June 27, 2013 (Park City, UT) – USA Ski Jumping national team athletes will be sporting a distinctive look and one that will help them train in comfort and style, thanks to a new partnership announced today by the USASJ’s Signe Jordet.

The Minneapolis-based manufacturer is one of the nation’s leading sports clothing suppliers. WSI products are sold across the nation and around the world and they feature a wide collection from protective garments for sport to leisurewear. WSI products utilize unique technologies, wicking fabrics, and cutting-edge designs that enhance the modern sports experience. They are known for their high tech performance apparel, particularly for cold weather applications.

In making the announcement Jordet noted that this partnership will enhance training opportunities. “Our athletes train hard, year-round, and in all kinds of weather and WSI’s special apparel line, designed just for us, will make sure that our jumpers are making that effort in both comfort and style. We are delighted to welcome WSI to our family of sponsors,” she said.

WSI President Joel Wiens also said that this partnership with the USASJ is the result of a new outreach in the Snow Sports category, offering….”This company started in 1990 on our kitchen table, with a three-thousand dollar investment and with a lot of ideas. We’ve grown considerably since that time and now many top professional and collegiate sports team wear our products. Now that we are entering the Snow Sports market in a big way, it seemed only natural to partner with a team that knows a lot about training and competing in both summer and winter. With summer ski jumping on plastic to competitions in Northern Scandinavia in December, our products will help our ski jumpers train in comfort and style.”

All WSI products proudly bare the “Made in the USA” label. A percentage of sales of all WSI/ USA Ski Jumping logoed gear will go to support the USASJ.

WSI products are available at fine retail stores around the country and on-line.  For more information and a complete look at the WSI line log onto www.wsisports.com.

June 19, 2013 (Park City, UT) – For once, I’m going to let the pictures do the talking! Here’s what we’ve been up to in Park City the past few days full of hiking, biking, swimming, pasta… and whole lot more.

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.

March 01, 2013 (Park City, UT) – Women’s ski jumping will be featured on NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams” on Friday, March 1 at 10 p.m/9 central. The segment, “Flight Delay”, shares the story of Lindsey Van and her teammates as they train to compete and make their Olympic debut in Sochi 2014.

“Rock Center” Correspondent Kate Snow interviewed and spent time with Van, Jessica Jerome, Sarah Hendrickson, Abby Hughes, Alissa Johnson, and Deedee Corradini, Women’s Ski Jumping USA president, in Park City and in Germany during World Cup competition.

“I’ve watched Olympic ski jumping since I was a kid, but I simply never realized there was a reason I was watching only MEN do the jumping,” said Snow. “When I heard about the fight these women have waged, I wanted to meet them.”

The Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team is ranked No. 1 in the world going into the final two World Cup competitions of the season. The team is led by 18-year-old Hendrickson, who recently won gold at the World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

“The next year is going to be both exciting and critical for our U.S. women ski jumpers and we’re thrilled that Kate Snow and NBC’s ‘Rock Center’ chose to tell their inspiring story in prime time,” Corradini said.

January 17, 2013 (Park City, UT) – Women’s Ski Jumping USA has named Robbie Beck as the foundation’s Executive Director and Jenny Holden as Athletic Program Director. Beck and Holden, both of Park City, Utah, will support the top-ranked VISA Women’s Ski Jumping Team as they prepare for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games and beyond.

Beck will provide overall leadership to WSJ-USA with a focus on marketing, fundraising, and strategic planning.

“Robbie’s Olympic experience is immeasurable and Jenny’s team leadership has been a game changer for us,” said WSJ-USA President Deedee Corradini. “We’re thrilled about this new leadership team as they help this foundation continue to grow and support these great women ski jumpers.”

Beck served as the Summit County Olympic Coordinator leading up to, and during, the Salt Lake 2002 Games. She consulted for the Utah Olympic Park (UOP) on general fundraising and marketing efforts as well as Bobsled & Skeleton World Cup events. Beck’s most recent role has been as the Business Development Director for the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation.

“This is an exhilarating time and I’m proud to work with Jenny and the coaching staff to help these women excel and reach their Olympic dreams,” Beck said. “This team truly is a product of Utah’s 2002 Olympic Winter Games Legacy.”

Holden filled both the Executive Director and Team Director roles for WSJ-USA for more than two years as the foundation evolved into a world-class program producing the 2012 World Cup champion (Sarah Hendrickson) and 2012 Overall Nations Cup title. Corradini said Holden now will be able to focus solely on team and development programs, strategic planning, and helping to maintain the high level of performance of current athletes and assist aspiring female ski jumpers across the country.

“We have received incredible support from individuals, families, and businesses,” Holden said. “That generosity has allowed us to develop one of the strongest teams in the world. Robbie and I are excited to build on this momentum to become even stronger.”

Women ski jumpers will make their Olympic debut at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

November 06, 2012 (Salt Lake City, UT) – The documentary film Ready To Fly has been awarded “Best Feature-Length Mountain Film” at the prestigious Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival.

Ready To Fly, written and directed by William A. Kerig of Salt Lake City, Utah, follows 2009 World Ski Jumping Champion Lindsey Van and her ski jumping peers as they fight for inclusion in the Olympic Winter Games.

“This is the greatest honor of my filmmaking career and I’m in debt to the entire Ready To Fly team for helping make it happen,” said Kerig, who was in Banff, Alberta on Nov. 4 to receive the award. “We’re thrilled to be recognized among this excellent line-up of mountain films. We hope Lindsey’s story continues to resonate and inspire people around the world to never give up on their dreams.”

Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival started 37 years ago and showcases the world’s best films, books, and photographs on mountain subjects – climbing, culture, environment, wildlife, exploration and adventure, and sport. The 79 films chosen as finalists this year were selected from 370 films entered in competition from 34 countries.

“This was probably the hardest category to judge, but in the end, one film overwhelmed us with its superb storytelling, inspiring characters and – most importantly – had the judges cheering at the finish,” said Banff jury member, Kathryn Bonnici. “The filmmakers spent years following this story, the pacing was spot on, and the images simply beautiful.”

On Oct. 12, Ready To Fly also won “Best Documentary” at the popular Carmel Art & Film Festival. Ready To Fly was released in Salt Lake City in February and test-marketed as part of the 10th anniversary of 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games. It had its World Premiere at the MountainFilm Festival in Telluride, CO in May and has appeared in film festivals this fall throughout the U.S. including the Adventure Film Festival & Tour in Boulder, New Hampshire Film Festival, Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, and Twin Cities Film Festival.

Ready To Fly will screen in two more film festivals this year:

X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival
1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8
Salt Lake City, UT
The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Tickets HERE.

Whistler Film Festival
12 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
More info HERE.

Film Website www.readytoflyfilm.com

October 31, 2012 (Park City, UT) – U.S.A. ski jumping National Team member Mike Glasder (Cary, IL) has suffered a work-related injury, which will put the well-known jumper on the USASJ injuried list for an unknown period of time. Glasder, who recently came off from the annual Flaming Leaves event in Lake Placid with a strong third place and has enjoyed a strong summer of good results, was injured, when in his own words… “I was towing things back to a burn pile at work with a quad and the front tire hit some softer dirt which stopped the quad and sent me flying.” Glasder told the USASJ News Bureau he suffered a broken collarbone, which is now in four pieces.

Today Glasder told us of his current medical plans… “I had the options of surgery and letting my collarbone heal on it’s own, and after talking with Dr. Andy Chen (Alpine Clinic) and my doctor at home, I’ve decided to get a plate surgically installed so that my recovery time will be twice as fast. My doctor that will be performing the surgery said that the recovery should take about six weeks, but in my own mind I only see it taking about four weeks before I will get back on snow.”

The well-known Glasder, who has his eye on an Olympic berth for Sochi 2014 said that he is forward looking and expects things to go well. “I figure a little bit after Thanksgiving I will be able to put my skis on and get some good training in. I’m not the least bit worried about losing a step because jumping was going pretty well this Fall and I had some good training jumps at Norge before my injury as well as having really good ideas and mental images in my head at the moment.”

You’ve got to admired his comeback thoughts when he added…”This is just a small delay in my training and having to take a short break now will definitely make me even more excited about the coming Winter season.” Glasder is expected to be operated on Wednesday.

Also on the USASJ rehab list is Andover, NH jumper Nick Fairall, who continues to receive treatment at the Alpine Clinic in Franconia, NH, an official sponsor of the USASJ.

October 17, 2012 (Park City, UT) – This is why I love going to Park City for October camp ever year – the weather is so awesome it makes for incredible training! While it’s starting to get rainy and gross outside in most of the U.S. once the leaves have changed and fallen, PC has been sunny and reasonably warm. Although I’m such a hot-blooded creature that it’s been much warmer for me than the rest of the team. 🙂

After allowing some time to acclimate to the high altitude, we’ve moved to putting in more speed and intensity sessions, including some harder L4 intervals.

So, this weird thing happens to me every fall. I start to worry that I’m not going fast enough in speeds, not long enough in intervals, and I lose confidence and worry that my season is going to be a disaster. But then the season goes just fine and I feel silly for stressing so much about it!

However, yesterday we did a 6×4 min L4 bounding session, and although I went as hard as I could, I was just out of it and ended up being pretty hard on myself. I figured sometimes you’re the bug, and sometimes you’re the windshield, and that day I was most definitely the bug. And it felt pretty bad.

But then my coaches and teammates reminded me…they’re not going to kick me off the team, or think any less of me, if I don’t perform 100% every single day. In fact, it’d be impossible to have a perfect training session or race every time! It’s normal to get nervous before the start of the race season…that that’s something that might never go away, just something I need to get better at dealing with.

So why am I going on about this? Because everybody has those days when, for whatever reason (bad session, injuries, sickness, bad day at work) they feel like the bug. Sometimes it just sucks! And it’s good to be able to admit when you’re feeling down and simply ask for a hug. I feel so lucky to know that I can get one anytime from such a great group of teammates and coaches. We’ve got each other’s backs!

But today was a rest day, and I think this cartoon (forwarded by Soph) pretty accurately sums up a skier’s day off: it’s never really as empty as we say it is.

Today’s day off consisted of chilling at the SMS team house and then finishing part 2 of a photo shoot for One Way Sport with Reese Hanneman (Engine Room Media – check out his site HERE! ). Reese took some good shots and was super fun to work with, and I can’t wait to post some of the photos in a couple days!

We took photos all over different parts of Park City, but my favorite spots included skiing up Main Street at night, climbing a rusty tower at an old mining site, and skiing over Guardsman Pass.

Doing the shoot on Main St was really cool because of all the lights and people but also a little sketchy; we’d wait for the street to clear and then I’d do a sprint up the middle of the street, and Reese would take some shots, then I’d scoot down the side of the street and do it again.

We got some great comments from the peanut gallery of pedestrians, too. “Ski like you MEAN IT!”…”Where can I get some of those wheels?”…”Whoa. That’s a lot of neon”…”so, uh, do those things mainly roll uphill or downhill?”. Luckily, it was dark, so although my face went red whenever people would stop and stare I don’t think anyone could tell!

October 16, 2012 – The countdown has truly begun…. in just a short 29 days I will be headed on another 30-hour travel to Europe to kick off the 2012-2013 ski season. With less than a month to go, nerves and excitement are starting to brew in my belly and the anticipation is high.

I find our sport to be qualitative to a fault. It’s usually this time of year when I start to wonder, am I fit? Have I prepared well enough? What page of the results will I be on for the first race of the season? Unlike running, biking, or baseball we have comparatively few ways to measure our progress or improvements. We don’t measure wattage, we don’t keep stats, and skiing isn’t as simple as running a repeatable track workout. We can repeat intervals on roller skis but weather and temperature change the speed of the pavement up to 20%. We can do a running test or a strength test but realistically, just because you can do more pull ups than 6 months ago doesn’t guarantee that you’re double pole is going to improve.

Physiological testing at the USSA headquarters in Park City, Utah is just one of the reasons why US Ski Team members make an annual trip here to train come October. The weather is generally beautiful, we can use the facilities at the Center of Excellence & we can “test” with the sports science department. On top of all this, we can take advantage of the opportunity to live & train at altitude.

In fact, as I type this, I am sitting at our condo in Deer Valley @ almost 9,000 feet! For those unfamiliar with altitude training it is basically a natural way of increasing your red blood cells & hemoglobin – both of which are responsible for carrying & delivering oxygen throughout your body. All said and done I will have been here for a full 18 days which should be enough time to spike my hemoglobin. I took a test upon landing and will take another one just before departure to track the change.

In addition to the hemoglobin tests I was scheduled to do a series of “max effort” tests on the ski treadmill to measure my Vo2max among other things. Unfortunately, I’m suffering from a bit of an intercostal muscle pull and at this point, have been unable to test or use my left arm to it’s full capacity. Some of you may remember seeing this from a post I wrote in May:

I was hoping to repeat this test (and see improvement!) but the priority is on fully healing my muscle so that I can do on-snow intervals in Alaska before departing for my first race in Munio, Finland! One of the advantages of being near the COE is that we have in-house trainers & physical therapists. I am seeing them daily and think that I should be 100% healed in no time!

Aside from using the COE and testing, my trip to Utah has given me a much-needed change of scenery, pace, and WEATHER. While the weather at home in Alaska had been quite “challenging” the weather in Utah has been gorgeous. It’s motivating to get out the door and in fact, sometimes you have to keep an eye on your watch because it’s tempting to stay outside all day!

Last week I got to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now and that is climb Timpanogos, an 11,700 foot peak just an hours drive from Park City. Lucky for me I got to climb it with a huge group of friends as it was part of my dear friend, Katie Ronsse’s pre-wedding activities!

Another thing I’ve been able to take advantage of here in Utah is the FOOD. I love ethnic food, particularly Mexican food. There is plenty to be had here – you can see by the site of this salsa bar…. last week I also went to a farmer’s market and just about died of happiness as there were fresh local fruits and veggies for REALLY affordable prices!

Another huge highlight of the past week and a half was attending Katie and Justin’s wedding. Rob was able to join me for the wedding and a small respite from the Alaskan rain. He was “happy as a clam” biking 8 hours a day on the extensive Park City mountain bike trails!

I have another four days here in Utah and its action packed with training sessions, physical therapy appointments, meetings with our new team sports psychologist & travel agent, getting outfitted with gear for the new season & an National Nordic Foundation fundraising meet & greet. (More on that and the Drive for 25 later!)

In the meantime, for all you folks up in Alaska – we’re having a fun(d) run for Mary this upcoming Sunday! I hope to see some of you there! Please help spread the word:

That’s it for now from Utah! Smiles & thanks for reading,

– Holly 🙂

October 09, 2012 – Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone! Ok, now the blog post can begin. The Fast and Female event in Park City was officially AWESOME. As per my usual, I got to lead the dancing/endurance station, where we keep moving the entire time and each girl gets to add a dance move of her own to the group dance. The dance gets longer and longer and by the last group of the day I’m always working so hard to try and remember which move comes next! But it’s so much fun. Anne Hart was my dance station partner and we had a blast although by the end we both had jelly legs and were wiped out.

For me the coolest thing is seeing each girls face light up as the entire group does the dance move SHE got to add. It’s fun to make each girl be the star for 10 seconds!

And now… the National Nordic Foundation’s Drive for 25.

I realize that there are a ton of fundraisers going on this fall. And my personal fundraiser, the Chilkoot Cafe dinner in Stillwater, is going on this fall as well, on November 10th. But, I’m putting this up because the National Nordic Foundation directly helps me as well as many other junior, senior and U23 athletes looking to take the next step in international racing. NNF lowers trip costs for World Juniors/U23′s, and help pay for World Cup expenses. NNF also helped the US Women’s team travel to Sweden to train with some of the best in the world and improve.

So!

If you cannot come to Stillwater, MN on November 10th but are a friend of mine and/or Nordic Skiing and want to help out, this fundraiser is the best way to do it. I’ve linked my fundraising page below, and my goal is to get 20 people to donate $25. All the fundraiser information is on the link – even if you do not want to donate, please check out the NNF and their mission – the stories, pictures and race blogs are well worth looking at. Thanks for your time!

Jessie’s Drive for 25 page HERE.

October 01, 2012 (Park City, UT) – The USST’s Noah Hoffman has had a busy fall after returning from a training camp in New Zealand with a quick stopover in Putney, VT. Back home in Park City, Hoffman has been enjoying the fall weather, quality time with family and friends, and hard training sessions in preparation for the upcoming competitive season.

Find out more on his blog HERE.

March 23, 2012 (Park City, UT) – Ten-year-old Zia Terry is a star on YouTube simply because she showed the world her courage by soaring off a 40-meter ski jump. On Thursday, she got to meet some of her biggest fans – five members of the No. 1-ranked U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team.

The team and coaches surprised Zia at Utah Olympic Park where they named her an “Honorary Junior Team Member” and gave her a Women’s Ski Jumping USA certificate, team jacket, signed competition bib, Ready To Fly DVD, and signed posters.

“This is so cool. I love this. I love ski jumping,” said Zia after meeting the team.

Zia’s headcam video showing herself gaining the courage and determination to ski jump the 40-meter hill for the first time went viral on YouTube and has garnered 1.3 million views. Many have commented on the video and didn’t believe that girls could ski jump. Zia proved them wrong, and she now has the backing of the best women ski jumpers in the world.

“We just want to thank Zia for bringing worldwide attention to girls who ski jump,” said Jessica Jerome, an eight-time national champion and the ninth-ranked ski jumper in the world. “She has inspired us and obviously her video has touched so many people around the world.”

Zia told the crowd and media at Thursday’s event that she loves flight and especially ski jumping “because you can fly in the air without an engine.” The Park City fourth-grader also has aspirations to be an Olympian some day as either a ski jumper or ski racer – to which 2009 World Champion Lindsey Van said, “Ski jumping! That’s your sport.”

After a 10-year battle, women will finally be allowed to ski jump beginning in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Ski jumping had been the only discipline in the Winter Games that did not have an event for women. The ski jumpers’ story is told in the recently released feature film documentary, “Ready To Fly.”

Zia also got a little advice from 17-year-old Sarah Hendrickson, who just finished the World Cup season by capturing the overall title and bringing home the coveted crystal globe. “Keep working on ski jumping – it’s awesome. I was 13 years old when I tried the 90-meter jump. You can do it too – you’re just three years away,” Hendrickson said.

The presentation ended with a group hug with Zia in the middle surrounded by her mentors – and new “teammates”.

The Visa Women’s Ski Jumping team includes No. 1-ranked Sarah Hendrickson, 2009 World Champion Lindsey Van, 8-time U.S. National Champion Jessica Jerome, Abby Hughes, Alissa Johnson, Nita Englund, Nina Lussi and Emilee Anderson. The team coaches are Alan Alborn and Paolo Bernardi.

Watch Zia’s YouTube Video:

Watch CNN’s Jeanne Moos’ story on Zia’s video and Lindsey Van HERE.

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:

October 24, 2011 (Canmore, AB) – It’s been a busy fall season – as they all seem to be. The days are getting noticeably shorter, and the leaves are evacuating the trees faster than a herd of Elk leaving a meadow when surprised by a pack of dogs. Not that I’m complaining, after a great altitude training camp down under the Utah sun it was back home to Canada where I’ll get almost a month in the “true North strong and free” to finish off my “off season” preparations.

Whister Intensity Camp
A scant six days after returning from the thin Utah air it was time to pack the bags again and head to the lower elevations of the Whistler Valley for a quick and dirty intensity camp. Since it rained almost everyday – we did get pretty dirty – and most of the training we banged out was of the “quick” variety – as we accomplished 4 tough intensity sessions during the 6 day camp.

Whistler is one of the great places to train in Canada and I’m always so impressed with how many great trails there are coupled with the varied terrain of quiet paths and roads to rollerski make it a winner in my book. It was a wet week – but that’s what you get for training so close to the Pacific Ocean in early October and one can’t complain too much after we had 14 days in a row down in Utah with a two week “cold day high” of about 22 Celsius.

The idea for the camp was two-pronged. It was a great opportunity to have everyone together training – the World Cup team and the Senior Development Team – and also to make use of the lower elevation to really rev’ the engines high. While the workouts were tough – it was a great environment and the staff (Mike, Stef, Eric, Adam, Justin, Scott, and Hutchy) deserves a ton of credit for running a smooth and effective camp – not an easy task when there are roughly 20 athletes to look after.

Canmore, AB
I know people hear this too much – but damn Canmore’s sweet. After such a “camp heavy” autumn I’ve really appreciated being home in the Rockies the last couple weeks. I count myself pretty lucky to call this little mountain gem home.

It probably helps that this autumn has been a spectacular one. The weather really has outdone itself – most days are sunny or at least precipitation-free which makes the heavy load of training I’m doing so easy to accomplish.

I had a great Thanksgiving too – since I miss Christmas every year – I was pretty excited that my mom made the journey out West from Ontario to enjoy Thanksgiving with Chandra and I. She spoiled us – whipping up no less than 8 pies during her 6 day trip, an amazing Thanksgiving dinner – and no less than two dozen of the world’s best cinnamon buns. Thank god the training load is high – or else it could have been messy… It was great to catch up with her though – and I feel very thankful that I am able to see my family throughout the “off season” even though my schedule is so busy and they live 3000km away.

“Spray Drag” and Frozen Thunder
Kuhner (my good friend and AWCA coach) organized an uphill grind-fest running race this year to raise money for the AWCA – and he put my ugly mug on the poster (of me rocking a stash’). I just wanted to take an opportunity to say that they did a great job with the race – and it was a leg and lung buster. Hopefully they make it a tradition! Thanks guys – glad I could deliver too – Babs gave me a bit of a scare at the end!

The day of the 7.5km uphill running race coincided with a Canmore nouveau tradition of it’s own – Frozen Thunder. Yes, the name makes no real sense – but we can all agree that it sounds cool.

Two years ago we were fired up when the Canmore Nordic Centre announced it would provide a whopping 400m of snow for the plethora of Nordic enthusiasts to enjoy in mid-October. The excitement to ski in October for a Nordic racer is like the excitement of a “gizmoto” reader getting their paws on Apple’s latest creation – pure unabashed jubilation.

Thanks to the Canmore Nordic Centre who have kept the project growing – last fall it was a 1km loop and this year they doubled down to provide us with a great loop of 1.95km.

Check out the video link from the Globe and Mail HERE.

To be able to ski on good terrain, on good quality snow, starting mid-October is such a huge asset. I’m so thankful for the crew up there at the Canmore Nordic Centre – they are leaders in North America – and how cool is it that Canmore is the only place in North America that does this?! Awesome! Thanks guys!

Yes – Canmore has been sweet. I think I’m a bit nostalgic right now because in only 12 days I will embark on a 5.5 month odyssey overseas as another World Cup race season is upon us. I’m sure I’ll miss home – but I’m really enjoying the days here in Canada before we get things rolling.

I’m so excited to get over there and make it happen. We have a great team and most are feeling great heading into the season. I can’t wait to see what “Team Canada” can do this winter in all categories.

I mean hell, I wouldn’t mind playing a few more ditties’ on the ol’ air guitar – or seeing my teammates melt imaginary faces on their imaginary axes this winter – if you know what I mean.

October 20, 2011 (Park City, UT) – I’ve only got five more days to enjoy the sunshine, mountains and great training that Park City has to offer. And I plan to make the most of it! Official camp ended last weekend, but before everyone left, we had a pretty epic sprint time trial day at Soldier’s Hollow. Although everyone’s skis were different speeds, we broke up into heats that were pretty evenly matched and got some really good intervals out of it.

There were also a LOT of crashes. And I was one of them. I wobbled and lost my balance after crossing the finish line, and was fully airborne before I hit the pavement. The best part of all this was that Gus got it on tape. Even though he was standing a ways away, you can clearly hear the scream and “oh” before the camera turns off.

Personally, I think a few scrapes is an okay price to pay for a super good interval workout. Why so grateful all of a sudden? Because it took me about two and a half weeks to get adjusted to the altitude, and I had to adjust my training plan while my body was catching up. For me, there is no worse feeling than having to cut an interval session, so last weekend’s sprints were really fun. Luckily, I have really fun teammates and buddies here so I’ve been keeping busy!

Also, I normally really dislike wearing spandex…until I found these pink zebra-type-striped tights. I’m pretty stoked on them. Because they’re bizarre!

September 29, 2011 – The United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), with the Participation of Cross Country Canada (CCC), is hosting an FIS Technical Delegate (TD) Certification Course at the USSA Center of Excellence in Park City, UT, October 14-16. More info HERE.

September 17, 2011 (Park City, UT) – Space for the upcoming USSA Cross Country Coaches’ Symposium is filling up quickly. The conference registration is now open to all coaches, but space is limited. If you have yet to reserve your spot, please do so as soon as possible.

You’ll find a link to the registration form that can be emailed HERE. Email completed forms to TAdams@ussa.org

When: October 21-23, 2011, from noon Friday until noon Sunday
Where: USSA Center of Excellence, Park City, UT
Lodging: Park City Marriott (special discount using rate code “USNL”)

We are looking forward to sharing this special educational opportunity with you!

Best regards,

Toni Adams,
Nordic Team Manager
United States Ski and Snowboard Association

September 02, 2011 (Park City, UT / Canmore, AB) – A dynamic and inspiring group of 25 world-class female athletes is preparing to host a once-in-a-lifetime Fast and Female event in Park City on October 8, 2011 at the USSA’s Center of Excellence.

Held in partnership with the U. S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and open to girls ages 9 to 19 practicing all sports, the event will feature an afternoon of fun and non-competitive dryland training followed by a motivational presentation. The activity will conclude with a yoga segment and an autograph signing session.

The highlight of the Fast and Female Park City event will be the presence of the following 25 world-class female athletes representing the sports of Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Snowboard, and Speed Skating:

– Shannon Bahrke (Moguls)
– Erin Bartlett (Short Track Skating)
– Sadie Bjornsen (XC Skiing)
– Brittany Bowe (Long Track Skating)
– Holly Brooks (XC Skiing)
– Sarah Chen (Short Track Skating)
– Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (Snowboardcross)
– Annelies Cook (USA Biathlete)
– Emily Cook (Aerials)
– Alexa Devereaux (Aerials)
– Jessie Diggins (XC Skiing)
– Alyson Dudek (Short Track Skating)
– Kaitlyn Farrington (Halfpipe)
– Faye Gulini (Snowboardcross)
– Morgan Izykowski (Short Track Skating)
– Zina Kocher (Canadian Biathlete)
– Jana Lindsey (Aerials)
– Chelsea Marshall (Alpine)
– Andrea Mayo (Biathlete)
– Netanya Mintz (Long Track Skating)
– Kikkan Randall (XC Skiing)
– Melanie Shultz (Canadian Biathlete)
– Jessica Smith (Short Track Skating)
– Kathryn Stone (Biathlete)
– Liz Stephen (XC Skiing)

On this special occasion, more than 150 aspiring female athletes will get first-hand experience from this select group of athletes – all of which are active World Cup/Europa Cup competitors and the majority of which are Olympians.

“Sports have taught me so many important life lessons and have made me the person I am today,” said Shannon Bahrke silver medalist in moguls at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, bronze medalist at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and 2003 was the World Cup Champion.

“Setting lofty goals, working hard to achieve them, and never giving up when things get hard are just a few of those lessons that I want to instill in young female athletes. I know they can do anything because girl athletes are awesome and we rule,” concluded Bahrke who became the first US women’s freestyle skier to win multiple Olympic medals with her bronze medal in 2010.

The key objective for the afternoon will be to motivate girls to stick to sports by exposing them to inspiring and positive female role models. It is said that girls are six times more likely to drop out of sports than boys.

“I chose to be a part of ‘Fast and Female’ because I know the difference it has made for me to live a fun and active lifestyle,” said Emily Cook, a two-time Olympian with five career World Cup podiums. “I am really excited to help pass on the lessons that I have learned through sport like teamwork, leadership, being confident and having fun to young women in our community and to have some time to play and sweat with these amazing ladies,” she added.

As a non-profit and North-America-wide program started in 2005 by Chandra Crawford – Canada’s 2006 Olympic gold medalist in cross country – Fast and Female is intensely focused on delivering effective programming to keep girls in sports. So far in 2011, Fast and Female has hosted a total of 10 events, reaching 1,030 girls. The Park City event marks the fourth event held on U.S. soil this year and also the first U.S. event ever held with ambassadors from sports other than cross country skiing. Past Fast and Female events held in the U.S. in 2011 took place in Maine, Alaska, and Sun Valley – all on snow.

“It’s been a fun journey bringing Fast and Female to the US in cross-country,” said Kikkan Randall, lead Fast and Female ambassador in the US and double World Cup winner on the Cross-country circuit in 2011. “I’m really excited for the opportunity to expand into more disciplines with this Park City event,” added the full-time athlete who has held three Fast and Female events in her hometown of Anchorage since 2009.

To complement the youth programming, parents and coaches are invited to join the “Amazing Tips Seminar”. While the girls will be taking part in the dryland stations, adults will have the opportunity to attend three insightful presentations on Sport Psychology/Mental Toughness with Dr. Lauren Loberg, NCC, CC-AASP (Director of Athlete Career and Education), on Nutrition/Fueling the Fast Female with Adam Korzun (High Performance Dietician) and on Injury Prevention and Body Maintenance with Jess Tidswell, PT. DPT, ATC (Medical Resident Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer). All three guest speakers are experts in their respective fields and employees of USSA.

The registration fee for the youth segment is $20 per participant and includes a Fast and Female t-shirt, a Buff, a snack, an autograph poster. Parents and coaches can also secure a seat by purchasing a ticket for $20 which includes access to the seminar and a Fast and Female t-shirt valued at $20.

All registrations are compiled online HERE. Please note that financial assistance is available for participants in need. Please contact info@fastandfemale.com to inquire.

The deadline to register online is October 6, 2011. On-site registrations will be at a rate of $25 per participant.

This activity is made possible thanks to valuable local partners such as USSA, US Bank, Einstein’s Bagels, and Knead a Massage. Fast and Female’s national sponsors – including Best Buy, Buff Multifunctional Headwear, Cold-FX, LUNA Bars, and LIT Glitter – are also providing key resources to make this event possible. For a complete list of Fast and Female national program supporters and sponsors, please click HERE.

June 27, 2011 (Park City, UT) – For the past five days I have been moving along in overdrive down in Park City for a series of tests and Rookie Camp. The first two days in town we spent the entire day in the US Ski Teams new central gym called the Center of Excellence. That place is amazing; it gets you fired up just walking in to the place! With pictures and banners posted everywhere of all the successful athletes, you can’t help but get instantly excited. Not to mention there are famous people everywhere doing the same thing you are doing, just getting some work done.

Starting day one, we kicked off with a series of treadmill tests, blood tests, concussion tests, and then the following day hit two more treadmill tests, strength tests, functional movement tests, physicals, dexo scans, body composition tests, and probably a few more that I can’t remember anymore. The schedule was tight with only two days and six athletes to get through, so I felt like a lab rat for a bit, just jumping from one thing to the next. In the mean time I was trying to fit in school work and some outside training, since the sun was seriously shining.

I have watched so many people do the max tests on the treadmill with rollerskis on, so I was anxious to complete my first VO2 max test, and rollerski on the massive treadmill for the first time.I was surprised. It was pretty easy to get used to the motions of skiing on a treadmill. At first it was hard to remember to keep your skis straight, but within a few minutes it felt natural like skiing on snow. We would warm up on a separate treadmill, sometimes with another person- and then for the testing period we would transfer over to the treadmill with all the tubes, computers and harness hook up. In order to ensure that we didn’t go shooting off the back when we skid to maximum effort, they would attach a harness to your back, which would catch you when you went to a point of no return. I only got to try this out once, as the other two times I just grabbed onto the bar in front of me when I felt I could go no further. It is a funny point to go to maximum effort, because most times in races you know you have to keep going and finish the hill, so you hold yourself back from going to that place where you can no longer hold yourself up.

You had a team of about 15 doctors and coaches standing around the treadmill with each test either pricking your finger for blood, waiting to catch you when you fall, holding your breathing tube, reading your heart rates, running the machine, or simply just cheering you on. I swear the rest of the athletes in the gym that were not nordic skiers were all watching, thinking us nordic skiers are absolutely crazy! With a tube stuffed in your mouth, you are not able to talk, so Matt Whitcomb would just stand in front of us watching our face expressions for pain, and cheering us on. It was really a neat thing.

The other tests were hard in a different way. Strength tests measured our jumping power, or various mobility muscles, our stability muscles, and a few other. It turns out, all of us nordic skiers need a lot of work in that field. The concussion test was hilarious, as I felt like I failed it before I even need to be tested for a concussion. The rest of the tests were good, and it was fun to get a baseline measurement to see where I will progress from here. I have never had the opportunity to make many of these measurements, so its great to have all of this as a resource to us now.

The following three days we attended a US Ski Team class session, otherwise known as Rookie Camp. In three days, I learned more important information than I could have imagined. There were 42 athletes attending, who have just this year been named to the US Team, so it was fun to get to know these other alpiners, snowboarders, mogulists and aerialists. I don’t know much about any winters sports besides alpine, so I had tons of fun learning about these sports and what they do for training and competition. Besides that part of the three days, we also got to meet all the managers and various people that work in different areas of the US Team. A lot of times we communicate with these people over the phone or email, but we never know them by face, so I enjoyed getting to put a face to the voice or name. We also had media practice, met some trustee’s, learned about USADA, learned about Nutrition, got to speak with some of the top athletes on the team, and hear their experiences, learn about US Ski Team marketing and fundraising, did some team building exercises, played some outdoors games, and simply learned about all the various resources offered to us when you are part of the team. Starting at 6:30 in the morning when we woke up, to about 9:30 PM when we would return to the hotel- we were on a role, one thing after another!

With most of us in training at this time of year, they wanted to take the smallest amount of our time, but educate us as much as they could, so it was a successful process- plus I got to know a lot of talented athletes just introduced into the team that will probably be super famous one day!

Park City was so nice when we were there, like 85 degree days, but because we were inside testing all day, or inside doing meetings for the majority of the day, I had limited time in the sun. Somehow I still managed to completely fry my shoulders during day one of rookie camp at our ropes course. When you become used to living in Alaska, you forget about sun screen sometimes…..

For now, I have a week of dryland training in town before taking my second trip up to the glacier for a week. One thing after another- there is really no way I could get bored doing what I do. It is great!!!

Hopefully I will have more pictures from Rookie Camp coming soon! In the meantime, check out these:

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