USSA CEO Tiger Shaw explains how the Cross Country Sport Committee unanimously voted to reaffiliate High Plains, while making a task force to examine some of the issues over the summer: "It was democratic, it went to committee, all the major players were there and had their say."
On Thursday, Beckie Scott, a Canadian Olympic gold medalist and WADA Athlete Committee chair, spoke at the WADA Executive Board meeting in Montreal and urged the agency to use its influence now. "If there cannot be a guarantee that athletes [at the Olympics] are professionally clean and not involved in doping activity, then they should not be there," she said.
The Stratton Mountain School is looking for an assistant nordic coach for the 2016-2017 season. The position will be either during the winter only (4-5 months) or for the entire school year, depending on the availability and qualifications of the applicant.
Scott Perras didn't know that this would be his last season as a professional biathlete, but he's not stepping away from skiing as the new high-performance coach at the Alberta World Cup Academy. "The last seven years, I kind of got to live like I won the lottery," he reflected.
The McCall Winter Sports Club (MWSC is a member club in the Intermountain Division) is looking to fill a Head Nordic coaching position. The MWSC is a combined Nordic, Alpine, and Big Mountain program that is based in the mountains of McCall, Idaho.
Lander Valley High School is seeking several assistant Nordic Skiing Coach positions to be filled for the upcoming season (November 2016-February 2017).
After stepping away from skiing in 2013 and shifting his focus to river guiding, Paralympic guiding, speed skating and school, Reid Pletcher is about to test himself in Season 8 of the reality TV show American Ninja Warrior. The Idaho native shares his story and how he could be the next best thing on TV.
Ever wonder what it takes to be an American Ninja Warrior? A recent conversation with former pro nordic skier Reid Pletcher revealed the answer to be a little balance, a lot of grip strength, and plenty of patience. In this workout, shoot for 100 pull-ups a day, and no, they don't have to be all at once.
After being nominated to the U.S. Ski Team D-team, Northern Michigan University junior Ian Torchia has decided to stay in school while simultaneously accepting the nod to the country's most-coveted training group. “One of the main reasons why I wanted this to happen is to show that you can do it while you’re in college,” Torchia explains.
On Sunday evening, 60 Minutes aired a 13-minute interview with Vitaly and Yuliya Stepanov, the whistleblowers who prompted a German documentary on Russia's systematic doping in track and field and WADA's resulting ban on the entire team. Vitaly suggests the corruption extends to Russian Winter Olympians as well, including at least four who achieved gold in Sochi with the help of federal agents.
Harvard is seeking an assistant nordic coach starting fall 2016. Six month position (approx Sept. 15- March 15).
"What role did you mom play in your development as a skier?" was the single question we raised to North American cross-country, biathlon and nordic combined national-team members. Many of them had a hard time holding back in their responses.
Rebecca Watson, the board chair of the High Plains division, was surprised by an email saying that USSA was ending the affiliation agreement with the division - without warning or a probationary period to improve the weaknesses that USSA says it finds in Wyoming. Others on the Cross Country Committee, which is now set to discuss the topic at USSA Congress, said they were also surprised.
In an excerpt from an interview to be aired on Sunday on 60 Minutes, a whistleblower from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency said that four Russian gold medalists from the 2014 Olympics were using steroids during the Games.
Opportunity has come knocking for Sugar Bowl Academy's 18-year-old Hannah Halvorsen. Her recent nomination to the U.S. Ski Team brings Halvorsen closer to her World Cup dreams, but she maintains she'll continue to take it day by day.
Following up on the U.S. Ski Team nominations announced earlier this week, we asked Chris Grover to explain the rationale behind some of the picks and share some insight on the coming season.
Don't live in Boulder? No problem. If you have mountains or even hills around, you can follow CU Head Coach Bruce Cranmer's recommendations for lighthearted spring training. "I recommend first and foremost, make it fun and something you really enjoy doing," he explains. "I think this is a great time to focus on non-specific training."
It's a big day for national-team nominations as Canada released its list of top-tier cross-country skiers -- with six men and one woman on the World Cup A and B teams -- for the 2016/2017 season.
The U.S. Cross Country Ski Team has announced its nominations for the 2016-17 season, and the list includes eight A-team members, three B-teamers, and five development-team skiers, including newbies Ian Torchia and Hannah Halvorsen.
Coaching at the international level beings expectations, personalities to manage, not to mention the nitty gritty of booking plane tickets and travel logistics. When Justin Wadsworth stepped away from Canada's National Team head coach position this past March, it gave an opportunity for three core skiers from his tenure -- Kershaw, Harvey, and Babikov -- to reflect on where they have been.