November 15, 2011 – With the new World Cup season about to get underway, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) has decided to start out with new equipment. Last year’s winner of the overall World Cup has already been successful with Fischer skis for a number of years and will now be placing her trust in boots from the Nordic number one as well.

The most successful ski and boot brand in the World Cup for two years running – a convincing record for the perfectionist from Poland. Plus the fact that the 28-year-old is perfectly happy with the RCS Carbonlite Classic boot, as she demonstrated in impressive style in the FIS races last weekend in Muonio (FIN). And, thanks to the WC Carbon Cuff, the RCS Carbonlite Skating is also ideal for her energetic skiing style.

The winner of the Tour de Ski 10l11 likewise took a new approach in her preparations. After five years of training alone she has taken Maciej Kreczmer (POL) on board as a team training partner at times. “It’s hard to always train alone and I want to improve,” says Justyna Kowalczyk. “I hope the training with Maciej will help me achieve this.” Preparations went smoothly with trips to New Zealand, Otepää (EST), Sierra Nevada (ESP) and Ramsau (AUT).

Armed with new equipment and excellent preparations, Justyna Kowalczyk is now looking forward to the new season with a personal highlight: the first World Cup race in her home nation which will be held in Szklarska Poreba in February.

November 14, 2011 (Cable, WI) – The United States Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee, will be hosting the International Paralympic World Cup Nordic Ski series at Telemark Resort in Cable, WI. The week long event will be held from January 23-30.

This venue will host over one hundred athletes from over a dozen nations who will compete in biathlon and Nordic ski racing. We hope to have you experience the opportunity to be a volunteer for one day or one week and be a part of this historic event!

Provided are links to the event and volunteer opportunities! Please feel free to contact John Brown at john.brown@cxcskiing.org for additional information!

Preview Filled Volunteer Positions HERE.

Volunteer Opportunities Form HERE.

More about IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup HERE.

November 11, 2011 (Hanover, NH) – Check out the first edition of an all-new SkiTrax audio series, Talkin’ with the Gravy-Train, featuring legendary commentator and sports reporter Peter Graves, who will present a series of interviews, discussions and conversations throughout this season with elite athletes and coaches. Our inaugural guest, Kikkan Randall, spoke with Graves at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Due to an unfortunate glitch the full interview with Kikkan was not posted initially but it is now with our apologies-ed.

Audio Interview with Kikkan Randall

November 09, 2011 – We’re excited to announce that US xc ski star, Holly Brooks, from Alaska, 2011 SuperTour overall winner, is joining SkiTrax’s team of bloggers this season. Her section on the site will be ready soon, but check out her great overview of APUs (Alaska Pacific University) stellar program that has produced top skiers like herself, Kikkan Randall, Lars Flora, James Southam, Kate Fitzerald, Morgan Smyth…

People often ask: What is APU? How does it work? You’re a University team that isn’t NCAA – What does that mean? These are all good questions and yes, the format (if you will) of APU can tend to be confusing to people looking in on us from the outside. However, here it is in a nutshell: We are community ski club based within a University such that skiers of collegiate age can attend school (undergrad or graduate) while pursuing ski racing at a high level. Our community program is then built both below and above the University-based team in age. We have APU skiers as young as 11 and as “senior” (!) as their mid-eighties! In all, our total program membership involves over 200+ people directly on a regular basis. It’s RAD.

Here we are, a small club in Anchorage, AK that has duel goals of winning Olympic medals and teaching 11 year old how to huck jumps! Or, making it possible for University students to attend online classes while at training camp on Eagle Glacier and teaching a mother of four to V2 alternate.

Erik Flora, the APU elite team head coach and APUNSC Director wrote a great update to our programs at 3am this morning – I thought it was worth sharing. It explains what each group has been up to the past couple of weeks!

APU Program Members
Winter is off to a great start! We have already had groups skiing at Glenn Alps, Hillside, Hatcher Pass, and Russian Jack. Glenn Alps and Hatcher Pass have mid-winter conditions. With snow in the air, it is a good time for program update. Of course there are 100 more items, here are a few.

Junior Program has had a strong off-season of training. We have had full programs with lots of new faces and athletes reaching a new level of fitness. Part of the group participated in last weeks camp in Fairbanks. Next up is an early season snow camp in Hatcher Pass where they will focus on volume and technique (plus a whole lot of fun!). High School skiing started this week. Impressive as two junior team members were named to US National Training Groups Tarynn Hunt-Smith and Thomas O’Harra.

Devo’s have been ripping up with coach Charlie, Erin, and Dylan. This group keeps on getting faster and faster. It is amazing to watch this group as they continue to have fun and explore the joys of ski training. Keep an eye out, if you see a group of unusually fast moving-jumping-excited kids blasting through the woods and across the trails. It is a good chance it is the Devo’s!

Master Programs are in full-swing with Noon, Evening, and One-day Women Groups. Winter session has started off well with mix of dry-land and skiing at Hatcher Pass. The move to 2 and 5 day options has been a great way to get more people involved and enjoying ski training. We are excited to add a coach to the Master Programs this winter. Calisa Schouweiler is going to join Dylan and Sam for Evening Masters, Noon Master, and Women’s One-day. Calisa has a strong background in coaching. She will start in mid-November. More to follow.

The Elite team is getting ready to travel. We have had a good summer with most athletes setting record amounts of training and new PR’s on interval courses. APU members Kikkan Randall, Holly Brooks, Sadie Bjornsen, and Lars Flora are heading to Norway next week to compete on World Cup. The rest of the team will focus on early winter domestic race series starting in Fairbanks, racing West Yellowstone, Bozeman, SilverStar BC, ending at Kincaid at Besh cup 1 and 2. After Christmas we are competing in Maine at the US Nationals, World cups, Alaska Races, and World Junior and U23 World Championships in Turkey. APU added more athletes to US Ski Team programs: Kikkan, Sadie, Erik Bjornsen, Kinsey Loan, and Celia Haering. Plus Men and Women current Super Tour Leaders Lars and Holly. The Elite team was on tonight’s 10 o’clock news, click hereto watch. Best community outreach year to date with athletes really busy hosting Fast and Female events, helping at kids events, and working at junior camps.

Coaches have stepped up community support of nordic programs. Two of our coaches, Dylan Watts and Sam Sterling, are going to help with local high school programs. Dylan at West HS and Sam at East HS. Eric Strabel at Regional Elite Group camp at Hatcher Pass. Eric and Charlie will coach at Junior Nationals. Casey Fagerquist stepping up this fall to help World Cup waxing during fall schedule. Erik Flora coached 3 US ski team camps and First Tracks High School camp in Fairbanks. Plus we hosted a new Alaska “open” Junior Glacier Camp. This is a good year for coaches to extend their experience to help strengthen Alaska and US skiing.

Good for our programs, Anchorage skiing is really good for early season right now. Glenn Alps and Hatcher Pass are race ski ready with good coverage. Russian Jack and Hilltop are skiable, but quite a few rocks/grass. The NSAA did a great job rolling Hilltop today. Let’s help Nordic Ski Club of Anchorage set record sales of trail pins. The more support they get, the better grooming we will see! click hereto join.

This is a great club to be a part of. I look forward to seeing everyone on the trails!

Sincerely,
Erik

Erik Flora
Director, APU Nordic Ski Center

November 09, 2011 (Cambridge, ON) – Andy Shields, named Best Overall Junior Male in North America in 2010/11 by SkiTrax readers, won the the Tim Turow Award which is the Cambridge Athlete of the Year Award, this past Friday at the Cambridge Sports Awards banquet at the Cambridge Holiday Inn.

At the Junior Worlds trials, the 20-year-old won the the 15km skate, placed third in classic sprint, and won the 20km pursuit to qualify for the World Championships where he finished 31st in the classic sprint and in the 20km pursuit.

Read the full story in the Cambridge Times HERE.

November 05, 2011 (Vail, CO) – If you don’t know who Sylvan Ellefson is, you should. The 2009 Bates College graduate is making his case as one of the rising stars on the domestic US xc racing scene. An All-American in college, Ellefson has built on that success in his first two seasons as a full-time professional racer. He followed up several top-ten results at US Nationals with back-to-back wins at the Boulder Mountain Tour and the Owl Creek Chase, two of the largest and most competitive races in the United States. Ellefson also led the American squad in March in Slovenia with a 6th place in a 10km Classic OPA Cup. He races for Ski Club Vail and Team HomeGrown and SkiTrax caught up with him for the skivvy on this coming season…

Tell us about Team Homegrown and how it all got started.
Sylvan Ellefson: Team HomeGrown was an idea of my coaches and teammates, Dan Weiland, Karl Hochtl, and Kevin Hochtl. Vail had never produced a Nordic skier that could ski at the World Cup level until Kevin, but he was on his own training in Vail. It wasn’t until 2009 when Josh Smith and I got out of college that everyone realized the talent all of us had and the potential here to make a mark on the
national/international Nordic skiing scene as individuals and a team from Vail, CO. We were all born and raised in Vail so the “HomeGrown” aspect of the team name was a given.

How is it connected to Ski Club Vail?
SE: Actually, Team HomeGrown is essentially Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s “elite” Nordic program. We train at all of the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s facilities and they provide us with support year round.

You guys must have some tremendous resources available – do they open a loop early for you?
SE: They are awesome in terms of getting us early season snow. If it doesn’t come sooner, we are basically guaranteed a 1km loop of snow to ski on by November 1st of every year. We just got a huge snow-making renovation and so as soon as the temperature hits 0C, the guns turn on and are making snow. We call it the gerbil loop because often at first it is small and you are just traveling in a circle, but it’s still on-snow skiing. At this time of year it is a nice treat to get ready for the upcoming races.

How is SSCV connected to this new winter academy program in the valley?
SE: Ski and Snowboard Club Vail run the winter academy in Minturn, CO called the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy (VSSA). VSSA has actually been around for quite awhile but hasn’t had a permanent location like we do now. The school just moved to Minturn (about 10 minutes away form Vail) and is in the process of making its biggest transformation ever. The school has the largest number of students it has ever seen and the most success we have ever seen as well. Currently, we are finishing building 7.5km of trails right next to the school so it will be nice to be able to come to Minturn and train year round. VSSA is unique in the fact that it is a public school, so the education is free. The only required investment is the program fee. I’m actually quite excited to see what comes out of the academy in the next 10 years.

Changing gears a bit, where are you now and how is your last month of training going leading up to West Yellowstone?
SE: Right now I am in Vail just training and working away. Training this past month has been very focused and dialed. NCAA Champion, Sam Tarling, has been training with us in Vail and is a good inspiration for the kids here. Mike Vigers (Team HomeGrown) and Connor Wallace (NCAA skier) have also been great training partners to do some gnarly training sessions with. It’s always nice to have someone to grit your teeth with. We have also been doing some fund raising for the upcoming season recently, with some pretty good success, I think. I am excited to get skiing though on our gerbil loop and then get to West Yellowstone for some racing. It is always tremendous skiing there.

You attended a couple USST camps, in Lake Placid and Park City. How have these camps helped your off season preparation?
SE: We had a camp in Lake Placid, NY followed by a camp in Park City, UT. The attendance of Elite athletes at this camp was great to push the intensity and focus of the group. These camps really help me on a personal level because I am able to surround myself with many Elite athletes trying to do the same thing I am – get faster, race faster, race more World Cups, race World Champs, race Olympics, win medals. There is the same incentive for everyone so I think being able to push the group as a whole is a great direction for me and for Nordic skiing in the US.

What your schedule for the season?
SE: I will be heading to West Yellowstone, then up to Bozeman and then to Canada for the first week of Nor-Ams up there and finally back home until US Nationals. After US Nationals, some races in Colorado, the Midwest, and then definitely heading over to Europe at some point to race OPA Cups or World Cups (based on my national results). Ending the season at SuperTour Finals in Craftsbury, VT, which should be a pretty fun event to end the season.

What are your goals for the season?
SE: Goals for me are pretty simple: I want to have some top-5 results at Nationals this year and keep skiing consistently hard and well on the SuperTour circuit, so I can give myself a chance of racing at a higher level on the international scene. If that doesn’t work out I would like to win an OPA Cup race.

Long term goals?
SE: Sochi 2014

Thanks, Sylvan all the best this season and beyond.
SE: Thanks

November 04, 2011 (Morrisville, VT) – Each year in November, we offer SkiErg users the opportunity to “race” with others around the world during the SkiErg World Sprints. If you’re an on-snow skier waiting for the snow to fall, this is a great way to pass the time. If you’re not a skier but just like the challenge of setting a personal best on the SkiErg—here’s your chance. No matter what your inspiration, we hope you’ll join us for the 3rd Annual SkiErg World Sprints Indoor Skiing Competition.

This 1,000 meter race will be held November 11-13, 2011 at locations throughout the world. The comparable, repeatable results of the SkiErg Performance Monitor allow anyone with access to a Concept2 SkiErg to race against others on a fair, measurable “course.”

The event is open to anyone who’d like to join the fun. If you’d like to host a race, please email joshc@concept2.com for more information.

Can’t travel to a Sprints location? If you have your own SkiErg, you can join in from your home! You can even invite friends and teammates over to join you. Pre-set the Performance Monitor for a 1,000 meter piece and “race” any time between November 11-13, 2011. Submit your time to the Concept2 Online Logbook to be included in the official race results.

Concept2 will award prizes for overall men’s and women’s winners, and the top three finishers in each age group and gender. We hope you’ll join the fun!

October 31, 2011 – After the kind of season that Canada’s Alex Harvey had in 2010-11, climaxing with a gold medal in the Team Sprint event with Devon Kershaw at the Nordic World Championships in Oslo, Norway – a Canadian first – he couldn’t be blamed for resting on his laurels and relaxing for a little while.

But after SkiTrax caught up with him by phone outside Quebec City following the recent team press conference, it’s clear that Harvey has no intention of doing so. When his World Cup rivals take to the start line at the first FIS World Cup race of the 2011-12 season in Beitostolen (NOR) just under three weeks from now, they will find Harvey, a world champion, more motivated than ever to come out on top.

The son of the legendary Pierre Harvey wracked up an impressive list of achievements last season, establishing himself as a podium threat just about every time he strapped on his skis. After a couple of shaky World Cup starts in Kuusamo and Gallivare before Christmas, Harvey began showing his true form starting with last year’s Tour De Ski – he recorded four top-10 finishes and placed 10th overall in the grueling 10-day event.

Together with his teammate Kershaw – who won his first WCup gold in Toblach, Italy (Stage 5) and placed 7th overall – Harvey was in the mix or near the front in just about every stage of this daunting event modeled after the Tour de France.

A few weeks later Harvey put in a stellar effort at the U23 Nordic World Championships in Otepaa (EST) where, with the exception of Russia’s Evgeniy Belov, no one could match his gold-medal winning pace in the Men’s 30km Pursuit. Then in February he notched his best World Cup result to date, a close 2nd place finish to Sweden’s Emil Joenssen in a sprint event in Drammen (NOR).

But it was at Oslo 2011, in Norway’s famed Holmenkollen stadium, that Harvey revealed the form, ambition and confidence that made him a persistent threat in every race. After posting a solid 7th place in the Sprint event, Harvey sent a message in the 30km Pursuit race when he gapped the field and skied solo at the front until the closing few kilometres, where he was stricken with leg cramps and had to settle for a respectable 12th.

More was coming for fans worldwide and by far his best and most gratifying race, came in the Team Sprint. Skiing the anchor leg for Canada, with Kershaw as his teammate, Harvey out-sprinted Norway’s Ola Vigen Hattestad for the gold medal, stunning the boisterous and partisan throng of Norwegian fans. Proving his strength as an all-around contender, Harvey went on to finish 5th in the 50km race as well, on what is widely viewed as the toughest race course on the planet.

While Harvey can look back with pride on many of his feats from last season, his Nordic World Championship victory stands apart as the season highlight. To win Canada’s first ever World Championship gold medal in cross-country skiing, and to do it in the birthplace of skiing in front of the huge and enthusiastic crowds at the Holmenkollen was a dream come true.

Sharing the victory with his teammate, Devon Kershaw, while representing Canada, made the victory that much sweeter. “Winning with a partner, winning for our country, for Team Canada, was just amazing,” Harvey told SkiTrax. The victory in this particular event, against a world class field, also helped erase some of the painful memories left over from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, where Harvey and Kershaw placed 4th in the Team Sprint event.

The Oslo victory was “redemption for sure,” added Harvey, “Since the last day of the 2010 season, we had been thinking about and looking forward to the Oslo World Championships – we really were going for a medal that day. After Vancouver we wanted that medal pretty bad!” Small wonder the two erupted into their now famous air guitar victory celebration at the finish line in Oslo!

Our conversation then turned to training this past summer and Harvey’s preparations for the 2011-12 season. He explained that his dryland training has gone according to plan, with no interruptions due to illness or injury. He has increased his training volume slightly to about 800 hours, up from 755 last year, in keeping with his age and training base.

While his coaches, Louis Bouchard and Justin Wadsworth, have made no major changes to his overall plan, Harvey says his program, along with that of his teammates, placed  more emphasis on uphill skating and striding than in previous years, reflecting the importance of climbing ability in events like the Tour de Ski.

“Pretty much all of our camps this year were for doing uphill training,” he continued. With this year’s Tour de Ski serving as the de facto World Championships, Harvey wants to make sure he doesn’t lose ground on the final climb up Alpe Cermis like he did last year, where he fell from 7th to 10th overall in the final few kilometres.

Asked about his goals for the coming season, Harvey has his sights set on placing higher in the overall World Cup standings than last year’s 10th place overall. Doing so will depend on his ability to race with more consistency than he has in past seasons. “My goal is to score points in every race, and hopefully a lot of them,” he said.

Harvey also identified the Tour de Ski as key to overall World Cup success, given the number of World Cup points available during the event. “To be good in the overall you need to be good in the Tour … there are a lot of races, 9 stages, with 50 points available every day and then 400 points for the overall, so it’s a big event for points”. With that in mind Harvey declared, “I’ll try to be at my peak for the Tour de Ski”. Harvey has other unfinished business on the World Cup circuit. “I’ve never won individually either a World Cup or a World Championships, so I want to win individually as well.”

We concluded our conversation with a discussion about success, motivation, and pressure. I was curious as to whether the World Championship win had affected Harvey’s motivation in any way, and if it had lessened or increased any pressure to perform that he felt. His response reveals an athlete whose motivation is primarily internal and intrinsic, who competes for his own reasons, as opposed to those motivated by the opinions and expectations of others.

“I’ve never really felt pressure coming from anyone except myself. I put a lot of pressure on my self every day, every workout, every session… I really want to achieve specific things every day and improve, so there’s a lot of pressure coming from myself. Pressure from the outside, I ignore all of that. I don’t really care what people say on the outside, I know what I want to do, what I will do.”

And if his World Cup rivals were counting on last year’s World Championship gold to dampen Harvey’s motivation to compete, they will be disappointed. “I’ve tasted [victory] once and I want to taste it more and more.”

Look for Canada’s Harvey to attack off the front more often this season – then it will up to the field to see if they can catch him.

October 27, 2011 – Simi Hamilton and Noah Hoffman leave November 6th for Europe to compete against the best skiers in the world. Please come show your support and celebrate the start of the winter season… free beer, pizza and prognostication. Meet the local US Ski Team athletes and learn how they plan to go head to head with the fastest nordic skiers on the planet!!

Shockingly… these US Ski Team members are heading into the race season unfunded. Even though they have earned their stripes and have skied their way onto the 2010 Olympic team and 2011 World Championship team, very recent budget cuts have left these local skiers scrambling to fund airfare, travel and lodging for the entire World Cup season. They need our help! Beitostolen Norway, Kuusamo Finland, Duesseldorf Germany and beyond, follow these athletes and be a part of The A Team Project. Every dollar helps and your 501c(3) donation goes directly to Noah and Simi. Donate HERE.

So spread the word, bring a friend and come meet our local champions. Help toast and launch them toward a podium season with our community support- October 28th 5-7pm at the Limelight Lodge!

October 26, 2011 – Elite Italian cross-country ski racer Magda Genuin, 32, recently announced on her personal website her intention to retire from World Cup racing. In the post, Genuin wrote that she returned early from a training camp in Val Senales after making her decision after a successful 11-year career, which included four World Cup individual podiums and a fifth-place finish at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

“It is not a bolt from the blue, already last spring as I anticipated that I would need to find a period of stimulation and see if I still had the ability to return after the disappointment of how things had gone to the World Championships in Oslo,” Genuin wrote about her decision (translated from Italian via Google Translate).

“I leave the World Cup, but I do not leave cross-country skiing, because it’s what I’ve done all my life and I still like to ski, but now I will only do for me!” she added.

Read the full article on the FIS website HERE.
Read Genuin’s announcement HERE (Italian).

October 24, 2011 (Traverse City, MI) – Over 900 cross-country skiers from around the U.S. and Canada competed last winter at Traverse City’s North American Vasa Festival of Races. And organizers expect hundreds more to attend the 2012 festival – which has been named the host event for the AXCS Masters National Championships.

“We’re going to have all the excitement of a national race, lots of additional skiers, and the opportunity for our competitors to win placement in the world championships in Germany,” said Vasa Board Member and chief-of-course Michael Tarnow. “Best of all, this is helping us to promote the sport and skiing in Northern Michigan to a whole new group of people.”

The AXCS (American Cross-Country Skiers) National Masters is North America’s championship event for master skiers (over 30 years in age) and is hosted each year by a different race. Recent venues include Anchorage, Alaska; Bend, Oregon; Craftsbury, Vermont and St. Paul, Minnesota. Vasa officials say it’s the perfect fit for Traverse City.

Founded by two Traverse City dads who were trying to teach their kids to ski — Swedish-American hotelier Ted Okerstrom and former Yugoslav Olympic skier Vojin Baic – the Vasa is now in its 36th year. It’s held each February, and the 2012 event is scheduled for Feb. 10-12.

The main Saturday race, which features 12K, 27K and 50K race lengths, in either freestyle or classic styles, is part of the prestigious American Ski Marathon Series, where most of the nation’s elite and professional ski racers compete. Sunday’s 6K and 16K traditional-style classic only race, the Gran Travers Classic, is an equally prestigious event for old-school Nordic skiers, and one of the events in the Michigan Cup classic race series.

Over the past decade, race organizers have added a wide range of other events for skiers of all shapes, ages and skill levels: 1K sprints for preschoolers, 3K freestyle and classic events for older youths, and even noncompetitive 3K and 10K tours for those who prefer to enjoy winter’s natural beauty at a more leisurely pace. A highlight of the festival is the popular Valentine’s Tour, which take place on Sunday afternoon after all the competitive events have ended

And there’s a lot of beauty to appreciate. The Vasa is held on a beautifully crafted trail that winds through the dense pines and hardwoods of the Pere Marquette State Forest. In addition to the hundreds of skiers who actually head out on the trails, hundreds of spectators come to watch the race and enjoy the festivities that surround it.

“All our races are done at the speed of fun,” says Tarnow. “We try to encourage skiers to work at their own pace.”

That’s exactly the kind of experience the AXCS National Masters Championship tries to foster. Unlike many elite races, the Masters is open to skiers of all abilities. No qualification or license of any kind is necessary; it’s “one of those special events where skiers ranging from experts to complete novices can all participate together…and everyone has a great time.”

A new event for 2012 will be the Great Lakes Youth Ski Festival, where junior skiers (ages 4-14) from the five Great Lakes states will compete in a variety of races and enjoy other fun activities. Special shorter courses will be used for all the kid’s events.

The festival actually begins the day before the main race with registration, social time, and the opportunity for everyone to work-out their travel kinks on the groomed trails. That evening, there’s an annual “Vasa Pasta” dinner, an all-you-can-eat event where contestants try to pack away as many carbohydrates as possible. The Baic family tradition is one plate of pasta for every 10k of race length.

The Vasa may be Traverse City’s best-known winter event, but it is by no means the only one. The dense forests, towering hills and stunning shoreline views that make this a favorite summer resort area also lure thousands of visitors here each winter for skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and other cold-weather sports.

On January 7, for instance, is Winter Trails Day, a national day encouraging use of winter trails. Free rental skis, snowshoes and group lessons are being offered at Timber Ridge RV Resort near Traverse City with access to the Vasa Trail system.

Also, on Feb. 4 yet another major Nordic ski race is held a few miles to the north in the picturesque village of Mancelona, near the Shanty Creek Resort & Club. Known as the White Pine Stampede, it, too, is celebrating its 36st anniversary in 2012 with a series of 10K, 20K and 50K races.

For registration and information about the North American Vasa, go to www.vasa.org. To learn about the White Pine Stampede and other winter events, festivals and activities in beautiful Traverse City, call the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-TRAVERSE or visit their Web site at www.traversecity.com

October 24, 2011 – The Bliz Active brand is continuing its rapid expansion and taking market shares in Sweden, in Scandinavia and in other countries. Since its inception in 2007, Bliz Active has been actively involved with the various ski associations, and has sponsored several members of the Norwegian and Swedish national cross-country skiing teams.

“The partnership with Norwegian skier Marit Bjørgen, as well as the national teams in general, is helping to establish Bliz Active at a deeper level and confirms our position as one of the absolute top brands in sports eyewear for cross-country skiers,” said Andreas Persson, Marketing Manager at Future Trading AB.

Marit Bjørgen, probably the best female crosscountry skier the world has ever seen, has decided to continue using Bliz Active as her sports eyewear supplier. Since the first contract was signed in 2008, she has been extremely pleased with the products and service provided by Future Trading, the company behind the Bliz Active brand.

Future believes firmly in the partnership with Marit Bjørgen, and is prepared to invest heavily in it. The sponsorship of Marit lends enormous credibility to the brand, and this will prove extremely valuable for the brand’s future expansion and sales.

Future’s objective is to move BLIZ forward by adding more technical and functional products for outdoor activities. At the same time, it is important that BLIZ maintains a price level which makes the brand accessible to a broad target group, which buys and uses our products”, says Jan Jonsson, CEO of Future.

The 3-year partnership and contract will cover competitions such as the World Championships in Val de Fiemme in 2013 and the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.

October 21, 2011 (Salt Lake City, UT) – The Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team was honoured Wednesday night in New York City at the 32nd Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Gala. Team members and their supporting foundation, Women’s Ski Jumping USA (WSJ-USA), were recognized for their perseverance and courage in fighting to gain Olympic status for their sport.

In April 2011, the International Olympic Committee added a women’s ski jumping event to the Olympic Winter Games program beginning in 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Ski jumping (and Nordic Combined) have been the only disciplines in the Winter Games to exclude women.

Ski jumpers Lindsey Van, Jessica Jerome and Alissa Johnson, and WSJ-USA President Deedee Corradini were in New York to receive the award.

“To be honored by such a reputable organization with core values in which I truly believe is amazing,” said Jessica Jerome. “This award isn’t just for me and my team, it represents a much larger group of people and all their efforts and beliefs that helped us get to where we are today.”

The Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) was founded in 1974 by tennis legend Billie Jean King. Deedee Corradini said it is incredible for the team and WSJ-USA to be recognized by one of the most influential organizations in the world that advocates for girls and women in sports.

“This is a wonderful day for the team, the sport and all of our supporters and sponsors,” Corradini said.

Alissa Johnson, who also received a WSF 2010 Travel and Training grant, hopes others find inspiration in their struggle. “I want our story to show young girls that if they believe in something, they can fight for it no matter what’s thrown in their way.”

2009 World Ski Jumping Champion Lindsey Van said courage helped her and her teammates get through the toughest days. “We stood up as athletes and made it happen,” she added.

2011 Ski Affair – Salt Lake City – October 27
Women’s Ski Jumping USA is also being honoured in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 27 at the 2011 Ski Affair, sponsored by the Utah Ski Archives, which will highlight and honor Women’s Ski Jumping USA (WSJ-USA) for its persistence in pushing for women ski jumpers to be included in the Olympic Winter Games.

The annual event begins at 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 27 at Little America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City and is a fundraiser for the Ski Archives.

After a 10-year battle led by the nonprofit WSJ-USA and women jumpers from around the world, the International Olympic Committee finally announced on April 6, 2011, that women’s ski jumping would be a sanctioned event at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this year’s Ski Affair,” said Jenny Holden, WSJ-USA executive director. “We hope our athletes’ achievements are an inspiration for others, especially young athletes who have Olympic dreams too.”

More than 500 people are expected to attend the Ski Affair, which also pays tribute to Salt Lake City’s hosting of the 2002 Games. Deedee Corradini, president of WSJ-USA and former mayor of Salt Lake, is the first and only female mayor ever to accept the Olympic Winter Games flag.

Members of the Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team, supported by WSJ-USA, expected at the event include 2009 World Champion Lindsey Van, Jessica Jerome and Sarah Hendrickson.

“It means so much to us as athletes to be recognized by the Ski Archives and our community,” said Hendrickson, 17, of Park City, a 2010 Junior World Championship bronze medalist. “To be part of the first group of women ever to compete in ski jumping in the Olympics would be outstanding. That feeling drives me to work hard every day to reach that goal.”

The Utah Ski Archives were established in 1989 at the University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library. The official repository of the records of the Salt Lake Olympic bid and organizing committees preserves information about the history of skiing in Utah and the Intermountain West.

Details
What: Fundraiser for the Utah Ski Archives
When: 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 27
Where: Little America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City, 500 S. Main St.
Cost: $60 per person
Includes: Dinner, silent and live auctions, photo displays of Utah’s ski history and a drawing for Ski Utah’s new “Yeti pass,” good for one day of skiing at each of the state’s 14 resorts for about $35 per day.
Reservations: May be made through Friday, Oct. 21 at www.lib.utah.edu or by calling 801-581-3421.
Contact: Whitney Childers, 801-503-6099, wchildersmedia@gmail.com

October 19, 2011 (Livigno, Italy) – Top Swedish sprinter Emil Joenssen was forced to leave team camp in Livigno, Italy early when he sustained a thigh injury during training. “I was on the camp in the Italian Livigno and had a great time with the rest of the team and the training was perfect! Then, on Friday afternoon we were doing a special training in order to get in more “into it”. That is, you start with an easy pace and then you increase the speed up to maximum speed. And during my second round the back of my thigh cramps and I fall to the ground and simply felt something was not right,” Emil Joensson explained on his website.

Emil Joensson returned quickly to Sweden and underwent in Oestersund several medical check ups including a MRI that revealed the cause of an injury. “As it turned out, the injury was smaller than what we had thought and it is a small simple burst within the back of the thigh up towards the bum. An incredible small little bugger which isn’t at all as serious but you don’t want to go on and burden it too fast due to the risk to turn it into a more severe injury,” Joensson reveals.

Expected recovery time remains unknown. “It will take weeks before I am fully back in action,” Joensson confirms. With the season kick off round the corner the Small Crystal Globe winner is not laying down his arms. “I have to adjust my training not to put on myself inappropriate load. So it is looking like a fun break in training having the chance to try out some new training variations,” Joensson claims.

October 19, 2011 – Five snow sport athletes make up the shortlist for the Best Male Athlete Category for the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) 2011 Paralympic Sport Awards, proudly partnered by the IPC’s International Partner, Allianz. The award will be presented by the IPC to the top male athlete for his accomplishments at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games.

Finalists for the award include: German alpine skier Gerd Schoenfelder; Russian biathlete and cross-country skier Irek Zaripov; Slovakian alpine skier Jakub Krako; Canadian biathlete and cross-country skier Brian McKeever; and New Zealand alpine skier Adam Hall.

– Gerd Schoenfelder: After picking up five medals in Vancouver, the 41-year-old became one of the most decorated Paralympic athletes in history, as he has now won 22 Paralympic Games medals, including 16 golds. At his sixth Winter Games in Vancouver, the German took four golds in Alpine Skiing (Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom, Super Combined) and one silver (Slalom). After winning two golds, a silver and a bronze at the 2011 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Sestriere, Italy, Schoenfelder announced his retirement.

– Irek Zaripov: The Russian, who lost both of his legs after a car accident back in 2000, won five total medals in Vancouver, including four golds and a silver. He struck gold in two Biathlon events (2.4km Pursuit, 12.5km Pursuit) and two Cross-Country Skiing events (15km Sitting, 10km Sitting), in addition to picking up a silver in Cross-Country (Sprint Sitting).

– Jakub Krako: The visually impaired Slovakian won gold in three Alpine Skiing disciplines in Vancouver – men’s slalom, giant slalom and Super G. The then-20-year-old also picked up a silver in the Super Combined. He capped off his year with a victory in the Super G World Cup, and then won the Slalom World Cup in 2011.

– Brian McKeever: At his home Games in Vancouver, McKeever, who started skiing at 3 and began losing his vision at 19, claimed gold in three events. McKeever won three Cross-Country Skiing disciplines: 20km Freestyle, 10km Classic Style and Sprint Classic Style. He won the Best Male Athlete Category in the 2007 Paralympic Sport Awards and was the first Canadian athlete with a disability to ski in an able-bodied event in 2007.

– Adam Hall: Born with spina bifida, Hall quickly became the pride of New Zealand at 22 after claiming an unlikely gold medal in the Alpine Skiing Slalom Standing event in Vancouver. After a stunning first run that put him well into the lead, a remarkable recovery following a fall in his second run pushed him to gold.

The award winner will be announced during a special ceremony held in conjunction with the 2011 IPC General Assembly in Beijing, China, in December.

October 19, 2011 (Duesseldorf, Germany) – The snow spectacle on the banks of the Rhine river will fascinate visitors from near and far for the tenth time. The World’s best cross-country skiers will again compete on the spectacular course along the Rhine on December 3 and 4. The Old Town banks and Burgplatz will once again be turned into an Alpine winter fairy-tale: culinary delicacies, tobogganing track for children and an attractive music and supporting programme will once again make the FIS Cross-Country World Cup a special event for the whole family.

Tenth Anniversary
Duesseldorf’s Lord Mayor Dirk Elbers, patron of the World Cup in the North-Rhine Westphalian capital: “There is great anticipation for the tenth anniversary of the Duesseldorf World Cup. Nowhere else city slickers can experience modern skiing so closely. The sports city of Duesseldorf will present itself brilliantly again at the tenth event and with its enthusiastic fans impressively emphasise its reputation as the world’s greatest winter sports event.” Thomas Pfueller, Sports Director and Secretary General of the German Ski Federation, DSV, adds: “Duesseldorf has established itself by its successful city event and is also very popular among the athletes.”

Christina Begale, Managing Director of sportAgentur, co-organisers of the FIS Cross-Country World Cup: “This event is a real challenge for all people involved. Smooth and professional co-operation between the Jever Ski Hall Neuss, the West German Ski Association and the sportAgentur is essential for the realisation of the event. In this context the approximately 120 volunteers must be mentioned who’s contribution is also vital for the success of the World Cup.”

August Pollen, Head of the Organising Committee: “The Cross-Country World Cup in Duesseldorf will indeed be held for the tenth time – and we are looking forward to it just as for its premiere.” Pollen announces: “We shall surprise the visitors again with new ideas at the anniversary. Welcome to the Duesseldorf World Cup circuit!”

More than 200.000 Spectators
The FIS Cross-Country Ski World Cup has been the crowning conclusion of the Duesseldorf sports year since 2002 and attracts more than 200,000 spectators along the course annually. Altogether about 3,000 cubic metres of snow from Jever Ski Hall Neuss are needed for the preparation of the 800m long sprint track regularly praised by the athletes for its excellent quality. The snow is produced without any chemical additives but nevertheless withstands almost any weather conditions. Consequently Duesseldorf can boast to be the venue with the best guaranteed snow conditions within the World Cup series.

In addition, the white spectacle on the Rhine is by far the greatest event for the cross-country skiers in the entire winter season, regularly televised on public German TV and is, thanks to its excellent infra-structure, one of the most environmental-friendly World Cup event. Free entrance is also a special feature.

www.worldcup-duesseldorf.de

September 28, 2011 (West Yellowstone, Montana) – Everyone is invited to West Yellowstone, Montana Nov. 22-26 for the Yellowstone Ski Festival, a week-long celebration of cross-country skiing. Each year thousands of skiers, from Olympic athletes to first timers, descend on this small mountain town to make their first tracks of the season over the Thanksgiving holiday on perfectly groomed corduroy.

The Yellowstone Ski Festival offers a diverse schedule of events, with one to five day Nordic ski clinics offered throughout the week. Classic and skate specific options, as well as multi-day combination clinics, provide an opportunity for all skiers to kick-start their season on the Rendezvous Ski Trails. West Yellowstone will also host the USSA SuperTour opener, beginning with the “Sprint Showdown,” on Wednesday, Nov. 23. The 10/15 kilometer freestyle race and 5/10 kilometer classic race will happen on Friday and Saturday. A “Try Biathlon Day” will be held on Nov.22, and Biathlon Sprint on Nov. 23.

Skiers will have the chance to test skis, boots, bindings, poles and wax at the On Snow Gear Demo. New this year, the “Passport Program” will enter skiers who demo gear from all participating companies and attended one evening wax clinic into a drawing for a $750 gift certificate to their choice of local ski shops Freeheel & Wheel, Bud Lilly’s, or Altius Handcrafted Firearms. Second and third prizes will also be awarded. The festivities continue after dark at the Indoor Expo, where skiers may visit with company representatives, fine tune ski prep techniques at wax clinics, and enjoy a variety of lectures, presentations and films. The expo will be held at the Yellowstone Ski Festival’s headquarters, the Holiday Inn.

Bring the whole family; there are plenty of options for kids. The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center has scheduled daily activities and family-friendly evening presentations include the Backcountry Film Festival, a Birds of Prey exhibit featuring live raptors, a hands-on lecture from the National Park Service, and a good, old-fashioned s’more party. Let the Yellowstone Ski Festival become a new Thanksgiving tradition.

Think snow and make plans now to attend the 2011 Yellowstone Ski Festival. For more information, clinic registration, or to find out about early trail pass discounts, visit www.yellowstoneskifestival.com.

September 27, 2011 (Oberhof, Germany) – The second Cross-Country Skiing sprint race will take place in Oberhof’s indoor ski venue on September 29. This is the first year it will be sanctioned by FIS. The freestyle sprints will kick off the German performance tests in a Mini-Tour format. For the first time, the athletes will fight for FIS points during the first event held on snow in the ski hall and organizers expect a larger international field to compete.

The German performance test program traditionally features Cross-Country running and Roller Skiing pursuit races.

Follow the race LIVE!
You can follow the Oberhof indoor sprint races LIVE! Competition starts on Thursday at 18:00 CET with qualifying session and finals starting at 18:30. You can watch the race HERE or on fiscrosscountry.com

September 21, 2011 (Quebec City, QC) – The 2012 Snowshoe World Championship will take place near Quebec City, March 8th-11, 2012 with Dan Des Rosier as the race director. The event took place in Japan last year, and in Vancouver, BC in 2010 during the Winter Olympics. The previous two Snowshoe Worlds prior to that were in 2007 and 2006 on the Dachstein Glacier in Austria.

Jimmy Gobeil of Canada finished in 4th place in 2007 and David Leporho of Quebec is currently the defending World Champion after winning in Japan last year and will, therefore, have a fierce race as he aims to defend his title on home turf.

More info HERE.

September 20, 2011 – Norwegian Cross-Country athletes have had smooth summer and good training season so far, but there are still two months to go till the FIS Cross-Country World Cup kicks off in Beitostolen… and there are over three months to go till the winter highlight, this year’s FIS Tour de Ski.

“We’ve had only few injuries and illness in the national teams this training season. In general, everything runs very well. We are certainly on good track,” says head coach Vidar Løfshus.

Løfshus has been relatively new in the top position being responsible for various national teams in the World Cup season. He knows the season is approaching, but does not deny that he is looking forward to it.

“It is very fun to get started with the season, and I think we have many that will show their teeth,” Løfshus thinks.

Løfshus has praised both of the new national team coaches for having done very good progress. Junior team coach Sjur Ole Svarstad and men’s distance team coach Trond Nystad’s were hired before the training season.

“Both of them have made very good impression so far. They also have established good dialogue with athletes, service and generally with the whole team,” says Løfshus.

Twenty-two days in the height
In August, before the FIS Rollerski World Championships and Toppidrettsveka in Aure/Kristiansund, Trond Nystad took the men’s distance team to the training camp in Oberhof for the first time. Ladies’ team spent the August training camp in the idyllic surroundings of Hummelfjell in Os. Norwegian Junior teams were also there at the training camps.

In late August the teams left for the traditional high altitude training stay at Seiser Alm and Livigno, while the men’s sprint team went to Ramsau. Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Sjur Røthe, Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Petter Northug stayed longer in Livigno and could enjoy perfect training conditions during the last training week there. The quartet extended the high altitude stay by a week and experienced almost ideal conditions. Northug and Co. carried out twenty-two days in a row at the training camp.

Training Camps in Norway
After the high altitude stay in middle Europe, three Norwegian national teams will meet in three different places next week. Men’s distance team will kick off their gathering in Drammen on Tuesday, ladies’ squad left for Kvitfjell and sprinters will meet in Gjøvik. October will feature, traditional training camps in Livigno (sprint team) and at Val Senales (distance teams). Last week the sprint specialists started on Mallorca their final dry land training phase before the winter World Cup season.

Before the Norwegian national Cross-Country season opening in Beitostølen Norwegian national teams plan to meet at Gala.

September 20, 2011 (Davos, Switzerland) – Already last winter discussed Swedish and Swiss national teams they could do something together. “We talked with Guri Hetland, sports manager of the Swiss Cross-Country team, and all the pieces fell into right place. I think both teams will have the pleasure of training with each other in Davos and its fantastic environment,” says Swedish coach Joakim Abrahamsson.

The Swiss team is well known and is led by reigning World Cup champion Dario Cologna. He, Remo Fischer, Curdin Perl and Toni Livers romped to first ever Swiss World Cup victory in the relay in La Clusaz last winter.

Swedish team left Livigno, Italy on Sunday after a wonderful week with various dry-land workouts in perfect weather. “The sun was shining all the time, we had optimal conditions there and we could carry out the whole training plan we had prepared,” Joakim Abrahamsson says.

Davos has been Swedish favorite resort for a long time. The town lies in a valley with Flüelaschwarzhorn as the highest point, 3146 meters above the sea level. The town itself lies in 1260 meters above sea level.
“We are confident that in Davos we will perform great workouts. Anna Haag and Emil Jönsson have been here, and Guri Hetland lives in Davos and the surrounding area is great,” Joakim Abrahamsson says. Anna Haag and Emil Joensson bought an apartment in Davos.

Unfortunately, neither Johan Olsson nor Marcus Hellner will team up with the Swedish squad in Davos. The two Olympic relay heroes have not fully recovered from their injuries.

“Johan needs more time to heal his shoulder bu he can do alternative training. The same applies for Marcus. At first he was slightly cold, and then he stretched his knee,” Joakim Abrahamsson revealed.

September 14, 2011 – Norwegian Petter Northug, the best skier in this year’s World Championships in Oslo, extended his contract with Alpina. Petter Northug, who won three gold and two silver medals at the Oslo 2011 World Championships and is the holder of four Olympic medals from Vancouver 2010, has extended his contract with the Slovenian company through May 2014.

With permanent investments in development, Alpina has become one of the most important manufacturers of Cross-Country boots and today reaches one third of the market share in the segment of XC boots. Alpina is proud that one of the best and most popular athletes in the Cross-Country Skiing world continues to use its shoes for his future challenges. Furthermore Alpina also believes this will help to consolidate the Alpina brand all over the world.

September 13, 2011 (Sochi, Russia) – Preparations for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games are continuing, with work expected to be completed on many of the mountain venues by the end of this year.

During the 2014 Games, events will be focused around two different areas – a coastal cluster of venues in Sochi for ice events, and a mountain cluster in the Krasnaya Polyana Mountains.

The mountain cluster will be home to all the skiing and sliding sports and will include a Biathlon and Ski Complex, a Bobsleigh Track, a Ski Centre and a Ski Jump Complex, as well as a Snowboard Park and Freestyle Centre.

Many of the venues are due to host international events at the beginning of 2012, in preparation for the 2014 Games, and IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Jean-Claude Killy was confident that the athletes would be impressed following a recent visit to Sochi. “I am confident that the world’s winter athletes will be impressed when they arrive in Sochi for the up-coming sports events and the Games in 2014,” said Killy. He continued, “The entire Sochi 2014 team deserves great praise for their achievements over the past six months.”

The Biathlon and Ski Complex, located on the crest and slopes of the Psekhako Ridge, will host both the FIS Cup and the IBU Cup in January next year, while the Alpine Centre, on the Aibga Ridge, will host the Alpine FIS World Cup in February.

The Ski Jumping Complex, which is located in Esto-Sadok village on the northern slope of the Aibga Ridge, will stage the FIS Ski Jumping Cup in February, while the Snowboard Park and Freestyle Centre, to the West of the Rosa Khutor plateau, will host both the Freestyle FIS European Cup and the Snowboard FIS European Cup in March.

www.olympic.org

September 13, 2011 (Toblach, Italy) – One of the most interesting stages of next FIS Tour de Ski will be the one in Toblach/Dobbiaco ITA. During three days, six races will be carried out in this relatively small village in Pustertal. In my article I will use the German name Toblach (there is also Italian version Dobbiaco).

As Toblach has become a frequent organizer in the FIS Tour de Ski it may be interesting for you to know how Toblach organized their first World Cup Competition. We have to go back to season 1987/88 and (as always) the winter was warm in Middle Europe. And perhaps some of you remember that the relay race Dec. 19 in Davos was cancelled due to the fact that the Swiss TV did not want to cover the competition, as the snow situation was very poor. As you had seen before, the men and the ladies competed sometimes at different resorts the same weekend.

The weekend Jan 15-16 was scheduled for Klingenthal DDR for women and Strbske Pleso TCH for men. It was still warm and we had to make changes of the program in Ski jumping as well as in Nordic Combined. The snow situation in Klingenthal did not allow any World Cup competition taking place and no substitute resort could be found in DDR. As always FISI (the Italian Ski Federation), was interested to take it over. The secretary general of FISI Angelo Vergani informed me that Cogne or Toblach were candidates to host the competition and he recommended Toblach. I remembered that I had met a person from Toblach, Herbert Santer, at the men’s Mass-start race in Kastelruth three weeks earlier. He asked me what he should do so that Toblach could become the organizer of a World Cup race in the future. Who could know at that time that the future was within three weeks?

I called Franco Nones, the representative of Italy and asked him to check the possibilities.

The answer was positive and after having involved our decision makers Gian Franco Kasper FIS General Secretary, Odd Martinsen Cross-Country Committee and Stig Roland Bergqvist World Cup Committee, we decided that Toblach would organize its first World Cup event.

This was the paper work, now to reality – how to organize a World Cup race in Toblach?

The OC of Toblach consisted of persons with experiences from the popular cross-country race Cortina-Toblach and from a number of Alpen Cup competitions. You must also be aware of the reality at that time. The weekend January 15-16 was the last competition before the opening of the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary/Canmore 1988, which started February 14. That meant that one month was reserved for preparations before the games.

The key persons were Herbert Santer as Chief OC, Elvira Bachmann as competition secretary and Karl Walder as Chief of track. The TD was Madeleine Vion FRA. With excitement we waited for the teams but which nations would come? SOV and FIN did not come and NOR came with a B-team.

The preparations were underway and I remember that we had troubles with how to improve an uphill.

However at the end we had fantastic competitions with many engaged spectators and a new organizer was born. At last I want to mention one thing that happened during the team captains meeting that never will happen again. The technical delegate suddenly asked is it okay that we will start at 09.30? One captain said that is more convenient to start at 10.00. And that was confirmed by Madeleine Vion the Technical delegate without any control. Such things could occur as late as 1988.

Simone Greiner Petter DDR won before the Swedes Anna Lena Fritzon and Marie Helen Westin. In the relay SWE, DDR and NOR were the three best.

For me personally I got a close friendship through the years with the Family Santer with the parents Herbert and Live and the three daughters Natalie, Saskia and Stephanie.

Thank you Toblach and good luck for the future.

September 10, 2011 (Canmore, AB) – Come challenge 2011 World Champion and Canadian National Ski Team member Devon Kershaw in a running race up the Spray Lakes road! All proceeds go to helping support the Alberta World Cup Academy….

Race Information:
– Entry Fee $ 23.00 – registration on Zone4.com HERE, deadline is October 13th, 2011
– Bib pick up Friday October 14th between 12-5pm at Ultimate Fit Center on Main Street
– Last minute pick up can be done at Bill Warren Training Centre between 8 – 8:45am
– 8:15am debrief at cross country ski stadium at the Canmore Nordic Centre
– A van will be at the Nordic Centre parking lot and at each starting point for shuttling clothing to the finish line. Shuttling from the finish line to the Nordic Centre will be available.
– Awards and AWCA Team Launch and snacks at the Bill Warren Training Centre in the Haig room from 12pm – 2pm.

Start line:
– Men – Green gate about 400 meters from power plant spill way.
– Women – Rundle view Entrance.

Race finishes at the top of Spray Road by the dam for both men and women

Start Times:
– U 17 M – 9am
– U 17 W – 9am
– Open M (18-40) – 9:30am
– Open W (18-40) – 9:30am
– Masters M (41+) – 10am
– Masters W (41+) – 10am

Course Records:
– Graham Nishikawa – 29:23
– Madeleine Williams – 25:41

Course Maps
– Men 7.5km HERE
– Women 5km HERE
– Overall Course Layout HERE

Lactate Challenge
Lactate: During power exercises such as sprinting, when the rate of demand for energy is high, lactate is produced faster than the ability of the tissues to remove it, so lactate concentration begins to rise.

Think you have what it takes to have the highest lactate? $50 will enter you in the 50/50 draw which will measure your lactate at the finish line. The harder your push, the better your chances!

50% of entry goes to AWCA and 50% goes to the winner. Separate draws for men and women. Registration for Lactate Challenge on Zone4.

Hope to see you out!

September 07, 2011 (Almaty, Kazakhstan) – The first FIS top level Ski Jumping competition in Almaty, Kazakhstan, ended with a premiere. 22-year-old Jurij Tepes from Slovenia took his first FIS Grand Prix Ski Jumping victory on the new hill in Almaty. In fact Slovenia celebrated a double victory because Jure Sinkovec finished 2nd as another first time podium result.

“Of course it’s a great feeling to celebrate my first victory here. Both jumps were good, I think I was also the best in the final round. I didn’t really notice what happened before me because I was so focused on myself and my jump,” said the happy winner.

It is a brand new hill that was built in Almaty on the outskirts of Kazakhstan’s largest city for the Asian Winter Games that took place in February. Ski Jumping arouses lots of enthusiasm amongst the fans with hundreds already coming to watch the training on Monday and 4,000 the competition on Tuesday. Tuesday was a national holiday in Kazakhstan as the citizens celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Kazakh constitution. Last winter, a Continental Cup was also held at the new facility on the Gorny Gigant, as the mountain on the outskirts of town is known.

Before the competitions in Almaty, the FIS Grand Prix visited Hakuba (JPN) for two events. Both competitions ended with the same result as the same three athletes were on the podium on both days – in the exactly the same order: Tom Hilde of Norway left Japan with two victories, whilst Poland’s Piotr Zyla collected two second places and local hero Taku Takeuchi two third place finishes.

Thomas Morgenstern, who did not take part in the Asian tour, is close to winning the overall Grand Prix ranking. He now leads by 150 points with only two more competitions to go. After 2003 and 2007, this would be the third overall victory for the Austrian. Only Adam Malysz has won three times, in 2001, 2004 and 2006.

For more information visit www.fisskijumping.com

August 31, 2011 – Simi Hamilton grew up in Aspen, CO with skiing in his blood. Since before he can remember, he spent every non-school day during the winter either on the alpine hill or out on the cross country trails around Aspen.

His dedication to the sport paid off in a huge way in 2010 as he marked not one, but two U.S. titles in Anchorage and earned a spot on the 2010 Olympic team. Read on to see what makes this Aspen, CO native tick.

How/when did you decide you wanted to compete?
Simi Hamilton: Both of my parents were competitive runners when they were young and they got into cross country skiing after they were fed up with getting injured from running. Naturally, we ended up cross country skiing a lot together as a family when I was young. I have a very competitive personality, so cross country racing seemed like a great thing to start doing when I was about 12 or 13. That and my mom basically forced me to do it, which I’m glad she did. It’s the best sport in the world, and I know I’ll still be getting out on the cross country trails when I’m 90 years old.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your career so far?
Competing at and getting top-30 at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics for team USA is for sure the accomplishment I’m most proud of in my life. Just being able to be part of such an awesome team and take part in such a mind-boggling experience was absolutely incredible. I got enough Team USA clothing from Polo and Nike that I’ll never have to buy Christmas presents ever again!

What are your goals for next season?
Race in the Tour de Ski (a multi-stage cross country race in Europe in Dec. and Jan.). Improve my distance racing while still focusing on sprinting. Beat Andy Newell in a weighted pull-up competition.

What is your favorite snow destination?
New Zealand is probably the coolest place I’ve trained, while the Holmenkollen venue in Oslo, Norway is by far the coolest place I’ve raced.

What is your favorite non-snow destination?
Man, there are a bunch of these. Surfing and running on Kauai, mountain biking in Sun Valley, climbing in the City of Rocks, kayaking in Costa Rica, fall training in Lake Placid and the surrounding Adirondacks.

If you weren’t a professional athlete what would you be?
A pilot or backcountry ski/climbing guide.

What is the time you’ve been most scared in your life?
I climbed Teewinot Peak in the Tetons one summer after work one day and a huge lightning storm suddenly rolled in when I was about 50 feet from the summit. There were about four or five lightning strikes within 30 feet of me as I launched myself down the east face. I was completely alone, which made it worse, and ended up sobbing and yelling at myself for about half an hour when I reached the safety of the trees. I had to get stitches in 4 places on my body from crashing down the rocks the whole way down.

What is your biggest vice?
Coffee

What is your biggest pet peeve?
People that talk on their phones on chair lifts and bad drivers. It’s a tie.

What is your advice to others who want to follow in your footsteps?
Find a way to make it fun every single day. If it isn’t fun, it’s lame, and you probably shouldn’t be doing it.

August 30, 2011 – Check out this video interview with Len Valjas posted on the Team Hardwood YouTube channel. He talks about his break-out season last year, NST training camps so far this year, current training focus, and his role at this week’s Southern Ontario Training Camp.

August 29, 2011 (Oberammergau, Germany) – Petter Northug Jr., the Vancouver 2010 double Olympic Champion and Oslo 2011 triple World Champion has confirmed that he’ll race the 2012 edition of the König Ludwig Lauf in Oberammergau on February 5, 2012.

The new is a big highlight for race organizers as the event is celebrating its 40th anniversary!

Since 2011, the König Ludwig Lauf is also part of the Ski Classics races, a series of six classic technique races with an additional Sprint ranking. The other races are the Jizerska Padesatka, Marcialonga, the Vasaloppet, the Birkebeinerrennet – all Worldloppet and FIS Marathon Cup races – and the final at the Norefjellrennet, Norway. For more information on the Ski Classics click HERE.

The König Ludwig Lauf already has race entries from 25 different nations and numbers of participants has grown over 35% in comparison to last year’s August numbers.

At the same time, the World Skiing Championships for doctors and pharmacists will be held for the 17th time. For kids between 6 and 14 years of age, there will be a 5km “Mini-Kini” race on Saturday.

For more information click HERE.

August 29, 2011 – Marit Bjoergen (NOR) has ruled out motherhood before she concludes her racing career, according to Langrenn.com. The 31-year-old XC skiing superstar has admitted she would like to have a family, but she aims to compete at the Sochi 2014 Olympics first.

“Sometime in the future, I feel like a family, but it does not happen before my career is over,” she told Langrenn. I think it would be difficult to combine children and elite sport.”

Bjoergen lives with former runner Fred Borre Lundberg. He is an Olympic champion and five-time World Champiom.

Read the original article in Norwegian HERE.

June 23, 2011 – The Organizers of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo (NOR) announced last week that they were able to close their books highly successfully, producing a profit of 40 million NOK (5 million Euro / CHF 6.1 million) from the event.

“The main reason for the good result was the higher than expected ticket income. We maintained good control over our costs until the end, which helped deliver this successful financial result,” said Oslo 2011 Chairman of the Board Svein Aaser.

The Oslo 2011 Organizers were able to sell tickets for 38 million NOK over budget. Aaser also stressed that Oslo 2011 was organized without governmental support. In effect, Oslo 2011 was set up as a joint company by the Norwegian Ski Federation and the Federation for the Promotion of Skiing (Skifoereningen) with starting capital of just 2 million NOK.

“Much could have gone wrong, with warm weather or rain or some global catastrophe,” Aaser added. “We are very pleased that we had strong management and luck with many external influences.”

The profit will be used to promote sport of Skiing in Norway, providing a healthy foundation for better and more World Cup events, among other things. Norway also already plans a bid for another FIS World Championship in the future.

June 22, 2011 (Engadin, Switzerland) – The Worldloppet Association was founded in 1978 and brings together the most important popular Cross-Country skiing races in the world. It currently includes 15 races on four continents. In addition to the Engadin Ski Marathon, there are more races such as Vasaloppet, Birkebeiner or Marcialonga.

The aim of the annual meetings, which take place annually at different destinations, is to maintain a high standard of the races in terms of organization and service. The Engadin meeting took place from June 16-19, and enhanced cooperation between organizing committees. Participants also discussed future development of the Worldloppet.

“The Worldloppet meeting in Engadin was very successful and fruitful,” says Ivo Damaso, OC president of the host Engadine Ski Marathon. The participants agreed that Worldloppet must tackle challenges of popular skiing with a new common strategy in order to increase importance of Worldloppet races as well as the FIS Marathon Cup. The discussion among the delegates showed that new challenges such as “new media” must be actively addressed. Damaso therefore spoke of a new era and a forthcoming period of change. He stressed it is important to strengthen the position of the Association, to benefit from synergies of the members. As a result Worldloppet wants to become an umbrella of popular Cross-Country skiing.

The participants agreed that the current situation with two main series, FIS Marathon Cup and Ski Classics, is unsatisfactory where five out of six races in Ski Classics are already in the FIS Marathon Cup schedule. The dual classification leads to marketing problems and confusion. Worldloppet put its effort to merge the series in one and benefit from its attractiveness.

The assembly was also informed that the Executive Committee of Worldloppet did not receive, besides Angello Corradini, another candidacy before the election of the Secretary General. Corradini has been in office since 2004 and is also Chief of the OC of the Nordic World Ski Championships Val di Fiemme 2013.

June 22, 2011 – The Olympic gold medalist and World Champion, Norway’s Petter Northug, will compete in at least three Ski Classics distance events in 2012. According to the Norwegian TV2, he plans to contest Marcialonga in Italy, König Ludwig Lauf in Germany, and Vasaloppet in Sweden.

“Petter Northug is the greatest skier presently active, and having him competing in the peak of his career in Ski Classics is of course great news!” said David Nilsson Executive Director Ski Classics.

“Ski Classics has grown rapidly the last year and we will work hard during the summer in order to lift the sport of long distance skiing further in front of the coming season, to meet the expectations of fans, media and most important of all the athletes,” he added.

Click HERE for more info.

www.skiclassics.com

June 16, 2011 – Italy’s Simone Paredi and Guro Stroem Solli of Norway will try to defend their Roller Skiing World Cup titles from the 2010 season as the FIS Roller Skiing World Cup 2011 kicks off on 25th June in Bessans, France.

Paredi dominated last season’s series and collected 641 points. Runner-up Ragnar Bragvin Andresen of Norway lost to Paredi in the overall standings by only four points and will have a chance to pay back this year. Sweden’s Anders Svanebo occupied third place with 614 points.

On the ladies’ side Norway’s Guro Stroem Solli clearly dominated the World Cup standings last season with 774 points and edged out two Russians, Elena Rodina and Evgenia Kurochkina.

The FIS Roller Skiing World Cup 2011 will feature 15 races in four countries. After Bessans, France where a mass start and an uphill race will be carried out, the circuit will visit traditional places such as Bad Peterstal and Markleeberg in Germany. The two final events this summer will take place in Oroslavje, Croatia, on 17-18th September.

The main season highlight, however, will be the FIS Roller Skiing World Championships that will be held in Aure and Kristiansund in Norway from 9-13th August. The World Championships kick off on Tuesday, August 9 with 10 km classic uphill race for ladies and men. Following day, the roller skiing specialists will fight for titles in a 24 km mass start in free technique. On 12th August the Championship action will move to Kristiansund for relays in free technique. The final set of medals will be handed over on Saturday, 13th August for the 200 meter sprint.

June 14, 2011 – The Swiss Cross-Country Ski Team carried out its second training camp last week. After the first get-together in Magglingen, Switzerland, the team went to Passo Stelvio, Italy for some training on the snow.

“The camp in Magglingen was a good one. It is a nice place to train and the conditions for rollerskiing are excellent. The month of May represents the start of a new season and it was nice to have the team together again and really start the training for 2011/12 season. We also made our test program in Magglingen and had meetings with coach team, service team and medical team,” explained head coach of the Swiss team Guri Hetland to fiscrosscounry.com.

After the dry land training and testing the Swiss team went to Italy to carry out trainings on snow. The Swiss team spent the whole week in Passo Stelvio and returned home on Sunday, June 12. “Snow conditions were good and we could ski outside the hotel door. We used the 4,5 km long course, where we had perfect possibilities for endurance and technical training. In the afternoons we mostly went down in the valley for rollerski or running workouts and some intensive trainings,” revealed Hetland who starts her second season with the Swiss team.

“This season the distance athletes and the sprinters will train more together. We now have one World Cup team with 10 athletes; Sprint and Distance, men and women. That means the distance athletes will train more with the sprinters to improve their top-speed and the sprinters will train more with the distance athletes to improve endurance,” claimed Hetland.

Service staff of the Swiss Cross-Country team got a strong reinforcement with the former service man of Petra Majdic. “Gianluca Marcolini will be a good supplement in our team. He is really experienced and he has much knowledge. He will be working close to Dario, but contribute to all the athletes as well,” explained Hetland.

There are more than five months before the FIS Cross-Country World Cup 2011/12 kicks off but all the thoughts and preparations aim at next season. “We are happy about the World Cup calendar for the next season. There are free technique races in the beginning of the season and that is good for our “skate-experts”. We also like 30 km individual start in Davos. It will be great to welcome the Cross-Country family at the traditional race in Davos! Tour de Ski looks good as well. One more competition makes it even tougher, but we like the concept,” said Hetland. Tour de Ski 2012 will be the season highlight and a chance for Dario Cologna to defend the title from last year.

June 13, 2011 – The FIS Cross-Country World Cup calendar for the upcoming season 2011/12 was finalized during the FIS Calendar Conference in Portoroz from 1st to 5th June, and confirmed by the FIS Council at its meeting in Ljubljana on 6th June. 19 World Cup venues are included in the season which will kick off in Beitostoelen, Norway on 19th November. The 6th Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski performance by Craft Sportswear was confirmed with the dates from 29th December 2011 to 8th January 2012. In the season without a FIS World Championship and Olympic Winter Games, the FIS Tour de Ski will be carried out over 11 days with nine races in two countries.

Other highlights of the calendar include Russia with an event Moscow and the debut of Szklarska Poreba and Poland which will make their World Cup debut. The World Cup races there will be held on Friday and Saturday whilst on Sunday, the FIS World Uphill Trophy will be carried out. This is a unique race with about 3 km uphill and 3,5 km downhill on an alpine downhill slope and will not be a part of the World Cup. In addition, Milano will return to the World Cup calendar in January after having held a sprint for the first time in 1998.

In terms of rules changes, the most important ones include the renaming of the race format pursuit (classic & free technique combined race) to skiathlon in order to distinguish from the handicap races which are a type of a pursuit, too

To increase the excitement for the spectators in future team sprints, only two teams are directly qualified from the semi-final into the final (until now, three made the direct cut). To complete the field of 10 teams in the final, six teams will earn their spots in the final by virtue of their times.

Finally, to always have a field with the leading nations participating in all World Cup competitions, the five best (Ranking Team World Cup 2010/11) according to the gender ranking (Top 5 ladies’ teams: Norway, Sweden, Italy, Finland, Poland and top 5 men’s teams: Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy) have to start in all World Cup competitions during the season 2011/12, except for one FIS World Cup weekend.

June 11, 2011 (Killington, VT) – The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum is pleased to announce that skier John Morton will be inducted into the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame at this year’s celebrations on October 23, along with fellow famous Vermont skier/snowboarders Greg McClallen, Karen Huntoon Miller, and Preston Leete Smith.

John Morton, a four event skier originally from New Hampshire, skied four years on the Middlebury College ski team. There his aptitude for cross country emerged, first as Eastern Intercollegiate Champion in 1966 and ’68, then as runner up in the 1968 NCAA Championships. A four-year assignment to the U.S. Biathlon Training Center at Fort Richardson, Alaska, was interrupted by a tour of duty in South Vietnam. Upon release from active service in 1972, he taught and coached in Anchorage before returning to Vermont as head coach of men’s skiing at Dartmouth College in 1978. Since then, from his office in Thetford, Vermont, he has developed trails for private landowners, municipalities and schools, resorts, as well as competition venues for major international events such as the World University Games and Biathlon World Cups while writing and commentating on skiing and outdoor recreation.

This year’s Induction ceremony will be on Sunday, October 23, 2011 at the Killington Grand Resort, Killington, Vermont. The evening will begin with a cocktail reception and silent auction followed by dinner and the Induction Ceremony. Ticket information will be available soon; please check the web site www.vtssm.com for details.

The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to honor athletes, special contributors, and pioneers of Vermont skiing and snowboarding who promoted and/or contributed to the sports’ development; to document the histories of Inductees in the Museum’s collection; and to recognize their accomplishments through the Induction ceremony and the Hall of Fame exhibit.

June 09, 2011 (Hardwood Ski and Bike, ON) – Here are some details about this weekend’s Southern Ontario Training Centre Open Training Camp for athletes of ages 17+. This is the Southern Ontario Training Centre’s inaugural training camp at Hardwood Ski and Bike under the leadership of newly appointed Head Coach, Petr Jakl. In addition to meeting the SOTC coach and learning more about the Centre, participants will engage in a variety of dryland training activities.

Schedule:
June 11
– 9:30 a.m. – Meeting athletes in front of First Aid Station
– 9:45 – 11:45 a.m. – Roller skiing: Warm-up, ski technique drills, specific ski strength, distance skiing, cool-down
– 12:00 – 2:15 p.m. – Lunch, Athletes & parents meeting
– 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. – Running & strength: Warm-up, core strength, plyometric drills, circuit strength training, cool-down
– 6:00 p.m. – BBQ

June 12
– 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. – Running w/ poles, ski bounding: Warm-up, poles running & bounding drills, interval hills, cool-down
– 12:00 p.m. – Wrap up

Necessary equipment:
All-weather running clothes and shoes, running poles (up to mid-chest), skating roller ski equipment, helmet, gloves, reflective vest, HR monitor, and exercise mat.

Registration:
Contact coach Petr Jakl
Cell: 705 – 331 7995 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 705 – 331 7995 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, E-mail: sotc@hardwoodskiandbike.ca

Note: No fee. Also we are not providing accommodation. Participants are expected to bring their own food and beverages. Transportation to the camp and between the camp stages will be by accompanying adults.

May 16, 2011 – Every year my family runs in the Apple Blossom races at the Carpenter Nature Center in Hastings. It’s a super fun race because it’s beautiful and ends with a run along the blooming apple trees. There is a half marathon, a 10km, a 5km and a kid’s run. The half takes you through a surprising amount of hills…or maybe not, since the Afton area is the rollerskiing mecca of the Twin Cities. Either way, my knees feel like jelly afterward! Still, I’m not complaining because LAST year, I ran the half marathon the morning after prom (unfortunate timing, I know) and I looked like a zombie running on maybe an hour of sleep!

Our vet, Carolyn, is a really good runner and comes to the Apple Blossom every year as well. Last year, she completed her first ever Birkie and plans to come back for more!

This Mom was running the half as well and it was so darn cute because her three boys were fidgiting and jumping up and down waiting just so they could sprint down the finishing stretch with her.

If you’re looking for a early spring running race, this one’s pretty much perfect!

May 16, 2011 – SkiTrax would like to welcome new blogger Sadie Bjoernsen. Check out her latest blog, including lots of photos, and stay tuned for more updates from Sadie.

Springtime!
Mmmm, springtime in Alaska!!!! It’s just too good. Not many places can you Nordic ski all the way into middle of May. This spring I decided I was going to live a little more of a “true Alaskan winter” and spend some more time doing the kind of skiing where gravity is doing most the work. I am super lucky though, many of my friends are really into backcountry skiing, so I was having to hold myself back from going and playing every single day. Trying to stay caught up in school, and fit in some work here and there…. I got a bit behind playing that much. The good news is, for the first time I had a pretty active spring, which means I am not nearly as out of shape as I normally am May 1st. That was my first goal for this year. In staying in shape through the resting period, I don’t loose the first two months just trying to build my fitness back up.

A lot has unfolded and happened in the last month since I have started phasing into my new season. For one, it has now been exactly a year since I joined the “Big Blue APU”. I couldn’t be happier that I joined this squad, and now I managed to convince my brother to jump onto the wagon and ski for APU as well.- so its going to be fun! For the past week we have been training hard in our annual “start up camp” Start up camp normally consists of two-a-days with lots of intervals, lots of skiing hard, and lots of soreness and stiffness.

Last year I was nearly in a wheel chair by the end of the week of training with the new team, so this year I knew what to expect going into it… which is why I tried to bridge my seasons together more by keeping my fitness up during my rest period. But, of course, I still managed to put myself in a world of hurt all week. You know you are doing the right thing when showing up to training is more than just another day of work. It’s amazing, every day, regardless of how wrecked everyone is, everyone is always smiling and ready to throw down when they show up for training. I think thats what makes this training group so successful. The energy within it is always positive, so it’s hard not love it.

Read a nice article Beth wrote in the Alaska Daily News HERE.

The second big thing of my spring is being named to the National Team. I am super pumped about it. I think the National team has something great going on now. With lots of focus on young development, I think they are determine to build from the ground up and make something really happen in the future. It’s also awesome because we have our little rabbit, Kikkan Randall to watch and aim for. Being named to this team means joining in with some of the fastest girls in the country periodically throughout the summer and fall and getting in some good training.

This year, the woman’s National Team, the Canadian woman’s National Team, and some of the top APU ladies are all going to join up for a week of training up at Eagle Glacier. I don’t think those girls know what they are getting in to. I have this feeling they are going to fall in love, and before we know it, everyone is going to want to be moving to Alaska. Anyways, I am super stoked and honored to be representing not only APU now, but also the US. Unfortunately, as always in this sport, there is not much funding out there, so being on the B-Team means covering most of our own costs. So I am still always looking for support.

Which brings me to my last point. For the past month we have been working our butts off planning and putting together an awesome fundraiser for the APU team to cover racing costs for the season. We will be putting on an auction with lots of sweet items including trips to hawaii as well as bikes, skis, artwork and much more.

If you are in the Anchorage area, come out and check out what we are about! More than just a fundraiser, this is also a celebration of all the great successes we have had this year including USSA club of the year, coach of the year and athlete of the year. We are always looking for people to join the family of support and help us reach great levels. So, if you are around Anchorage, the event is May 10th starting at 6:30.

From here until May 20th, I will be training in town and starting up summer school before I take off for Bend, Oregon for my first US Ski Team Camp for 10 days. I think this year I am going to see if I can ski every month of the year. September might get a little tricky, but I am determine to make it happen.

www.sadiebjornsen.blogspot.com

May 14, 2011 – Vacation is over for the Swedish Cross-Country squad. The team travelled to Spain to gather at the first joint training camp in the off-season. However, Charlotte Kalla, Marcus Hellner and Co. are not enjoying spring on the south coast of Spain. Monte Gordo is indeed a tourist paradise, but the place is also ideal training base for skiers during the summer months.

Sweden’s Cross-Country team plans to kick off work to get back into an appropriate pace after a month when most of the athletes took a vacation. “We have here nice and hilly roads suitable for roller skiing and biking and the countryside offers us great trails for running. Our sprint team was here last fall and was very pleased,” commented Swedish head coach Joakim Abrahamsson.

Between training sessions, the head coach is working on putting together all the pieces of the Cross-Country team to gain success both in short and long term. “We have no World Championships next winter and Tour de Ski is going to be our biggest goal. The following years will be filled with hard battles at the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, in 2014 at the Olympics in Sochi, and finally in 2015 at the home World Championships in Falun. It is important that we prepare goof strategy how we should develop both as individuals and as groups,” explained Abrahamsson and Rikard Grip.

Both Swedish coaches are convinced that the training camp in Monte Gordo will do the team good. “It’s something new and we believe it will inspire the team and rejuvenate the skiers with new energy,” the coaches said.

Cross-Country team at Monte Gordo, Portugal 12-18/5

Men
– Anders Södergren, Östersunds SK
– Johan Olsson, Åsarna IK
– Jens Eriksson, Dala Floda IF
– Emil Jönsson, Årsunda IF
– Teodor Peterson, Åsarna IK
– Robin Bryntesson, Sollefteå SK
– Marcus Hellner, Gellivare Skidallians
– Daniel Richardsson, Hudiksvalls IF

Women
– Ida Ingemarsdotter, Åsarna IK
– Maria Rydqvist, Östersunds SK
– Hanna Falk, Ulricehamns IF
– Hanna Brodin, Åsarna IK
– Sara Lindborg, Östersunds SK
– Magdalena Pajala, Piteå Elit
– Charlotte Kalla, IFK Tärendö
– Anna Haag, IFK Mora SK

May 12, 2011 (Cavalese, Italy) – The traditional debrief by the Oslo 2011 team for the benefit of the upcoming Organizers in Val di Fiemme 2013 took place in Cavalese, the administrative center of Val di Fiemme, on 5th and 6th May. The Norwegian group was led by the Oslo 2011 CEO, Asne Havnelid along with Sports Director John Aalberg and Finance Director Stein Opsal. Delegations from FIS and Falun 2015 (SWE) also attended along with representatives of the European Broadcasting Union, the Fiemme 2013 host broadcaster RAI and EBU’s marketing partner Tridem Sports.

In a candid exchange of their lessons learned, the Oslo 2011 team especially highlighted the challenges of dealing with more than 1.2 million spectators that needed to be transported and managed. They also noted the great efforts by the organizers and the city of Oslo stage the World Championships as eco-friendly as possible, such as using bio-diesel only for all buses. The Oslo 2011 representatives praised the great cooperation from the Fiemme 2013 team for the Casa Trentino Fiemme 2013 in Oslo during the event. Oslo 2011 also looks as though it will be a financial success.

The 6th meeting of the Coordination Group for Fiemme 2013 followed the Oslo 2011 debrief. Since the previous meeting in October, the Fiemme 2013 team took full opportunity of the winter’s World Cup season, especially the 5th FIS Tour de Ski, to further test promotional and organizational concepts such as the South Nordic Festival in Cavalese and the Rampa con i Campioni popular race on Alpe Cermis. The renovation projects at the Cross-Country Ski Center in Lago di Tesero and the Ski Jumping stadium in Predazzo have advanced well and are on schedule for the first tests during the coming winter. Next season, the official test events in all Nordic disciplines, including the first ladies Ski Jumping events are planned in Val di Fiemme. The Fiemme 2013 team also revealed plans for the opening ceremony that will take place in the historical city center of Trento, 60 km from Cavalese, on 20th February 2013.

Sarah Lewis, FIS Secretary General commented: “Every time we return to Val di Fiemme we are newly impressed by the level of preparedness and energy to embark on new initiatives to create a festival spirit at the Championships With less than two years to go, we can already be excited about the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Fiemme in 2013, which will have a special focus on servicing the athletes and teams in many new ways.”

For more information visit www.fiemme2013.com

May 12, 2011 (Park City, UT) – A notice to all USSA Cross Country Coaches – please save the dates of October 21-23 for our 2011 National Coaches’ Education Symposium. Location: USSA Center of Excellence, Park City, UT. We will limit the Symposium attendance to 60 coaches total. All attendees must be a USSA licensed coach. We will also give preference to USSA certified Level 100 coaches. More information will follow in the upcoming months. Hope to see you in October. Contact Chris Grover, XC Head Coach, for more info. cgrover@ussa.org

May 11, 2011 – Professional cross country ski coach Fredrik Auklund, who trains Olympic and World Cup medalist Dario Cologna (SUI), declined the dream job offer of Norwegian XC Team Head Coach, formerly held by Coach Morten Aa Djupvik, who retired unexpectedly at the end of last season. Aukland, a husband and father of two, was not able to commit to the over 200 days of travel that the position required, according to an NRK article. Read the full story HERE.

May 11, 2011 – Martin Koukal decided to leave the Czech national Cross-Country team and will take part in distance races next season.

World Champion in 50 km Free from Val di Fiemme 2003, bronze medalist in team sprint from Oberstdorf 2005 and bronze medal winner in relay from Vancouver 2010 decided to leave the Czech national team in favor of loppets.

32 year-old skier from Nove Mesto na Morave plans to return to World Cup racing in the 2012/13 season to be able to qualify for the World Championships in Val di Fiemme 2013 and Winter Olympic Games in Sochi one year later.

“I’ve been in the World Cup very long time and I feel I need a change. It will be a challenge and I like challenges very much,” said Koukal to the Czech media. “Koukal will take part in at least to training camps with the Czech national team and will race at the World Cup in Nove Mesto. I want to have overview about his shape,” explained Czech head coach Miroslav Petrasek.

May 11, 2011 – Each spring NENSA recognizes an outstanding coach who has made a difference in not only the sport of cross country skiing, but in the lives of the people around them. This year NENSA is pleased to announce Sverre Caldwell, Head Nordic Coach at Stratton Mountain School as our 2011 Coach of the year! Most recently, Sverre has led his group of athletes to multiple medals at this years Junior National’s; In addition to individual top placings, they also won the girls and boys and overall for the Roger Weston Award and the boys and girls and overall Club award!

Sverre’s talents go beyond getting results though, to fulfill an even greater role in the lives of his charges. The wisdom Sverre brings from being immersed in the sport for a long time aids his athletes in every sapect of their lives. He has run the gamut from coaching youngsters all the way up through the National and Olympic team skiers -but has always returned to his true love of coaching juniors. If you had the chance to see his presentation at last years NENSA symposium, then you are aware of the SMS philosophy of “Cradle to Grave”. A unique name but one that captures the philosoply fabulously! He has found a way to motivate all of these age groups, keep them returning home to mentor up and coming skiers, and teaches them the importance of giving back to the sport.

Sverre’s consistency has led to this impressive achievement: He has had a gold medal winner at Junior National’s for the past 15 consecutive years and consistently puts SMS kids onto the Jr and U23 world championship teams. Andy Newell, SMS alum and current USST member sums it up best: “I think Sverre is the greatest coach because he combines experience and leadership with a laid back fun coaching style. Over the years he’s be so successful because he’s always willing to learn and try new things, but at the same time sticks to basics of simple training plans and hard work.” NENSA is proud to present this very deserving coach, with our Coach of the Year award.

May 10, 2011 – Check out this great interview with Swedish cross country skier Marcus Hellner as he reflects on winning Olympic gold in 2010 and Worlds in Oslo this year. He also talks about his off-season activities and plan to win the World Cup overall next season. Read the full Red Bull interview HERE.

May 10, 2011 – The defense team for Andru Veerpalu, the Olympic medal winning cross country skier who tested positive for HGH and retired suddenly on the eve of the 2011 World Championships in Oslo, requested an extension that has been granted by FIS in order to prepare their case, reported ERR News. Veerpalu’s defense stated the 10-day extension will be sufficient. The new deadline is now May 20. This extension does not change Veerpalu’s hearing date on June 5.

Read the ERR News article HERE.

May 10, 2011 – The double Olympic gold medalist Björn Lind has decided to step back from professional skiing. “Björn has been a great team member, a part of Team Exspirit’s successful premier season, his person, knowledge and experiences have been of most importance! Now we can only wish him good luck in his life after skiing!” said David Nilsson, Team Director Team Exspirit.

May 06, 2011 – Memberships expire annually on June 30. Click here to save a stamp and renew your membership online. There is no extra charge for using online registration. So get a jump on the season and register early.

Early registration is especially important for those athletes attending summer camps and participating in the southern hemisphere this summer. For more information on renewing your membership online, click here or contact membership@ussa.org.

USSA is still accepting paper applications. To register by mail, fax or email, applications are available in PDF format from the USSA & FIS Applications link on the right-hand side of the homepage.

Memberships expire annually on June 30. Click HERE to save a stamp and renew your membership online. There is no extra charge for using online registration. So get a jump on the season and register early.

Early registration is especially important for those athletes attending summer camps.

For more information on renewing your membership online, click HERE or contact membership@ussa.org.

The USSA is accepting registrations for the 2011-12 membership season. Click HERE to register now.

If you prefer to register via mail, fax or email, applications are available in PDF format from the USSA & FIS Applications link HERE or on the right-hand side of the homepage. Forms are also available by fax or email. Just contact Member Service by email membership@ussa.org to request your application.