmare! Here are the guidelines for how this occurs during the race—the terminology lends it’s self to NASCAR.

Guidelines

– No ski marking
– Ski exchange (WSC 2009 limitations was 2 exchanges of skis for Ladies at 11.25 km and 18.75 km and 4 for Men (8.75km 16.25, 31.25 and 38.75km)
– No electricity in the pits
– 3 technician / coach per pit/nations (take in and take out the skis); coach zone right behind the pit area
– no ski exchange outside the pit area (ICR 340.1.2)
– no feeding in the pit stop area
– teams can share pits and work in pits (small nations)
– organizer offers personnel to small nations
– size of pits 1.2m per athlete

Reactions from the racers so far have been quite positive. But, of course they’ve only interviewed the higher placed skiers. Some of the skiers stopped and changed at both stations in the women’s race and a number of times in the men’s race. It takes about 10 seconds to make the change which is pedestrian considering the way most distance races are skied now-a-days as different strategies prevail.

What are the ramifications at the National level of skiing if we accept to bring these guidelines forward? Can race organizers set up pits for those individuals that aren’t in a club? Do we (individuals) wax two pairs of skis with different wax combinations and change at the designated pits on our own? 

I know that someone is going to try it – how about at the Canadian and US Nationals that are occurring soon in Duntroon and Fairbanks during the time of the year when ski selection and waxing are very tricky? And what’s to stop one of the marathons remaining on the race schedule to go for it and designate an area for the exchange to take place – especially at this time of the year when conditions are very tricky and changing quite dramatically as the race progresses?

Cross country ski racing sure is continuing to evolve!!