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.
ANCHORAGE — The beleaguered ski team at the University of Alaska Anchorage, or UAA, once more finds itself fighting for its continued survival as a competitive program, following last month’s decision by the University of Alaska Board of Regents to tentatively eliminate the alpine portion of the men’s and women’s ski team.
As previously reported, the decision facially saves the UAA nordic team: USST national team member JC Schoonmaker and his nordic teammates will not be without a college ski team after this school year. But the decision, if it stands, would spell the end of UAA as a nationally competitive NCAA ski program. Because team scores in NCAA skiing competitions are based on the combined points scored by both alpine and nordic athletes, a college ski team fielding only nordic athletes will never be competitive at the overall level against other schools with twice as many athletes scoring points.
(This objective mathematical statement is not intended to denigrate nordic-only schools like University of Alaska Fairbanks or Northern Michigan University, both of which claim a history of multiple cross-country Olympians and national team members. But as UAA Head Ski Coach Sparky Anderson has stated, his concern is that the Board of Regents’s action would “keep a Nordic-only grouping that can never be competitive in its quest for a National Championship.” Anderson also calls UAA “the canary in the coal mine,” and expresses a fear that cuts to UAA could lead to the loss of “the entire Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association. Once the RMISA is gone, the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association is soon to follow.”)
The Board’s decision left ski team supporters some reason for hope: If they can muster private funding for the next two years’ worth of operating expenses in the next few months, “The board will consider reestablishing men’s and women’s alpine (downhill) skiing … .” (It remains unclear whether the fundraising deadline is February 1, 2021, or the Board of Regents meeting at the end of that month, February 25–26. This site suggests a deadline of February 1, 2021.)
The UAA alpine skiing team has annual expenses of $314,000. Two years’ worth of operating expenses is therefore $628,000. Of the total amount required at least half must be raised in the form of cash in hand, according to the Board of Regents; the other half can be firm pledges.
Ski team supporters have been busy. They have a website, Friends of UAA Skiing, which is raising awareness and soliciting funds. Supporters have launched what they term “The 314 Initiative”: “We are asking for 314 individuals, groups, businesses, or interested parties, to invest $1000 or more this year, and pledge $1000 for the following year. This collection of distinguished parties will be The 314ers. A group of highly motivated ski racing backers who will not only save NCAA skiing at UAA, but save NCAA skiing across the country. We must demonstrate to college administrators across the country that an Olympic sport like Skiing has a place in collegiate athletics.”
Backers will receive “an authentic sweatshirt” if the fundraising campaign meets its goal. Donations will be returned, less online processing fees, if the full goal is not met.
As of Monday evening, ski team supporters had raised, in round numbers, $113,000 in cash for fiscal year 2022, and $86,000 in pledges toward fiscal year 2023. This is roughly one-third of the way towards the total amount required. The first $1,000 contribution came from Anderson’s 14-year-old daughter, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Also Monday, Ski Racing Media announced a matching grant to support UAA skiing. Ski Racing Media, in partnership with Team America Foundation, will match donations to the UAA ski team up to $50,000. The fundraising page to obtain the matching donation may be found here. Donations are tax-deductible; Team America Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
(Translations for nordic readers: TA Foundation is essentially the alpine skiing version of NNF. Ski Racing Media is roughly the alpine version of FasterSkier, if FasterSkier had a whole lot more money, staff, and vertical branding integration.)
The role of “314” in the fundraising campaign has a significance that goes beyond the happy accident of a budgetary line item. If you’re a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the number connotes the 314 Project, which created Adam and other demonoids. If you’re a fan of the musical stylings of Nelly, the number evokes his St. Louis demesne, via metonymy from the city’s area code. And if you have any sense for geometry, it calls to mind the mathematical constant π, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi is an irrational number, and its decimal representation has no end, but its first three digits are, of course, 3.14.
The imagery of circles is appropriate for the UAA ski team, whose alpine skiers carve precise arcs between slalom gates. It is also sadly apposite in the sense of “history is circular,” as the UAA ski team once more finds itself fighting for its survival. Time will tell if, unlike π, their efforts are rational and eventually come to an end.
Canada’s Natalie Hynes (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) racing in women’s classic sprint qualifier at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She placed 42nd. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2018 Nordic Junior/U23 World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 20-year-old Natalie Hynes, of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Ski Team and the Yukon Ski Team, who’s representing the U.S. at her third Junior Worlds.
On Thursday, Hynes placed 24th in the 10 k skiathlon for her career-best result at Junior Worlds.
***
Natalie Hynes (Yukon Ski Team/University of Alaska Anchorage) racing at 2017 Canadian Ski Nationals last March. (Photo: W. James MacLean)
“My full name is Natalie Hynes, but you can call me Hey You.
I was born and raised in the Yukon, and I learned to ski at the Mt. Mac Ski Trails.
I spent the time between Mont Sainte-Anne trials and Junior/U23 Worlds racing in West Yellowstone.
The most scenic workout I did in the last training year to prepare for this was mountain biking in the Wheaton River Valley with my border collie.
This is my first time in Switzerland and my third time racing internationally, and so far it’s been very snowy.
One difference I’ve noticed between Switzerland and Canada is the length of the meals.
Skiing and racing in the Alps is so beautiful. Usually racing at altitude is hard for me because there is not enough air to share with all the other competitors. There are so many incredible mountains around where I live.
One of the things I’m most excited about for Junior/U23 Worlds in Goms is gaining experience racing internationally.
One race I’m especially targeting there is the skiathlon.
I really hope I can chat/make friends with someone from Norway and ask them if they know my Norwegian teammate, Marte.
My favorite thing at the breakfast where we are staying are the kiwis.
Fondue is probably better here than in Canada but I haven’t had the chance to try it. The cheese here is strong. And the chocolate is so delicious.
If I had a totally free day here and didn’t have to worry about race fitness or training, I’d spend it taste testing Swiss chocolate.
The best way to follow me on social media is on Instagram @natalie.heinz.”
The women’s 5 k classic podium at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with American Hailey Swirbul (r) in second, Russia’s Polina Nekrasova (c) in first, and Finland’s Anita Korva (l) in third. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
(This article has been updated to reflect that American Hailey Swirbul was in second for most of Tuesday’s 5 k race, not over one minute back as previously reported based on a live timing error. It has also been updated to include comments from Americans Hailey Swirbul, Ben Loomis, Stephen Schumann, and Gus Schumacher, Canada’s Antoine Cyr, University of Alaska Anchorage nordic head coach Andrew Kastning, and U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish.)
Junior World Championships (Goms, Switzerland): 5/10 k classic
Hailey Swirbul became the second American cross-country skier to earn an individual medal at Junior World Championships and first to take silver (Katharine Ogden claimed bronze in last year’s skiathlon) in the women’s 5-kilometer classic individual start on Tuesday in Goms, Switzerland.
Swirbul, a 19-year-old University of Alaska Anchorage sophomore, also tallied the best American finish at a Junior/U23 World Championships since Jessie Diggins earned silver in 2014 in the freestyle sprint. It was Swirbul’s second medal the last two Junior Worlds after she teamed up with Hannah Halvorsen, Julia Kern, and Ogden to take bronze in last year’s relay.
Going into this week’s championships, Swirbul, a Colorado native, explained she was aiming for a top 10 in one of the distance races. U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish pointed out that she wasn’t sure she’d feel up to racing on Tuesday.
“She had been feeling under the weather so she didn’t come up and ski yesterday,” Fish said on the phone Tuesday. “It was a little bit of a shock to Hailey herself that she skied so fast because there was some contemplation of whether she would race or not.”
“I made it a goal to stay relaxed and ski the race I would ski in a lower pressure race,” Swirbul wrote in an email. “I often find that I, and others, change their good race habits when at a high pressure event, so I was hoping to pace the race evenly and not start out too fast.
“The key for interval starts for me is to only think about skiing smoothly and powerfully for the first few kilometers of the race, and I’ve been discovering that that usually leads to decent splits throughout my race,” she continued.
She ended up racing to second place on Tuesday in the second race of 2018 Junior World Championships. The 61st starter (out of 84), Swirbul skied in second for most of the race, just behind Russia’s Polina Nekrasova, according toFish.
“She was basically tied for second and really had a strong second half of the course, and really skied solid in particular the last kilometer,” Fish said. “Always in the top five for sure, and well within striking distance [of the podium].”
The women’s 5 k classic podium at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with American Hailey Swirbul (r) in second, Russia’s Polina Nekrasova (c) in first, and Finland’s Anita Korva (l) in third. (Photo: Bryan Fish)
She initially crossed the finish line in first place, more than a minute faster than the previous race leader. Her time remained faster than all but one of the women who started behind her — as Russia’s Polina Nekrasova (bib 71) took the win in 13:58.7 minutes, 14.4 seconds ahead of Swirbul.
Finland’s Anita Korva started 77th and finished third, 25.4 seconds out of first.
The Czech Republic’s Barbora Havlickova (bib 81) followed in fourth (+26.8), and Norway’s Kristine Stavås Skistad (bib 67) finished fifth (+31.9), and France’s Laura Chamiot-Maitra (bib 83) placed sixth (+34.9).
“… I honestly had no idea I was in the running for the podium during my race, because about 20 girls had yet to finish, so it wasn’t until the last girls came in that I knew I claimed a spot!” Swirbul wrote.
“It was a special moment when I ran down off of the course and I knew her split,” Fish said of Swirbul’s finishing time. “I knew she was sitting in second and they kept announcing and kept announcing, and I told her, ‘You will be second today,’ and it was kind of a combination facial expression of shock and elation. She really couldn’t believe it, but [I said], ‘You’ve got a big enough gap over third place and no one’s catching you.’
“It’s our best Junior Worlds result ever,” Fish added. “Last year was the first individual medal we had ever won or team medal at Junior Worlds and to follow that up with a silver is incredible.
“She was obviously on our podium relay last year, but she came in from U.S. nationals skiing well, qualified very high and she skied incredibly well today,” he explained. “Very fluid stride and did a great job shifting gears and doing a bit more running during the second half of the course.”
“The result hasn’t hit me yet,” Swirbul wrote. “It was beyond what I expected, so my brain is still catching up to the reality! I’ve been dreaming of racing how I know I could for the past 3 years or so, and this season has finally been my chance to break through. I’m so fortunate that things aligned for me on the day that really counted. I couldn’t have done it without Bryan Fish’s unwavering belief in us athletes, and my mom and dad’s support all these years, of course.”
Fish emphasized that while snow conditions have been “very, very good” and “very stable” in Goms, which received 1 1/2 meters (nearly 5 feet) of snow a week and a half ago, the waxing had been a bit challenging due to a temperature range of around -9 degrees to 5 degrees Celsius each day.
“I’m sure there were some teams on klister, some on klister covered with hard wax,” he said of Tuesday’s classic race. “Our techs did a really good job and they were clever with what they came up with when I heard what they were trying. … They’ve been right in the ballpark the last few days and I think they really dialed it in today, and it was impressive kick and glide. To get a podium you ned to have everything going right and I definitely think we had the skis in our favor.”
Halvorsen was the second-best American in 22nd on Tuesday, 1:10.1 out of first, Kathleen O’Connell finished 38th (+1:33.5) and Hannah Rudd was 59th (+2:24.1).
Canada’s Natalie Hynes placed 36th (+1:30.5), Hannah Mehain was 45th (+1:53.3) and Annika Richardson was 67th (+2:53.7). Catherine Reed-Metayer did not finish.
Hailey Swirbul (University of Alaska Anchorage) navigating a downhill while racing to second place in the women’s 5 k classic at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Andrew Kastning, head coach of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) nordic team, stayed up late the night before Alaska time to watch three UAA skiers (Swirbul, Rudd and Hynes) race on the Junior World Championships livestream.
“Hailey has made classic technique a priority since she stepped on UAA’s campus because that’s where she had the most potential for gain,” Kastning wrote in an email on Tuesday. “She has been working hard on a more powerful and smooth stride on the uphills while getting over elbow pain when double poling. The course looked like it played well to her strengths and that strategy.
“I saw one clip of her entering the big climb and could see that she was relaxed and striding really well,” he continued. “I knew then she was going to have a really good race.”
He noticed that the course had some intimidating downhills and corners, but he knew Swirbul wouldn’t have a problem navigating them.
“Hailey has a solid alpine skiing background and I figured if anyone would be willing to straight line the descents and flatten the corners then a massive amount of time could be saved,” Kastning wrote. “Hailey must have done that because she put 47 seconds on a Russian she was tied with at the high point. I was sort wondering if I was dreaming at moments and had to refrain from yelling and screaming because I’d wake up three daughters and a wife if I did. What a night, what a day. Seawolf Nation and USA are very proud this morning.”
Ogden 7th, Cyr 12th
In the men’s 10 k classic that followed, the excitement continued for Team USA, with 17-year-old Ben Ogden, of the Stratton Mountain School, racing to seventh in his Junior World Championships debut.
The men’s 10 k classic podium at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with Norway’s Jon Rolf Skamo Hope (c) in first, Russia’s Sergey Ardashev (l) in second and Norway’s Jørgen Lippert (r) in third. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Ogden started 72nd and crossed the finish line in first, 16.6 seconds faster than previous race leader Alexander Terentev of Russia. Six later starters ultimately bumped Ogden to seventh, and Norway’s Jon Rolf Skamo Hope took the win in 24:58.8, 40.5 seconds ahead of Ogden.
Russia’s Sergey Ardashev placed second, 9 seconds back, and Norway’s Jørgen Lippert reached the podium in third (+27.9). Norway put four in the top five and Russia had two in the top six, making Ogden the first non-Norwegian or non-Russian male finisher on the day.
According to race splits, Ogden skied an extremely consistent race, clocking the eighth, ninth or 10th fastest times throughout the 10 k.
Canada’s Antoine Cyr placed 12th (+1:07.7) in the second race of his career at Junior World Championships. Two days ago, he finished 30th in the freestyle sprint. Cyr, 19, started 78th and also skied a consistent race, hanging mostly within the top 12 throughout it.
“I knew that classic 10 km was good race for me,” Cyr wrote in an email. “On a good day I was hoping for top 30 but the course was hard and I knew that if I played it smart and paced myself I would be happy with my race.”
He focused on skiing powerfully on his first lap, with big strides and strong double poling, and tried to attack the A-climb and “punchy climb towards the end of the loop” on the second and last lap.
“A top 12 for us in Canada means a lot and with a 25th place in the [skate sprint qualifier] and a 12th place today I think it makes me realize that I have my place on the world level scene,” Cyr wrote. “… This race was a good redemption after my crash in the sprint. I am really happy with the results !!”
Gus Schumacher notched his second top 20 of the week in 17th (after placing 19th in the skate sprint), finishing 1:19.1 out first first, Hunter Wonders placed 22nd (+1:39.1), and Canyon Tobin was 37th (+2:17.2) for the U.S.
In an email, Schumacher, of Alaska Winter Stars, explained he had been aiming for a top 10.
“For this race I really focused on keeping the first quarter super relaxed and then picking it up after that,” he wrote of his pacing. “During the race I felt like I raced the first lap well but somewhere on the second lap I must’ve pushed just a little too hard and gone over my threshold, because I really faltered in the middle of that one on the big sprint hill. Other than that I felt like I skied the flats and most of the gradual uphills well, especially before 7.5k.”
Overall he added that he was “fairly satisfied … but I know that I can do better and that kind of hurts me. I just didn’t feel like I had the spark that I normally have towards the end of a race like this.” Moving forward, he had similar goals for the skiathlon and was excited for the relay.
Canada’s Etienne Hebert finished 44th (+2:42.3), Ty Godfrey was 57th (+3:29.5), and Felix Longpre 58th (+3:29.7) out of 96 finishers.
“It’s really exciting when you look at our day in general,” Fish noted. “We had two young boys with 2000 birth years; there was only three boys in the top 40 that had a 2000 year of birth and we had two. … That’s just really exciting for U.S. skiing in general, that we have athleetes showing up not just to participate, but to really perform.”
The men’s individual normal hill/10 k Gundersen podium at the first Day of Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland, with American Ben Loomis (r) in third, the Czech Republic’s Ondrej Pazout (c) in first, and Norway’s Einar Lurås Oftebro (l) in second. (Photo: Josh Parker)
Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Kandersteg, Switzerland): Normal hill/10 k Gundersen
In the first competition of 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland (about 75 kilometers west of Goms), American Ben Loomis achieved the first podium of his career in his fifth Junior Worlds (counting his first in straight-up ski jumping), racing to third in the individual normal hill/10 k Gundersen on Tuesday.
Ben Loomis (USA Nordic) jumping to seventh on Tuesday at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland. He went on to place third in the 10 k for his first Junior Worlds medal. (Photo: Josh Parker)
Loomis, a 19-year-old U.S. Nordic Combined national team member who grew up in Wisconsin, was recently selected to compete at his first Olympics next month in PyeongChang, South Korea. In an email, Loomis explained he found out just over a week ago, which motivated him to compete at a high level, but it didn’t change his plans or goals for his last Junior Worlds.
“My focus of the winter has always been the Junior World championships so my Olympic nomination has not changed my training in the last few weeks,” he wrote. “Going into this week, and for the last 2 years now my goal was always a podium finish.”
He started out Tuesday by jumping to seventh on the 106-meter “normal” hill, then started the 10 k race 38 seconds out of first.
“The hill here in Kandersteg is very new which is nice because it feels similar to other modern jumps,” Loomis explained. “I was satisfied with my competition jump but not 100% happy. There are still a few things I need to fix on the technical side of my jumping.”
The Czech Republic had the two best jumpers on the day, with Ondrej Pazout leading after the jump portion, followed by his teammate Jan Vytrval in second. Pazout started the 10 k with an 11-second head start on Vytrval and ended up holding off his challengers to secure gold, finishing first in 22:58.3. Norway’s Einar Lurås Oftebro raced from 10th after the jump to second at the finish, just 2.3 seconds behind Pazout, with the second-fastest 10 k time.
Loomis passed four skiers to finish third, 8.3 seconds out of first, with the third-fastest time. Norway’s Johannes Lamparter slipped from third to fourth overall (+16.2), and Vytrval finished fifth (+21.6).
“I knew with a good race a podium was still possible from 38 seconds back,” Loomis wrote. “The track here is really tough with technical decent which leaves good opportunity to make up time.”
Working within a group, he caught up to third place on the first of four laps and was up to second on the second lap.
American Ben Loomis (7) racing with Norway’s Einar Lurås Oftebro (l) during the 10 k Gundersen on Tuesday at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland. Loomis went on to finish third for his first Junior Worlds medal and Oftebro placed second. (Photo: Josh Parker)
“We had 5 or 6 guys in this group and on the 3rd lap I took the lead,” Loomis explained. “Towards the last hill on the 4th lap, I made a move alongside Einar Oftebro. Einar was strong on the last stretch and able to beat me as well as almost catching the leader Ondra.
“Taking a step on the podium was an excellent feeling today,” he added. “I have been working very hard, especially towards this specific race for a long time now. Accomplishing this is a huge relief and very motivating for the future.”
The U.S. had two in the top 15 with Stephen Schumann in 13th (+1:29.1). Schumann was 29th after the jump and started the 10 k 1:47 out of first, then posted the fifth-fastest course time to pick off 16 places.
“Going into today I was really just hoping to put together a solid jump and a good race and hopefully finish within the top 10 like last year,” Schumann wrote in an email. “Unfortunately I did not have the jump I was hoping for. I was about 1 meter late off the end of the take off, taking away some of the power and height that my legs otherwise would have given me. Luckily the conditions on the hill were pretty consistent today so I knew about where I would be standing after jumping going into the race.”
Given his starting position, he believed a top 15 was within reach. He ended up catching Italy’s Aaron Kostner, who started 27th, and the two worked together to catch one group after another.
“I felt pretty good but he got me on the last lap,” Schumann wrote of Kostner, who finished about 20 seconds ahead of him in 11th place. “But over all it was a pretty good race and I finished with the 5th fastest time. Behind Aaron with the 4th fastest.
“Overall I feel that had I had a little bit better jump on the hill I could have contended for a top 10 maybe top 5 but was happy with my race and my 13th place finish,” he added. “Coming across the line I was pretty sure Ben had finished in the top 5 at least, as I could see him going up the last hill as I was staring down it. But when I actually crossed the line and saw him I could tell he had gotten to the podium and I was psyched for him, went and gave him a hug and congratulated him.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the week, Schumann’s hoping for a medal in the 4 x 5 k team event.
“And personally I hope to finish in the top 10 in the 5km race with a better jump and another solid race,” he wrote.
Also for the U.S., Jared Shumate placed 35th (+4:06.3), up from 49th in the jump, and Tucker Hoefler was 51st (+6:37.4), up from 53rd.
Canada’s Natalie Hynes (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) racing to 42nd in the women’s classic sprint qualifier at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She went on to place 28th in the 10 k skiathlon later in the week. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this past week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2017 USANA Nordic Junior World Championships and U23 Cross Country World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 19-year-old Natalie Hynes, of the University of Alaska Anchorage, who represented Canada at her second Junior Worlds.
“My full name is Natalie Hynes, but you can call me Natalie. I was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, raised in Whitehorse, and one thing you should know about my hometown is it is home to 3 current Senior National Ski Team members.
I started cross-country skiing when I was four, thanks to my parents. I currently train in Anchorage, Alaska with the University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team.
If I’m not skiing, you might find me baking muffins. If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be ‘One Day‘.
One of the things I’m most excited about for Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow is racing on trails that were once used for the Olympics. One race I’m especially targeting there is the skiathlon.
The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was stay on your feet. One of the best race memories I have is the team relay in Greenland.
If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be Charlotte Kalla.
If I don’t end up being a professional skier, I’ll probably be a physiotherapist.
I’m missing ten days of school to be here, and my teachers are probably thinking, ‘I wish I could come, too.’
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