(Note: This is the third in a series of interviews with athletes who will be competing at the first-ever winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria this winter. The first interview was with Sean Doherty and the
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The future of our sport! Junior racing can be a lot of fun, but it can also be exciting and competitive. Information for, by and about junior skiers, including coverage of major events like World Juniors and Junior Nationals.
Youth Olympic Games Presents: Anna Kubek
Chelsea LittleSeptember 14, 2011
(Note: This is the second in a series of interviews with athletes who will be competing at the first-ever winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria this winter. The first interview was with Sean Doherty.) Of all the biathletes set to compete at the Youth Olympic Games in January, Anna Kubek of Duluth, Minnesota, might have the least experience: she only picked up biathlon in 2010, and hadn’t even skied before that point. But to...
(Note: This is the first in a series of interviews with athletes who will be competing at the first-ever winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria this winter.) The North American Rollerski Biathlon Championships, held in Jericho, Vermont last month, were the last in a series of qualifying races for U.S. athletes hoping to compete at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in January. While YOG as a whole includes athletes ranging from 14 to 19...
The Men’s XC ski team is inviting athletes from all around the country to join them for a virtual training camp. Men, Women, and athletes of all ages are encouraged to join in on one of the US Ski Teams toughest training weeks of the year. Starting now everyone can go to the US Ski Team XC Men facebook page for constantly updated information. Athletes, Coaches, and clubs are encouraged to ‘like’ the page and show their...
How does a high school student from Massachussetts end up skiing on a glacier with the best athletes from the United States and Canada in the middle of the summer? The answer is a program, and a promise for other young skiers. Corey Stock, a 17-year-old racer who usually represents the Cambridge Sports Union, was nominated this year to be a member of the National Training Group (NTG), a program of the U.S. Ski Team....
National J2 Camp: Update Two
FasterSkierAugust 5, 2011
The campers took part in the Canadian Strength test on Tuesday afternoon. Everyone was on their game putting in solid efforts, as has been the norm for all of the sessions to date. In addition to the strength test the skiers have taken part in a level 1 classic distance roll with a focus on double poling, The Harper Hill uphill running time trial, a challenging agility course on skate roller skis, classic roller ski...
I Believe In Kick Wax
FasterSkierAugust 2, 2011
Holdernsess School skier Haley Mahar wrote and recorded an essay for a composition class. Titled “I Believe in Kickwax,” Haley’s piece details a skier’s relationship with her wax. Audio Recording: [podcast]http://images.fasterskier.com/2011/08/This-I-Believe.mp3[/podcast] Written Essay: I believe in kick wax. Any Nordic skier who has ever skied competitively will tell you that classic skiing without kick wax gives you four times the workout, ten times the frustration, and a few dirty looks and a suggestion to clean...
Returning once again to the Rocky Mountains, motivated juniors from the US Biathlon Team took to the peaks and valleys of Colorado in their annual endurance camp. The two-week camp challenged these hopeful juniors to post an impressive week (30+ hours) and several additional over distance workouts that could even make Freeman drool. The amazing deep-blue sky and terrain of the Rocky Mountains provided a great environment to train—and also some vibrant sunburn aided by...
Over and over, Christina Kouros has told coaches, administrators, and journalists that she just wants to be part of the team. The sophomore from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, started out by joining her high school’s outdoor track team, and this winter she joined the ski team, too. Why is this impressive? Kouros was born without a right leg. But that hasn’t slowed her down. In the last two years she has represented her school using a...
The 2nd annual National J2 Talent Camp will be conducted August 1- August 8, 2011 in Sun Valley, ID. The camp will provide a great opportunity for many of the top young cross country skiers in the U.S. to train together, and learn from USST staff and top club coaches. The camp is the first step along the U.S. development pipeline for promising young skiers. Each year the location of the camp will rotate around the U.S. to other great training venues,...
TD Bank J2 Championships: Team Maine Prevails In Messy Conditions For The Overall Win
Ben TheyerlMarch 14, 2011
Gilford, New Hampshire, March 11-13– This weekend Gunstock Nordic Association (GNA) played host to the 2011 TD Bank J2 Championships, an annual event where top skiers aged 14-15 from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and representatives from Utah, Colorado, New York and a lone skier from Australia race for three days. The event serves as a stepping stone for young high schoolers to experience higher-level competition and to further develop ski racing in New England....
http://www.jo2011.com
Going into the third day of Junior Olympic competition, Friday’s skate individual start, four athletes had a chance to sweep all individual events: Hamish McEwen (Cambridge Sports Union) in J2 boys, Marion Woods (Alaska Winter Stars) in J2 girls, Logan Hanneman (FAST) in J1 boys, and Jessie Diggins (CXC) in OJ girls. When the day was finished, only McEwen was knocked off the top step of the podium. (He was still second!) Woods, Hanneman, and...
At Wednesday’s Junior Olympic mass-start classic races, “zeros” were the skis of choice. On race morning, coaches and athletes awoke to an inch of fresh, wet snow and temps hovering around freezing. Wet snow flurries continued throughout the day, while temps rose slightly, making for glazed tracks. Prior to the first race of the morning, the boy’s J2 races, the atmosphere around the wax trailers was frenzied. By later in the day, the level of...
Monday’s Junior Olympic sprint competition at Wirth Park was a staggering success. After the noon qualifiers and early afternoon quarters, a select 72 skiers earned the right to compete under the lights in the evening’s semis and finals. The night racing was uniquely special, as athletes competed on a lit course accented by luminaries and with a view of the Minneapolis skyline. In his post-race interview, boy’s J1 winner Logan Hanneman, called the venue, “Sick!”...
Minneapolis Marriott City Center and share shuttle buses to the course, 15 minutes away, for training and racing each day. The Junior Olympics were officially opened at Sunday’s opening ceremonies. Athletes gathered at the hotel and paraded through a section of Minneapolis’s extensive skyway system to the IDS Center, several blocks away. Video coverage of the opening ceremonies is available below. Particularly exciting for the Midwest team is the return of Jessie Diggins from the...
Last year, Susan Dunklee’s top finish at U26 Open European Biathlon Championships was 17th place in the sprint. At the time, she was pleased with the performance, but this year, she’s eclipsed that success – twice. In the open individual race at this year’s U26 event, which took place in Ridnaun, Italy last week, Dunklee finished 15th – an auspicious start to the week for the only senior U.S. woman nominated for the races. Then...
Marty Hall (MH)– Hi Dave, it’s been 9 months since your departure from the Canadian National Team, what’s been happening with you and your career—bring us up to speed? Dave Wood (DW)—In the spring I began working with the Black Jack Ski Club in Rossland, BC. The program here has younger skiers ages 13 to 17, all in high school. We have an ideal natural environment for Cross country skiers in Rossland. Most of the...
Frustrating Day for U.S. Biathletes In U-26 Relays
Chelsea LittleFebruary 25, 2011
As the only senior American woman at Under-26 Open European Championships in Ridnaun, Italy, Susan Dunklee didn’t get the chance to start a relay on Thursday. “I’m disappointed, but I don’t want to make a big deal out of it,” she told FasterSkier. But while sitting on the sidelines might not have seemed as fun as racing, a couple of her teammates had even more frustrating days. The American men’s relay team, after a promising...
Mea Culpa: A Coach Learns a Lesson… Again
FasterSkierFebruary 22, 2011
Pete Phillips has a coaching resume that is one of the best in North America. He is currently the Head Nordic Coach at