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Hi SMS T2 Friends,
We are just getting back from a 2-week camp in Park City, Utah. This camp is always a highlight because there are ample opportunities to join the USST for workouts and because lots of other professional/elite teams are there at the same time. It's the biggest training group these athletes ever see.
A few training highlights:
- The "pace project" at Soldier Hollow where SMS T2 athletes looked really strong. Jessie did the whole thing with Finish World Cup skier, Krista Parmakoski and they were flying. Ben kept it more L-3 and did an extra 5K since he was feeling great. Everyone got a solid opportunity to do their own pacing and also learn from other folks on course.
- We did a really high-quality technique session with Adam, Lina, Lauren, Alayna and felt like we accomplished some big technique goals on skate skis.
- We had a fun OD session up Guardsman Pass with beautiful fall colors and snow on the ground!
- The Schutzenski Festival races where most of our athletes competed in a 10K classic on Saturday and freestyle sprint on Sunday. Athletes used matched roller skis and this is by far the most competitive roller ski event in the U.S. On Saturday, Ben was 2nd and Adam was 27th while Jessie, Julia, Alayna, Lina, Sydney, Lauren, and Ava went 2, 3. 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12, respectively... over half of the top 12 spots! The team was even more dominant on Sunday with Ben winning the qualifier (by 5 seconds) and winning the heats. Fin qualified 4th place (less than 1 second out of 2nd), and Adam 13th. Jessie, Julia and Lauren went 1, 2, 3 in the qualifier with Ava, Alayna and Lina also in the top 10. Julia was on top of the podium after the heats with Jessie right behind and Lauren battling for a 4th place finish. You can find full results by clicking the registration link HERE.
- Fin spent week 2 with the National Elite Group Camp and got a chance to train with a huge group of skiers from around the US.
- We bounded up Park City Mountain with over 60 people from all club teams, USST, and the NEG Camp.
A bunch of the team stayed out west an extra week to make their altitude block 3 weeks.
Coach Maria stayed in Park City a few extra days to host and participate in a Women in Ski Coaching Conference that was learning, collaborating and networking with 50 other coaches from around the US and Canada and some world-renowned speakers.
As we get into our biggest fundraising month, you can also watch for matching grants and challenges happening at our Virtual Send-Off Event HERE (starting October 30th).
We need your financial help to continue developing and supporting the best cross-country skiers in the world! Our goal is to raise our annual operating budget so that we can shift our focus to racing fast and sharing our team's success with our supporters. You are all a huge part of what we do.
Annual Send-Off Dinner- SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH 2023
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