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Opinion: Get your commentary off our bodies

FasterSkierFebruary 24, 2022

The following was submitted by reader Ivy Spiegel Ostrom in response to the New York Times coverage of Jessie Diggins earning an Olympic bronze medal in the individual freestyle sprint. FasterSkier published a story expressing some of the early reactions to the NY Times piece here, along with an opinion piece by our contributor Ben Theyerl here. The viewpoints expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect that of FasterSkier’s staff or sponsors. We fully...

Community News Olympics Opinion Racing

Opinion: “Her! I do the same sport as her!” Jessie Diggins won a Medal, Who She Is Goes Way Beyond That

Ben TheyerlFebruary 14, 2022

Diggins’ historic accomplishment was glanced over by the giants of American media, falling back into harmful tropes that are all-too-common regarding women athletes. Reflecting on it re-centered how meaningful her vulnerability in sharing her struggle to overcome an eating disorder was to the skiing community, and was a source of strength for me. The Olympic sprint race on Tuesday in Beijing was perhaps one of the most nuanced and complex races in Olympic history. We...

News Opinion Racing

Johan Eliasch, the Newly Elected President of FIS Promises Change

Jason AlbertJune 11, 2021

Last week after winning 65 of the 119 total votes, Johan Eliasch (59), a dual citizen of Sweden and the United Kingdom, was elected the new President of the International Ski Federation (FIS). Eliasch succeeds Gian-Franco Kasper who has been in the position for 23 years. Nominated for the position by GB Snowsport, Eliasch brings a long history of business acumen as the CEO of Head Sport to FIS. Eliasch is credited with leading HEAD...

Community Opinion Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Supporting Norris Strengthens the Ski Racing Community

Ben LustgartenMay 12, 2021

I have been racing against David Norris for the past 10 years. We have battled head to head trying to crush each other. The end game was to earn valuable points on the domestic SuperTour circuit to qualify for World Cups. There have been many times we have swapped podium places at U.S. National Championships and U.S. SuperTours. As a one-time peer of David’s, I understand the need for funding and support to compete...

News Opinion Resources Waxing

A Look at SWIX’s Responsible Waxing Project

Jason AlbertApril 26, 2021

Some skiers have tossed them, some have squandered them, some have disposed of them according to specific guidelines for toxins at their local landfill. Some have donated their speed-goods to the U.S. Ski Team as it burns through its supply of high-quality fluoros. Some have simply stored them in a wax cabinet, a symbol of what was. We’re talking fluorinated wax, powders, gels, liquids, and yes, small-batch slurries. U.S. Ski and Snowboard has banned fluoros...

Community Opinion

Out with the Old, In with the New: By Katie Bradish

FasterSkierDecember 31, 2020

Training for an endurance sport is the first clue. Training from a schedule that basically dictates the arrangement of one’s life is an additional data point. And being a Faster Skier reader? Another strong indicator. If any of that resonates with you, it’s safe to assume that you are a Type-A personality. There are many positive aspects of being this goal-oriented sort of person. These characteristics lead us to create a plan, make a to-do...

Dryland Opinion Racing

The not so Lost – Lost Nation Roll

Jason AlbertDecember 4, 2020

During the long pandemic slog, there have been times to celebrate small victories. One of those moments was the Lost Nation Roll – a skate rollerski race on October 25 at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Over a month ago now, during which Covid-19 restrictions have become more restrictive in Vermont, athletes were able to compete and grasp, even for a few hours, some normalcy. Justin Beckwith, the competition director for NENSA and Ollie Burruss, a...

Opinion World Cup

In her words: Anchorage skier Rosie Brennan Grapples with what’s Safe and what isn’t on the World Cup Circuit (Republished with Permission from the ADN)

Rosie BrennanDecember 4, 2020

This article originally appeared in the Anchorage Daily News and is republished with permission. Anchorage resident Rosie Brennan is a World Cup cross-country skier who trains with the Alaska Pacific University nordic team and is a member of the U.S. Ski Team. She’s an athlete representative for US Ski and Snowboard and is currently racing in Europe. She was one of the top racers at last week’s season-opening competitions in Finland. We asked her...

Doping Opinion World Cup

Doping, Bias, and Cleaning up Sport

Jason AlbertOctober 30, 2020

Covering doping in sports like biathlon and cross-country skiing here in North America can make one feel self-rightous. The U.S. and Canada run clean systems if positive doping tests are the benchmark for suspicion. As far as we can tell, there’s been a single case involving a North American nordic sport athlete. In 1987, an American caused a stir after the 1987 Nordic World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. Kerry Lynch, a nordic combined skier, admitted...

Community Feature Opinion

Why is the US Nordic Skiing Community so White?

FasterSkierAugust 27, 2020

Reflections From a White Skier On The Spaces and Places We Ski, And How To Build Inclusivity By: Ben Theyerl The typical life story of a competitive nordic skier in the U.S. tends to resemble a character out of a Robert Frost poem. It’s an appropriate metaphor; the Rikert Nordic Center at Middlebury, VT doubles as the quarters of the renowned Bread Loaf School of English during its summer months, where the Bard of New...

News Opinion

Time to Listen and Learn

FasterSkierJune 3, 2020

We are deeply shaken by recent events. We are at a loss, beyond reflecting on how we can be better. Where do we even begin? The ski community is a predominantly homogeneous population – be it the Nordic origins of the sport, the socioeconomic and geographic barriers to entry, or a myriad of other factors. Here at FasterSkier, we have an all-white staff. The World Cup skiers whose accomplishments we highlight are almost exclusively white....

Doping News Opinion

A Glance at Some Anti-Doping Numbers in Cross-Country Skiing

Jason AlbertMay 8, 2020

A year and more has elapsed since a doping scandal rocked the 2019 cross-country World Championships in Austria. Over that time, we have learned a bit more about what transpired at the micro-level. In the broader picture, those covering doping in sport often scour The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) annual release of a voluminous document titled “Anti-Doping Testing Figures”. The data dump runs hundreds of pages. Looking for figures on the number of tests per...

News Opinion

Celebrating some Power

FasterSkierApril 3, 2020

We’re the first to admit that a focus on results and not the process has major pitfalls. There were many great outcome goals this season, we know these as the results: Frida Karlsson’s reel-in of distance skiing’s white whale — Therese Johaug — comes to mind. This time of year we often ruminate on great performances, and they categorically revolve around results. Top-20s, top-10s, podiums — you get the drift. Whether through the camera lens,...

News Opinion Racing

Reflecting on the Tour de Ski and How I Got There

FasterSkierJanuary 12, 2020

The author, Katharine Ogden, is a Junior at Dartmouth College. She recently completed the 2019-2020 Tour de Ski. Ogden is a decorated skier. You can read more about her ski career here. By: Katharine Ogden 01/06/20 The Tour de Ski is an iconic set of world cup races. It tests athletes in every way and pushes you to your limits physically and emotionally. Seven races over the course of nine days evokes giggles, tears, and...

Community News Opinion

Opportunity Knocked: Opportunity Seized

FasterSkierDecember 10, 2019

By: Paige Elliott The call to action is clear: Nordic skiing needs more women coaches. From the launch of the Women’s Ski Coaching Association to former U.S. Ski Team coach Pete Vordenberg’s editorial on FasterSkier to Dr. Nicole LaVoi’s keynote presentation at U.S. Ski & Snowboard annual National Cross Country Coaches Symposium, gender equality has been at the forefront of recent conversation in the Nordic community. I believe in this mission and therefore want to...

News Opinion

Op-Ed: A Discussion about PFAS and Skiing

FasterSkierOctober 3, 2019

FasterSkier respects a diversity of opinions when publishing letters to the editor. Feel free to email info@fasterskier.com with your op-ed piece. You can read a FasterSkier article here regarding EPA regulations and a recent Letter to the Editor on the topic here. In comparison to known sources and inputs of PFAS into the environment, cross country ski wax comprises only a miniscule portion. However, in the minds of consumers and the ski community, that portion may be...

News Opinion

Ski Wax Questionnaire Results

FasterSkierSeptember 27, 2019

Last week we posted a questionnaire asking for your opinions on the use of fluorinated wax. Below are the results of the survey. We selected only a portion of written responses to publish with today’s story. Thanks again for your feedback. As of September 26, we had 160 respondents to our ski wax questionnaire. Here’s a breakdown of how respondents defined themselves as a percentage of overall respondents: Master aged skier: 55% Non-master Senior Aged...

News Opinion

Op-Ed: An Unbreakable Bond?

FasterSkierSeptember 26, 2019

FasterSkier respects a diversity of opinions when publishing letters to the editor. Feel free to email

News Opinion

The Possible Brave New World of Wax Protocol: A Questionnaire

FasterSkierSeptember 20, 2019

There’s no doubt the fluorinated wax landscape is changing. This week, TOKO USA sent out an email updating its inventory. Part of what caught our eyes was this: “JetStream and HelX will not be available this year or in the future”. Those two products have been widely adopted on the race circuit. Both are highly fluorinated ski base finishing products. The dust is still settling from the EPA’s push to regulate the ski wax industry....

News Opinion

Inequity is not Self-Correcting

FasterSkierSeptember 11, 2019

We raise up all by promoting opportunities for gender equity in coaching. With the proper perspective, competition has the power to raise up. A great coach provides and promotes opportunities for improvement and growth. At its best, sport uplifts. Otherwise competition only separates a winner from the losers. Coaches only teach winning, and sport just sells cheap beer. Cross-country ski racing has an extraordinary power to teach lessons beyond the sport. Ski races are a...

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