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Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage
Where Winter is Wonderful |
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Dear Skiers,
Now's the time. If you're young - Ski 4 Kids. If you've got heart - Tour of Anchorage. If you need more K's - SKAN 24. Something for everyone. Keep on skiing.
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Ski for Kids - Sat, Feb 26
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A Day of Fun and Games for Kids ages 0 - 14
| | Ski 4 Kids Day is almost here. Come join us this Saturday at Kincaid for a fun-filled day of ski activities. Proceeds from this fun event directly benefit the kids by purchasing skis for the Anchorage Parks and Recreation's outreach program and area schools.
Register Online now! Click here 
(STILL OPEN - until Friday 8pm)
Saturday, Feb 26 9:30 - 10:30 am
Bib pick up and late registration
Kincaid Chalet 11:00 am
Events Begin Check out our website for more information. |
| NSAA Biathletes Compete Internationally | |
All About O O O O O
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Two of our very own Anchorage biathletes traveled to Nove Mesto in the Czech  Republic to compete in the World Youth/Junior Biathlon Championships. Sam Dougherty and Ray Wonders both qualified for the National team during the December trials in Vermont and competed in the youth division with 6 other youth from around the country.
It was an amazing experience for both boys."Nothing we have, or have done compares to these international races", said Wonders, who thoroughly enjoyed the high level of competition and sharing the range with the best in the world. Dougherty added that it was an awesome group of people that made up the American team. For many of them, it was their 2nd or 3rd time to go to World Juniors, and he learned a lot from them and made many great new friends. He was also impressed with the coaching staff, who were very positive, professional and organized.
Competing against the best, gave both boys the incentive and inspiration to train hard and make the most of this opportunity. Congratulations to Sam and Ray.
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| Doing the Tour? | |
It's not too late!
Online registration extended until Saturday at 3pm!
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Miss online registration? Come to Bib Pick-up and Late Registration at the APU Moseley Sport Center, Wed March 2 from 3 to 7pm.
Want to check out the start of the new 25K start? Join Tour volunteer Marc Phillips at the APU Moseley Sports Center 4pm Sunday Feb 27. He'll show you the new start route and maybe even a pointer or two.
CLICK HERE to register for Tour of Anchorage
Check out our website for more information.
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| Meet the Groomer | |
Meet the Boss! |
The most zen employee of the NSAA has to be Ben Powell, NSAA's Director of Operations (aka Head Groomer). Behind his lofty visions and philosophy there is amazing substance. Ben was born in Peter's Creek and claims to be raised "organically free range" in Chugiak on  salmon, blueberries, potatoes, and as soon as he could safely hold a gun, meat he could find in the hills.
Ben grew up on skis and worked rototilling gardens in elementary school to buy his first pair of decent skis. He competed for Chugiak High School and dreamed of going to the Olympics. His dream was realized in a different way when he was hand picked to groom at the 2002 Olympics and tapped again for the 2010 games, this time as a "Senior Adviser."
Ben's grooming career started well before high school when he took it upon himself to drag the power line corridor - flattening out the ruts for better travel for all the community trail users. Since then he has watched (and been a part of) the development of grooming from snowshoeing & shoveling track lines, to using snowmachines, to the tech-heavy pisten bullys that we now use.
Ben first groomed for NSAA for the 1990 Senior Nationals and 1991 JO's. For the next ten years he worked winters for NSAA while still running his construction company. Back then the operations staff consisted of Ben and a part time college kid. He would routinely work 48 hours straight after a snowstorm to get the bulk of the trails groomed. "We were excited if we could get the whole town done in a week," he says. Ben started working year-round for NSAA about 12 years ago.
Ben's management strategy is to build structure gently and with consensus, and it's paid off. Working for NSAA challenges every skill he's developed throughout his career, from his construction skills, dirt moving skills, mechanical & electronic skills, to the way he works with people. He's found that with a good team and enough support, he can find ways to make 2+2 = a lot more than 4. "Each individual you work with has a certain set of skills," he says. "There's only so much we can do by ourselves, but when we get together and pool our resources & knowledge, the end result is a greater sum than the parts."
Ben's Zen really comes out when he begins to talk about grooming in Alaska. "You work with what you're given," he says. "The real question is what are you going to do with it?" When groomers come back from a run and wonder what they could have done differently, Ben asks, "Did you give it everything you could?" If they start rehashing what they could have done better, he'll often send them back out with a few new ideas saying, "Then go try it." All he expects every day is the best each of his groomers can give, and if they've given it their all, than that's as good as it gets. Why to you like working for NSAA?Without a doubt, our dedicated Nordic skiing community. Due to the support of the community, we're able to move mountains. That's one of the greatest powers we can possess. Take our newest Pisten Bully. It is the most powerful and efficient Nordic Pisten Bully in the world custom modified for Anchorage's icy snow conditions. But it doesn't belong to any one person. It belongs to all of us. It took a lot of small checks, stretching the life of our old equipment and dedication to make it happen.
What was your best grooming experience?
Hands down, the 2008 JO's. The conditions were horrible but we were able to turn a watery, dirty mess into a near perfect trail. It took a couple straight days of work and every staff person we had, but we pulled it off. I feel the most fulfilled when the conditions are tough but we're able to make something out of it.
Why we like Ben:
Ben is one of the most multi-talented people we've ever met. As NSAA Board President Jeff Scott says, "You just don't find someone who can operate and effectively fix a variety of machines, who has a great big-picture business sense, and also the ability to manage a lot of people and keep them happy." Ben has a fantastic sense of humor and cares about the organization and its mission deeply. All in all, Jeff says, "He's a pretty talented guy." |
| AMH Anchorage Cup | |
Citizen Racing at its best | |
AMH Anchorge Cup series finished up on Sunday with the Sven Johansson 10K & 30K races. This season was a near record numbers with 1,011 finishers in 5 races. A huge thank you to Race Czar Tim Stone, #1 volunteer Anne Stone, ace timing & registration crew Meg & Bob Stehn and dozens of generous volunteers. A special thank you to the event sponsor AMH and race hosts AMH, Skinny Raven, APU and Eagle River Ski Club.
Congratulations to all the paricipants and the top 5 Anchorage Cup winners.
Women:
1) Laura Gardner - 296.77 points
2) Maya Radonich - 273.10 points
3) Margaret Hillhouse - 256.94 points
4) Karen Bronga - 254.49 points
5) Suzanne Wheatall - 242.22 points
Men:
1) Dylan Watts - 301.49 points
2) Tor Christopherson - 288.33 points
3) Don Hearing - 280.79 points
4) Erik Mundahl - 276.44 points
5) Erin Phillips - 275.77 points
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| Ask the Groomer | |
What's the Scoop? | |
Q: Monday I noticed the sides of the trail were firm and the center was completely trashed out. Someone said something about the base collapsing. Can you explain please. Signed, Big Fan
A: Dear BFan, We posed your question to our groomer. We caught him on his cell phone on his way to the parts store. Here was his response. "Yesterday when I went to sleep we had three working PB100's. Today we have no operational small cats. If all goes well we can take the tracks off PB102, put them on PB101, put the summer tracks on PB102, fix the hydraulics on PB102, then have 2 cats back up and running tonight. We can then go back and work on PB103's fuel tank problem. I'm sorry, what was the question again? Can I get back to you later?" Stay tuned for the answer to that base collapsing mystery.
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| NSAA Scholarships | |
Calling all seniors and college students
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NSAA scholarships due April 1st.
For over twenty years NSAA has been awarding college scholarships to Anchorage area high school seniors and college students who are actively involved in skiing and excel in school and other activities.
New Scholarships Available
Additional scholarships will be available thanks to the generosity of Elizabeth Tower's family and friends. In addition to NSAA scholarships, three memorial scholarships of $1,000 each honoring Dr. Elizabeth "Betsy" Tower will be awarded this year, one earmarked specifically for an outstanding returning college student.
The NSAA Board voted to make additional scholarships available by matching the generous donation of Dr. Tower's family. The Elizabeth Tower Scholarship Fund will be administered with the NSAA Scholarship fund.
How to Apply
This year's scholarship applications are due April 1st. Please encourage NSAA families with high school seniors or current college students to consider applying. Application and scholarship criteria are available online or request a paper copy from NSAA, 203 W. 15th Ave, #204 Anchorage, AK 99501.
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| Ski Kincaid All Night - SKAN 24 | | There's Still Time to Register! | |
Join a wonderfully wild and crazy group for the inaugural SKAN 24 race at Kincaid.
If you've been contemplating signing up- now's the time to do it! A month away and there are 19 hardy folks/teams registered to do the event. This is a great chance to challenge yourself, your rivals, and even your friends! And if you're not the fastest skier around- there might be another contest you can win... (Shhhh...that's still top-secret.)
So gather up your friends and family and commit them to an asylum of a 6, 12, or 24-hour event. We've got some great opportunities and offers from our sponsors as well. For more information and registration, check out the active blog here.
WHAT?: Alaska's ONLY 24 hour Nordic ski race. You can choose to race for 6 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours. You can race solo or create a duo, quad or octo team.
WHEN? : March 26-27, 2011 - 10am start
WHERE? Kincaid trails and resting/camping out in the wax bunker
MORE INFO?: Check out the race blog or the website
PRICE?: $100, $75, $250 (Solo, Student, Family)
I'm that crazy!: Register Me Now |
| Section 36 Master Plan | |
Planning and Zoning Hearing: Monday, April 4th 
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A draft management plan for parkland known as Section 36 will be presented at the April 4th Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Those interested can review the draft plan and other documents HERE.
If you would like to submit written comments on the plan you may do so HERE. The project number is 2011-019.
Planning and Zoning Commission will be reviewing the Master Plan for Section 36 at the April 4th meeting and public comments are welcome. Meeting will be in the Assembly Chambers at Z.J. Loussac Library at 6:30 p.m.
For more information contact: Holly J Spoth-Torre, Park Superintendent
MOA, Department of Parks & Recreation 907.343.4585
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We need your support (ie. cash)!
We also take checks, credit card and online payments.
(Great skiing takes great money!)
Support Nordic skiing in Anchorage!
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Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage
203 W. 15th Ave, #204 Anchorage, AK 99501
AnchorageNordicSki dot COM
907-276-7609 |    |
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