There’s no doubt the fluorinated wax landscape is changing. This week, TOKO USA sent out an email updating its inventory. Part of what caught our eyes was this: “JetStream and HelX will not be available this year or in the future”. Those two products have been widely adopted on the race circuit. Both are highly […]
Catching up with the News
First up, the cheese is going nowhere. The cheese we speak of is the cheese of record when it comes to cross-country skiing: Le Gruyère. It turns out the Finns are fond of Le Gruyère too. In a recent press release, it was announced that the Finnish Ski Association and the Swiss company, Le Gruyère AOP, the purveyors of the […]
Unraveling the College Athlete Admission Process with Anna Schulz
Deciding how to handle the “college conflict”, as aptly phrased by Alayna Sonnesyn, is a daunting and somewhat mysterious prospect, particularly for athletes and families who are unfamiliar with the process. How does a junior athlete know that they are cut out for a collegiate program? NCAA or USCSA? What about a gap year? In […]
After 31 Years, Bob and Nancy Gregg End their Run
The Master Skier and The Master Skier Annual Ski Journal was for 31 years an anticipated read. However, it’s grassroots origin story begets the polished journal it became when Bob Gregg at 77 years old and Nancy Gregg, 73, announced in August their publication was no more. Having lived in Michigan for many years, Bob Gregg […]
One last look at XCX and The Castle
A Full Weekend of Rollerski Races in Upstate New York
The NENSA rollerski series ramped up this past weekend outside Lake Placid, New York. As part of the drive to draw more skiers to the rollerski series, Saturday included a two race format known as a doubleday event: event 1 consisted of a 3-kilometer skate prologue followed by a 1.5-k cross-country cross (XCX) featuring several […]
Boulder Nordic Sport is Hiring in Boulder and Minneapolis
Boulder Nordic is hiring for locations in Boulder, CO and Minneapolis, MN. We are looking for: Retail Sales Lead (Minneapolis, MN) Full-time. Responsibilities include: • Oversee daily opening and closing procedures. • Coordinate operations with Service Manager • Monitor and maintain in-store inventory with Warehouse Manager. • Address and resolve customer complaints, returns, and warranties. […]
The Places They’ll Go on the Cross-Country World Cup
With the global reach of social media, photos are popping with new snow somewhere in the now chilling Northern Hemisphere. Almost midway through September, it’s not too early to think of World Cup skiing and the places those elite athletes will go. We’ve produced an interactive map organized by World Cup Period that details race […]
Audio short with Marty Hall and NENSA’s Justin Beckwith
On the eve before a full weekend of rollerski racing in Lake Placid, New York, we spoke with NENSA’s Justin Beckwith and cross-country ski supporter Marty Hall about their involvement with developing rollerski races in the Northeast. Here’s an audio short of the interview with two people making things happen.
Jessie Diggins’ Lifelong Journey Toward the “Gold Medal Goal” of Eating Disorder Recovery
After appearing in ESPN’s Body Issue in June 2018, Jessie Diggins shared an impactful blog post, opening up publicly about her history of struggling with bulimia. In this raw piece, she shared how her perfectionist mindset coupled with the stress she was putting on herself in all areas of her life snowballed in her senior […]
Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Area Is Hiring
Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Area is looking for avid Nordic skiers to join our team. We have openings in our Professional Ski Patrol; Cross Country Ski School; restaurant, and a variety of openings at our Downhill Ski resort and Snowplay area. Tahoe Donner is located in the Lake Tahoe, California area, which boasts over […]
Inequity is not Self-Correcting
We raise up all by promoting opportunities for gender equity in coaching. With the proper perspective, competition has the power to raise up. A great coach provides and promotes opportunities for improvement and growth. At its best, sport uplifts. Otherwise competition only separates a winner from the losers. Coaches only teach winning, and sport just […]
Ski Clubs and the Urban Hurdle Part 2: Cambridge Sports Union in and Around Boston
This is part two of a series featuring urban based cross-country clubs and how they make it work in the concrete jungle. You can read part one here. On the homepage of the Cambridge Sports Union (CSU) is an apt quote from tennis champion Arthur Ashe: “Start where you are, use what you have, do […]
2019 Cross Country National Coaches’ Symposium and Regional Clinics (From US Ski & Snowboard)
Info from US Ski & Snowboard Ski Leaders and Coaches, There are TWO (2) links in the National Coaches Symposium below. Click “HERE” for registration and click “Schedule” to see the full information packet on the National Coaches’ Symposium: GENERAL OUTLINE: U.S. Ski & Snowboard Biennial National Coaches’ Symposium September 27-29, 2019 is being held at […]
Tom Kendall, Longtime Ski Advocate Passes
On Friday, September 6th, longtime cross-country ski advocate Tom Kendall of Auburn, Maine passed away. According to the Sun Journal, Kendall died from complications after he fell from a roof he was repairing. He was a 2015 inductee to the Maine Ski Hall of Fame and led a life committed to enriching the ski community. […]
News Brief for the Week: The Mountain Runners & Skiers
Needless to say, cross-country athletes have big motors. Let’s start with The Rut 50-kilometer mountain run in Big Sky, Montana. With 10,000 feet of climbing and descending, it’s a burly affair. On September 1st, Erika Flowers, cross-country skier of note and Bozeman local, won the women’s 50 k overall in a time of 6:51:52.41 hours. […]
Mount Van Hoevenberg to Receive First Major Makeover Since 1980 Winter Olympics
In March 2018, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) awarded the 2023 Universiade, or World University Games, to Lake Placid. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s pledge of financial support helped seal the deal. That event will bring approximately 2500 athletes and support staff to compete in cross-country and alpine skiing, ski jumping, hockey, speed skating, […]
A Late Start
Summer has been chaos. Bright, shining chaos. By the time mud season subsided here in the Idaho Panhandle, the calendar bulged with summer weekends that had been taken out of the unscheduled pot ages ago. Glorious, unbroken stretches of cheery weather forecasts beckoned for peaks to be bagged, rivers to be paddled, trails to be […]
Visioning with NENSA’s Justin Beckwith
Pull the curtain back, and the wizardry is revealed. Not always perfect, with growing pains like any other popular athletic event, NENSA is trailbreaking when it comes to first class rollerski racing. In revealing the organizational fundamentals of NENSA’s rollerski series, we learned that leading the way is simple: it requires a can do attitude. […]
Rocky Mountain Nordic Seeks Divisional Coordinator
Rocky Mountain Nordic (RMN) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the development of Cross-Country Skiing in Colorado. RMN has a strong youth program encompassing over 400 skiers and over 15 different clubs across the state. We are seeking a divisional coordinator to assist with numerous duties pertaining to the operations within RMN. Duties […]