Sadie Bjornsen, a new member of Alaska Pacific University’s ski team, gave this firsthand account towards the end of the recently-completed National Training Group camp in Utah. This post originally appeared on her blog,
Champions may be made in the summer, but if Matt Gelso is any proof, they don’t have to be made on rollerskis. Gelso, the 2010 NCAA champion in the 10 k classic, detests rollerskiing. It’s dangerous, he says, and it can cause compartment syndrome. And it hurts his elbows. “If there’s one thing that’s going to make me quit skiing, it’s going to be too much rollerskiing in the summer,” Gelso said. But while collegiate...
Simi Hamilton’s duct-tape days are over. After a spectacular winter that included an appearance at the 2010 Olympics and a national championship, the newly-minted U.S. Ski Team (USST) member begins the 2010-2011 season with a big jump in support and a long-term plan. Gone are the days of
The last time Andy Newell and Ivan Babikov skied together, they were fighting tooth and nail over the top of the Lonesome Pines Ski Area in Fort Kent, during the last stage of the 2010 SuperTour Finals in Fort Kent, Maine. The two were at it again on Monday morning, but in a much more amicable—and slower-paced—setting, as the U.S. and Canadian national teams combined forces to kick off their first camp of the year...
For elite skiers, resting well can be just as important as high-quality training. Morgan Arritola and Liz Stephen each learned that lesson the hard way, and both say that next year, they won’t make the same mistakes again. Arritola, 24, and Stephen, 23, are entering their second year of World Cup racing for the U.S. Ski Team (USST). Both struggled to maintain their form for the full duration of their rookie winter, and neither cracked...
By virtue of his marriage to Beckie Scott, one of Canada’s all-time greatest cross-country skiers, it’s obvious that Justin Wadsworth would be tied into that country’s ski community. But few anticipated his recent appointment as the head coach of the national team, which came after he worked for several years on the World Cup with the American squad. In one sense, Wadsworth doesn’t face too much of a challenge: the Canadian men pulled down half...
The nation’s biggest clubs have likely seen an influx of applications this spring, after the U.S. Ski Team (USST) cast off several athletes and eliminated its domestic waxing staff. But there was at least one athlete who didn’t throw his hat into the ring: Noah Hoffman. Instead of joining a heavyweight club like Alaska Pacific University or Sun Valley, Hoffman will stay affiliated with his home program, the Aspen Valley Ski Club (AVSC). “I reviewed...
The IOC hasn’t yet decided on a location for the 2018 Winter Olympics. But it’s safe to say that the road to those Games travels through Slovenia, at least for some of America’s cross country skiers. Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the National Cross Country Ski Education Foundation (NCCSEF), and more funding from the U.S. Ski Team, a group of 15 athletes has set up shop in the resort town of Rogla. There, the...
With four events down and two to go, FasterSkier caught up with U.S. Ski Team Sprint Coach Chris Grover on Monday night for a quick check-in about the American performance at the Games thus far. Grover talked results, expectations, and the pressures on the team over the last couple of weeks. FasterSkier: So, can you start by just giving me kind of a sense of how the team and coaches are feeling about the Games...
The following athletes have qualified to start the Canmore, Alberta World Cups February 5-6, 2010. The USSA SuperTour discipline lists were used to determine the team based on events this season in West Yellowstone, Bozeman, and Anchorage. Distance – February 5th: Women: Kikkan Randall, USST/APU; Holly Brooks, APU; Caitlin Compton, Go! Training; Laura Valaas, APU; Rebecca Dussault, CXC Vertical Limit; Nicole Deyong, SVSEF; Liz Stephen, USST/BMA; Kristina Trygstad-Saari, BSF; Morgan Arritola, USST/SVSEF; Rosie Brennan, Dartmouth...