2015 Midwest Junior Championships and Festival

The Loppet Foundation and the MN Youth Ski League are hosting a three-day ski festival for youth (15 and under) March 6-8 at the Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis. This is the final stop for the Skiwerx Series and CXC Youth Cup.

Come and celebrate this winter with us! Tons of great events, fun, sunshine, and food. Age groups run from U8 to U16. A perfect event for all junior-high youth who are wrapping up their high school seasons. Make the most of your your winter and keep skiing! It is the best thing young skiers can do for their development.

2015 Midwest Junior National Team Announced

Central Cross Country Ski Association (CXC) and the Midwest Junior Committee is pleased to announce this year’s Midwest Junior National Team that will be competing in the USSA Cross Country Junior National Championships hosted by the Auburn Ski Club in Soda Springs, California March 8th-14th.

After a strong US Senior Nationals the Midwest pre-qualified many athletes adding to the USSA quota of 21 boys and 21 girls allowed per team. Leading this year’s team are World Junior Championship qualifiers and Northern Michigan University freshman Vivian Hett and Ian Torchia. Also qualifying for US Ski Team trips to Europe were Abigal Drach, Nicole Schneider, Mack FitzPatrick, and Zak Ketterson who raced in Sweden as part of the U18 Nations Cup trip. Amanda Kautzer, last year’s U16 sprint champion, recently returned from representing the USA at Biathlon’s World Junior Championships in Minsk, Belarus will be competing as a U18 this year. From a team perspective the Midwest team looks to build upon last year’s 2nd place in the Alaska Cup points. Girls high school champions Wayzata HS will be tough to beat again with 4 girls named to this year’s team. Loppet Nordic Racing, last year’s boys and girls club champion, looks to repeat again with 34 athletes on the team.

2015 Midwest Junior National Team: view

CXC Alumni Win World Championship Medals

Jessica Diggins, Charlotte Kalla and Caitlin Compton

One of Central Cross Country Skiing’s (CXC) goals since its founding has been to develop US skiers to be competitive for Olympic, World Championship and World Cup podiums.

On Tuesday in Falun, Sweden, that goal was accomplished again when Jesse Diggins placed second and Caitlin Compton Gregg third in the 10K Freestyle event.  These were the first US medals in a World Championship distance event.

Diggins started to participate in CXC training camps as a 15-year-old high school athlete in 2006. From 2010 to 2012 she was supported and coached by the CXC Team. During that time she went to the Junior World Championships, the World Championships in Oslo, Norway and was named to the US Ski Team in 2012.

Gregg was supported and coached by the CXC Team from 2007 to 2013.  She was selected for the US World Championship team in 2007 in Saporo, Japan and named to the US Olympic Team in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. Caitlin has won the American Birkebeiner three times, twice as a CXC Team athlete, in 2011 and 2013.

“We are incredibly proud of Jesse and Caitlin for all their accomplishments, but their medals in 10KM Freestyle event at the World Championships were the best yet,” said CXC Executive Director Yuriy Gusev.  “In addition to being marvelous athletes, Jesse and Caitlin do a great work as ambassadors for our sport and volunteer constantly to work with youth, so they have stayed true to CXC’s mission. These outstanding results from Jessie and Caitlin are products of support from local clubs and coaches, national team staff, their personal supporters and other organizations. We are glad we were able to play a role in developing these athletes.” – Gusev added.

CXC is a non-profit organization headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, serving the upper-Midwest states. Sponsors and master skiers finance CXC’s programs that include “Nordic Rocks” that provides skis and instruction to children in 30 elementary schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota, Junior Development Camps for competitive youth, and both recreational and competitive Nordic skiing and biathlon training for adaptive with physical disabilities and visual impairment.

In addition, CXC collaborates with the U.S. Veterans Administration to offer cross-country skiing and biathlon training to disabled Veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces.  CXC was the host organizer for the 2015 International Paralympic Committee’s Nordic Skiing World Championships in Cable, Wisconsin this past January and February.

IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships Were Amazing!

Cable, Wisconsin, USA, hosted the 2015 IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships from 23 January – 1 February 2015. A full archive of recorded live streams from the event along with full results are available via the Cable 2015 website.

Photo credit: James Netz Photography

JOB OPENING – CXC COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA COORDINATOR

Central Cross Country Ski Association is looking for Communications and Media Coordinator.

• Position Activities:

  Writing – Developing impactful and targeted written communications content

  Data Management – Management of data of communications audiences and messages

  Content Distribution – Innovative management and operation of content distribution systems including

  Website, email, blogs and other means

  Web Management – Management of communications on CXC’s Web site, providing leadership and
  guidance to all CXC staff, plus integration with third-party sites, especially social networking and partner sites.

  Planning – Assisting department leadership in developing strategic and operational plans

  Support – Provide general support in all areas for department as needed including support at major CXC events and other large scale organizational activities

Download complete job description outline.

Interested candidates should direct cover letter, resume, list of references and salary history to
yuriy.gusev@cxcskiing.org or mail to: CXC Skiing, P. O. Box 930442, Verona, WI 53593

Cable 2015 Reveals Lumberjack Mascot

The talisman of the IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships is named as Tim Burr.

Tim Burr the Mascot

The organisers of the 2015 IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships, taking place in Cable, Wisconsin, USA, from 23 January – 1 February, have unveiled the mascot of the competition – a lumberjack playfully named as Tim Burr.

Around 150 skiers from 20 countries will gather in Cable, located in the one million acre Chequamagon National Forest, for the biggest gathering of biathlon and cross-country skiers since the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Tim Burr is a nod towards the area’s rich history in the lumber industry, which was built around its natural resources in the 1800s.

Loggers used to float trees down the many rivers in Bayfield County to mills where they were transformed into lumber, and put onto trains to Chicago. The city was originally built with the timber from the area until the great Chicago Fire raised it to the ground over two days in October 1871.

At the same time as revealing the mascot, organisers also gave a glimpse into the festivities for the Opening Ceremony for Cable 2015 which until now have been shrouded in secrecy.

Yuriy Gusev, Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, said: “Tim Burr fits in nicely with what we have planned for part of the Ceremony – the re-enactment of a lumberjack competition.

“The Lumberjack World Championships are held here every summer. The lumber industry is still a major part of our economy and is the second greatest revenue source for Bayfield County, so we are really keen to incorporate it into the Championships.”

Cable 2015 is expected to see a host of Paralympic and world champions descend on the world-renowned Telemark Resort, which every year plays host to the start of the American Birkbeiner, the largest cross-country skiing race in North America. Athletes from team USA are currently in Soldier Hollow, Utah, for the US Nationals.

The Opening Ceremony will take place on 23 January, before competition starts with biathlon events on 24 January. All competitions are free to spectators.

– by Paralympic.org News Center, www.paralympic.org/news/cable-2015-reveals-lumberjack-mascot

CXC’s Andy Keller to Work at FIS World Junior Nordic Championships

It’s a genuine honor to represent the United States at an international sporting event and that’s why we’re especially proud when it’s one of our own. Named by the US Ski Team as a Support Technician for the upcoming U23 / FIS World Junior Championships in Kazakstan is a three-year CXC coach, Andrew Keller.

Andy Keller

Keller, 24, from Chanhassen, MN is honored to have been selected to work at the event noting at the US Cross-Country championships in Houghton, Michigan that he is thrilled to lend a hand at this upcoming event. “I have been working hard towards a goal like this for a few years now, and I am both pleased and honored to be selected. Now my goal will be to do all I can to see that US athletes can achieve their personal goals on this trip”, Keller said.

CXC Executive Director Yuriy Gusev said that he was very proud of this honor for Coach Keller saying today “I am very, very proud of what Andrew has accomplished in a relatively short time. He works very hard, and never loses sight on his coaching goals and how to help athletes improve. This is an honor for Andrew and an honor for CXC that its coaches are recognized as among the best at what they do.”

Keller raced for Michigan Tech during his college career.

- by Peter Graves, Winter Olympic Games Announcer and CXC Writer