pp class=”MsoNormal”“It’s about access.span /spanGetting to experience the speed and then getting used to it.” – emBilly Demong on improving in international competition./em/p
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p class=”MsoNormal”One hears a lot about the gaps in US skiing. There are gaps in how many athletes get taken into the sport as young people.span /spanGaps across the country that are costly to move through en route to races.span /spanGaps in training in the 16 y/o and over crowd.span /spanGaps in the difficulty of our race courses compared to Europeans.span /spanNo gap is greater, however, than the gap between the level of competition readily available to juniors and developing seniors in the United States and that available in Europe.span /spanWhen Scottish-born skier, Andrew Musgrave took up residence in Norway, he explained it simply,span /span“That’s where the racing is.”span /span/p
p class=”MsoNormal”span /spanCertainly, there is strong racing in the US, given the improved fields at junior and senior nationals as well as the FIS-U events in the West and Eastern College Carnivals. The US provides possibilities for starts but they still all pale in comparison with European counterparts.span /spanSimply put, to push skiing forward, more skiers from more programs need to get Americans to European races.span /span/p
p class=”MsoNormal”span That can happen a bit easier /span(almost by accident) this year with the revival of the National Cross Country Ski Education Foundation.span /spanThe non-profit started by Reid Lutter in the earlier part of this decade had been on its last legs when a large donation came in the form of an inheritance gifted to skiing.span /spanRenewed with money, NCCSEF jumped back to life and began supporting athlete trips, its origin mission.span /spanPerhaps most importantly, the organization supported a two-week OPA cup trip populated with up and comers in the skiing world and set out a path that would help US skiers find improvement. It’s a trip that will happen again this year. APU will bring skiers over for almost 9 weeks, a similar trip as the one described above is schedule for 7 weeks of OPA racing.) This is big. NCCSEF gives financial hope to be able to emfeel/em the difference in European racing.spanbr//span/p
p class=”MsoNormal”span /spanSylvan E. described the partially NCCSEF funded trip this way on TeamToday.org, “France has such an awesome history.span /spanSkiing here feels different than anywhere else.span /spanI don’t know why, it just does. This is a good different. Twenty-one coaches and athletes rocking it here in France for the next couple days.span /spanCan’t wait to see what is to come.”/p
p class=”MsoNormal”span /spanWith the growth and renewal of NCCSEF, we should all feel similar anticipation.span Too often kids have been sent home with a large bill from European trips, with the growth and renewal of NCCSEF, 2010 became a year closer to the time when we won’t have to tell (read: lie) to a kid, “if you love the sport, you’ll find a way to pay for it.”/span/p
p class=”MsoNormal” That’s something you won’t hear in basketball./p
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