Durango Nordic Preforms in Ski Town USA

Over January 13th and 14^th the Durango Nordic Ski Club travelling to Steamboat Springs, CO to race at the CU Invite and Steamboat Junior National Qualifier.  The Freestyle race on Friday was held on a grueling 2.5km loop of man-made snow, as was the Classic race on Saturday.  “Racing on the cold man-made snow turned out to create very fast conditions” said head coach Josh Dalley  “After a large blocks of distance training mixed with intensity over Christmas break, the DNSC athletes were prepared to race last weekend in Steamboat.”

On Friday the J1 boys raced 4 laps for a total of 10km.  Leading Durango and the whole J1 field was Haakon Sigurslid.  He was followed by Sepp Kuss in 7^th place.  The J1 girls raced 2 laps for total of 5km.  Rachel Hampton lead DNSC with a 3^rd place finish.  Hampton was followed by Amy Katz in 11^th, Kaylee Blevins in 13^th, and Lily Oswald in 14^th.  Also skiing 2 laps, Cully Brown lead the J2 boys field followed by Durango teammates Charlie Greenberg in 7^th, and Abe Ott in 18^th.  Skiing the same course, Hannah Peterson of DNSC was 3^rd in the J2 girls field.  Racing 1 lap of the 2.5km course, Stanton Ott placed 21^st in the J3 boys category.  On the same course, Quinn Luthy lead DNSC in 20^th place in the J4 boys race, closely followed by teammate Corbin Reiter.  Racing in the J4 girls race, Carter Reiter skied to a 21^st place finish.  Skiing a 1km loop Claudia Luthy placed 8^th in the J5 girls race.

Waking up to warmer temperatures on Saturday, DNSC prepared for the Mass start Classic race.  “Mass start racing is the most exciting to watch and coach.” said Dalley “The racers always know where they stand in terms of place, but have to plan their strategy to best suit their styles.  It’s not a straight forward as an individual start race.”  Again racing 10km, Haakon Sigurslid lead DNSC with a 6^th place J1 boys finish.  He was closely followed by Sepp Kuss in 7^th.  In the J1 girls race, Rachel Hampton again lead DNSC, having another 3^rd place finish.  She was followed by Amy Katz in 7^th, Kaylee Blevins in 12^th, and Lily Oswald in 13^th.  Again leading the J2 boys, Cully Brown skied away from the field to capture the win.  He was followed by Charlie Greenberg in 9^th and Abe Ott in 15^th.  In the J2 girls race, Hannah Peterson placed 10^th.  Again racing the 2.5km loop, Stanton Ott of Durango placed 17^th.  Corbin Reiter and Quinn Luthy battled it out for DNSC, placing 10^th and 11^th respectively in the J4 boys category.  Carter Reiter skied strong, placing 15^th within the J4 girls.  Claudia Luthy raced hard to a 6^th place finish among J5 girls.

“I am proud of how all our athletes raced, as well as how they represented our community this past weekend.”  Said Dalley  “We had very strong results as a team and we continue to pick up momentum as we head into our larger races later this winter.”  On January 27^th and 28^th, the Durango Nordic Ski Club will travel to Soldier Hollow, UT to race in the Western Region Super Qualifier.  Teams west of the Mississippi all travel to Soldier Hollow on that weekend for the largest junior race in the Nataion.

Tad Elliott and USST Funding

Tad Elliott 30km National Championships Rumford, ME 2011 1^st Place

Tad Elliott aspires to be in Sochi, Russia as a member of the United States Cross Country Ski Team for the 2014 Winter Olympics.  Elliott obtained one of his goals this past winter when he was named to the United States Ski Team (USST) as a B Team member.

Tad Elliott 30km National Championships Rumford, ME 2011 1^st Place

Elliott is mid-way through what the USST calls its “pipeline” and on the road to a top ten result in the Winter Olympic Games.  Unfortunately, this year, that road contains significant potholes and financial barriers.  The three men and three women of the USST B team are not receiving any financial help with their travels to World Cup ski races in Europe and are responsible to pay entirely for all their travel expenses.  These expenses will amount to $20,000 to $25,000 per skier.  It is projected that the financial situation will not change next year, which will be the year prior to the 2014 Winter Olympics.  The three men on the USST B Team are all from Colorado.  They are Simi Hamilton, 24, from Aspen, Tad Elliott, 23, from Durango, and Noah Hoffman, 22, from Aspen.  For a comparison, the Norwegian Nordic Cross Country team receives a $9 million annual budget and the Canadians receive a $3.5 million annual budget.  The USST, on the other hand, receives a $750,000 annual budget.  The two men and two women of the USST A Team are fully funded.

Even though the USST support is making it possible for Elliott to pursue his Olympic dreams, budget cuts have made it increasingly more common for USST B teamers to turn to domestic club programs for the assistance they need in order to make it to the next level on the USST.  Elliott recently joined Team HomeGrown, a Colorado team based out of Vail and directed by Dan Weiland.

"I am happy to be a part of Team HomeGrown and a part of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail,” said Elliott. “The team is based on homegrown Colorado skiers that have grown up racing in Colorado and are now professional skiers seeking their Olympic dream.  It was a dream come true to be named to the US Ski Team, but due to recent budget cuts the B Team now has to fund 100 percent of their travel in Europe.  My goal is to make the A Team, where there is 100 percent funding at the world cup level, and represent the US at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  I have received incredible support from Durango and the Durango community.  I grew up skiing for the Durango Nordic Ski Club. One of the highlights of my career to date was the year 2008 when I coached the J5 skiers who are 8 & 9 years old for Durango Nordic Ski Club.  I learned a lot and it proved to be a motivation for me to improve my racing.  The Durango Winter Sports Foundation was not formed until after I graduated from high school, but I have still received support from DWSF to chase my Olympic dream. I fully realize how lucky I am to live in such a special place as Durango, Colorado.”

The ski communities from the three towns of Aspen, Durango, and Vail have recently created the Rocky Mountain Nordic Division Angel to raise money to support these Colorado athletes.  The RMN Angel has raised 3/4 of their goal, but still needs another $18,000 to meet their financial obligations to four Colorado skiers racing in European competitions.

The fourth skier is Sylvan Ellefson from Vail.  Ellefson also has recorded excellent results so far this winter and has a legitimate opportunity to make the 2014 US Cross Country Olympic Team.  Therefore, Colorado could potentially have four members on the USA Olympic Cross Country Ski Team: Elliott, Hamilton, Hoffman, and Ellefson.  Elliott, Hamilton, and Hoffman have been training year round under the USST.  They were in Park City, Utah and Oregon at a May snow camp and then spent three weeks in New Zealand in July where they were racing and training on snow with Canadian, Russian, and Japanese skiers.

                                         

Any fundraising for these Colorado skiers can be earmarked for a specific athlete and will go directly to that athlete through the RMN Nordic Angel.  One hundred percent of the funds go directly to the athletes.  RMN makes certain that any money disbursed is spent directly on reasonable travel expenses for World Cup skiing.  There are no administrative expenses associated with the Nordic Angel.  The Nordic Angel division of Rocky Mountain Nordic wants to keep expanding their fundraising so that they can eventually help support future RMN skiers who qualify for a Scando Cup Championships or World Junior Championships.

To help Tad Elliott or one of these other three Colorado skiers make it to Sochi, Russia, please make checks payable to Rocky Mountain Nordic Angel and mail to Rocky Mountain Nordic, 2613 Arroyo Drive, Durango, Colorado 81301. If you want to donate using your credit card, visit www.rmnordic.org, Nordic Angel Program, http://www.rmnnordic.causevox.com/.  RMN Angel is a nonprofit 501 C 3 company and can send a receipt to the donors upon request.  Rocky Mountain Nordic Angel Federal Tax Identification # 74-3145034.

 

Tad Elliott’s Results: 

·         Three time National Champion: 50km March 2010, Grand National Champion March 2010, and 30km January 2011. 

·         Second at the 2010 American Birkenbeiner

·         Member of the 2011 US Ski Team World Championship Team that competed in Oslo, Norway

·          U23 National Mountain Bike championships 2008 and 2010. 

USST results for the men during the first period of World Cup races this winter in Sjusjoen, Norway; Kuusamo, Finland; Seefeld, Austria; and Davos, Switzerland have been encouraging.  Elliott scored his first world cup points by placing 27^th in a 30km race in Davos, Switzerland.  He also had a strong skate relay leg in the Sjusjoen, Norway World Cup where he recorded some of the fastest times for his leg.  

Clear Skies and Cold Temps: Nordic Racing in Crested Butte

The past weekend the Durango Nordic Ski Club travelled to Crested Butte, who played host to the first Junior National Qualifier in the Rocky Mountain Division.  Struggling with a shortage of snow this winter, volunteers around Crested Butte spent days shoveling snow onto the ski trails in order to have a complete 3km race loop.  The 14 and older athletes raced two laps for a total of 6km, while ages 10-13 raced one lap on both Saturday and Sunday.  Athletes in the ages of 8-9 raced a shortened loop totaling 1km.

Saturday morning saw clear skis and temps around 0 degrees at the start of the Freestyle technique races.  “It was awesome to have a full team travelling to the race in Crested Butte,” said Head Coach Josh Dalley, “we had a total of 26 athletes representing Durango, covering each age group.”  Starting with the youngest ages first, on Saturday Dec 17^th the 1km J5 female class was won by DNSC athlete Jordan Taylor.  The J5 male class was won by Wiley Corra, followed by Ivan Sippy in 5^th.  Skiing 3km in the J4 female class, Taya Bruell of Durango placed 11^th.  In the J4 male class Carter Kileen of Durango was 8^th.  DNSC skiers Katja Freeburn placed 8^th, followed by Camryn Sippy in 10^th in the J3 female class.  Dylan Williamson lead Durango with an 8^th place finish in the J3 male class.  He was followed by teammates Stanton Ott in 13^th, Perrin Kileen in 15^th, and Leo Bruell in 20^th.  Skiing two laps for a 6km race, Hannah Peterson of Durango placed 3^rd in the J2 female class.  Cully Brown won the J2 male class followed by teammates Charlie Greenberg in 8^th, John Rhoades in 10^th, Gordon Gianniny in 13^th, and Abe Ott in 15^th.  Rachel Hampton lead the way for DNSC with an 8^th in the J1 female class, followed by Amy Katz in 9^th, Lily Oswald in 13^th, and Kaylee Blevins in 15^th.  For the men, Haakon Sigurslid lead Durango with a 3^rd place finish, followed by Sepp Kuss in 7^th, and Levi Kurlander in 13^th.  DNSC alumni and now Denver University skier Elena Breed placed 3^rd in the OJ women’s race.

Temps were again near 0 degrees at the start of Sunday’s Classic race.  Jordan Taylor again won the J5 female class, as did Wiley Corra in the J5 male class followed by Ivan Sippy in 6^th.  In the female J4 class, Taya Bruell was 12^th.  For the J4 men, Carter Kileen placed 7^th.  In the J3 category, for females Katja Freeburn placed 8^th  and Camryn Sippy placed 9^th.  Dylan Williamson lead the J3 boys in 8^th place, followed by Stanton Ott in 14^th, Perrin Kileen in 15^th, and Leo Bruell in 18^th.  In the 6km classic race, Hannah Peterson placed 5^th in the J2 female class.  Cully Brown of Durango again took the win in the J2 male class, followed by Charlie Greenberg in 8^th, Gordon Gianniny in 13^th, John Rhoades in 15^th, and Abe Ott in 16^th.  In the female J1 class, Rachel Hampton of DNSC placed 4^th, Amy Katz was 8^th, Kaylee Blevins was 14^th, and Lily Oswald was 15^th.  For the J1 male class, Haakon Sigurslid was 8^th, Sepp Kuss was 9^th, and Levi Kurlander placed 13^th.  DSNC alumni Elena Breed placed 2^nd in the female OJ class.

“I am very pleased with this weekend’s effort from our team.” said Dalley “with winter break on the way we are excited for quality training in the daylight.  We will be ready for more racing at our next qualifier in Steamboat Springs on January 13^th and 14^th.  In the mean time we will race in the local Coke series hosted at the Nordic Center at Purgatory on January 7^th.”

Nordic Racing in Colorado Kicks Off with a Weekend in Steamboat

This past weekend marked the start of the Cross Country ski racing season with a USSA race hosted by Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.  The race was originally to be hosted in Summit Country, but due to a lack of snow, they were forced to change venues to Steamboat. 

The Durango Nordic Ski Club travelled to Steamboat to participate in these early season ski races, with a focus on getting early season race starts prior to the First Junior National Qualifier race that will be held December 17^th and 18^th in Crested Butte.  On Saturday December 3^rd everyone raced 5 kilometers around a fast course using skate technique.  The J2 (14 and 15 years old) category was lead by Durango Nordic skier Cully Brown.  Following him in 5^th place was Durango Nordic skier Charlie Greenberg.  For the girls, Hannah Peterson placed 2^nd.  In the J1 (16 and 17) boys category, Haakon Sigurslid of Durango placed 3^rd, followed by Sepp Kuss in 8^th.  For the J1 girls, Amy Katz placed 7^th, Kaylee Blevins placed 12^th, Lily Oswald placed 13^th, and Emma Greenberg placed 19^th. 

Saturday’s race was around the same course, but using classic technique.  All racers again competed in a 5km race besides the J1 boys who raced an extra loop to increase the distance to 10km.  Cully Brown of Durango again lead the J2 boys, followed by Charlie Greenberg in 5^th.  Hannah Peterson placed 6^th in the J2 girls race.  In the J1 girls race, Durango was again lead by Amy Katz in 10^th, Kaylee Blevins in 12^th, Lily Oswald in 14^th, and Emma Greenberg in 19^th.  The Durango Nordic J1 boys got around the 10km course in good fashion, with Haakon Sigurslid again claiming the 3^rd place position, followed by Sepp Kuss in 9^th.

“These preseason races are good for us to participate in as a team,” says head coach Josh Dalley “as they help get us used to the speed of racing as well as a weekend of skiing ‘on snow’.  For the past week we have been forced to go back to dryland training, so the cold weather and snow in Steamboat this past weekend was beneficial for our training as well.”  Now that the snow is falling in Durango, Dalley is looking forward to kicking off ski training for the whole team.  For more results, visit the Durango Nordic Ski Club website at www.durangonordic.org.