Telemark World Cup Finals & U.S. Nationals
Crystal Mountain, Washington will host the 2003 FIS World Cup Telemark Finals and the U.S. National Championships March 12th through March 16th. The event will draw competitors from all over the world and the United States and promises to be an exciting competitive event.
Local U.S Telemark Team members Carole Hill (Hyak) and Charlie Dresen
(Seattle) will be competing at Crystal Mountain. "I am very excited to
have the World Cup Finals here in Washington State. This is the first time we have had a World Cup event so close to home. It should be a great event." said Carole.
The U.S. National Telemark Championships are running concurrently with the World Cup finals and are open to all telemark skiers. There will be 4 categories that competitors can enter: Masters (40+), Juniors (18 and under), Citizens and Open.
Telemark racing combines aspects of alpine (downhill) and nordic (cross
country & jumping) skiing into a singularly unique event. See the event descriptions below.
Slalom: A very quick turning, visually exciting event. Telemark slalom courses are set to the same USSA and FIS standards as World Cup alpine racing. It is a timed, two run event were the combined time determines the individual winner.
Giant Slalom: This race consists of speed and longer radius turns, set to the same USSA and FIS World Cup alpine standards with the addition of a jump. The jump, which is one meter high, has two sets of distance lines below it. One set for men and one set for women. The competitor must clear their set of lines and land in a Telemark stance to stay penalty free. It is a timed, two run event were the combined time determines the individual winner.
Classic Terrain: This is the race that gives Telemark racing its individuality. This one run race combines the technical turning aspects of the giant slalom and distance jumping with the addition of cross country skating and a 360 degree reipjlekke (loop of rope) turn in a single run. This event is a true test of ones nordic and alpine ability, often taking over three minutes to complete.
Sprint Classic: This is a shorter, two run version of the classic terrain event. The
combined time of both runs determines the individual winner.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Wednesday, March 12 - Training Day
Thursday, March 13 - U.S. Nationals Slalom
Friday, March 14 - World Cup Finals/U.S. Nationals Giant Slalom
Saturday, March 15 - World Cup Finals/U.S. Nationals Sprint Classic
Sunday March 16 - World Cup Finals/U.S. Nationals Classic
Sponsors for the event include: Crystal Mountain, Karbon, KAVA, 1st
Endurance, Scarpa, Honey Stinger, Garmont, K2, and Black Diamond.