Nor/Am Coming to the Twin Cities As nordic director for USSA, Luke Bodensteiner is responsible for coordinating all of the U.S. cross country ski programs, including the Nor/Am series, the premier race series in North America. The Nor/Am began in earnest as a full-blown race series in 1997, Bodensteiner's first year at the helm.
"As an athlete, one of the biggest weaknesses I saw in our system was that there was no strong domestic race series,"
Bodensteiner said. "This meant that you either qualified for the World Championships or Olympics in the middle of the season, or your season was over. After the National Championships in January, if you didn't qualify for the team, you spent the rest of the year racing marathons or college races."
Without high-level racing during the season in the United States, Bodensteiner said development-level athletes were getting thrown into the World Championships without being
prepared, physically or psychologically, for that kind of racing. Now they have to have success on the Nor/Am and Europa Cup – the equivalent of the Nor/Am, only held in Europe (both are recognized by the International Ski Federation as Continental Cups, one step below the World Cup) – before they head to the World Cup. It's a part of Bodensteiner's goal to "make the steps smaller" for athletes – if an athlete wants to get to the World Cup, World Championships or Olympics, they have
to come through the Nor/Am.
Bodensteiner and his staff organize the series with the Canadian Ski Federation. All the best North American athletes who are not on the World Cup compete in the series. In the past three seasons, the national teams from Italy, Norway, Sweden and Germany also have participated. Typically, 200-300 participants compete in a Nor/Am. Not only do elite skiers and national teams compete, but participation by masters and recreational racers is increasing as well.
The Nor/Am this year is scheduled to host 16 events with a total purse of more than $40,000. The top skiers, about 19 of them, in the Nor/Am after January 6, 2000, will be entered into the USA Nordic Festival, cross country, jumping and Nordic combined World Cups held at the Olympic venues in Utah Jan. 10-21 as part of the U.S. Ski Team. The winner of the series, which ends Feb. 5 in Marquette, Mich., goes to the World Cup for the rest of the season.
The Nor/Am in St Paul will
be at Battle Creek Park Jan. 26-28 with Sprint on Friday, individual Free technique 5K, 10K, 15K on Sat., and individual Classic 5K, 10K on Sun. On Feb 2-5 it's the same format in Marquette/Ishpeming. Both weekends are Nor/Am, Central Collegiate Ski Assn. points events, Junior Olympic Qualifier points for the Midwest District and Great Lakes District respectively, as well as Twin Cities Championships at Battle Creek and citizen racing in Michigan.
The Nor/Am schedule for this season is:
Nov. 23, 24 and 26 Silver Star, CAN
Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17 Valcartier, CAN
Jan. 3, 4 and 6 McCall, ID
Jan. 26, 27 and 28 St. Paul, MN
Feb. 2, 3 and 4 Marquette, MI
Bodensteiner said he expects to see about 500 participants in St. Paul. The organizing committee there is trying to make the event a real celebration of skiing in the Twin Cities. The events will be the first races used in the Olympic team selection process.
"The sprint race on Jan. 26 should be an
excellent showcase of the top athletes, and a good ski festival," Bodensteiner said. "The races on the weekend should be great for recreational participants, as well as the junior, collegiate and elite racers in the field. We're hoping this event will draw some real media attention and a lot of spectators, so that we can organize a large-scale sprint event annually in the Twin Cities to promote the sport in the area and develop some heroes for the young skiers."
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