Letter from CXC Race Director Scott Wilson

Mon, Dec  6, 2004 - By Scott Wilson

A Letter from CXC (Central Cross Country) Race Director Scott Wilson

Welcome to the 2004-2005 CXC Skiing competition season. And what a season it will be! Last year in this letter we anticipated the excitement of 2 weekends of consecutive SuperTour/CCSA/JOQ/HS/J3J4/Masters competitions and what a coup it was to pull off the bids for these sanctioned events. Well, our unbelievable success last year is leading to twice the fun this year. A FULL MONTH of SuperTour racing in Central! Starting with a super cool Classic Sprint around the Capital Square in downtown Madison; continuing through improved competition formats and courses at Itasca and Telemark; culminating with the City of Lakes Sprints and Marathon in Minneapolis.

Last year the Seeley Hills Classic on the Birkie Trail was linked to the following week's NorAm SuperTour races at Telemark in the first ever SuperTour Masters Series with tremendous success. Of course, that duo will be back again this season with exciting racing for Masters and more valuable awards. This year each Central SuperTour will offer special Masters competition packages.

The two CCSA stand alone events this season will be USSA NRL races with open categories for a limited number of pre registered non-collegiate competitors looking for great competition and USSA points.

The Midwest JO Coaches have elected to hold 3, one-day JOQ weekends this season to reduce some of the racing pressure on junior skiers. The "Opener" at Wolverine (Michigan) will continue as a 2 day JOQ for both MW and GLD.

Our Youth skiers will have a full slate too. With J3 J4 categories in every JOQ, the J3J4 Championships wrapped up with the spectator lined trails of the Junior Birkie, including an open mass start High School 3x3 relay, and a Youth Festival at the end of the season for each state, it will be non stop action.

Senior/Master athletes racing together with Junior Olympic Qualifiers, High School racing, youth ski leagues, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Central Collegiate Ski Association. Throw in the SuperTour/Olympic Qualifiers for the USST. It doesn't get any better than this!

As well as an incredible competition season, CXC is already planning for next summer's preparation period. Check out the NEW dates and programs for the CXC/Birkie Big Summer Camp, and the companion May Coaches Symposium. June 18-25 the CREG will be rewarded with a fully subsidized seven-day REG Training Camp complete with USST athletes and coaches and the athletes' home coaches. Train with your home town clubs and buddies on a regular basis, and get together with all the Central athletes a couple of times for a change of pace and to compare progress. Last year's CREG camp attendees agreed it was the best week of the summer.

The Coaches and Officials certainly have not been left out. In addition to the above opportunities, CXC will be presenting technique clinics at the Minnesota and Wisconsin Nordic Coaches Spring and Fall meetings, running officials and organizers clinics at 3 different competition locations, and providing technical support for many individual club training sessions.

As in the past, CXC will offer a great insurance policy at no additional charge for liability and supplemental medical for all members. It is an economical way to cover a club's insurance needs and pick up all the CXC membership benefits at the same time: Youth ski leagues, junior training clubs and full service family clubs.

Check out http://www.cxcskiing.org frequently, and enjoy our on-line e-newsletter.  A special THANK YOU to all of our dedicated volunteers and parents!!  CXC is working tirelessly to enhance the opportunities of a truly comprehensive XC ski culture in Central. Join us for the fun!  Train wisely!

See you at the races.