June 24, 2013 (Park City, UT) – In a sure sign of the coming 2014 Olympic Winter Games season, members of the US National ski jumping team have arrived in Europe to begin their first international preparation period.

After leaving the US Sunday, the team comprised of Peter Frenette, Anders Johnson, Nick Alexander and Nick Fairall, will spend two weeks in Europe at the ski jumps of Stams, AUT and Kranj, SLO, they will be accompanied by USA Head Jumping Coach Clint Jones.

In an interview today Coach Jones told the USASJ News Bureau the camp was part of a very important season build up, noting…”We will be spending a lot of team with our new European-based coach Bine Norcic, which will be very exciting and we will be dealing with a host of issues like organizing rental vans for the season, training plans and locations, and gathering all the equipment from skis, to suits to bindings. We will be looking to test a lot of new equipment during the summer, and we will be looking to get some solid training with the many European teams who will also be in the area.”

Jones also stressed the importance of the US team to have close contact with the Europeans early in the summer, “so that they know exactly how high the level of competition is going into the summer training phase. This will help provide great motivation for our team, not only for the four athletes that are with us in Europe, but also those that they will be training with when they return.”

June 07, 2013 (Park City, UT) – USA Ski Jumping is pleased to welcome well known Slovenia ski jumping trainer Bine Norcic to fill the new position of European based coach for the USASJ, serving with Head Coach Clint Jones.

Norcic, who grew up in Kranj, SLO, graduated from the University of Ljubljana in 2010 with a degree as a Professor of Physical Education and has served as coach for the National Jumping Team of Turkey from 2007-2013.

He has also served as a personal coach for ski jumping star Jernej Damjan of Sloveian and has been the Slovenian National B Team coach working with Ari Pekka Nikkola. He was also part of the Slovenian National Team as a ski jumper from 1992-2004, where he won a Continental Cup three times. He is the son of the legendary late coach Bogdan Norcic.

“We really conducted a world-wide search to fill this opening, and we have found a great fit for this position with Bine”, said USASJ Athletic Director Alan Johnson, “he has a terrific combination of skills, including hands-on coaching working with elite athletes, strong technical abilities and a complete understanding of the nature of World Cup and international competition. Bine will be a great addition to our staff and his expertise will allow us to keep offering our athletes the best possible coaching, which will help us to continue to make forward progress. We couldn’t be more excited that he agreed to join our program.”

Bine Norcic explained today from his home that he is very excited to accept this position with the growing USA program saying, “I’ll put all of my efforts and share my 10 years of coaching experience with a group of young, talented jumpers who have the support of an enthusiastic team, and they have what it takes for all around success. It must be said that working with Team USA is probably the greatest challenge and honor that any international coach could have.”

Norcic will begin his duties with USA Ski Jumping immediately.

January 02, 2013 – Due to the generosity of the Cross-Country community and the exceptional efforts of Programs, Coaches, individuals and Junior skiers from past J1 Scando Trips, the National Nordic Foundation’s drive for funding for this year’s J1 trip Pillar Project has exceeded all goals. That means that the Nordic Foundation’s support for the trip will knock the per athlete cost for a loop. Last year’s ground cost was $1,700 and the anticipated cost of this year’s was $1,800. With the help from NNF this year’s athlete ground cost is reduced to $750!

Thanks go out in many directions, and let’s take this as an example of what we can do a little bit at a time.

We are getting close to the qualifying races, and we hope this puts a spur to the rides! With the reminder that qualifying athletes must be able to commit to the trip immediately upon the naming of the Team, we wish everyone the best of luck.

To learn more or to donate click HERE.

November 13, 2012 – I’m about to board my second of four flights taking me from home in AK to Northern Finland, “Munio.” It’s hard to see on this map but it’s to the left of “Lappi” …. you may notice this is WAY above the Arctic Circle. Don’t worry, I packed some neon to keep things bright and happy….

My favorite wax tech helping me travel wax skis. I had this pic on Facebook earlier and many people are surprised by the number of skis I have.  Reality is, everyone has this many to be competitive at the international level.  Each one is for different conditions… different cambers, stiffnesses, grinds, etc.

Fast and Female Anchorage (last weekend) is deserving of its own post. I’ll try to write an update later. Basically, it was AWESOME and we had over 200 girls. Thanks so much to everyone who pitched in and helped out!

After the main event we took the opportunity to get a bunch of Alaskan women influential in sports together for a social/pow-wow. Women shared incredible personal stories and also gave updates on the programs they are currently involved in. We had everyone from Nina Kemppal (4x XC Ski Olympian) to Deedee Jonrowe (30x Iditorod sled dog racer) to Margaret Timmerman in charge of Tuesday Night races to Joey Caterinichio – US Ski Team Nordic Program Director, Rosey Grundwaldt – 2006 Torino Bronze Medalist, etc, etc. I wish I had had a tape recorder on the conversation because it was amazing.

Rob dropped me off at the airport last night. Always hard to say goodbye. He’s my biggest supporter. (Thanks for the help babe!)

Opp! They’re calling my name to board! Next flight to Frankfurt, then to Helsinki, then to Rovanemi & finally, a drive to Munio. I have a long road ahead!

More soon!
Holly 😉

The day before my departure I got this in the mailbox. I’m excited to be writing an international column for the statewide Nordic Skier Newspaper. In case you live outside of Alaska or don’t receive the paper, I’ve included my article below….

From Alaska to Europe & Back
by Holly Brooks

Eight years ago I moved to Anchorage because I wanted to live in a ski town. After growing up in Seattle, I craved a place where roller skiers weren’t considered freaks and I could see snow outside the kitchen window. I was ecstatic to find friends who knew of Swix Extra Blue and a spider web of fabulous trails throughout the city, complete with lights for skiing at night. I made my rounds of the local ski scene working at Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking, serving as the head coach for West High, spent six years as a coach for the Alaska Junior Olympic team and finally, five years as a fulltime junior and master’s coach for the APU Nordic Ski Center.

I started out racing in the local Anchorage Cup series; the Hickok, Pia’s Classic, the Sven, the Oosik, the Tour. Then, in 2009, I entered the American Birkebeiner and “lost” the race by what some called a “toenail” in a photo finish. In many ways, that race was one of the defining moments that inspired me to focus on skiing at a new level. Luckily my commitment and hard work was rewarded when this past May, I was named as an official member of the US Cross Country Ski Team.

Last winter I unexpectedly spent almost five consecutive months in Europe racing the World Cup. Needless to say, this was quite the jump from the Alaska community racing scene where I frequented the coastal trail, had a “handful of skis” thrown into the back of my Subaru or spent Tuesday nights doing intervals at Hillside with my friends. In all, I traveled to & raced in ten different countries and accumulated 26 World Cup starts. There were highlights such as my contribution to the best women’s 4x5k team relay finish in history and there were certainly low lights as well. Christmas night I was running on an icy road, fell & broke my wrist just four days before the start of the infamous “Tour de Ski” stage race. (I foolishly competed anyways!) This winter promises to be full of more tales and adventures. I’m by no means a seasoned veteran of the World Cup but I’m not a rookie either.

As you may know, three of the six US Ski Team girls reside and train in Anchorage including Kikkan Randall, Sadie Bjornsen and myself. We represent the USA, the State of Alaska and APU Nordic Ski Center on the International stage. This year World Championships will be in Val di Fiemme, Italy and in less than two years we hope to be “toeing the start line” at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

When driving up the serpentine roads to the racing venue in Slovenia or landing a chartered plane on an obscure military base in Russia to compete it’s easy to feel far from home and far from the people, specifically the Alaskans, that helped us reach the World stage. Realizing that, I’m excited to be writing a monthly column for the Nordic Skier that will attempt to bring stories from the World Cup into your hands. While I may not spend much of the winter in Alaska anymore I spend the spring crust skiing at Portage, the summer running in the Chugach and the fall roller skiing at Kincaid. While I love being on the road, my heart is always at home. I hope you’ll join me for the adventure that is the 2012-2013 World Cup season

If you would like to follow Holly’s ski adventures on a more regular basis, check out her blog @ www.hollyskis.blogspot.com

July 24, 2012 (Sun Valley, ID) – The National Nordic Foundation will invest $6,000 in two forthcoming Cross-Country Pillar Projects in its summer round of XC 2012/2013 funding. The primary goal of these USST International Development camps in Austria, Germany, and Sweden is to get the athletes on snow midway through the preparation period, and most goals will be technique-based. The National Nordic Foundation’s investment will offset some athlete’s travel expenses thereby reducing the personal cost for many of the athletes. Primary funding for the camps will come from USST with a significant additional investment to the men’s camp from the Oregon Nordic Ski Foundation. These strategic investments are made to Support Tomorrow’s Stars Today.

Men’s Camp: July 28-Aug 3 Ramsau/Dachstein, Austria, Aug 3-9 Oberhof, Germany
The men’s National Team is looking forward to the upcoming camp in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria and Oberhof, Germany. Ramsau and Oberhof are two of the best summer cross-country ski training venues in central Europe. Both venues provide excellent skiing, as well as world-class rollerskiing and dry-land training opportunities. It has been many years since the USST has been in Ramsau for a summer camp and we are looking forward to being back in a place that is already one of our winter homes. This will be our first summer camp in Oberhof, a venue that offers a rollerski track over 10 kilometers in length as well as the ski tunnel. The primary goal of our camp is to get the men back on snow midway through the preparation period, and most goals will be technique-based. We also gain a unique opportunity to test new equipment directly from the European factories. This camp would not be possible without the generosity of the Oregon Nordic Ski Foundation and the National Nordic Foundation. We are grateful for the support of both of these great Nordic organizations; they have made this camp a reality.

Women’s Camp: August 3-16 Torsby & Salen Sweden
The women’s National Team is preparing for its third of five preparation period camps – this time to Sweden. The team will spend its first three days training in Torsby to kick off the camp. During this time we will test equipment on snow in the tunnel with ski industry representatives. We’ll then pack up and meet the Swedish National Team women in Salen for five days of dry land. For the final five days of the camp we’ll head back to Torsby’s ski tunnel with the Swedes. An important national strategy for this group is international partnerships. We’ve made significant progress with Canada in two years and have felt positive benefits on a number of levels. These partnerships naturally inject change into our program without drastically changing our direction. The excitement of new faces and training methods is motivating. We have more fun this way, and we train harder and better. If you want to see a hardcore interval session like never before just put two national teams together and stand back. Our team depends on a deep network of support and NNF is at its center.

April 11, 2012 (Anchorage, AK) – After spending five months racing and training in Europe, USST member and 2011/12 FIS WCup XC Sprint champion Kikkan Randall, 29,  finally returned to her home in Anchorage, Alaska. This was the first time Randall committed to staying in Europe for the entire season and it paid off big for the US star as she took home the Sprint Cup globe. But as we all know there’s no place like home as she recently tweeted… So nice to be back in my kitchen. Home cooked Tex Mex with my hubby.

January 24, 2012 (Canmore, AB) – A second group of young Canadian skiers has been selected to gain valuable international experience while representing Canada at OPA and Scandinavian Cup races in early February. The OPA and Scandinavian Cup circuits are the European and Scandinavian equivalents of the Haywood NorAm series. A team selection synopsis will follow shortly.

Cross Country Canada named 7 athletes that will wear Canadian colours at races in Switzerland, Latvia and Estonia:

– Alysson Marshall (Larch Hills Ski Club)
– Zoe Roy (Rocky Mountain Racers)
– Alana Thomas (Nakkertok)
– Phil Widmer (Canmore Ski Club)
– Graham Nishikawa (Whitehorse Ski Club)
– Brian McKeever (Foothills Nordic Ski Club)
– Michael Somppi (Lappe Nordic Ski Club)

Eric Bailey of the National Development Centre in Thunder Bay will be the team leader. The Canadian Team will leave Jan. 29th, 2012 and race:

– Feb. 3-5 – Campra, SUI – OPA Cup
– Feb. 8, 9 – Madonna, LAT – Scandinavian Cup
– Feb. 11, 12 – Albu, EST – Scandinavian Cup

www.cccski.com

November 18, 2011 – Wow, another race season is roaring into action already! With one race under my belt and my first World Cup start of the year just over a week away, it’s high time that I update you on what the heck I’ve been up to all summer! I apologize in advance for the lack of detail but in lieu of a novel, I figured it’d be best to just give you the Coles Notes…

As it seems to be the case with most summers of training, the time flew by. I regret not writing an update sooner but my website was being held hostage by my previous web hosting company (long story) and I have finally completed the arduous task of moving my website to a new host. I hope you enjoy the newly designed drewgoldsack.ca, check back often for updates throughout the winter!

As is the case with most years, I started off the spring pretty much living at the ski hill. Sunshine Village near Canmore is generous enough to comp NST members lift tickets, so come April I’m a full time hill rat. Springtime in the Rockies almost always brings big dumps of snow and I enjoyed some incredible steep and deep days this spring!

From the majestic snow covered peaks of the Rockies, I headed across the prairies to Eastern Manitoba and the rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield to try my hand at ranching. For a guy who grew up in the prairies, I am embarrassingly green when it comes to anything ranch.

However, it didn’t take long to tune into the cowboy blood that, as it turns out, has been coursing untapped through this Alberta boy’s veins…well at least that’s how I saw it anyway! I spent an incredible week horseback riding, crust skiing, sauna-ing, being entertained by newborn lambs, eating freshly laid eggs and relaxing next to a wood-fired stove.

Three lambs were born just before my arrival, which was good news as delivering lambs may have been just a little outside of my abilities. Plus, I got to experience all the fluffy cuteness and none of the gooey sponginess! After being repeatedly stared down and stomped at by the mama sheep, one thing’s for certain: “The older they get, the cuter they aint!” to steal a classic line from The Simpsons.

Though it was hard to leave the serenity of ranch life behind, the beach was calling, and I soon headed off to Miami for some sun and last bit of non-athlete fun before starting up with training for yet another season. Elated to find out that I had been named to the National Team for another year, I was also really looking forward to building on a great season of training with the Alberta World Cup Academy. This year’s training kicked off with the AWCA at an on snow camp in Silver Star in May, followed by a great road bike camp in Kaslo, BC in June.

From there, I made a quick trip up to the Haig Glacier (the best kind of trip to The Haig imho) with the National Team that was actually delayed for a week by TOO MUCH snow, so much snow in fact that they couldn’t find the buried Pisten Bulley on the glacier! The glacier camp was followed by a great month spent training at home in Canmore and a quick trip to the eastern beaches of Cape Breton Island for a friend’s wedding.

The late summer brought a training camp in Whistler with the Academy and then an incredible high altitude camp in Park City, UT with the National Team. From there, I headed back to Whistler with the NST for an intensity block which included four hard intensity sessions in six days and a week of torrential rain… luckily, spending the week shacked up at the Four Seasons Whistler offset the lousy weather!

With fall in the air and more leaves on the ground in Canmore than feral bunnies, I returned home for some much needed rest. It wasn’t long before Frozen Thunder (Snow stored under sawdust from the previous winter… I know, it sounds crazy but it actually works!) was rolled out at the Canmore Nordic Centre (October 15th) and before I knew it the ski season was under way! The last two weeks of October delivered outstanding ski conditions in Canmore and I was able to log a lot of hours on snow before taking off for Europe and the start of the World Cup season….

It’s shaping up to be a great year of racing, see you out there!

– Drew Goldsack

Overheard:
‘I’m going to log out of Facebook, Seriously.’ – Alex Harvey

In the Tape Deck:
Artist: Ben Howard, Album: Every Kingdom
Artist: Bon Iver, Track: Calgary (Cillo Remix)
Artist: Devil Makes Three, Track: Chained to the Couch
Artist: Active Child, Track: When Your Love is Safe

On the Tube: