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[News]2006-07 News
| Andrew |
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World Champion
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Look for the latest news for the current season. National Squads 2006-07Calendars 2006-07RetireesGabriela Paruzzi, Italy Sabina Valbusa, Italy Hilde G. Pedersen, Norway Andreas Schluetter, Germany Haarvard Bjerkeli, Norway Kristen Skjeldal, Norway |
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| Andrew |
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World Champion
Group: Secretary General
Posts: 6,091
Member No.: 1
Joined: 27-November 04
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US team for 2006-07 | QUOTE | Tuesday, 12 September 2006
U.S. names largest cross-country team since 1998 Sprinters Andy Newell of Vermont, who produced the first U.S. World Cup podium in over two decades last winter, and Alaska's Kikkan Randall, who produced the all-time best U.S. women's Olympic cross-country finish, are among 14 athletes named to the 2007 U.S. cross-country ski team.
U.S. Nordic Director Luke Bodensteiner said the ski team — the largest since 11 athletes were named for the 1998 Olympic season — also includes seven other 2006 Olympians. There are seven men and seven women on the squad.
Newell posted the best U.S. men's Olympic sprint result in Italy, finishing 14th, and went on to finish third in the first World Cup cross-country race in China in March. It was the first top-three finish by a U.S. skier since March 1983 when Vermonters Tim Caldwell and Bill Koch finished 2-3 in a World Cup race in Anchorage, Alaska.
During the Olympics, Randall — whose uncle, Chris Haines, was a 1976 Olympic skier and aunt, Betsy Haines, was on the 1980 Olympic team in Lake Placid — finished ninth in the sprint. It became the finest U.S. women's cross-country result in any Olympic race. After the Torino Games, she went on to post the best U.S. women's finish in the 25-year history of the cross-country World Cup, finishing fifth in a night sprint in Borlange, Sweden.
"I'm very excited about this team. We had our first podium in two decades last year from Andy, and Kikkan was close to a podium, and we had two guys in the Red Group [i.e., top 30 in sprint or distance]. We had some real highlights, and that gives us good momentum heading into this season," Bodensteiner said.
"It's refreshing for the veterans to have some young skiers around them. This is the largest team we've had for quite a few seasons, and we have good, diverse personalities. The Continental Cup team is going to be spending much of the season in Europe, along with the World Cup group, because we want them exposed to not only the rigors of travel but also to racing regularly against their peers, to have friends on other teams and do what the World Cup group does. We want them to get ahead of the development curve.
"We feel we're on target in nailing down how to deal with travel and training," he said, "and we've got a great group of new coaches [headed by former World Cup racer and coach Pete Vordenberg], and there are tons of energy and focus helping to make this team hum."
The cross-country World Cup season opens Oct. 28-29 in Dusseldorf, Germany, with sprints alongside the Rhine River. The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships will be held Feb. 22-March 4 in Sapporo, Japan.
The 2007 U.S. cross-country team [age, hometown, * if Olympian]
World Cup team — Men: Chris Cook (26; Rhinelander, Wisconsin*), Kris Freeman (25; Andover, New Hampshire*), Andrew Johnson (28; Greensboro, Vermont*), Torin Koos (26; Leavenworth, Washington*) and Andy Newell (22; Shaftsbury, Vermont*); Women: Kikkan Randall (23; Anchorage, Alaska*).
Continental Cup team — Men: Matt Gelso (18; Truckee, California) and Leif Zimmermann (22; Bozeman, Montana*); Women: Morgan Arritola (20; Sun Valley, Idaho), Taz Mannix (20; Anchorage, Alaska), Morgan Smyth (20; Vernon, Vermont), Liz Stephen (19; Montpelier, Vermont), Lindsey Weier (22; Mahtomedi, Minnesota*) and Lindsay Williams (22; Hastings, Minnesota*). |
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| Andrew |
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World Champion
Group: Secretary General
Posts: 6,091
Member No.: 1
Joined: 27-November 04
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Chat with Peter Petricek (SLO), Chairman of the FIS Cross-Country Committee | QUOTE | Peter Petricek On the Past and Future of Cross-Country Skiing
Thu May 04, 2006
Interview with Peter Petricek (SLO)
Prior to the 2006 FIS Congress in Vilamoura, the FIS Newsflash had a chance to ask Peter Petricek (SLO), Chairman of the FIS Cross-Country Committee, about his thoughts on the sport and its future.
FIS Newsflash: The FIS Tour de Ski promises to be the biggest change in the 2006-2007 Viessmann FIS World Cup Cross-Country calendar. What do you think of this new concept?
Peter Petricek: I have always been a great fan of the Four-Hills-Tournament in Ski Jumping and therefore have supported the concept of the FIS Tour de Ski since the idea was introduced by Jürg Capol and Vegard Ulvang in late 2004. I see it as a great vehicle to make the sport of Cross-Country Skiing more attractive. Besides the overall World Cup winners, we will, with the Tour, have an annual World Cup season highlight. Our previous attempts to modernize the sport may have been a bit too conservative. Now, I think we have the right mix of capabilities and timing. Of course, the first edition of the Tour must be a success in all aspects. Providing that, I think the Tour will show what unused potential we still have in Cross-Country Skiing.
FIS Newsflash: Some critics argue that it is now time to stop the changes and stabilize the situation in Cross-Country Skiing. How do you see the development of Cross-Country Skiing in the past several years?
Peter Petricek: Cross-Country Skiing is unlike football which is equally popular from Argentina to Germany and Slovenia. It has long traditions in the Nordic countries where it is simply part of life. Our challenge is to make Cross-Country Skiing more popular worldwide, but in particular in Central Europe where the large populations live, and the audiences with money. Like it or not, we need TV viewers who can spend money on a sport as that is what our sponsors are looking for, and our sponsors are what enables us to award more prize money, organize better events and support the organizers.
Granted, we have introduced some new elements to Cross-Country Skiing, such as the sprint and the pursuit with a pit stop. These modifications have served to make the sport more exciting to the big audiences and are especially attractive on television. But I would also argue that some other changes, such as the mass start, are no real changes but rather refinements based on our past experience. The mass start had been used in team events for decades so it was only natural for us to implement it in the individual events as well. Other changes, such as having 30 instead of 16 athletes in the sprint finals, are really just fine-tuning.
FIS Newsflash: How do you see the future of Cross-Country Skiing?
Peter Petricek: From the perspective of TV viewers, a star is good for the sport. But there, too, a balance between stars and high quality competition is needed in the long term. In the future, I think we have two main challenges: first, we have to make sure that even at the elite level we cater to the needs of our broad basis of hobby skiers. They are important opinion leaders, promoters of the sport, and are also the people that the industry is most interested in given their expenditure in equipment. Secondly, we absolutely cannot allow poor TV coverage to continue. To ensure high quality TV production, we should consider hiring a TV expert to work together with the FIS Race Director and the PR & Media Coordinator throughout the season.
Although I will no longer be guiding the Cross-Country Committee since I will step down from the position of Chairman in Vilamoura, I think it will continue to be important to invest in good training for our Technical Delegates. And we have to take better care of the athletes and team service staff in the future, especially in terms of the World Cup calendar, traveling and working conditions. But given the leadership provided by Jürg Capol as FIS Race Director in the past three years, I know that the sport of Cross-Country Skiing is in good hands and can look forward to a bright future.
Source: FIS |
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| Andrew |
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World Champion
Group: Secretary General
Posts: 6,091
Member No.: 1
Joined: 27-November 04
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Decisions from Vilamoura FIS Congress | QUOTE | Cross Country Decisions of the FIS Council at the 45th International Ski Congress
Thu May 25, 2006
Vilamoura, May 24th, 2006 -- The 45th International Ski Congress is currently underway in Vilamoura (POR). In addition to setting the 2006/2007 World Cup Cross Country schedule, the following items related to Cross-Country Skiing have been approved by the FIS Council at its meeting on Wendesday, May 24.
Approval of the World Cup rules for 2006/2007, including a modification of the rules for the Sprint whereby all final heats will be run with six competitors, instead of four as has been the case in the semi-finals until now. In reality, this means that the two best Lucky Losers in the quarter-final heats will also advance to the semi-finals.
The decision on the organizer of the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships will be made by the FIS Council on Thursday, 25th May and announced at around 18 CET. The candidates are Oslo, Norway; Val diFiemme, Italy; and Zakopane, Poland. Here are short statements from each venue.
Oslo (NOR):
Welcome to the new facilities at Holmenkollen in 2011! Five years from now Oslo, the capital of Norway, is prepared to host the FIS World Ski Championships in the Nordic disciplines. The venue will be the famous Holmenkollen, where new facilities will be built to meet the demands of the future. The old jumping hill will be dismantled and replaced by modern facilities. The Cross-Country stadium and courses will be upgraded as well.
The famous jumping hill at Holmenkollen has been extended 18 times. The new facilities there will include:
• A less steep inrun with a freezing capacity
• Reconstruction of the lower part, from the jump until the end of the outrun
• New grand stands for spectators
• Better working conditions for the media
• New facilities for competition management, including jury and judges, media, coaches and athletes
• New lift
• New floodlight system
• Permanent wind protection measures
However, the architectural fingerprint of the old hill will be retained in order to maintain the famous Oslo skyline!
“There is still great interest in our national sport, skiing, all over the country. Hence we feel confident that the whole nation will unite in supporting the Oslo region in the preparation for the championships and will contribute to making the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships here a real folk festival,” says Mr. Per Ditlef-Simonsen, the Lord Mayor of Oslo.
Val di Fiemme (ITA):
As the official flag was lowered in Lago di Tesero on March 1st, the final day of the 2003 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships, the idea of presenting the valley again as organizer of a future event was already born. Pietro De Godenz, Chairman of the Executive Committee, toasted with his closest collaborators saying: “See you soon…” Someone, exhausted, just smiled; someone else laughed at the sentence that seemed to be just a joke.
During the 2004 FIS Congress in Miami, the organizing committee presented the positive results obtained across the board in 2003. The most gratifying moment, however, was the speech delivered by FIS President Gian-Franco Kasper, who said: “There were no clouds from February 18th to March 1st in Val di Fiemme, neither in the sky nor in the organization”.
That is why the hospitable Val di Fiemme is a Candidate for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 2011.
As an experienced FIS World Cup host, the classical resort of Val di Fiemme has established itself as an important point of reference in the Nordic skiing world. Its reputation owes a great deal to the support provided by the local municipalities, but most importantly to the many volunteers, who are the real backbone of the organizing committee. And they, too, look forward to welcoming the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships back to Val di Fiemme!
Zakopane (POL):
Zakopane, together with the Polish Ski Association, would be thrilled to organize the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 2011.
Zakopane, the cradle of Polish skiing, is situated in a valley at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. With skiing traditions reaching back over 100 years, Zakopane has long played an important role in the development of Nordic skiing. The organizer of FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 1929, 1939 and 1962, of three Winter Universiades, World and European Championships in Biathlon, and several FIS World Cups in Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Cross-Country and Alpine Skiing (slalom), as well as many other events, Zakopane aspires to be counted among the group of main cities organizing world sports events. The organization of ski events has even been entered into the long-term Development Strategy of the City of Zakopane.
In addition to its sporting traditions, Zakopane is a significant center of culture. FIS World Ski Championships in Zakopane therefore not only promise to deliver many unforgettable sporting moments, already guaranteed by the tens of thousands of spectators that annually attend the FIS World Cup Ski Jumping events staged there, but also a glimpse of the “Zakopane phenomenon.” This phenomenon has for years attracted people in love with the special atmosphere of Zakopane and its culture of folklore and highlands. Zakopane, in all its facets, looks forward to hosting the global skiing family in 2011!
Successor to Peter Petricek (SLO) as Chairman of the Cross-Country Committee will be appointed by the new FIS Council at the end of the Congress, by Saturday, May 27th.
Please also note that according to the ICR art. 219.1, the prize money for the coming 2006-2007 season has already been confirmed by the FIS Council in its November 2005 meeting (approximately 1 and a half years before the applicable competition season). For Cross-Country events the amounts will be, as in the previous season:
• Minimum cash prize for individual events: CHF 40,000 (~ $33,000 US),- (divided between 1-10)
• Minimum cash prize for relay events: CHF 30,000 (~ $25,000 US),- (divided between 1-6)
Source: FIS |
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| Andrew |
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World Champion
Group: Secretary General
Posts: 6,091
Member No.: 1
Joined: 27-November 04
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Anders Södergren has high hopes for Tour de Ski | QUOTE | Wed Aug 30, 2006
The New Tour de Ski is competitions that are valued high among Swedish national team skiers. The One million Swedish kronor (US $140,000) first price for the overall win is especially tempting.
Anders Sodergren is ranking the Tour in a class with Worlds and has decided upon his strategy for how to win.
- I want to be among the top in all the long races and just show up without ambitions for the sprint races.
- The Tour is good for the sport and it’s going to be exciting to see how it will be received, says Sodergren
Eight races will take place over ten days and the skier with the best total time is the winner.
The idea is that the Tour will become cross country skiing's Tour de France.
- It’s a little disturbing that it’s affecting the important training and preparations we normally do around Christmas and New Years, says Sodergren.
Source: Skidsport.com |
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| Andrew |
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World Champion
Group: Secretary General
Posts: 6,091
Member No.: 1
Joined: 27-November 04
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Marit Bjorgen to skip some events | QUOTE | Fri Oct 13, 2006
Marit Bjørgen has decided to skip several World Cup weekends this season.
The overall World Cup winner want to avoid running out of gas this season. She is therefore reducing the number of competitions she takes part in.
- I was in great shape in July last season. That’s not the case now. I want to have energy during the season, says the 26-year old.
Bjorgen has decided to skip La Clusaz, France, Rybinsk, Russia, Davos, Switzerland and Changchun I, China. This means that she is skipping eight World Cup races.
Can she still win the World Cup?
Source: Langrenn.com |
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| Martin Adamson |
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B-Team Member
Group: Skier
Posts: 189
Member No.: 25
Joined: 5-January 05
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Well, the season's off to a great start as far as I'm concerned, as I managed to set my video to miss the crucial last 10 minutes of the exciting men's race.  Still, what an incredible win by OEB.  Hoping that OEB and Lars Berger get put together in the relay. Martin |
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