BMA Nordic goes International in 2012

2012 Fall in Scandinavia

“Small is Beautiful”

For Burke Mountain Academy’s small Nordic Team the flexibility of the school’s yearly plan makes a lot of exciting things possible. We are particularly excited about our calendar for next year and the tremendous opportunity it is presenting. In September and October the Nordic team will take on intensive introductory language work in Swedish and/or Norwegian and the language skill will get an immediate workout. For the following four to six weeks in October and November the Team will live, train and participate in early season races in Scandinavia. The connections we have made over the years of “The Sweden Trip” in both Sweden and Norway are opening the way to a special experience. The season of the transition from dry land to snow is a perfect time to be on the ground and training with other top juniors. We will work closely with three different ski academies,  train with local clubs, take part in testing and observation of advanced testing in the sport science department of a Swedish university, and compete in a pre-World Cup race series in Bruksvallarna, Sweden, toward the end of November. Community investment in snow making in Bruks guarantees early snow. Housing is in ski oriented condominium units in Lillehammer in Norway and Ostersund in Sweden. We will manage most of our own cooking etc. following Burke’s model of shared responsibility. The Team won’t just travel there. We’ll live there! What better way to get a feel for Nordic life in that part of the world?

Burke’s PG’s will travel to Scandinavia a week before the rest of the team and will get the lay of the land and the programs available. They will take on the job of helping to ease the acclimatization process for the rest of the gang when it arrives at the beginning of November. In a sense this is an immersion program, but de-tuned slightly by having the comfort of known friends and the mother tongue close at hand. We will return to Vermont and Burke for December classes and the bulk of our home season. For anyone entertaining the idea of a year abroad as a skier this would be a valuable in-depth introduction and for everyone else a chance to make new friends, push training to a new level, and to get a start on a new language. Details are still coming together, but there is no doubt that this will be a special time to be part of the Burke Nordic experience. 2012 and 2013 it will be a season that opens many doors.

If you are interested in more information about either the PG program or  BMA’s regular Nordic program please contact us.

 http://www.burkemtnacademy.org/

Peter Phillips, Head Nordic Coach pphillips@burkemtnacademy.org

Kate Barton, Asst. Nordic Coach, Admissions consultant kbarton@burkemtnacademy.org

Tory Amorello, Director of Admissions tamorello@burkemtnacademy.org