One month ago, the nordic ski world participated in an international day of action in conjunction with 350.org. Some elite racers sponsored events of their own, while numerous others participated in the assorted events of the day. Couple this with the creation of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project last spring and there seems to be mounting evidence of a push for elite nordic ski racers to become more environmentally conscious. Nordic ski racers are evidently...
I was asked to comment on high school and club Nordic skiing. I’ll take this opportunity to discuss my personal thoughts and experiences on how high school and clubs can work together to be extremely effective.
Two weeks ago, Matthew Voisen put together an article describing blanket regulations enforced by associations that govern high school athletics, and how they appear excessive when applied to high school skiing programs. Some readers posted very informative comments about similar situations around the country, and it quickly reminded me of the extremely contentious relationships between high school programs and their elite club counterparts.
Here’s the disclaimer: I’ve spent a lot of time working with athletes on this cause and I’m biased. But I also feel strongly about skiing. There’s a passionate connection for these things that I’m barring right here so keep that in mind. Ok. Forget your political inclinations be they liberal or conservative. Stop thinking that this is a divisive, non-resolvable issue. If you are reading this you are a skier, plain and simple. You likely...
One of the movies in my video library is the 1993 ‘classic’ Dazed and Confused , a film about the night that follows the last day of school at a 1976 Texas high school. During the movie the main character, Randall ‘Pink’ Floyd, played by Jason London is continually pressured by his high school football coach to show a commitment to his team throughout the summer. Whenever I watch this movie I am reminded...
FasterSkier Forums. The purpose of these forums is to provide a platform for discussion and the sharing of information related to cross-country skiing, nordic combined and biathlon. The success of this project depends completely on the participation of the community. Nordic sports forums have generally failed in the past. The internet is scattered with similar attempts that haven’t had a post in years. Other forums have turned into a gear swap. Many other sports have...
Oh, sure, every World Cup Nordic ski team needs a good waxing crew, but they need something more — a top-notch costume disciplinarian. I’m not talking about some Scandinavian blonde with a whip (though there were those rumors about the Austrian team). I mean a no-nonsense fashionista who will insure that the team not only skis fast, but looks good — with consistent logos, flags, advertising, and color schemes. Someone who is not afraid to...
Editor’s Note: The following is an open letter written by Hannes Larsson, President of the International Association of World Loppet Skiers (IAWLS), to the Vasaloppet. The letter has been sent to a number of Swedish newspapers and is published on
Editor’s Note: This piece is an op-ed and does not necessarily reflect the views of FasterSkier. As always, please feel free to comment, but please keep discussion civil. A lot has been written on this wesbite about the USST XC program. The site itself often behaves as a mouthpiece for the USST, but I don’t want to say any more about that here. However, there are plenty of us in this country who are dissatisfied...
The US Nordic community has a doper problem. The problem is that we have a tendency to allow dopers to occupy too much of our field of vision. Doping alone has never made a winner, and if we want to improve our results we need to be prepared to learn winning ways from winners. Simply put, as a nation we haven’t done very well. We’ve got very large participation – we’re one of the “big”...
A few weeks ago “Can Northug be considered a true champion if he doesn’t treat his competitors with respect?” The question stimulated quite a bit of discussion and is worth following up with a bit more information on Northug. I was recently in Norway, where Northug’s antics are laughed off. The people I talked to did not necessarily approve of his actions, but he is the on the home team, and one of the best...
by Sam Newbury After last week’s stellar performances by US athletes at World Championships, there has been much talk about the momentum and health of our sport. While top results certainly help, I wonder how else we can build momentum, especially given our dynamic and challenging times. From the perspective of an event organizer, one answer is to commit to skiing for the greater good. racing in pursuit of a cure for cancer. Several top...
Note: The actual names in the following account have been changed to protect the innocent … Thinking back to 1994 and watching the Lillehammer Olympic races, it’s not hard to remember that American ski coverage has come a long way. I was 16 at the time and will never forget watching the EuroSport coverage with the father (we’ll call him “Gunde”) of another kid on my high school ski team. That was the first world...
by Peter Graves Peter Graves, a former U.S. Ski Team coach, is a noted nordic television commentator for Universal Sports, columnist for Ski Racing Magazine and a longtime follower of the nordic scene, having announced at the first FIS Cross Country World Cup in Telemark, WI, in 1978. You can watch highlights of the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships on UniversalSports.com presented by High Sierra. Graves reflects on an historic day for U.S. nordic skiers,...
Patrick Stinson is an avid Fasterskier.com reader who was born and raised in Alaska. Fanatical about living life to the fullest, he left a solid music software writing job to travel, explore, and train for skiing for a year. Included below is a short bit that he wrote (over Thanksgiving in West Yellowstone) describing his pursuit. Fasterskier.com is excited to share with its readers another side of skiing in this short essay. So I left...
Editor's Note: The following does not necessarily represent the views of FasterSkier.com, its editors, or sponsors. We fully support open dialogue on the issues raised in the following article. Please feel free to use the comments section to express your views. When Bill Marolt came on board as CEO of the USST (a long time ago), I began writing him urging him to start a development program in cross country. I predicted poor results for...
John Caldwell’s series on the state of US skiing has generated significant discussion on FasterSkier.com. Whether you agree with John or not, it is good to talk about these issues, and FasterSkier provides an excellent forum. Unfortunately there have been several instances of inappropriate commenting. Thanks to the many readers who pointed out the offensive posts. They were removed immediately. FasterSkier.com will not tolerate racial, ethnic, or religious slurs, of any type — even in...
Editor's Note: The following does not necessarily represent the views of FasterSkier.com, its editors, or sponsors. We fully support open dialogue on the issues raised in the following article. Please feel free to use the comments section to express your views. So why aren’t we getting good results at the international level? Lots of reasons. First of all, our skiers are not training enough. The present US staff is correct in urging more training because...
