Race News
Third NSCF Distance Series Race Offers Choices in a Virtual Format
The third Distance Race of the season, the Raven Romp, is set for the weekend of February 20-21 and once again you have lots of choices because this will be a virtual race! There’s even a short distance for kids!
Racers can choose classic or skate, whether to go 10 kilometers or 30, and when to do their race over the weekend. The 10Km is a one lap race. The 30Km race is three laps of the White Bear Trail, so three times up Heartrate Hill! This year we are also offering a 5Km for younger skiers, up to age 18.
The race will start and finish in the Birch Hill Ski Stadium. You may race any time between 9AM Saturday, February 20, and 6PM Sunday, February 21. Courses will be marked Friday night with colored arrows. Grooming will be standard grooming with a skate lane and one track along the side of the trail. There will be no setup in the stadium – no V-board or fencing.
All registration for this event is online, with payment by credit card. There is no hard copy registration. Registration is open through Sunday evening. For more information on registration, racecourses, and results, see: www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/races/distance-series/distance-series-3/
And if you like skiing at Birch Hill’s wonderfully groomed trails, please consider a trails donation at: https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate/
Good luck racing!
Fourth Town Series Race Offers Virtual, In-Person Choices
Once again you’ll have lots of choices for the upcoming KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race!
The fourth and final race of the KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race Series, the Fairbanks Youth Sports Trophy, is open for registration and has several options, including in-person or virtual.
When participants sign up they can choose between an in-person race, held on Saturday, February 6, or a virtual race held all weekend. The in-person race will have COVID-19 mitigation protocols, including for spectators. Kids entering the in-person race must be part of an organized program (see below for more details).
Race information and links to online registration are now available on the web at:
www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/races/town-series/town-series-4/
Town Series #4 will be offered in virtual format to the general public. There will be an in-person version for adults and skiers who are in organized ski programs with coaches who will be in attendance throughout the race to ensure compliance with the NSCF’s COVID-19 mitigation protocols. Please contact the Competition Events Program Director if you have questions: competitionevents@nscfairbanks.org.
There are separate registration forms for the virtual race and the in-person race, so please be sure to register for the event you want to race in.
The in-person race will take place on Saturday, February 6, beginning at 10:30AM. The race should be complete sometime between 1:30PM and 2:00PM. If you are participating in the virtual race, please do not race on the course until after the Saturday in-person competition is complete.
The in-person race will be an interval start, free technique competition on a 2.5Km course. High school and adult men will race 5Km, high school and adult women will race 7.5Km and elementary and middle school skiers will race 2.5Km.
The virtual race will use the same course as the in-person race. Skiers may choose to do the virtual race either in classic or skate technique — you choose at the time you register.
After registering online, skiers in the virtual race should receive a “time-entry” email from Athlinks with a unique URL at which you can enter your time. We ask that virtual competitors race on Saturday (after the in-person race) or Sunday. You have until Wednesday night, February 10, to enter your time.
The race course should be clearly marked with directional arrows by Friday night.
Good luck racing in the final KINROSS/Fort Knox Town Series race of the season!
Third Town Series Race Offers Virtual, In-Person Choices
Choices! Choices! And even more choices!
The third race of the KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race Series, the Wedgewood Resort Classic, is open for registration and has several options, including in-person or virtual.
When participants sign up they can choose between an in-person race, held on Saturday, January 23, or a virtual race held all weekend. Participants doing the in-person race will have to ski classic technique. Participants doing the virtual race can choose their technique (with the proviso that from 10AM to 2PM on Saturday the course is open for CLASSIC TECHNIQUE ONLY).
All races will be held on a 2.5Km loop. You can choose to race 2.5Km, 5Km (two laps) or 10Km (four laps).
The in-person race will have COVID-19 mitigation protocols, including for spectators. The race is open to adults who wish to enter, as well as organized teams with coaches who will be onsite prior to and throughout the competition and who will insure that the skiers on their teams will comply with all COVID-19 mitigation protocols.
Skiers in the virtual race are responsible for following the marked course and timing themselves, and for entering their race time online after they have completed the race.
The deadline for registration for the in-person event is midnight, Thursday, January 21. The deadline for registration for the virtual event is Sunday night. For more information, including how to register and the spectator COVID-19 protocols, see:
https://www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/races/town-series/town-series-3/
Second Distance Series Race Offered in a Virtual Format
The second Distance Race of the season, the January Jaunt, is set for the weekend of January 16-17 and once again you have lots of choices because this will be a virtual race!
Racers can choose classic or skate, whether to go 10 kilometers or 20, and when to do their race over the weekend. The 10Km is a one lap race. The 20Km race is a two-lap race. You may race any time between 9AM Saturday, January 16, and 6PM Sunday, January 17. Entry fees are $10 for NSCF members and $15 for non-members. You can register any time through Sunday evening.
Courses will be marked Friday night with colored arrows. Grooming will be standard grooming with a skate lane and one track along the side of the trail. There will be no setup in the stadium – no V-board or fencing.
Registration is open through Sunday evening. For more information on registration, racecourses, and results, see: www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/races/distance-series/distance-series-2/.
The NSCF BOD has made the decision to conduct these races in virtual format in light of the current health environment and statewide health emergency.
We are trying to provide an opportunity for competition that will enable you to challenge yourself physically without creating a situation that promotes the spread of the virus. Given the conditions, we are not able to put together an event with all the normal bells and whistles. If you have constructive suggestions or feedback, please e-mail competitionevents@nscfairbanks.org.
And if you like skiing at Birch Hill’s wonderfully groomed trails, please consider a trails donation at: https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate/
Good luck racing!
A Guide to Watching World Cup Races
John Estle, the NSCF Director of Competition (and rabid racing fan), would like any Nordic racing fans to be able to get their World Cup fixes. To that end, he has provided this guide to watching World Cup races.
How to watch if you have cable TV:
You can watch some of the races on NBC’s Olympic Channel, and some of them on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). These productions include commentary in English
How to watch if you don’t have cable TV:
If you don’t have cable TV, you will have to stream the races over the internet via NBC’s Peacock Premium streaming service. A subscription costs $4.99/month. The Peacock streaming service does not include coverage of World Cup Cross Country ski racing – you have to use the Peacock Premium service. The advantages of this service are that you do not have to watch the races live (middle of the night) or remember to TiVo them. You can watch the races live if you wish, or anytime after they occur – like over breakfast and coffee on the couch Sunday morning before you ski!
There is no commentary accompanying the video feed, so you need to pay attention to the timing information as it is presented on the screen, and you’ll need to pay close attention to the uniforms so you know what nation the skiers represent. For those of you who find the commentary annoying, or who have suffered through David Goldstrom’s lack of knowledge of the sport and horrible pronunciation of foreign names on the English-language EuroSport coverage, the lack of commentary is a feature, not a problem.
You may also be able to find a Norwegian-language or Swedish-language version on YouTube later in the day of the live broadcast, or perhaps the next day. The SKILANDSLAGET channel on YouTube has had some of these videos available for viewing.
In addition to the cross country skiing World Cup, Peacock Premium also includes ALL ski discipline World Cups: biathlon, alpine, jumping, Nordic combined and freestyle. So, if you enjoy watching the variety of skiing, a subscription to Peacock Premium provides lots of options.
Are you ready for the Sonot?
14th Annual Sonot Kkaazoot Training Class
6:00pm – 7:45pm Tuesdays,
Jan. 19 – March 23, 2021 at Birch Hill
Join coach Kristen Rozell for training sessions that will begin with drills that focus on skiing technique with some video analysis. The remainder of the class will be an interval workout where pacing and skiing efficiency will be emphasized. Skiers should be at least intermediate skate-ski skill level (familiarity with most skate techniques and when to use them). Training will be focused for the 50k Sonot, but anyone interested in an introductory training program is welcome to attend.
Questions? E-mail Kristen Rozell
To learn more about the NSCF’s spring skiing marathon, please visit https://sonotkkaazoot.org/
Turkey Day Relay Results are Posted!
The Turkey Day Relays are over, so now you can digest the results!
The 56th Annual Turkey Day Relays, presented by Beaver Sports, were held virtually this year on the weekend after Thanksgiving. More than 30 “teams” participated. Teams is in quotes, because the fastest top 4K time was by a fast young turkey who apparently has three legs!
“Three Legs” (Ari Endestad, Ari Endestad, Ari Endestad) took first in the 4K with a time of 28 minutes, 39 seconds. “Cured Turkeys” (Logan Mowry, Tobias Albrigtsen, Mark Ross) took second (though first in “real” teams) in 31:26. “Eli Won’t Wear Glitter” (Zarah Laker-Morris, Eli Merrill, Sonja Truffer) took third in 33:43.
In the 1K version of the race, “The Fudgy Brownies” (Ellie Abrahamson, Lilli Bond, Ingrid Baurick) took first with a time of 08:51. The “Turketeers” (Reid Merrill, Will Rasic, Bridger Petersen) took second in 10:08. The “Attack of the Aerodynamic Armadillo Assassins” (Samuel Padilla, Owen Wooller, Phoebe Wooller) took third with a time of 11:03.
For more results, including individual leg times and results, look under Results List on the right of this page.
Make sure to take a look at the many fun team names! See if you can unpack “Ch(K)ris-ti-ina-a.” It’s like a word puzzle!
Thank you to everyone who participated and to our wonderful sponsor Beaver Sports!
Registration Ready for Second “Virtual” KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race
Choices! Choices! Choices!
The second race of the KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race Series, the Fairbanks Youth Sports Sprint Festival, is open for registration and has several options.
When participants sign up they can choose classic or free technique, and they can choose between sprint and longer courses.
Town Series #2 is normally a sprint race, so there will be 600m and 900m courses for school students, as well as a 900m sprint option for adults. There will also be a 5Km course available for older skiers who would like to race 5Km or 10Km.
When you finish, remember to post a selfie on our Facebook Event page. Or if you take photos of others racing on the course, post those, too.
https://www.facebook.com/events/402453651182991/?active_tab=discussion
For more information, including how to register, see:
https://www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/races/town-series/town-series-2/
Turkey Day Relays Set for Day After Thanksgiving
Go eat your real turkey then come be a virtual turkey!
The 56th Annual Turkey Day Relays, presented by Beaver Sports, will be happening right after Thanksgiving like it always does, only this time it will be virtual – which includes some advantages. You have more time in which to compete, and you can choose whatever technique you wish!
REGISTRATION
Registration is now open. For 2020, all registration is online – no more paper forms. Each skier on a team must register individually. It is not possible for one person to enter once for all three team members. Please provide ALL requested information so that we can produce results!
- You may register any time through 6PM Sunday, November 29.
- Every member of the team must register individually.
- Early registration fees are in effect through 11:59PM Wednesday night, November 25, after that, fees increase.
- Registration link: https://register.chronotrack.com/r/59899
If you’re on Facebook, post pictures of your race or selfies at the finish on the Discussion tab of our Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/180983273699034/
MORE INFO
For more information on how the race will work see: https://www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/races/turkey-day-relays/
Registration Ready for First “Virtual” KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race
Complete information for the first race of the 2020-21 KINROSS Fort Knox Town Race Series, the Fairbanks Youth Sports Season Opener, is available online at: www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/races/town-series/town-series-1/
On that page you can find links to online registration, color-coded course maps and results, as well as an explanation of how the virtual race will work.
The three competition courses: 1.5Km, 3Km and 5Km, will be marked Friday night with color-coded arrows. You may ski the courses for time from 9AM Saturday through 6PM Sunday. You have until midnight Sunday night to enter your time.
We hope you will find this virtual format to be enjoyable, as well as safe from a health standpoint. Good luck!
Regards,
John Estle
Director
NSCF Competition Events Program