SkiPost
Volume 14 Issue 47: March 21, 2013
SKIPOST VASA
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Recovery Hop to Sprint Skate

PSIA Nordic Instructor Tip

I used to make cookies at my friends' house, using their electric mixer which had the coolest feature I've ever seen on a handheld. There were five speeds from 'Lo' to 'Hi' and another button with a little starburst caption bubble and the words: "Burst of Power." Maybe this taps the American fascination with extra umph, like having Turbo.

For the skier who ends up 'trapped in the middle,' and seems unable to master V2 pole timing due to their inability to balance over the gliding ski, this drill will not only give them a 'way out' when they tip too far to the outside, but also serve as an entr�e into the sprint skate, a 'hop' version of the V2 used to hammer down, punch it, rock the turbo and accelerate past another, or get up to speed.

JLC  World Champion Jason Lamy-Chappuis (Salomon/Nordic Focus)

  

Recovery Hop:

Here it goes, in steps; practice each about a dozen times before moving on:

1)      Balance on one ski in a 'V,' flexing energetically up and down

2)      Practice hopping your ski about 4-6 inches 'to the outside' (to the right if it's your right ski). Hopping 'up' is not required - or even desirable - as much as repositioning the ski under your core.

3)      Hop from the outside (pinky toe) edge to the inside (big toe) edge while doing the above.

Developing this simple recovery move will let skiers comfortably 'overcommit.' The main reason skiers never get aligned and balanced riding a flat ski is fear of tipping too far to the outside, risking a fall, a shoulder injury, or worse. Practice deliberately overtipping, and re-balance with this recovery move, and you'll always have a way 'out,' and never have to fear riding a flat ski again. You can use this bailout to master balance over a flat ski.

   holly brooks

Holly Brooks (Salomon/Nordic Focus)

Sprint Skate:

Now for the fun stuff...and on to the sprint skate... Practice these drills to lead up to the sprint skate:

1)      The Double-double: V2, with two complete double poles on each side. Sounds like 'skate, double pole, double pole, skate, double pole, double pole.' This stroke will help develop balance over a flat ski.

2)      Hop Skate: A dynamic skate with a pushoff that provides a little 'air time' before landing on the other ski. A V1 works fairly well, as does diagonal V-skate.

3)      High Hop: a one-footed takeoff and landing aided by an energetic armswing - skis off, then on, then gliding.

4)      The Sprint Skate: a dynamic way to accelerate. Following a pole push, finish a high hop with a recovery hop, to a three-point landing. Lather, rinse, repeat.

  

Between the Recovery Hop and the Sprint Skate, you've got the recipe for a couple of tools to aid balance, help you ride a flat ski, develop speed and strength, and get you out of a pinch if you over commit. And you might just find that After-Burner button hidden under your dashboard.

 

Scott McGee  PSIA Nordic Demo Team

Masters Coaching Services 

 

Question...searching the web it has been particularly difficult to find a coaching service to help guide me from the back of the pack to the middle of the pack...do you maintain a list of coaching services for hire?



Here are some local Masters programs;

 

APU Nordic http://www.alaskapacific.edu/ 

 

Bridger Ski Foundation http://www.bridgerskifoundation.org/nordic/ 

 

CXC http://www.cxcskiing.org/ 

 

SiSu ski club in MN  http://www.sisuskiers.org/ 

 

Loppet Nordic Racing (LNR) Minneapolis http://www.loppet.org

 

XC Oregon  www.xcoregon.org.

 

 

Two Masters Coaches 

 

Jon Engen www.xcskicoach.com/

 

Jim Galanes www.jimgalanes.com/

 

If you offer a Masters coaching service and wish to be known please email us at 

100km Wax Job

Wax Cold, Structure Warm, 

Lots of Fluor

 

I am signed up to race the "Glide the Divide" 100K skate race in Steamboat Springs, Colo.  Usually the conditions start very cold and end up very warm by the end of the race.  I am wondering how I can wax for something like that so that I have wax left at the end and make the best of all conditions. Thanks for your help

J in Idaho

  

The most important part of getting a fast ski over a long race and "holding" the wax for the distance is a fresh ski base.  If you have a fresh base with open "pores" that accepts and holds wax your skis can easily last 100Km.  A fresh base is like a new razor when shaving. With a new razor blade (base) you can use most any shaving cream (wax) and the blade (ski) will glide easily over the face (snow) . But use a dull blade (sealed base) and no matter what lube (wax) you use  you will not glide well.  If you do not have a fresh base then you need to get a stonegrind or at the very least use a course metal brush and fibertex to try and remove any of the surface seal.

 

Assuming you have a fresh base the next step is to take the time to get the base filled with a wax that is good all day. To wax for a long day with large temperature increases you should wax with a harder wax than the average temp, with as much Fluor as possible for the moisture and dirt of a 100km effort, and add more structure than the average temp.

 

I as a Start man would wax with

Start HF70  Blue 10F-20

Then BM6 (which is hard w/Moly = >20% Fluor  for course dirty snow -13-21F).

Then HF70 Blue once again.

Finish with a wide range Finishing Fluor wax.  Start SF 30 universal 23F-41F or SFR 99 wide block ironed in.

 

On top off all this I would add a wide 3mm structure and a .3 mm spruce structure on top to help shed dirt and moisture all day long.

 

Hope this helps. Enjoy the day.

 

Andy 

Salomon Nordic Survey
 
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Team News

Ambassadors for Sport and Culture 

 

Thanks to Everyone from the Norwegian / US Junior National Exchange Program "Ambassadors for Sport and Culture".

 

With the classic mass start race in Fairbanks we wrapped up a busy month of racing on both sides of the Atlantic, and building a bridge between US and Norwegian Junior skiing. In February, with help from the National Nordic Foundation and the US Embassy in Oslo, 12 American Juniors and two US coaches went to Lillehammer to participate in the Norwegian Junior National Championships, and in March six Norwegian J1 skiers and two coaches came to Fairbanks for our JN's. Each trip was a great success. The American athletes got a chance to see where they stood in a big field of competitors, and the experience of extended race travel, and the Norwegian kids were able to show their stuff as the top athletes in their class at home, but also saw that they had to work for their supper. They were impressed with how we are coming along in the US.

The "Thank You!" list is a long one.

 

I personally need to thank Bjorn Ilsemann, the Norwegian Coach who worked hard to make this happen with his school, the Norwegian College of Elite Sport, or NTG, and who initiated the contact with the US Embassy. Bjorn also helped us on the ground in Norway with waxing, split times, and countless useful contacts. We look forward to more work with him in the future.

 

Next on the list is Per-Ola Gasmann, the head coach from NTG Lillehammer. He found our early group a great housing set up, and arranged for a super deal on cabins for the whole gang. He and his colleagues were quick and generous with wax tips and practical help from bright, heated wax rooms with million dollar views, to fun evenings at Peppe's Pizza. He also led the Norwegian troop to Fairbanks. Of course we thank all of those athletes as well. They made a huge contribution to pushing the bar a little higher for everyone at the JN's.

 

I had run a trip to the Norwegian JN's last year, and this year I wanted to expand it, and to try to make it available to athletes who might have been on the bubble for the J1 trip or World Juniors. It seemed to me that working with the National Nordic Foundation might be a good fit, and thanks to Dave Knoop, James Southam and the rest of the Foundation's steering committee for thinking so too! NNF's help with publicity and coaches' airfare really made the trip a "go" and combined with the help form NTG on keeping housing costs in line in Norway we were able to keep the trip costs at the lower end. The National Nordic Foundation doesn't make a lot of noise, but it is truly putting the shoulder to the wheel to help develop US Skiing and we are grateful.

 

The US Embassy in Oslo approved our request for a grant on behalf of what we call the "Ambassadors for Sport and Culture" and that is a huge help. The Counselor for Press and Cultural Affairs, Timothy Moore, the Embassy staff and Ambassador Barry White also made the American group welcome with an exceptionally informative visit to the Embassy in Oslo. They took a lot of time answering our questions and they were genuinely interested in our trip and in our sport. Thanks to the Embassy.

 

3 gals from Norway  

 Many folks in Fairbanks went out of their way to help. Eric and Katie Buetow shared their home with the Norwegian team and made sure we enjoyed the fruits of Alaska seas with meals of shrimp, halibut, and sockeye salmon. John Estle smoothed all the official paths for us, and Pete Leonard did a lot of behind the scenes work before we arrived. Thanks to Pete, and to Scott Jerome and Brian Pepper of UAF, we had wax tables, irons, and everything we needed to keep the show on the road with good skis. The team from the Great Lakes region was good company in the wax trailer at Birch Hill.

 

Personal thanks go out to all the coaches and athletes at the US JN's for being welcoming and so positive about having the Norwegian kids there. Everyone seemed to think it was an opportunity and all were eagerly paying attention. The Norwegian kids are very good at home too; this was not the second string. So when American kids beat them, or hung with them, lessons were there for all and that is what development is all about.

 

This was a group effort and we are grateful to all who pitched in to making it happen. We will do our best to tune it up again for next year.

 

Thanks again,

 

Pete Phillips

 

More Athlete Updates at www.nationalnordicfoundation.org/

Summer Camps 

XC Oregon Summer 2013 Visiting College Skier Support Program

 

The Bend, Oregon-based XC Oregon elite development team announces the renewal of our Visiting College Skier Program for Summer 2013. 

 

Within this unique program, college skiers awarded grants or paid internships to help defray the costs associated with spending all or part of Summer 2013 in Bend, Oregon enjoying the many training and lifestyle benefits of the XC Oregon home base. 

 

Financial support is limited (with few exceptions) to skiers with 1-2 years of college eligibility and/or academic work remaining (as of Summer 2013). Preference is given in the award process to skiers with 1 year or less remaining in college. Preference is also given to athletes with clear plans for competitive elite skiing after college. Successful applicants also must agree to terms and conditions of the program.

 

Designed to specifically comply with NCAA and USCSA eligibility requirements, the Visiting College Skier Grants are individually structured for each athlete to decrease the direct cost of such items as summer housing, sport science testing, spring on-snow access, and other items. Actual value of grants will vary.

 

Bend in summer features groomed on-snow skiing anticipated to last well into June; an incredible diversity of dryland training options; strong summer job possibilities; and an exciting array of entertainment/events every month. The XC Oregon program supplements all this with group workouts, training partners, coaching guidance, sports science programs, and a large community network -- all with no required XC Oregon fees.

 

Application for Summer Grants is available now xcoregon.org.   

Events and Destinations 

Birkie - Anchorage 

Housing  Hosting Swap

 

Our Anchorage AK house available for the Tour of Anchorage (early March 2014) Coincides with US Masters Championship and start of Iditarod or in summer months if preferred.

 

We are looking to exchange for housing or hosting close to the Birkebeiner in 2014. Details to be worked out. 

Please contact Dana at [email protected]

Nordic Job Openings

Nordic Job Opening? email [email protected] to post

Jackson Ski Touring Foundation

We will be looking for ski instructors and ski patrol.  Jackson Ski Touring Foundation is the largest cross country ski area in the Eastern United States.  Friendly staff and busy work environment.

 

Send resume to [email protected] for consideration

 

About SkiPost

 

Cross-Country skiing's community lodge. Where knowledge and stories are shared. The goal of SkiPost is to make the sport of Cross-Country skiing easier and more enjoyable for all who choose to participate. If you have questions on Cross-Country Skiing email us [email protected] and visit SkiPost.com

 

Enjoy Winter,

Andrew Gerlach
Director/Editor- SkiPost

 

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In This Issue
Recovery Hop
Masters Coaching services
100 km wax job
Salomon Survey
NNF
Summer Camps
Destinations
Nordic Job Openings
Promotion Name
S-Lab
Salomon Nordic Survey
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