Below is a listing of major events hosted by the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks
International Events:
1982 - Arctic Winter Games
1984 - International Ski Federation Men's World Cup Race, March 19-20
15km Classic won by Gunde Svan
3 x 10Km Classic Relay won by Sweden (Jan Ottosson, Thomas Wassberg, Gunde Svan)
Chief of Organizing Committee: Lance Parrish
Chief of Competition Committee: John Estle
1988 - Arctic Winter Games
National Events
1977 - US Ski Association Junior National Championships
Short individual race, long individual race, relay (all classic technique)
1995 - US Ski Association Junior Olympics
Prologue (non medal event) at Alaskaland (Pioneer Park)
Short individual race, long individual race, relay (all classic technique)
Chief of Competition Committee: Kent Slaughter
2003 - US Ski Association Junior Olympics
Sprint (free), short individual race (free), long individual race (classic), relay (cl-free-free)
Chief of Organizing Committee: Kent Karns
Chief of Competition Committee: John Estle
Other Major Events
Several Nor-Am/SuperTour events in the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's, including the US Ski Team and/or the Canadian Ski Team, as well as many top national-level racers from the US and Canada, some college teams visiting from the lower 48, and occasional Japanese participants.
1-2 Tang Cup/Besh Cup USSA Alaska/Cross Country Alaska (CCAK) Junior Olympic Qualifying races each year from the late 1970's through the present day
2002 - ASAA State High School Championships
Long interval-start free, short interval start classic, cl-cl-fr-fr relay
Chief of Competition: Greg Whisenhant
2003 - ASAA State High School Championships
Chief of Competition: John Estle
2004 - ASAA State High School Championships
Long interval-start free, short interval start classic, cl-cl-fr-fr relay
Chief of Competition: Greg Whisenhant
2005 - ASAA State High School Championships
Long mass-start free, short interval start classic, cl-cl-fr-fr relay
Chief of Competition: John Estle
Included the first mass-start event in the history of the ASAA Championships
The event was scheduled for Anchorage, but was moved to Fairbanks about 10 days
prior to the event due to a lack of snow cover on the Anchorage trails
Annual Events
Turkey Day Relays - held every year since approximately 1966 on the day after Thanksgiving. Jim Whisenhant is credited with starting this event and nurturing it to the point where it became one of the major events on the NSCF calendar.
Skiathon - held in early March on the UAF and Skarland Trails since the 1960's or 1970's (not an NSCF event)
Sonot Kkaazoot - held every year since 1991? on the last Saturday in March. The normal start and finish is on the Chena River near the Cushman Street Bridge. However, some years it has been held entirely on the Birch Hill Trails due to river ice conditions. The Denali State Bank has sponsored this event from the start. Bob and Sharon Baker were entirely responsible for the creation and sustenance of this event through the early years.
Equinox Ultra Ski - held near the virnal equinox starting in the mid 1990's. Initially the course went from Fairbanks to Nenana on the Tanana River, but later reversed direction. Audun and Sally Endestad have been the major forces behind this event.
Race Series
The Town Race Series was begun in the winter of 1996-1997. The number of races in the series have varied from 3 to 5 per season. There have been four races per season for the past several years. This series has introduced sprint racing, the skiathlon (FIS term: non-stop pursuit), and other race formats to the Fairbanks racing community. The owners of the North Pole refinery, MAPCO, Williams and Flint Hill Resources Alaska, have been the series sponsor since the second season. Event sponsors, in order of longevity, include Fairbanks Youth Sports, Beaver Sports, GCI, Auto Service Company, and Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Thanks to these sponsors, no elementary, junior high school or high school student has ever had to pay an entry fee for these races. John Estle was the creator of this concept and the series. Volunteers trained in this series have been responsible for the high quality events hosted by the NSCF since this series started.
The Distance Series was begun in the 1998-1999 season. This series includes three races, and is focused toward adult and masters skiers. All Weather Sports was the series sponsor for the first several seasons before the business was closed. Since then, the series has been sponsored by Chest Medicine Fairbanks (Owen Q. Hanley, MD) and Raven Cross Country (Fred Raymond). The series is a staple of the season and regularly draws 50-80 racers per event.
