The Turkish Ski Federation is making great progress in the development of skiing in Turkey and hosting the 2011 FISU Winter University Games (known as the Universiade). The planned site of the competitions, Erzurum (at 1850m), is the biggest city in the Eastern Anatolian region and is also a very ancient settlement. Located at the skirts of Palandoken Mountain, the city has gained great importance in the field of winter tourism in recent years. Just 150 km from...
Professional cross country skiers are not usually preoccupied with environmental concerns like invasive aquatic species, composting, or even remembering to turn off the lights in their houses. Nor do they spend a whole lot of time doing trail work. Instead, for the most part, skiers tend to take for granted the negative environmental impact of their sport, with elite competitors criss-crossing the country for races, fleets of groomers guzzling gas, and the voracious appetites of...
The International Olympic Committee on Friday launched the bid process for hosting the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, setting a deadline of 15th October 2009 for national Olympic committees to inform it of applicant cities. Applicant cities will participate in the observer program at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver (CAN), ahead of the deadline for submission of application files on 15th March 2010. The IOC will confirm what bids have been accepted next June. Candidate cities will have until 11th January 2011...
This is the first of National Team Email Reports during the 2009 Australian winter. The intention is to provide a summary of team activities and competitions during the season, and in particular to report on progress in the Australia – New Zealand Continental Cup Series. This and other news will also be available on the Australian Cross Country Skiing Website FIS Australia – New Zealand Continental Cup The FIS Australia – New Zealand Cup (ANC) is the...
Members of the U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping team and their nonprofit foundation Women’s Ski Jumping USA are hosting a benefit Aug. 19, 2009 at the exclusive Huntsman Mountain Estate in Deer Valley, Utah in an effort to keep their program from dissolving. In May, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association – which had been supporting the elite athletes for three years – dropped all funding to the women’s team citing it as a budget decision...
XC Oregon elite skier Stephanie Howe and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay senior XC skier Santi Oscariz (spending Summer 2009 in Bend, Oregon) had podium finishes in the Saturday, August 1 Mt Ashland Hillclimb Run in Ashland, Oregon. The 13.3 mile event begins in Ashland’s beautiful Lithia Park (el 1900′) and climbs on tree-canopied dirt roads and trails to finish on the Mt. Ashland summit (7533′), for a total of 5,600′ of climbing (over a vertical...
WANAKA, New Zealand – With a summer already full of rollerskiing, the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team is in the southern hemisphere to get some vital on-snow time prior to the start of the 2010 Olympic season. Based at Snow Park Resort in New Zealand, the athletes are getting some time to test new equipment as well as transfer their rollerski skills to the snow. “The conditions down here at the Snow Farm represent what...
Despite racing with a fractured right hand, Max Durtschi, 18 years old, raced to victory in both the road race and criterium in last weeks USA Junior National Championships. Durtschi earned the stars and stripes jersey in both events held in Bend, Oregon. On Thursday (7/30) Durtschi pummeled the field in the grueling 108K Road Race. Starting in 90 degree F. temperatures the thermometer topped 100 degrees F. by the end, forcing 28 racers to...
After the workout this morning Laura Dewitt and I headed out to Sten’s cabin. Its pretty much right on the ski trails and its a great spot for picking blueberries! Since getting home from Utah I have been back to training in Marquette. Last week I had three intervals sessions that went well. Tuesday was level [...]
HAYWARD, WI – Central Cross Country Ski Association (CXC) is pleased to announce Swix Sport USA to be the official ski pole supplier. Starting on, August 1, 2009, CXC Elite Team will rely on the proven technology of Swix to provide them with the lightest and strongest composite ski poles. For more than 25 years, Swix has been the leading innovator in the field of composite ski poles. Top World Cup athletes prefer Swix composite...
Finals for the downhill and four-cross at Bromont took place Saturday afternoon and evening. The downhill was won by Sabrina Jonnier of France on the women’s side, and South African Greg Minnaar for the men. In the four-cross, it was Dutchman Joost Wichman and Fionn Griffiths of Great Britain who took victories. Photos of the events are in the slide show, below.
The SMS training group finished the first half of their summer training with a great weekend of training. The group is progressing nicely and building an excellent endurance base that will help them be successful in the years to come. The group of 18 regulars plus 8-10 who come for special workouts and the bi-weekly mini camps has been focusing on aerobic fitness and specific strength. The big hours don’t always lead to short term...
The Finnish Nordic Sports brand ONE WAY and the Swedish Vasaloppet organization have signed a 5 year cooperation concerning promotion and sponsorship for ONE WAY Nordic Sports footwear. ONE WAY will be the official supplier for all competitions around Vasaloppet including the new summer events in Nordic Walking. Vasaloppet is World wide the most famous and popular ski marathon with more than 60.000 participants during the Vasaloppet week. ONE WAY ´s new OW Nordic Sports...
Individual qualifying for the World Cup Four-Cross event in Bromont took place last night, and it was won by American Jill Kintner (unaffiliated) and France’s Romain Saladini (Team Sunn). Riders started individually and did a quick time trial down the course (the Quebecois announcer called it “contre-la-montre,” French for “against the watch”). Times ranged from 51 seconds for the top men to about a minute for the women. The course is very exciting and spectator-friendly–there...
Matt Liebsch enters the 2009-2010 season coming off of a killer season. Last year, he was third place at U.S. Nationals in Anchorage in the 15-kilometer skate, and he dropped the field on his way to nearly a 45-second victory in the American Birkebeiner. Liebsch currently trains with CXC, and he was able to take a few minutes to talk with FasterSkier after his kids had finished their lunch. FasterSkier: Last year was a pretty good...
Over the next three days, FasterSkier will be bringing you coverage from the mountain biking World Cup in Bromont, Quebec. We hope that our reporting will give a good perspective of another endurance and sprint sport at the elite level. The World Cup consists of three events: cross-country, which is a typical long-distance race; downhill, in which riders bomb down alpine ski trails; and four-cross, where four racers go head-to-head-to-head-to-head on a short (less than...
Central Cross Country Ski Association is proud to announce the formation of an innovative Adaptive Ski Program available for individuals with physical disabilities throughout the Midwest. CXC established a disabled ski program in 2005 by bringing the U.S. Adaptive Ski Team to the Madison, WI SuperTour event and purchasing one sit ski. Since that time, over 30 disabled individuals have participated in the program with 13 sit skis currently in use by CXC. The curriculum...
With 80cm in town at sea level and the biggest single snowfall in at least 10 years. These pics are at the Jerman, roughly 200 meters above Ushuaia.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has partnered with Chooseco, a publisher of interactive children’s books, to publish two titles focused on good decision-making and sport values. The objective of the books is to present the reader with difficult, realistic decisions in competitive sports, including choices about doping and cheating. The title aimed at younger readers (Always Picked Last) examines issues of cheating. The multiple choices in each title lead to multiple endings. In Track Star – for readers aged 12 years and...
Although countless articles have been written about safety on roller skis, I have seen none recommending the use of a rearview mirror, such as those that attach to the skier’s eyewear. I’ve used a mirror that attaches to my glasses or sunglasses for decades and will not roller-ski (or cycle) without it. To add to the recent discussions on safe roller skiing, please consider the following advantages. First, the eyeglass mirror obviously allows the skier...