2008 November

PARK CITY, UT — Two-time Olympian Luke Bodensteiner has been named to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's (USSA) key athletics leadership role. USSA President and CEO Bill Marolt named Bodensteiner as vice president, athletics for the Olympic sports organization. Bodensteiner will oversee the integration of the USSA's six sports under a unified strategic plan. The plan will emphasize high performance services to those programs in sport education, sport science and sports medicine, as part...

WADA’s Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings were held last weekend in Montreal (CAN) with the presence of FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. One of the highlights on the meeting agenda included the approval of a Memorandum of Understanding for formalizing cooperation with Interpol, the world’s largest police organization. This Memorandum of Understanding provides a framework for cooperation between the two organizations in tackling doping, in particular in the areas of evidence gathering and information...

The Whistler Olympic Park, the site of the 2010 Olympic competitions in Cross-Country, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined as well as Biathlon, celebrated its official opening last Saturday. As late as early afternoon on Friday the park had no snow, but right in time for the celebrations at noon on Saturday it snowed up to 30 cm overnight. On Saturday, it was time for the official inauguration of the 1,020-square-meter day lodge to mark the...

FasterSkier is in West Yellowstone! Our primary purpose is to ski and try out new equipment, but if you are in West, feel free to stop by our Winnebago to chat and check out our exciting new FasterSkier shirts designed by the US Ski Team's Andy Newell. We will be in and out, parked near the upper trailhead.

It's official! West Yellowstone will be hosting two SuperTour races this weekend. The Classic race is scheduled to start at 9am on Friday and the Freestyle race is scheduled to start at noon on Saturday. The race secretary will be available at the Snow Desk at the Holiday Inn Thursday from 11am-1pm and on Friday from noon-2pm. The classic race registration closes on Thursday at 1:00pm and the freestyle race closes at 2:00pm of Friday....

KUUSAMO, Finland (Nov. 26) – One year after they each landed on the podium at Kuusamo, Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) and Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO) have returned, along with the rest of the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team, to kick off the World Cup season Saturday. The U.S. Cross Country Team also will be in Kuusamo for distance and sprint events during the second World Cup of its season. “What a great way to...

New Gloucester, ME, November 27. The World Cup season opens six days from today in Ostersund, Sweden, where the US Biathlon Team is holding their final pre-season training camp. While many Americans are sitting down to a turkey dinner on Thursday, nine US Biathletes will be fine-tuning their skills in the Ostersund Ski Stadium in preparation for the opening of the World Cup Biathlon season. Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) and Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK)...

From race organizer and US Randonee racer Nina Silitch Sugarloaf Holiday Hill Climb: December 27, 2008 – 4:30-6:30pm Bells….Start ringing your cow bells. The sport of Randonee racing is growing with lighting speed in the US. My first experience to rando racing was a night race in the Swiss Alps. Cow bells ringing, headlamps lighting the way, great energy and enthusiasm and finishing with hot mulled wine and Swiss fondue. Can you think of a...