![Liz Stephen, Fast and Female](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/02/IMG_1281-225x300.jpg)
On October 8, 25 elite female athletes from six different sports will come together in Park City for the fourth Fast and Female event in the US this year, and the first one in the States to include athletes from sports outside of cross country skiing. On Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4 pm at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) Center for Excellence, girls ages 9 to 19 will be joining top biathletes, skiers, speed skaters, and snowboarders for a dryland session, yoga, and a motivational presentation.
The U.S. Ski team (USST) is currently in the middle of a two-and-a-half week training camp in Park City, and USST veteran Liz Stephen thought it would be a good idea to make the most of having a her cross country teammates join up with athletes from other USSA disciplines to put together a fun event. Kikkan Randall, Holly Brooks, Sadie Bjornsen, and Jessie Diggins will be joining her, as well as biathlon ambassadors Annalies Cook, Zina Kocher, Kathryn Stone, Melanie Schultz, and Andrea Mayo.
“It has been cool to see that so many athletes from other disciplines, without much previous knowledge of Fast and Female, have just jumped on board so quickly!” said Randall.
Though Canada has hosted multi-sport events for several years, this is the first time the US ambassadors have been able to organize something similar across multiple disciplines. Fast and Female was originally founded in 2006 by Canada’s Olympic Gold Medalist Chandra Crawford, whose goal was to develop programs to keep girls in sports.
“My hope is that once the athletes from other disciplines experience how much fun and how impactful these Fast and Female events are, they will be inspired to start doing Fast and Female events in their respective sports and communities,” said Randall.
Parents and coaches will also be able to participate in the event and listen to presentations by experts on sports psychology, injury prevention, and nutrition.
Pre-registration is $20 and is open until October 6, and includes a Fast and Female t-shirt, a Buff, a snack, and an autographed poster. Click here to sign up now. Day-of sign-up will also be available for $25. Read more about the details of the event at the Fast and Female website.
Audrey Mangan
Audrey Mangan (@audreymangan) is an Associate Editor at FasterSkier and lives in Colorado. She learned to love skiing at home in Western New York.