The last camp our team went on was a great success. The National training group joined us for the 10 day trip. It was very great to have them on the camp, as they look up to our team and hope to be on the team one day. As our team was a lot of fun and jokes, we were very serious with the jumping and XC skiing. As the season was not far away then, it was time to put the finishing touches on most of the summer training.
Now I am back in park city, as we prepare for take off on Saturday. While I was back in town, we had physical testing on the treadmill. I was very happy with my performances on the VO2 test and recorded a Vo2 max of 80 which is a very solid number. What this reflects is how the summer of training has gone, and also my living situation and lifestyle. I feel as though I am in the best shape and will only get better later in the winter.
Now winter has finally hit Park City and we are on snow all over town with great conditions. It has been cold enough that the Olympic Park hasn’t stopped making snow for several days and we should be on snow very soon! As we leave on the 17th for Lillehammer, Norway, We hope to get several sessions on the jump hill to get comfortable. After that we will step on the plane and start the 2012/2013 World Cup Season!
Lastly, I ask you to help us out. The NNF fundraising efforts are on their final, and we could still use your help. So if you can please go to http://www.grouprev.com/taylorfletcher and help me in OUR cause to fund our team and future Nordic Combined Athletes!
Stay tuned!
Taylor
Good to be Back in Park City
This week we have had two time trials one at Soldier Hollow and one up Lambs Canyon on Parleys Canyon. I have really been trying to focus on pacing as that is one of my main problems. This whole week was a very good week to work on specific skills like that, as you need to pace yourself very well in these hard intervals to make sure you are in the right zone and you don’t spend too much energy at the wrong time. During the intervals I was getting my altitude lungs back inside me as it is a little harder to keep the same pace you do in Europe for the most part. It always feels good to be able to push the pace a little and make your body tired, as it helps me stay healthy and on track.
Our first time trial was down at soldier hollow. This course is the standard for all of our race as it is very hard but is an actual cross country course. We have done this course countless times and you know how much it hurts. For some reason, I always make it hurt a little more than I should as I go hard in the first laps and don’t have the strength for the last lap. For this race, I really wanted to focus on “Negative Splits” which means make each lap faster than the previous lap. I did that really well and skied the last lap almost 30 seconds faster than the first. The result of this was the energy and power I had for the last part of the race in which everyone is dying and slowing down. To master this technique is very challenging with the different course and also takes a lot of confidence.
The second race was a little IN-TEAM competition. We all took one jump on the HS134 before heading down to Lambs Canyon. Lambs Canyon is a very challenging hill climb which truly tests your physical ability. I had a pretty decent jump, but had some problems in the air and didn’t get the effect I was hoping for. Bryan won the jumping portion and started :54 second ahead of myself in Second place. I wanted to go out the same way as the previous time trial conservative and smooth. As I got further up the course, I wanted to increase the speed and power. I ended up having a very good time trial and winning the competition with a large margin.
I was very happy with this week, as I came away with great results and great feelings. Coming up in the next couple of weeks, our team will be training with the Norwegian Nordic Combined Team as they are hear for some altitude training. Also we will be heading to Europe for our last camp of the summer as we lock in all of our equipment before the first competitions of the year in Lillehammer, Norway on November 24th.
Nationals, Biking, and full gas for Nordic Combined.
I was happy with most of my jumps, but got a little unlucky and didn’t have the exact same jump as some beforehand. All in all, I feel now that I can produce top quality jumps in competitions without too much pressure. Coming in to the race, I haven’t spent much time on roller-skis this year. After Russia, I only roller-skied to make sure I had some fitness going into the race. So with that being said, I was happy with my performance and glad to be on the podium at US Nationals for the first time.
After Nationals, it was time to put the grind of daily roller-skiing and running. This is a great time of year, as I kind of get into a great pattern of training and get going very early when its refreshing out. In this period we have had a couple Intensity training periods and quality jumping sessions. I feel even more confident with my jumps as I feel each session is productive and I can feel the changes I am making.
Last week was my last bike race of the year. It was my first stage race in the PRO 1-2 category of the year. I was really happy with my results as I was racing against some of the best elite riders in the western part of the country. I had a solid Time Trial with a placing of 16th. I had a strong Road Race on a very physically demanding course placing 14th. To top it off I placed 11th in a VERY fast criterium in downtown Steamboat Springs. Our field averaged 28.3 MPH for 60 minutes of racing. This isn’t a strong race for me as it can be very dangerous, and I am always focusing on skiing and don’t want to get hurt. Now that biking is over, I am excited and refreshed for the upcoming season and feel like I am in great shape for this time of year, but at the same time still have work to do!
Up next we are heading to Europe for a two week training camp to test equipment and meet with sponsors. I am very excited to see whats new out there, and if it will benefit our training and competitions.
So long,
Taylor
US National Championships!
I have been looking forward to this for the last couple weeks coming off my performances in Sochi, Russia. I feel like I have a very strong chance to grab my first national title and looking forward to the opportunity. If you want to come out and watch the events, they will start tomorrow morning August 4th at 8am at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah. That afternoon we will race at 1pm down at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. It will be a very challenging race with Billy Demong, Bryan Fletcher, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick and a lot of up and coming juniors ready to challenge the team! Be sure to come out and enjoy the competition both at the Utah Olympic Park and Soldier Hollow!
TF
France and Sochi
The best thing about the France camp was the riding. The area is very well known for the long and beautiful climbs in the alps. Each day we would wake up itching to ride and experience the culture of the Tour De France. While we were they we road many of the most famous climbs that the tour had to offer. We raced up Alpe D’ Huez and I was happy to have the fastest time of my team at 47:30, still ten minutes off the fastest time ever. We also road over 350 miles and climbed well over 10,000 meters.
All in all that week was a great success as we had a great fundraiser for our team and future generations. If you are interested in coming next year, Please get in contact with me and I can send details your way.
After France, we had a short pit stop in Oberstdorf, Germany to experience another jump and mix things up a little. We had two great jumping sessions and one hard and fast interval session around the ski flying hill there. Legs feel strong after one week of non stop biking up and down mountains in France.
The Last stop of our trip was the 2014 Winter Olympic Site, SOCHI, RUSSIA. I was very excited to head there as I want as much preparation before the 2014 Olympics. Every second we spend there and get familiar with the culture and country the better things will be in two years. The reason we were there was for some Summer Grand Prix competitions that happen every summer. We had two competition that were large hill 10k individuals. I was very happy with my competition and how my fitness is coming. I have barely spent any time on roller skis and I know I still have a lot of room for improvement. Jumping is coming along and I feel taht every session that I take, is a step forward. Also while we were there I was able to check out new equipment, and see how the new suits need to fit. Unfortunately the first day my equipment didn’t meet regulations and I was disqualified from the competition, I was able to make the needed adjustments and ski on saturday.
To sum up Russia, I was very happy to report I LOVE the jumps and I am looking forward for the winter competitions in January.
First jumps of the year!
One way to get better is to start at the bottom and work on the basics! I feel like we have already started in the right direction! I am havin a blast as we started out on the k20 and been jumping in cross country suits!
This weekend I am doing another bike race! This will be 3 races in two day and I feel I should get enough points to get my upgrade to cat 2 and race with much stronger riders!
After that we will be heading to Steamboat for a quick camp on the fabulous k68 in my home town!!!
Tune back later!
TF
Spring Training, Catch Up
These last couple months, we have been hard at work with training. Besides training I have started school at Westminster College down in Salt Lake City. Along with school, I found an apartment with a couple of my new teammates Adam Loomis and Michael Ward.
So far training is going very well for myself. After our couple week break from the season, we started off with testing and physicals to make sure we didn’t loose to much from the off-season. My main source of training has come from the bicycle. Again like last year, I am racing for Colesport and trying to get my worth out of races. Racing is going very well, and I am very close to getting my upgrade to Cat 2. If I get that level, I will soon get to race with professionally titled riders.
Starting this week we will start slowly progressing in to jumping and taking our first jumps of the summer. We may be starting on the k2o in Park City, but getting back to the basics is sometimes a very good idea. My MAIN focus will be on jumping. I know I am a strong skier, so the closer to the front of the race I start, the better things will be for me.
Stay tuned! Many more races and My first time trial tomorrow for skiing!
Klingenthal World Cup
Right away the weather was challenging and made for some hard conditions to jump in. I made the best of it, and tried my best to put high level jumps in play. Official training had some wet snow in the track and strong wind that didn’t help my timid first jump. So I went up with a new attitude and tried to be more aggressive from the starts to put me in a better position to start my move. I felt better right away and knew I could have a solid competition round next.
Comp round/first race: I went up knowing I could put in a solid competition round. I have been working a lot on the metal side of the sport and being in the right state of mind for competition. Doing this has helped me with my confidence going into competition and getting what I wanted done. I put down another great jump and put myself in a good position for the race.
Unfortunately the conditions made for some hard times in the waxing department and trying to pick out the correct skis. I did my best as did the rest of the team, but we were certainly missing something about the skis as we were much slower that we ever are. I thought I had good race with the conditions and moved up from 31st and to 23rd.
Day 2: We woke up to heavy snow, It wasn’t until we reached the hill that we saw the strong winds on the hill. It wasn’t much later that we saw that jumping was canceled and they would use the provisional competition round from Saturday morning. Unfortunately that was a much shorter jump that my competition from that day and put me much further back in the starting order.
I knew right away from testing that we were going to have excellent skis. I have had some very positive races this year so I was confident that I could move up the result list. Going out I set a solid pace and caught Mikko Kokslien who eventually set the fastest time of the day. But Later in the lap I experience some bad luck on the downhill which slowed me down. After making up some solid time I was then delayed when I got caught in a crash at the bottom of a downhill transition going into the long but fast uphill. The train I was with skied away and I was forced to ski the rest of the race on my own trying to get into points. Fortunately, the world cup course is very hard which suits me very well. I was able to ski up ten places from 39th and finish 29th.
With the bad luck I experienced this trip, I would say it was a very promising weekend. This was the first time I have finished in points both days, which will help me solidify my spot in the top 50 world ranking list. I am looking forward to Liberec, CZE where we will have two more individual events. I am looking to crack to top 20 results there and try to get myself close to top 30 in the world.
Stay tuned!
Klingenthal COC/Predazzo WC
I am glad to be back and happy to report that my last two week trip was a very successful trip. I was in Klingenthal, Germany first for a couple Continental Cup races. I started off on a good note with jumping and felt very comfortable on the large hill in Kthal. I knew my form in cross country was still very strong, and with solid jumping I knew I could be close to the podium and possible on the podium.
Day 1:
The first day made for some challenging conditions. We woke up to some heavy snow, and light wind. After a strong trial jump I was feeling very comfortable for a strong competition round. I have been feeling more confident with my jumping and jumping is starting to be on a higher level! After the comp jump I was placed 17th, 1:03 behind the leaders. This weekend, there were several world cup skiers trying to fill the weekend with a competition. I knew that it was going to be hard to catch them but, I put the head down and pushed hard to reach the lead group. Unfortunately I didn’t have the speed to match the top 2 as I had to make up a large amount of time in the first couple laps. I was happy to finish 3rd and was looking forward to the next day!
Day 2:
As far as day 2, things couldn’t have gone better! I woke up feeling super confident after the first day and felt like today was going to be better! After the trial round, I knew my feeling was super on the hill. Next came the comp round, and I had one of my best competition round jumps ever! I was placed 7th after a long jump of a 133 meters. I was 45 seconds behind the leader Tomas Slavik from CZE. Right away I had made up a large amount of time and felt comfortable pushing the pace. On the last lap and hill I had pushed the pace hard enough to drop Slavik and ski away with almost 30 second in hand for the win!
With the success of the weekend, I was really excited to try my luck in the world cup in Predazzo!
Predazzo
Team event:
The first race for me was the Team sprint with Johnny. After some decent jumping on both our parts we were starting 1:10 behind the leading team of France and Germany. Johnny went out first and put in a good effort to make up some time on the leaders. It was up to me next to continue skiing strong. We did that and made up some solid time and caught the leaders half way through the race. Then came some bad luck! As I was tagging off to Johnny, he was leaving the exchange zone and got tangled up with another skier, named Billy Demong! Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make up the lost time and finished 10th! After my strong skiing, I was very excited for the next day!
Individual:
I was really excited for the individual as I was coming of some solid results. I had put myself in a good position after the jumping and knew I could move up some spots in the race! I had some strong skiers around me and I could work with them to move up. After sitting in most of the first lap, I took the lead and never looked back. I moved up from 33rd to 14th with the 5th best time to get my best finish in a world cup to date!
Next up is a long trip for us! We will head back to Klingenthal, then to Liberec, Lahti, then the final in Oslo. I hope to keep up my level of skiing till the end of the year. Tune back f
UP NEXT: COC and WC
Wish me luck!
2nd Period of Competition
We arrived in Germany to some pretty solid conditions for cross country. I had a short couple days before competitions, we started off with intervals on the XC course and felt very happy with the form in the course country side. Friday came along with official training and qualification. Right away we were met with some pretty challenging conditions due to the strong wind and snowy conditions. Unfortunately I was not able to get my stride on point and didn’t get to ski in the individual event on sunday!
Saturday was the team event, I was very excited for this as I thought we had a good chance to reach a podium as a team. I knew I was going to have to step it up on the jump hill for us to have a chance. I had my best jump of the trip but still was not far enough to get the team up there. On the cross country side, I felt strong for skiing by myself felt like I had a fast time!
Chaux Neuve
Monday we drove to France after a beautiful ski in Oberstdorf. After the long haul and mission of finding the hotel we got settled in and ready for the weekend.
This weekend was a super weekend with one of the competitions from the cancelled weekend being replaced in Chaux Neuve. Three weekends meant three days of chances for me to solidify my ranking in the top 50 and get some new personal best finishes.
Day 1: The first day of competition started off with two rounds of official training, provisional round, a competition round, and then the race later that day.
Starting from the first jump in training, I had some very positive feelings on the hill. I decided to skip the next round and go into the Provisional competition round. With some very hard conditions, blowing wind I was able to produce another good jump. Later in the round, they decided to cancel the provisional round since the snow had stopped and the wind had gotten better.
The competition was up next. I couldn’t feel better heading in to the jump, with two solid jumps behind me I was able to produce an even better jump past the k-point, placing me the closest to the leader I have ever been. I was very excited for the race, knowing I had a very good chance at getting a top 15 and for sure a top 30. The excitement actually was too much for me and I ended up going out way to hard and was not able to keep the pace of the others by the third lap. To sum it up, I was very happy with the days performance and finishing 25th to score more points.
Days 2 and 3: Drawing off the previous day’s results, I was feeling really positive about the two days following. Unfortunately I didn’t have the solid feelings on the jump hill as the day before. Both days, I felt just behind the curve with my move and position. I was very bummed I couldn’t reproduce those jump, but I am really starting to pick my level up to a higher level and look forward to more chances.
COC Races 3 and 4
With not the best jumping this last week, I proved you don’t you don’t have to jump amazing to get podiums. I am very happy with my form in the cross country side. I can go into every race now, knowing I can push the pace very hard, and make up some spots with strong finishes.
COC #3- First international win
After strong races Friday and Saturday, I was very confident going into these next couple races. After the jumping portion and being almost 20 seconds closer to the leader, I knew right away I had a very good chance of getting my first Continental Cup victory.
Starting out, all I wanted to do was go out controlled and smooth. I knew that was going to be the smartest thing to do, now that it was the third race in three days. After a very fast but controlled first lap, I felt amazing due to the amazing skis I had. I then went into the next couple laps trying to pick up the pace with each lap and pick off each group of skiers. On the third lap, I had made it up to the lead group and decided to try and go straight by them. When I caught them and went straight by them, I was waiting for the sound of skis and poles to get closer and end up right behind me. It wasn’t till a couple hundred meters later, that I realized I had opened up a good size gap and decided to go for the win right away.
For me to get my first win the way I did was fantastic! Skiing two whole laps on my own and keeping my time advantage all the way to the finish was nice, since it allowed me to celebrate going into the finishing line!
COC #4- 2nd Place
Coming off my first win and a day off, I was really excited to go and try for another win. After a better day on the jumping hill, I was closer to the lead and knew I had a very good chance. Right away I was in the lead group and trying to push the pace like Sunday. One of the Germans and I had broke away from the group, and opened up a large gap to third place. On the last lap I went as hard as I could to break away, I was only successful in getting 4 to 5 seconds. Going into the stadium I was going as hard as I could, but Mark had very fast skis in the stadium and was able to close the gap making it a sprint for the finish. I did try as hard as possible for my first sprint finish victory, but wasn’t able to over take him, putting me in 2nd place!
I was really happy with the start of the season! With some time off and jump training, I feel like I will be in very good form going in to the next set of competitions in Schonach, Germany and Chaux Neuve, France. My main goal while I am there will be trying to secure another spot on world cup. With that, I will need to be in the top 30 multiple days, which is something I know I can do!
Stay tuned!
Park City Continental Cup
Going into the first competition jumps, I was happy with my level during training. Unfortunately I didn’t have my best jump, as I was a little late and too aggressive over the knoll. With some very strong jumping from Marjan Jelenko, I was put in a hard situation to reach the podium. After the first 2 laps, I had reached the group containing second and third place. I then took to the front and really pushed the pace. Fortunately nobody was able to match my pace allowing to break away with a couple second on hand before the finishing stretch. Thus being four podiums in my last four races.
Team event:
After a strong performance by Nick Hendrickson in the first competition, the coaches elected Nick and I to be USA #1. The format was a team sprint. Each skier would alternate turns on 1.8 kilometer course. I knew team had a chance to score another podium. After not the best jumps, Nick and I had to ski a strong race to reach the podium. After two strong legs by both Nick and I we had reached the podium group and now it was a dog fight for whole would be in which position. The german team had a strong team skiing away from both France and Nick and I (USA #1). The French team, then put a little of time into nick which resulted in 3rd place, and Nick’s first podium, and my 6th!
Lillehammer World Cups
Once again the weather was challenging in Lillehammer. Luckily the crews at the “Lysgardbakken arena” worked very hard and had the k90 ready when we arrived to jump on Monday. After some better jumps on the k90, I was very confident going into the competitions that weekend.
With some strong tailwind during the comp, I was especially excited about my jump in competition, as it put me closer to points than before. As the weather developed, the snow started to fall hard, which made for some very tough conditions on the cross country course. After some trouble picking skis and some help from my teammates, I decided to go with a pair of skis I have raced on more than any others.
From the start of the race, I felt very good. Catching the pack in front of me and quickly moving away from them, I knew I was having a good race. It wasn’t till the last lap, when head coach Dave Jarrett, told me I was almost in the top 20. This event was my personal best on world cup, as I finished 21st with the 2nd fastest time on WC. I was super excited, and ready for more.
Unfortunately Sunday wasn’t my day. After a very solid trial round jump, I had a mental mistake and had a terrible comp round making me not qualify for the penalty race.
Kuusamo/Ruka
Our first competitions were in Kuusamo/Ruka, Finland. Coming from last years comps there, I was super excited knowing I have been jumping better with time. Also knowing I was in good form on the cross country side, I thought I had a solid chance for some top 30.
Due to the weather, the competitions were a challenge to get off. I was there for a whole week and only got three jumps. Unfortunately they weren’t great jumps and had some tough wind.
The positives that came from kuusamo, was my form in racing. I skied very well in the first race, ranking 6th in time rank and just missing points. In the second race, I had a solid race in very slow conditions, unfortunately I was in the “bus start” and didn’t put enough time on the skiers I passed to stay in points!
With better condition on the horizon I was very excited to travel to Lillehammer!
World Cup Start- New sponsor
Tomorrow, Nov. 19th we are leaving for the first period of world cups in Finland and Norway. To say the least our team is very excited and ready to go. I feel like I have had a very solid summer of training and I should be well prepared for these first competitions.
The crews in Utah have done a fantastic job to get the hill prepared well, so we could get plenty of jumps before we take off tomorrow. Also, the people at Park City mountain resort, have been very nice to allow us to ski on the alpine resort for cross country. I have been very happy with these last finishing touches on my preparation for the season, there is not much more that I can do, but work on the mental side.
Also, I am proud to announce that I have a new sponsor the the 2011/2012 season. Fast Big Dog Racing is aboard the train for the year, and I could not be more pumped. Fast Big Dog Racing is passionate about supporting up and coming skiers and helping them with financial responsibilities that come from skiing.
Now it is time for dinner, and stuffing the last little items into my duffel. Stay tuned for updates from these first two weekends of competition, and look for positive results!
Taylor
World Cup Start- New sponsor
Tomorrow, Nov. 19th we are leaving for the first period of world cups in Finland and Norway. To say the least our team is very excited and ready to go. I feel like I have had a very solid summer of training and I should be well prepared for these first competitions.
The crews in Utah have done a fantastic job to get the hill prepared well, so we could get plenty of jumps before we take off tomorrow. Also, the people at Park City mountain resort, have been very nice to allow us to ski on the alpine resort for cross country. I have been very happy with these last finishing touches on my preparation for the season, there is not much more that I can do, but work on the mental side.
Also, I am proud to announce that I have a new sponsor the the 2011/2012 season. Fast Big Dog Racing is aboard the train for the year, and I could not be more pumped. Fast Big Dog Racing is passionate about supporting up and coming skiers and helping them with financial responsibilities that come from skiing.
Now it is time for dinner, and stuffing the last little items into my duffel. Stay tuned for updates from these first two weekends of competition, and look for positive results!
Taylor
Drive for 25
What: On November 15th, we are going to engage 4,000 members of our Combined Community, with help from your friends, to support our top developing athletes from the J1’s to the Continental Cup level. We would like to ask you to be involved with this effort. All of you already donate your time, energy and money to this sport. And that is why we need your help. You are already invested in the success of the athletes and the success in US Skiing.
Why: The US Nordic Combined is in serious financial trouble. While we have improved from a nation that rarely placed a single skier in the top ten on the world cup, to a nation that won more medals in the 2009 World Championships and 2010 Olympics than any other nation, we are currently operating on a budget that is less than a tenth of our toughest competitors. Our budget shortfalls are making it impossible for our younger developing athletes to afford the racing opportunities they must have to earn the required results that allow them to compete at the highest levels. This summer, we faced two large budget cuts and another is looming. The Drive for 25 Challenge offers the Nordic Combined community a chance to pull together and help keep our athletes competing.
How: There are two ways to be involved. One, donate on or before November 15th at http://ncgeneralfund.cauasevox.com or sign up to become a Drive for 25 Ambassador. To agree to become an Ambassador, we need an email from you that requests to be added as a Drive for 25 Ambassador. We are in need of 400 Ambassadors, so please give this request serious consideration. As an Ambassador, you become the “make or break” link – to not only donate $25 to the NNF on November 15th, but we need you to provide us with an email list of at least 10 people who agree to also donate on November 15th. More than 10 names is highly encouraged, but 10 is the minimum. The general email list of donors will be sent a NNF donation link on November 10th, and reminded again on the 14th, and again on the 15th, the target donation day. The list will then be out of circulation.
Who: You! NNF, the National Nordic Foundation, is stepping up to fill these budget shortfalls. The NNF depends on you to accomplish this mission.
Imagine the impact of so many people donating on a single day. Of course, anyone can donate at any time and they can donate as much as they want. On or before November 15th, we all link into Causevox through www.nccsef.org or directly to http://ncgeneralfund.causevox.com/taylorfletcher .
All of you already make a difference. Let’s engage others to make a difference too. Please join us in a time when money is tight and life is busy. We have athletes skiing at a level that demands European racing exposure, but they lack the funds to get there. They need our help, so let’s help them. Much more than a fundraiser, it is an activation of our entire Nordic community at a critical time. Let it be as large as possible.
Thank you! Please return an email to sign up or to ask any questions
Taylor Fletcher
tfletchernordic@gmail.com
Drive for 25
What: On November 15th, we are going to engage 4,000 members of our Combined Community, with help from your friends, to support our top developing athletes from the J1’s to the Continental Cup level. We would like to ask you to be involved with this effort. All of you already donate your time, energy and money to this sport. And that is why we need your help. You are already invested in the success of the athletes and the success in US Skiing.
Why: The US Nordic Combined is in serious financial trouble. While we have improved from a nation that rarely placed a single skier in the top ten on the world cup, to a nation that won more medals in the 2009 World Championships and 2010 Olympics than any other nation, we are currently operating on a budget that is less than a tenth of our toughest competitors. Our budget shortfalls are making it impossible for our younger developing athletes to afford the racing opportunities they must have to earn the required results that allow them to compete at the highest levels. This summer, we faced two large budget cuts and another is looming. The Drive for 25 Challenge offers the Nordic Combined community a chance to pull together and help keep our athletes competing.
How: There are two ways to be involved. One, donate on or before November 15th at http://ncgeneralfund.cauasevox.com or sign up to become a Drive for 25 Ambassador. To agree to become an Ambassador, we need an email from you that requests to be added as a Drive for 25 Ambassador. We are in need of 400 Ambassadors, so please give this request serious consideration. As an Ambassador, you become the “make or break” link – to not only donate $25 to the NNF on November 15th, but we need you to provide us with an email list of at least 10 people who agree to also donate on November 15th. More than 10 names is highly encouraged, but 10 is the minimum. The general email list of donors will be sent a NNF donation link on November 10th, and reminded again on the 14th, and again on the 15th, the target donation day. The list will then be out of circulation.
Who: You! NNF, the National Nordic Foundation, is stepping up to fill these budget shortfalls. The NNF depends on you to accomplish this mission.
Imagine the impact of so many people donating on a single day. Of course, anyone can donate at any time and they can donate as much as they want. On or before November 15th, we all link into Causevox through www.nccsef.org or directly to http://ncgeneralfund.causevox.com/taylorfletcher .
All of you already make a difference. Let’s engage others to make a difference too. Please join us in a time when money is tight and life is busy. We have athletes skiing at a level that demands European racing exposure, but they lack the funds to get there. They need our help, so let’s help them. Much more than a fundraiser, it is an activation of our entire Nordic community at a critical time. Let it be as large as possible.
Thank you! Please return an email to sign up or to ask any questions
Taylor Fletcher
tfletchernordic@gmail.com
Drive for 25
What: On November 15th, we are going to engage 4,000 members of our Combined Community, with help from your friends, to support our top developing athletes from the J1’s to the Continental Cup level. We would like to ask you to be involved with this effort. All of you already donate your time, energy and money to this sport. And that is why we need your help. You are already invested in the success of the athletes and the success in US Skiing.
Why: The US Nordic Combined is in serious financial trouble. While we have improved from a nation that rarely placed a single skier in the top ten on the world cup, to a nation that won more medals in the 2009 World Championships and 2010 Olympics than any other nation, we are currently operating on a budget that is less than a tenth of our toughest competitors. Our budget shortfalls are making it impossible for our younger developing athletes to afford the racing opportunities they must have to earn the required results that allow them to compete at the highest levels. This summer, we faced two large budget cuts and another is looming. The Drive for 25 Challenge offers the Nordic Combined community a chance to pull together and help keep our athletes competing.
How: There are two ways to be involved. One, donate on or before November 15th at http://ncgeneralfund.cauasevox.com or sign up to become a Drive for 25 Ambassador. To agree to become an Ambassador, we need an email from you that requests to be added as a Drive for 25 Ambassador. We are in need of 400 Ambassadors, so please give this request serious consideration. As an Ambassador, you become the “make or break” link – to not only donate $25 to the NNF on November 15th, but we need you to provide us with an email list of at least 10 people who agree to also donate on November 15th. More than 10 names is highly encouraged, but 10 is the minimum. The general email list of donors will be sent a NNF donation link on November 10th, and reminded again on the 14th, and again on the 15th, the target donation day. The list will then be out of circulation.
Who: You! NNF, the National Nordic Foundation, is stepping up to fill these budget shortfalls. The NNF depends on you to accomplish this mission.
Imagine the impact of so many people donating on a single day. Of course, anyone can donate at any time and they can donate as much as they want. On or before November 15th, we all link into Causevox through www.nccsef.org or directly to http://ncgeneralfund.causevox.com/taylorfletcher .
All of you already make a difference. Let’s engage others to make a difference too. Please join us in a time when money is tight and life is busy. We have athletes skiing at a level that demands European racing exposure, but they lack the funds to get there. They need our help, so let’s help them. Much more than a fundraiser, it is an activation of our entire Nordic community at a critical time. Let it be as large as possible.
Thank you! Please return an email to sign up or to ask any questions
Taylor Fletcher
tfletchernordic@gmail.com