For Qualifying Criteria:
http://www.ussa.org/magnoliaPublic/ussa/en/sports/crosscountry/advancement.html
For Super Tour Points list:
http://www.ussa.org/magnoliaPublic/ussa/en/news/crosscountry/bulletin12.html
The World Cup Team:
Garrot Kuzzy
Leif Zimmermann
Lars Flora
Kris Freeman
Zach Simons
Mike Sinnott
Dave Chamberlain
Zach Violett
James Southam
Andy Newell
Torin Koos
Colin Rodgers
Brian Gregg
Marshall Green
Anders Haugen
Chris Cook
Reid Pletcher
Caitlin Compton
Laura Valaas
Kate Arduser
Tazlina Mannix
Kikkan Randall
Lindsey Dehlin
Evelyn Dong
Morgan Arritola
Lindsay Williams
Notes on the team and selection process from USST Head Coach Pete Vordenberg:
The US can enter athletes in these races in three ways.
1. We can enter skiers in our regular World Cup quota. This quota is different for each nation and for each discipline. The better our results in a specific discipline the more we can enter. Anyone entered in a normal World Cup quota must have a 90 point (women), or a 60 point (men) or better FIS result within the past year. We qualified our National Team as well as a few others to the Canadian World Cups in our regular quota. It should be noted that very few athletes in the US meet this 90/60 point rule.
2. We can enter the Continental Cup leader for both men and women.
3. We have an additional 5 athletes per event in our Nations Group quota. These are the additional start spots that we get for World Cups in Canada or the US. To race in this group an athlete must have a 120 point or better FIS race within the past year.
Not all the athletes who could have qualified for the World Cup had the point races needed to actually race (this is a FIS rule, not a USSA rule). Also, some athletes ranked ahead of these athletes on the Super Tour Ranking chose to focus on the Junior World Championships or Under-23 World Championships rather than attend the World Cup (an example here is Noah Hoffman). In all of these cases this was a very wise thing to do. Some other athletes who qualified for both have chosen to race in a race or two at the World Cup and in the U23/JWC events. In these cases this was discussed by the athlete's coach, the athlete and myself, and deemed a good idea based on the level of that athlete and their travel schedule (an example here is Reid Pletcher and Morgan Arritola). You will notice that neither Reid nor Morgan were named to the team in the link above. This was because we were discussing the pros and cons of them racing at an event at the World Cup prior to departing for U23/JWC. In all cases it was decided that it would be a good idea. This discussion postponed the publication of the named team (the team itself was notified prior to publication of the team). The idea is to make the best choices for an athlete's development.
At every opportunity for naming a team there is a lot of discussion as to who should be named. For the top athletes there is no discussion – they have taken the power of discussion and decision making out of the equation through their results. For those who are just below the top athletes there is less certainty. These are the bubble athletes. I am very aware that a choice can make a very big difference in an athlete's season, career and even life. This choice can go both ways. Sometimes being named to a team is the wrong decision and sometimes not being named to a team has negative consequences for the athlete. It wasn't so long ago that I was a bubble skier myself. These athletes are very important to me and to the sport in the US, and I take great care in trying to make the right choice. The bottom line is that how the athlete deals with the choice is the most important thing. Right or wrong, the choice is made, and the athlete can respond in one of two ways: place blame elsewhere or take responsibility for preparing even better next time.
On this topic I am happy to say that none of the athletes I have communicated with who were just below making the team placed any blame elsewhere. They said that next time they would be sure to make the choice clear and be on the team and not on the bubble. With that attitude these are athletes I am sure I'll see on a team in the future.
Keep up the great work.
Source: TeamToday.org
