2012 USSA SuperTour Finals News

Men's 50/20k Results, Splits, Lost and Found, Media

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Men's 50/20k results. Adaptive Sprint qualifier and heat results too - all at the results section.

9 April UPDATE - check the results section now for XL files with complete lap splits for men and women.

Lost and Found
We've collected an assortment of stuff - and a list of missing items. If you're missing something, drop us a line.

We'd appreciate if you'd take a moment to look through your stuff from Craftsbury and see if you've acquired any additional stuff. Specifically:

- a black Patagonia backpack (2 of these are missing, along with their contents)
- a purple North Face jacket
- black St. Cloud State sweatshirt
- brown short sleeve shirt
- red Swix Gunde hat

Should you have grabbed one of these, we'd really appreciate it if you'd let us know so we can reunite the items with their owner.

Slide Show, Fasterskier, Video, and other Media
It was great of Fasterskier to join us and cover the week's racing. Undoubtedly, you'e seen their coverage by now. If not, find all articles, etc in their special section for the week's events.

We're working on a gallery of our images from the week in the Center's Flickr stream, keep your eyes peeled for that. Revived Films has a short teaser of footage they shot during the week that will be included in this spring's movie "Fact or Fiction". You can see that snippet of film here.

And VPR, Vermont's NPR affiliate covered the event briefly here. Not sure who this "Bill" Dreissigacker they talk about is though...

...and Thank you to everyone who competed, volunteered, cheered, shoveled snow, cooked food - way to many things to list. It was an honor to host everyone, and hope we'll see you again soon.

-the folks at Craftsbury

Women's 30/15k Results, Startlist for Men's 50/20k

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Women's 30/15k results. Congrats to National Champion Kikkan Randall on her 17th National Title!

Men's 50/20k startlist.

Team Captain's Meeting Notes - #3, Later Start Time, Lap Counts and More

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

TCM #3 notes are posted here. The biggest change to be aware of is a change of race schedule. Women's 30/15k will now begin at 10:00am. Read through them for full details.

Startlist
Here.

Lap Counts:
Lap counts by category and distance-
Women's 30k - 15 laps
Jr. Women 15k - 10 laps
Men's 50k - 33 laps
Jr. Men's 20k - 13 laps

Lap counting will be done for the lead skier. Laps will be counted down. Display will show laps to go. This will be done separately for Junior racers as well. Lap board will be taken down after leader finishes.

Jay Peak Directions, Sprint Results, Jury Notes

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Directions
From the Center, head south on Lost Nation Road (back toward Craftsbury Common and the pavement you came in on). At the intersection with North Craftsbury Road, turn right and head downhill to VT Route 14 North. Go north on 14 to Irasburg, heading out of town about a mile or so and turning left on to VT Route 58 West.

Travel on 58 West to Lowell and the intersection with VT Route 100 North. Heading north on 100, bear left on to North Hill Road in Westfield, VT. This road continues for several miles before intersecting VT Route 242 in the village of Jay. Turn left on to 242 and continue to Jay Peak Ski area on your right. In the ski area's access road, bear left at the first intersection, toward Stateside. The SuperTour will be based in the base lodge on this side of the mountain. View the course here.

Sprint Results Posted
Here.

Jury Notes from 27 March 2012
Here.

Team Captain's Meeting Notes, Startlist, Maps

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Team Captain's Meeting notes posted - plus a couple of important additions.

Startlist is up.

Maps - Updated Jay Hill Climb map, plus a gpx track and kml file of Jay too. The Sprint Stadium is posted too.

Updates of 25 March

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

March 25, Jury Meeting Notes posted.

Results
Results posted from today, the Finals cumulative times, and 11-12 Series Overall, plus tomorrow's Adaptive startlist in the Startlists/Results section.

Jay Peak Hill Climb Preview
Hill Climb Course will be open for inspection 2:00 – 4:00pm Monday.
•   Park at Stateside Lodge, Jay Peak Resort
•   Course starts close to Lodge, following the wide trail which is on the right as you face the mountain. Watch for signs. We hope to have a course map posted online before inspection.
•   Directions to Jay from Craftsbury: get yourself onto Rt 14 North, through Irasburg, then left onto Rt 58 toward Lowell. Turn right (north) on Rt 100 to Westfield, where you take a Y left onto North Hill Rd. It climbs and then descends to Rt 242, where you take a left and climb to the Jay Peak Resort entrance, on the right. Follow signs to Stateside Lodge – it will be a left at a T intersection, before you get to the main resort.

Startlist Posted, Maps Updated

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Startlist Posted
Startlist for tomorrow's mass start is online.

Maps Updated
One of the significant changes from today's jury meeting is the stadium layout. View current stadium layout here.

Jury Meeting Notes, 24 March Afternoon

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Notes from the afternoon's jury meeting have been posted on the Virtual Team Captain's Meeting page. Check them out now and spread the word! Thanks!

Prologue results, Preems, Food, Party

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Prologue results
Posted here. Adaptive results coming.

Preems in the 10/15k Mass Start
A reminder that both genders will compete in the Classic Mass Start event tomorrow.

for one climbing and one sprinting preem. Both Preems pay 2 deep: $150 for first, $50 for second. See the course map for preem location.

Preems in the Women's 10k:
• Hill climb - 2nd lap
• Sprint - 3rd lap

Preems in the Men's 15k:
• Hill climb - 2nd lap
• Sprint - 4th lap

Food
Reminder that food from our Vermont Fresh Network affiliated dining hall is available on site at the Touring Center and Front Office should racers or spectators find themselves hungry during the day.

Fun & Games
While the racing is fast and furious, when you're ready for other recreation check out some of the other activities available this week including farm tours, the Mud and Ice Quadrathlon, and the closing party for the week of racing. All details here.

Prologue Start List, TCM #1 slides, and more

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Startlist here, or Racesplitter file.

TCM slides.

Check out the course map section. 1.5k Men's sprint/Prologue course has been updated to more accurately reflect the stadium, we've added the FIS data and profile to the 2.5k alternate reserve course - plus showing the preem locations, and tomorrow's stadium map is there too.

The course is buzzing with tracked dump trucks, PB100s and excavators. Stadium is really starting to shape up - it's really going to be a man-made course tomorrow!

New Courses, Schedule shifts

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Great to see lots of folks rolling in - with even more coming tomorrow! We're holding firm against the sun's record-breaking warmth, but it remains a pretty dynamic situation: KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR THE LATEST UPDATES.

What's new here today? A new layout for the 10/15k CL course, new course for the Hill Climb, updated amenities map - with a revised stadium layout coming. Those are all available over at the Course Maps section.

The course will again be open for testing and inspection tomorrow, Friday, March 23rd from 7-11am, with team/coach check-in from 9am-12pm and again from 4-5pm, just prior to our first coach's meeting.

Until tomorrow.

Open Course Schedule and 21 March Update

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Greetings from the sunny north! We're holding tough against the heat so far, but there will be lots of things in flux as we go along as we work to optimize the snow and conditions for everyone. CHECK THE WEBSITE OFTEN!!! Lots of information out already, lots more to come.

Course Inspection/Wax Testing - Course is open for inspection Thursday and Friday from 7:00-11:00am. Aside from these two periods, course is CLOSED for the coming days (through Sunday). To facilitate additional wax testing, we are preparing a wax testing strip running between the upper and lower soccer fields with a stridable climb.

Course Maps, now with Hill Climb - Check them here. Homologation report has NOT been completed for hill climb, route was only drawn on the map. Profile/etc should be considered provisional at this point.

Bib Pickup - Will be 90minutes prior to race start daily. Find this and more details in Race Information.

Thanks! Keep checking back for more information.

Conditions of 19 March

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

19 Mar - Dennis' demise.

Skiers,
Here’s another report on conditions at Craftsbury. We know you are all eager for info—and we know that many of you will be starting your travels soon.

19 Mar - Moss Run

The skiing is still amazingly nice, and firm, even crunchy in places, in the woods on our 2.5k man-made loop. The cover is very good, too. We’ve identified a few weak spots and will be patching them as needed. Pictures were taken this afternoon at about 3:30 p.m (click through for full slide show). Zeroes have been working surprisingly well!

19 Mar - Lower field, heading to the stadium

The stadium is not as pretty right now, but that's where the stockpiled snow comes in. Our strategy in the stadium has been to consolidate the natural snow into the course, rather than leave it spread all over the field to melt. We also still have a large stockpile of snow in the upper field; and a smaller one in the lower field. By race time, we expect to be offering a snow “highway” through otherwise grassy fields. You can see the beginnings of this in the pictures.

19 Mar - Stadium stockpile snow

The Hill Climb will now be held entirely on alpine snowmaking trails at Jay Peak. That map should be coming out soon.

Can we guarantee 100% for certain that everything will go off as originally planned? Nope. It depends on what Mother Mature throws at us next. It is possible that the Jury will decide to tweak the schedule and/or modify the start formats if they feel it will make for better racing conditions.

But as of now, we still have nice skiing and plans are moving along full speed ahead.

Looking forward to hosting you,

-the folks at Craftsbury

Team Captain's Meeting Notes - with Jury additions

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Team Captain Notes are posted, with some additions:

Sprint Bonus Points: All skiers who have raced all events to date (prologue and 10/15) are eligible for time bonuses in the Sprint.

30k/50k:
• Will be run on the 1.6k course.
• It will be a mass start as planned.
• Lapped skiers will not be pulled.
• Juniors will be run with seniors as planned.

Conditions of 16 March

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The Eiger on the Upper Field, holding out in the sun.

With a week and a day to competition, we're in high gear. Grooming swapped out the metal tracks for the PB100s this AM for the rubber ones - a little lower impact on the snow. We also plowed all the snow on the north end of the lower field onto the trail as it circles up to the stadium; check these two videos to get a sense of what we're talking about. Have also been working hard at drainage. Like a glacier, the snow we've stockpiled seems to have some runoff from deep underneath the pile that we're channeling and laying pipe to ferry away from the snow.

Dyno Hill, heading to Coaches' Corner.

...but what does this all mean for the conditions?! Well, check them out in this slide show from late yesterday afternoon. The 2.4k reserve loop continues to impress with its durability to this point. Everyone who skis it has been pleasantly surprised with the fast, fun skiing that's out there. We're using every tool we have to make the best skiing possible, and now are waiting to see what we're dealt weatherwise in the coming days to see where we end up.

Dennis' Demise, heading down to the course low point.

Not convinced? We will be refunding all entry fees should we not be able to hold the events (though Skireg will be keeping their service fees). We realize that doesn't cover travel and so forth, but we're skiers too and we want to make the decision as easy as possible for you to come join us for what's going to be some great racing.

Keep watching this website for updates, and follow weather live via the Center's website and grooming reports, and we're looking forward to hosting all of you starting this time next week!

Select Jay Peak Lodging 20% off for SuperTour participants

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Still working on a place to stay? Check out Jay's sample pricing - 20% off for SuperTour skiers and clubs. Mention the SuperTour when reserving to take advantage of the deal.

2.4k and Adaptive Course Maps Posted

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Our most defensible 2.4k loop we mentioned on Tuesday, a preliminary stadium setup, and the 600m adaptive course maps are now all posted to the website here. Skiing on the courses is really nice, with great coverage and solid depth remaining despite the continued unseasonable warmth.

Junior Race Information

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

As has been the case with the past several SuperTour Finals and Long Distance Nationals, we will offer two specific options for OJ and younger skiers to compete within the sprints and long distance event amongst their age-mates.

Junior Sprint Heats, Semis & Finals – Tuesday, March 27, 2012
For those juniors not making the top 30 in the regular open heats, we will run special junior semis and finals after the open bracket is completed. As usual, USSA and FIS points will be based on the qualifier - there will be no separate points generated for juniors. No USSA or FIS license is required to participate in the SuperTour Finals, and this is the same for any junior participants. However, unlicensed juniors will be seeded at the end of the field for the qualifier, and will not receive any points. Registration will be through the same skireg.com category as the rest of open SuperTour participants - use the one SuperTour race option.

Long Distance Nationals – Friday and Saturday, March 30-31, 2012
We will offer a shorter distance race as part of Nationals for juniors, approximately 15k for the women and 20k for the men. Juniors will start their races at the same time as the 50k and 30k, with juniors seeded throughout the chevron. While the junior race will start simultaneously to the open event, this will be a separate race from the senior event and USSA points will be awarded within this category as a standalone event.

No USSA or FIS license is necessary to participate in the junior distance race; however, athletes without either license will be seeded by order of registration at the back of the chevron and will NOT be eligible for points. Registration for the junior event at distance Nationals will be a separate item at skireg.com.

It is worth noting that interested juniors can compete in the open 30/50k races if they wish. In that case, they will need either a USSA or FIS license, just like the rest of the competitors. You can find full information on licensure requirements here.

Hope you’ll join us in these great events!

Licensing Clarifications

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Be sure to check out the Registration/Fees section of the website for updates to the license requirements for the week's racing. Very broadly:

SuperTour Finals Races (March 24-28): are open to any skier whether or not they hold a USSA, FIS or other license - or even no license at all - however not holding a license has other ramifications for points, prizes and so forth. Read more.

Long Distance National Championships (March 30-31): For the women's 30k on Friday, March 30 and the men's 50k on Saturday, March 31, all participants must be USSA current license holders if a US citizen, or a current FIS license holder if foreign national.

Be sure to check out all the details of the license requirements on the Registration/Fees page of this website.

Conditions of 13 March

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

An update for those planning on participating in the US SuperTour Finals and Long Distance National Championships, March 24-31, 2012 at Craftsbury Outdoor Center:

We kept the guns blazing during our window of snow-making weather this past weekend.

North American Skiers,

Like most of New England and the country, Craftsbury has seen unseasonably warm temperatures over the last week. Similar weather is forecast for this week, as well as into the extended forecast. We’ve had great skiing to date at Craftsbury, including outlying trails without man-made snow — but we are well aware that most of the natural snow in the area will likely be gone at the end of this week, if the temps come even close to the forecasted highs. So we wanted to give you an update on the steps we are taking to ensure a quality race course for the last week of March.

One load of the 300.

Throughout Saturday we moved approximately 300 truckloads of snow onto our most defensible course, should we not be able to make use of the planned 3.75k. This loop is the one our staff decided was most likely to retain snow given the extended forecast of 60 degree days and barely freezing nights. The loop stretches for about 2.5k, and while it is not our recently homologated 3.75k course, includes the main fields, the homologated sprint course, and 2 B level climbs.

The snow quarry on the upper field.

We have also retained two large piles of man-made snow in the stadium areas that can be moved on to the longer loop if cold temperatures and favorable forecasts return. If they do not, these piles will be used to patch and improve the 2.5k loop.

Our cards are in many respects laid on the table. If we're not able to use the 3.75k homologated loop, we’ve built up a 30” base on the 2.5k loop and believe we can host all of the events on this course. Now we will wait and see what happens with this warm weather over the next week. You can continually find information about conditions and grooming reports at the Center's website.

Additionally, click through this link to a slide show from Saturday, which will give you a glimpse into what we are doing here to ensure quality racing conditions for SuperTour Finals and Long Distance Nationals.

The Craftsbury Outdoor Center is absolutely committed to making these races happen; despite the warm weather we’ve been dealt. Let's all hope the weather returns to more normal conditions for March in New England, which could easily include a good dump of snow. Stay tuned to this website for updates, and plan on seeing you in two weeks,

-the folks at Craftsbury

Conditions of 7 March

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

After a slow start to the winter, the Outdoor Center is currently boasting impressive snow coverage. We have just under 100km of trails open for skiing. Our homologated 5km, 3.75km and sprint loops have a solid base of manmade snow in addition to the abundant natural snowfall we’ve received in the last few weeks. We’ve also stockpiled large piles of manmade and will continue to spread snow on our race loops as needed. The Outdoor Center staff is preparing for whatever weather we may see in northern Vermont in the next three weeks, but the prognosis is good. We expect to have solid conditions for these events.

You can continually keep tabs on our conditions, including current weather data, via our snow report.

Course Maps Posted

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Find a selection of course maps posted here. More to come!

Fast and Female, April 1st

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

A quick note about a great event the day after USSA Long Distance Nationals: a Fast and Female XC Clinic! Join World Cup and Olympic skiers, including Chandra Crawford, Kikkan Randall, Craftsbury's own Ida Sargent, and Montpelier's Liz Stephen for a day of skiing, dancing, yoga, autographs and stories from the World Cup!

Girls ages 9-18 of all skiing abilities (including beginners!) are welcome to sign up now for this event online. Don't hesitate to sign up now, as these events tend to fill up quickly. The Center will be offsetting much of the costs usually associated with the event to bring the cost for this full-day event to only $7, including lunch, a Fast and Female buff, and equipment rentals. Read more details on the Craftsbury website.

Registration is OPEN!

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

You can now register for USSA SuperTour Finals and Distance Nationals at skireg.com!

Registration deadlines:
SuperTour Finals and Adaptive SuperTour Finals: lowest-cost entry fees until midnight March 18. Registration closes at noon on Thursday, March 22nd.

USSA Distance Nationals: lowest entry fees until midnight, March 25. Registration closes at noon on Wednesday, March 28th.

Click through to register now, or check out the fees and get more information in the Registration/Fees section of this website.

Update: Dates for the US Long Distance Nationals.

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

A quick, but important clarification about Dates for US Long Distance Nationals being held at the Craftsbury Nordic Center. The correct schedule for US Long Distance Nationals at Craftsbury is as follows:

Friday, March 30: Women’s 30k skate mass start
Saturday, March 31: Men’s 50k skate mass start

These dates were correctly published on the FIS website and in the USSA Competition Guide. However, we have recently discovered that conflicting dates were published in several other places. We wish we had caught this sooner, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

For the latest info about both SuperTour Finals and Long Distance Nationals, continue to check this website. Registration will be available at SkiReg in the next few days.