Toko news and musings

New Toko Logo

We have a new logo! It's kind of a mix between the logo that we have had the last years and our logo from the 70s and earlier. For those clubs and individuals that need the new logo, it can be downloaded here.

US Ski Team Visit

The US Nordic Team had a training camp recently in Park City, UT. Toko works with many of these athletes and I had the opportunity to come up and visit which I thoroughly enjoyed. Pictured left to right are Murphy Kimball, Zanden McMullen, Gus Schumacher, myself (Ian Harvey), Ben Ogden, and Will Koch. USST Toko athletes not pictured include JC Schoonmaker, Haley Brewster, Kendall Kramer, and Ava Thurston. Good luck to these great athletes. They are not only the best we have but also great people that we can be very proud of.

Murphy Kimball, Zanden McMullen, Gus Schumacher, myself (Ian Harvey), Ben Ogden, and Will Koch

Surprise slide of Ben Ogden at Toko Sales Meetings

I recently returned from Toko Sales Meetings as well as Product Development and Product Management Meetings in Switzerland. It all went very well. One cool part of the meeting though was when a photo of Ben Ogden came up on the screen (below) which was very cool:

Ben Ogden in Toko sales presention slide

Speaking of Ben Ogden, if you haven't subscribed to his Youtube channel, I'd consider it. He checks in regularly and shows you a lot of insider type views of how things work daily at training camps, in his daily life, and on the World Cup. He's also a super entertaining fun sincere and innovative guy that you will surely be inspired by and learn from. Here's the link.

See you at two wax clinics at West Yellowstone (I hope)!

I'll be in West Yellowstone and will give two wax clinics during the Thanksgiving week. The first will be on Wednesday 27, Nov from 5-7pm and will cover Grip Waxing and Skin Treatment. The second will be on Friday 29 November from 5-7pm and will cover Glide waxing and Structure. Both clinics will be in the Geyser Room at the Holiday Inn Conference Center.

Toko wax clinics at West Yellowstone

Toko Continues Support of Team Birkie

From my perspective, Team Birkie has turned a major corner on the way to becoming an important part of the US Nordic Development Pipeline. They not only have a squad of elite midwestern athletes (Zak Ketterson, Alayna Sonnesyn, and Kevin Bolger for example) but they also have a team that is based in Minneapolis and training hard to pursue their goals. The team has a few tiers which is appropriate. They range from athletes who will be competing on the World Cup for most of the winter, to athletes who will be competing on the SuperTour circuit with the goal of making the World Cup to other athletes whose goal will be to make their mark on the regional marathon races. Team Birkie is coached by Julie Ensrud and Jake Stiele. Head Coach Julie Ensrud is Norwegian and skied collegiately for the University of New Mexico and Northern Michigan University.

Team Birkie skiers on rollerskis

My opinion is that anyone who is a fan of the USST and wants to see continued or improved excellence from American skiers on the World Cup should be behind this team rooting them on and helping wherever possible. It is critical for the US that Team Birkie become a viable part of the USST development pipeline and this year it seems that Team Birkie is finally on that track. Toko is proud to support Team Birkie in the past, now, and in the future. Toko is the exclusive wax, tool, glove, and bag supplier for Team Birkie.

Learn more at TeamBirkie.com and follow them on facebook here.