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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: Drew Gelinas

  • CCSAA First Summer Summit Saw Strong Attendance and Great Sharing of Ideas

    CCSAA Summer Summit

    Olympian Simi Hamilton Presented on the CCSAA/POW Relationship

    WOODSTOCK, VT (July, 2016) – The first Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) Summer Summit occurred recently in Woodstock, VT with 21 ski areas representatives listening to 6 presentations and participating in 1 trail walking round table.  The energy was high and the conversation lively as attendees engaged with presenters eager to ask questions and learn more about the theme of ski area sustainability in the face of changing winter weather.

    “The conference was awesome with lots of subject matter excellence”, said Drew Gelinas from Trapp Family Lodge.  “It is really nice to take a tactical pause in the off season and see what everyone else is doing in the industry.  As we face these environmental challenges, seeing what other venues are doing to keep themselves relevant and profitable in all seasons is a huge component of why I came down here.”

    In a move to provide better service to the membership, these regional meetings will effectively bring important content to those that cannot attend the Annual Meeting.  “This is an exciting time for CCSAA”, said Board President JoJo Toeppner, “we have new leadership and with that, a new direction that will provide additional programming and value to our membership.  Events like the Summer Summit are just the beginning”.

    Morning seminars were 30 minute sprints, 25min presentations with 5min of questions.   The on-trail session followed lunch and the day concluded with a mountain bike ride followed by happy-hour.  There was plenty of time for networking during the lunch and the afternoon trail session.

    “I thought the conference was awesome”, said Courtney Harkins, USST Digital Content Manager.  “I feel the SM strategies I presented on today are incredibly important to cross country ski areas and I look forward to working with many of them in the future.”

    Olympian Simi Hamilton presented announcing the relationship with the cross country industry and Protect Our Winters, an organization dedicated to engaging and mobilizing the snow sports community to lead the fight against climate change.

    Presentations for the Woodstock event included:

    • Prinoth Efficiency Technology – What it means to the resort
    • The Realities of Solar for the Cross Country Ski Area – Sustainable Woodstock
    • Diversify your offerings – Woodstock Nordic/WAMBA Case Study
    • Effective Trail Closing Technique – Aurora Insurance
    • Social Media Best Practices for the Cross Country Ski Area – Courtney Harkins, USSA Digital Content Manager
    • Impact of Climate Change on Trails and How to Mitigate – John Morton, Morton Trails
    • CCSAA partners with Protect Our Winters – Simi Hamilton, Sochi Olympian and USST Member

    Copies of the presentations including PowerPoints, video and images may be found on the Conference Archive page of the CCSAA website.

    The CCSAA Summer Summit was held at the Forrest Center, part of the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Park in Woodstock, VT on June 29.  More information may be found at:  http://xcski.org/2016/05/26/summer-summit-woodstock-vt-june-29/

    Other CCSAA Summer Summit events will be scheduled in CO and UT later in the summer and early fall.  Dates, locations and details will be available on www.xcski.org in July.

    Supporters of the event included:  Aurora Insurance, Prinoth, Sustainable Woodstock, Woodstock Nordic, Morton Trails, Protect Our Winters, Simi Hamilton, Madshus Skis

    For more information, please contact CCSAA at 802-236-3021 or reese@xcski.org.

    Summer Summit photos

    ***

    CCSAA: Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) is a national non-profit, North American member owned, trade association representing cross country ski areas and ski service providers. Established in 1971, CCSAA annually produces the CCSAA Annual Conference, the largest cross country ski specific trade association meeting and regional meetings.  CCSAA develops marketing products, services and programs helping the membership operate more efficiently and increase participation in cross country skiing.  For more information, please visit xcski.org, CCSAA, PO Box 818, Woodstock, VT  05091.  Phone: 802-236-3021, e-mail: reese@xcski.org.  

    CCSAA

  • Swix: US Nationals Distance Skate Report

    The US National Championships in Rumford, Maine moved into the freestyle skiing on Thursday, with the Distance Skate events taking place for the male and female competitors.  Due to low snow conditions, both events were switched from the scheduled mass start format to an interval start format.  However, the distances, 30km for men and 20km for women were kept the same and the 2.7km course held up very well for all the racers.

    With 3 days of colder temperatures, the Swix Racing Service test team found in testing that the wax combinations working earlier in the week needed to be adjusted.  Dirt was still a factor as well finding the appropriate base structure in order to have fast skis that held up over a longer distance.  The team ran many tests over the 24 hours preceding the distance freestyle event and was able to identify waxes and structure patterns that were running very fast and used my many of the teams and athletes racing on Thursday.

    The glide testing began with base and mid layer paraffin waxes.  The team recommended MB77 as a base layer to assist in the prevention of dirt accumulation on the ski base.  Next, testing revealed that HF6 was the best paraffin for the men’s race at 10am in the morning.  HF6 contains a blend of hard synthetic paraffin’s that have proven very effective in the abrasive man-made snow conditions present on the race course.  For the women’s race, dirt became even more of a factor due to the skier traffic on the course.  With the temperatures rising slightly, HF7BW was the best choice for the women starting at 12:30pm in warmer and extremely dirty snow conditions.

    A pure Cera-F top layer was definitely needed for these conditions.  FC78 Super Cera was far and away the best Cera-F top coat in all the tests the day before the race and on the morning of the event.  Super Cera is well suited to abrasive and older snow crystals due to its hardness and durability in these types of snow conditions.

    Base structure was another factor that played a big role in having fast skis on Thursday’s race.  In testing, the 0.5mm broken-V roller was the fastest both in speed and feel.  When testing structures, it is important to not only rely on speed trap time, but also on how the structure feels when climbing.  The 0.5mm broken-V roller passed both tests and was used by many competitors.

    The Swix Racing Service team will continue to test for Saturday’s Freestyle Sprint event, the final event of the 2011 USSA National Championships in Rumford, Maine. Good luck to all the competitors. Look for updates at www.SwixRacing.us and SwixNordic on Facebook.