22nd Year of Nordic SKi Club’s KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race Series – This Saturday is Fairbanks Youth Sports Season Opener
The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks is pleased to announce that the twenty-second Annual KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race Series will get underway with the free technique Fairbanks Youth Sports Season Opener, Saturday, November 18, at 11:00am on the Jim Whisenhant Ski Trails at Birch Hill Recreation Area. The races start and finish in the Birch Hill Ski Stadium. The KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race Series provides a competitive forum for skiers of all ages beginning with pre-schoolers.
Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks President Steven Hansen said, “For twenty-two years in a row the tremendous support of our local business community has made it possible for young people to race for free in this series. Our club would like to thank KINROSS Fort Knox as the primary sponsor of this series for helping the Nordic Ski Club to create fun options to get kids active and outdoors during the winter. Our event presenters, Fairbanks Youth Sports, Kendall Subaru of Fairbanks, and the Woolly Rhino continue to come back year after year to make this series possible.”
All elementary finishers receive a ribbon recognizing their achievement in each race. Elementary, junior high, and high school-aged competitors who finish 3 or more of the races in the series will receive a free, commemorative t-shirt at the conclusion of the series.
The goal of the series is to provide a high quality race experience in a low-pressure atmosphere. More than 80 Town Series races have been held over the past twenty-one seasons. NSCF Competition Events Program Director John Estle said, “This is a race series for everyone from little kids just starting to ski to senior citizens who still like to get out for some exercise and put a number on. For some skiers these races lay the foundation of experience for great results in USSA Junior Nationals, National Championships or even the Olympics; for others they are simply a great opportunity for a healthy outdoor activity in winter. Whatever a skier’s goals in racing, the KINROSS Fort Knox Town Series offers a great forum for achieving them.”
Racing begins at 11:00am with competition in the Kindergarten-1st grade-2nd grade class (.5km; girls at 11:00, boys at 11:05), followed by 3rd and 4th grade class (1km; girls at 11:15, boys at 11:20), 5th and 6th grade class (1.5km; girls 11:30, boys 11:35) and the 7th and 8th graders (2.5km; girls 11:45, boys 11:50). High School Junior Varsity skiers will have the option of racing in the 2.5Km event with the 7th and 8th graders. Each of these age classes will have separate mass starts, one for boys and one for girls. Over 300 entries are anticipated.
The high school and adult events will also be held in mass-start format, 5Km for women at 12:15 and 7.5Km for men at 12:45. All races will be held in free technique.
The first race in the series has become a major early-season event for high school teams from around the state. It is anticipated that participants will include skiers from local schools Lathrop HS, West Valley HS, Ben Eielson HS and North Pole HS, as well as visiting teams from the Mat-Su Valley.
Entry is free for all school students from Kindergarten through high school. School students should be entered through their school club or team. The entry fee for adults is $10 for members of the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks, and $15 for non-members. Race entries close at 4:00pm Wednesday, November 15th. There will be no race day entries. Individual entry for non-students and adults, or individual students who are not entered through their schools will be online only – no paper forms to deal with. To enter online, CLICK HERE
For further information on the KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race Series call the NSCF race program at 347-1061, or contact them via e-mail at sportalaska@gci.net, or look on the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks website: www.nscfairbanks.org. Any public or private school ski programs, or home school families in the area who would like to participate but who have not received materials should contact John Estle at the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks phone, 347-1061, and request that materials be sent to them.
The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks is a 1000-member non-profit organization that provides all Birch Hill trail maintenance and grooming equipment, labor and services, offers instruction for youth and adults, recreational tours, as well as educational programs and clinics. The Nordic Ski Club raises money for trail improvements, maintenance and grooming through private donations to its trail fund. The Nordic Ski Club jointly manages Birch Hill Recreation Area in cooperation with the Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation Department.
KINROSS Fort Knox is in their fourth season as the sponsor of the Town Race Series. Fairbanks Youth Sports, twenty-one years with the series, is the presenting sponsor for this event and the second race in the series. The Woolly Rhino, in their tenth year, presents the third of four events. Kendall Subaru of Fairbanks, a nineteen-year partner, presents the final event in the series. The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks also receives support from Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and LuLu’s Bread and Bagels.
The remaining races are:
Saturday, December 2, 2017 – Fairbanks Youth Sports Sprint – Classic Technique — short (100m-200m) sprints for Grades K-1-2, Grade 3-4, Grade 5-6, and Grade 7-8; 1.25km for HS and Adult classes
Saturday, January 13, 2018 – Woolly Rhino Classic – All events in Classic Technique; elementary and middle-school skiers will race in mass-start format: 1Km for Grades K-1-2, 1.5Km for Grades 3-4, 2Km for Grade 5-6, 3Km for Grade 7-8; HS and Adult Classes will race in interval start format: 5Km for women and 10Km for men
Saturday, January 27, 2018 – Kendall Subaru of Fairbanks Trophy – Ski-Cross in Free Technique for all classes; Distances: 200-300m for Grades K-1-2, 250-400m for Grades 3-4, 350-600m for Grade 5-6, 400-600m for Grade 7-8; 500-800m for men’s and women’s HS and Adult classes
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