FIS announced Wednesday that the American Birkebeiner will return to its Marathon Cup circuit for 2009-2010. According to Birkebeiner Director of Race Operations Shellie Milford, the inclusion of the race in the circuit will bring additional elite skiers from Europe to compete for more prize money. Milford said that the decision to participate in the circuit is made by the Birkebeiner, rather than FIS. “It’s kind of a year-by-year decision,” she said. “We consider...
Germany’s first ski tunnel will open this summer in Oberhof, where the 4th edition of the FIS Tour de Ski will start on January 1st, 2010. The new tunnel is now finished and the test period has begun. The track, which cost 14.5 million Euro, is 1.9 kilometers long, with hills up a 12 percent grade. In the next eight weeks the entire infrastructure will be tested, as well as snow and air quality. The official...
Brent Knight, an Olympic hopeful with APU collapsed a block from the finish of the prestigious July 4th weekend mountain race on Mt. Marathon in Seward, Alaska. Knight was winning the race at the time of his collapse. He was taken by ambulance to the nearby Providence Seward Hospital, where he was treated for severe dehydration. Brent’s father, Paul Knight, told the Peninsula Calarion that his son regained consciousness 30 minutes after his initial collapse. Brent,...
Over the past few months we have added a number of new bloggers to the FasterSkier blogroll. Since the end of the winter, US Cross-Country Ski Team members Morgan Arritola and Morgan Smyth have joined the ring. Smyth scored the first World Cup points of career this season, and looks to build upon that success heading into the Olympics. A two-time National Champion and a member of the 2009 US World Championship Team, Smyth is...
Funding for the University of Nevada Ski Team has been drastically cut for the 2009-2010 season, and will be completely eliminated in 2010-2011. Next season, the University will continue to cover tuition waivers for skiing student-athletes and personnel costs for the coaching staff, but operational costs will be covered by donors or other sources. All funding will be eliminated the following year. The Wolf Pack placed 10th overall at the 2009 NCAA Championships, qualifying four Nordic...
Canmore, Alberta – Fast and Female presented by Best Buy – a highly dynamic not-for-profit organization dedicated to empowering female youth through sports – is seeking to partner with local cross-country ski clubs interested in hosting new regional programming for the remainder of 2009 and 2010. The deadline for application is August 15, 2009. Click the following link to download the event application form. here.
Astrid Jacobsen (NOR) who was involved in a bike accident last week, will avoid back surgery, and should be able to train at full strength in the fall. Her injuries are still considered quite serious, and she required surgery on both her jaw and her elbow. The Norwegian team is committed to the helping get the 2007 Sprint World Champion back to top form. “We are not going to hold back and are prepared to...
Eldar Rønning (NOR) told adressa.no that he would stop racing if he was required to implant a tracking device for anti-doping purposes. Finnish star It is unlikely that anything will come of Kuitunen’s proposal, so Rønning doesn’t have to worry. However, many athletes disagree with the Norwegian’s assessment of the current system. Everyone from star Rafael Nadal to top US swimmers have complained, and apparently the website used for updates is cumbersome and finicky. WADA is currently working...
Three years ago USSA made the decision to support a fledging international US Women’s Jumping program, a risky decision given the stage of development of the sport on the world stage. But the move paid off when Lindsey Van won the first-ever Women’s Ski Jumping World Championship Gold Medal in Liberec this past winter. But now Van, and her US teammates are struggling to find funding after USSA decided not to name a US Women’s...
USSA memberships expire annually on June 30. You can renew your USSA membership here. Avoid late fees and renew before you forget.
Recently Olympians Torin Koos and Lars Flora met with children from their home town of Bend, Oregon at the local Boys and Girls Club to share their Olympic experiences. KOHD News was there to capture the day for local Bend residents. You can watch their news story at the following link; Olympic Days by KOHD News
Reader Tim Kelley alerted FasterSkier to an issue with street sweeping in Anchorage. How does this relate to cross-country skiing? If you have ever roller skied through a winter’s worth of sand on the shoulder, you know how big a deal this is. Sandy shoulders can make roller skiing (as well as biking) more dangerous, especially in high use areas like Anchorage. An aticle and opinon piece in the Anchorage Daily News details the issue....
After experiencing some problems with his one of his knees, Petter Northug’s soccer career has come to an end. Earlier this summer, Petter Northug injured one of his knees, which worsened during a block of hard training, according to Norwegian national team coach Morten Aa Djupvik. He had symptoms during intervals last week, and then felt we needed to have studied this in a proper manner, Djupvik said to NRK, a Norwegian television station. Northug...
Finnish ski star Virpi Kuitunen presented a unique idea for aiding in doping prevention – the implantation of a microchip under the skin, allowing anti-doping officials to constantly know the whereabouts of athletes. Currently, athletes must routinely update a website with their current location, and any upcoming travel plans. Mistakes or simple forgetfulness in this process can result in warnings, and ultimately, a “positive” test. The strict requirements have led many athletes to protest on...
Inspired by the new Center of Excellence, U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Coaches Peter Vordenberg, Matt Whitcomb and Pat Casey are spearheading a select development training program this summer for young cross country skiers. The National Training Group (NTG), which is comprised of a group of rising athletes, allows the cross country coaches to use these exceptional resources to provide real exposure and superior training to the next group of future Olympians. Through this...
PARK CITY, UT (June 26) – Fans of the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding will have a chance to get behind the scenes at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s new national training and education facility, the Center of Excellence, at a July 17 dedication ceremony. The public is welcomed for the dedication beginning at noon Friday, July 17, followed by public tours. The tours will provide fans with the opportunity to see the...
The Alberta World Cup Academy is pleased to welcome Christian Flury and Eric Groeneveld as coaches for the 2009-2010 season. Christian and Eric join Head Coach Mike Cavaliere and the rest of the Academy support group in working with the 20 athletes named to the Academy team for the upcoming year. Christian comes to the Academy from Davos, Switzerland where he was the head coach of the Swiss Sports School Davos for the past 6...
In the middle of May, the U.S. Ski Team (USST) dropped seven of the 18 skiers that were on the team. Three of those seven skiers are currently attending college: Matt Gelso and Alexa Turzian at Colorado University (CU), and Rosie Brennan at Dartmouth. Following those skiers’ dismissals, the USST released a new set of recommendations that called for elite high school skiers to take time off to train before starting college. That announcement spawned...
The Toronto Star reports the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team will not have any perks from hosting the Olympics on home soil. On issues ranging from grinding machines to Olympic Trials, VANOC has turned down requests in the name of fairness. From the Toronto Star: Canada’s cross-country ski team has heard all the talk about home-field advantage for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. They’re beginning to feel it’s nothing but talk. Dave Wood, team leader for the...
20-year-old Willie Neal of Jackson Hole, WY was killed yesterday while roller skiing in Fort Fairfield, Maine. Police told WCXU-FM that 20-year-old William Neal of Jackson, Wyo., was training with a friend in Fort Fairfield at 8:30 p.m. Sunday when he was struck by a vehicle driven by 18-year-old Eric Lunquist of Fort Fairfield. According to the Fort Fairfield Police Department, the skiers were on the correct side of the road when an automobile struck...