The newest edition of the FIS Homologation Manual was published this month and two changes are significant for North American venues. Major A-climbs now require five fewer meters of elevation gain, and courses that reach above 1800 m have been clarified as eligible for certification (and always have been) at the Continental Cup level and below. According to John Aalberg, a FIS homologation coordinator for North America, the elevation clarification and A-climb reduction were...
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen’s got a lot on her plate. Finland’s celebrated cross-country skier is currently on Eagle Glacier with the North American Women’s Training Alliance, a group of about 20 women from the U.S. and Canadian national teams. A multiple world champion with three Olympic medals, Saarinen, 33, has been in Alaska for more than two weeks, staying with U.S. Ski Team member and World Cup sprint champion Kikkan Randall during the first part of camp...
Earlier this month, Philip Furrer wasn’t sure what his summer held. Sure, the Swiss cross-country ski racer knew he’d be training and spending three weeks with military recruits for Switzerland’s army requirement. At least he was a sports instructor for the mandatory period. Otherwise, work was winding down. Throughout spring, the 28-year-old from Andermatt, Switzerland, taught primary students in grades 1-6. When he wasn’t racing or traveling across the globe, Furrer, who started in four...
Note: This is the sixth preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Far West Farm Team Coaches: Ben Grasseschi (head coach), August Teague, Martin Benes Roster: Phillip Violett, Wyatt Fereday Who’s new: No one – yet. However,...
After a massive wave of spring skiers left Bend, Ore., last month, the groomers at Mt. Bachelor hardly packed it in. The U.S. and Canadian national teams and several elite squads were gone, but nearly the same amount of skiers – 150 – were expected to flock to the snow-covered trails in June. The Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center and its club, the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation (MBSEF), planned accordingly. On June 16, the MBSEF...
Note: This is the fifth preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP) Coaches: Pepa Miloucheva (head coach, 15th season), Jeremy Nellis (junior coach) Senior roster: Ida Sargent (U.S. Ski Team), Susan Dunklee...
Note: This is the fourth preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Central Cross Country, known as CXC Team Coaches: Igor Badamshin (head coach), Andy Keller (assistant) Roster: Karl Nygren, Brian Gregg, Doug Debold, Adam Martin, Eric Wolcott; Jennie Bender, Caitlin Gregg, Nichole Bathe...
Note: This is the third preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Maine Winter Sports Center Olympic Development Teams Coaches: Will Sweetser (cross-country), Seth Hubbard (biathlon), Amber Dodge (development), TBD (wax tech, intern) Roster: Cross-country: Kris Freeman (U.S....
In order to legally compete in any event sanctioned by the International Ski Federation, there are 47 pages worth of rules regarding equipment that athletes must comply with. Within these pages, collectively of the Specifications for Competition Equipment and Commercial Markings, certain equipment is forbidden (like collapsing poles) and a ski’s minimum weight is limited (to 750 grams per pair for cross-country). Four whole pages of that document are dedicated to the fabric and construction...
Note: This is the second preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Bend Endurance Academy (BEA) Coach: Ben Husaby Roster: Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess, Reitler Hodgert, Lars Ellefson Who’s new: Hodgert, moving up from junior ranks Who’s missing:...
Note: This is the first of a quick-and-dirty preview series on elite teams in the U.S. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team name: XC Oregon Coaches: J.D. Downing (coach/program director, 15th year) National /International Elite Roster: Santiago Ocariz, Oliver Burruss, Matt Briggs; Carolyn Ocariz, Stephanie...
Two weeks ago, Kris Freeman and Noah Hoffman weren’t exactly sure what they were in for before flying to Norway, but they were excited. The two had been invited to a Norwegian national team training camp, and without much else besides their bare necessities, they headed to the snowfields of Sognefjell. On June 3, the two U.S. Ski Team (USST) members jumped into action with the Norwegian men’s squad, kicking things off Sunday afternoon with...
When he first started coaching juniors in Crested Butte, Colo., Jason Cork didn’t exactly expect the profession to eventually take him to the U.S. Ski Team. Though his recent appointment as its men’s coach now makes the evolution from junior, to college, to elite, to national team seem like a natural progression up the domestic coaching ranks, at each step of the way he has only ever been concerned with being a good coach for...
It was almost as if Aino-Kaisa Saarinen read Kikkan Randall’s mind. Longtime acquaintances, the two international cross-country superstars knew the best time to find each other – for a warmdown, a distance ski or just a chat. Finland’s two-time Olympian and multiple world champion, Saarinen caught Randall before a morning run in March at the World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden. Fortunately for Saarinen, the sprint World Cup winner was in mid-thought. “I saw her...
The saga of Estonian Andrus Veerpalu’s doping trial has dragged on for well over a year, but with a final ruling in his appeal expected soon after the conclusion of the trial this week at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausane, Switzerland, Veerpalu may have finally run out options. According to Aivar Pilv, Veerpalu’s defense attorney, their appeal claims that FIS’s testing methods for doping are faulty. The appeal proceedings began on Monday...
In his first two years as Canadian national team head coach, Justin Wadsworth has set high goals for his skiers. Last season, he expected at least one of them to finish the World Cup in the top three overall – it could’ve been Devon Kershaw or Alex Harvey, he wasn’t sure, Wadsworth recently told
For developing skiers all over the globe, the chance to compete at Junior and U23 World Championships can be the high point of an entire young career. American athletes compete for a spot on the team every year at U.S. Nationals, but before nationals even gets under way, up to two men and women in each age class can pre-qualify for the team if they meet a specific FIS-point standard at certain races. That standard...
It’s easy to get caught up in busy work. Torin Koos has plenty between taking two summer courses toward his master’s at Westminster College, fitting in workouts and writing features for a ski website he and seven others took over June 1. The three-time Olympian has website-usability tests to prepare for, professional and technical writing work to do. His site, his blog, Koos reflected on two notable races at Norwegian nationals in March. First, he...
clean and lost its fight with WADA to continue issuing lifetime Olympic bans to drug violators. In a statement following the release of the new Code draft, BOA said the proposed ban is “an important step in the right direction, and it’s moving toward reflecting the higher standard that athletes want to see.” The draft is the first-round step in WADA’s Code Review Process. The second phase began June 1, a third phase will begin on...
