Salomon CXC Cup Competitors, Clubs and Coaches:
Winter has been slow coming, but it is now here for many in the region.
As we roll into winter and sanctioned racing, we should be aware of wax regulation changes. A Wax Policy Working Group of 10 individuals (9 voting member coaches and an industry rep) worked to adjust our wax policy for events run during a COVID pandemic and under the new U.S. Ski & Snowboard Non Fluorocarbon directive.
The wax working group worked diligently and had a diversity of viewpoints on how to proceed. The group came up with a recommendation of approved waxes with the following goals:
Products are readily available;
• Products are not cost-prohibitive;
• Products must comply with U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Non-Fluoro policy;
• Products should encourage forecast-based waxing from home and simplify the glide wax process;
• Products should be hydrocarbon paraffin based waxes with no gliding additives; and
• The Grid should allow for choices to easily apply.
The recommendation from wax working group was vetted by the ski industry partners prior final decision in compiling this list.
GRID OF APPROVED WAXES: http://bit.ly/approved-waxes
Other parts of the wax 2021 CXC Cup Wax Policy:
- Kick waxing is not limited to an approved list, however only nonfluor kick is allowed.
- Venues may be limiting wax space, testing times, or number of test pilots.
Our CXC Cup Wax Policy is first and foremost an honor system, but athletes at Salomon CXC Cup NRL Events are subject to random ski testing for illegal wax by representatives of U.S. Ski and Snowboard. It should also be recognized that ski waxing, especially with non fluoro waxes, is quite variable and often two similarly waxed pairs of skis can have large differences in glide based upon non wax factors such as flex and structure/grind. All competitors and coaches should adopt a culture of compliance, and all our membership should presume their fellow competitors are acting ethically and legally, rather than pointing fingers based upon a subjective idea that someone has fast skis from illegal waxing.
From US Ski and Snowboard:
Removing Fluorocarbons from Ski Bases to comply with US Ski & Snowboard Testing
If you will be racing in NRL sanctioned events this season, please utilize this process to clean your skis if they have previously been waxed with Fluorocarbon waxes.
Step 1 CLEANING
Clean the ski thoroughly using an appropriate FLUORO CLEANER. Once the cleaner dries, brush it well with a “dirty” (fluoro contaminated) brush. Repeat that process a second time. Wipe all dust off the ski with a shop-towel.
Step 2 NEUTRALIZING
Wax two times with fluoro free glide wax. Allow each application to cool thoroughly. Use “clean” (fluoro free) tools to apply, scrape, and brush the wax. These steps can be training wax, or just repetitions to effectively clean the ski.
Step 3 RACE WAXING
Use whatever fluoro-free race wax you’re planning to use. Go race fast. Don’t worry.
* Note: you may want to have dedicated clean (never seen fluoros) and dirty (used for the initial step of cleaning or for FIS events) brushes for this season.
If you follow these steps it is very unlikely that your skis will be 100% clean, and in fact such a thing doesn’t exist. But you will NOT be bringing any unfair fluoro advantages to your fluoro free competitions, and you will have fully complied with the spirit of the fluoro free regulations.
We wish each of our athletes and their technicians the best as we adjust to both new waxes and working within a pandemic.
– CXC Skiing
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