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JACKSON 2000
USSA Junior Olympics

Jackson NH
March 5 – 12, 2000

The United Sates Ski Association has selected Jackson to host the
National Junior Cross Country Ski Championships.

Event Profile

The USSA Junior Olympics National Cross Country Ski Championships is the single largest national
championships sanctioned by the United States Ski Association. The purpose is to give to junior
cross-country ski racers an "Olympic" type experience preparing them for international competition.

Who's hosting this race

The 2000 Jackson Junior Olympic Organizing Committee is a working group under the
Jackson Ski Touring Foundation. The Jackson Ski Touring Foundation is a 501-C-3
non-profit organization chartered to maintain trails in and about Jackson village and to provide
a recreational and educational resource for the citizens of the Northeast. The Foundation’s trail
network utilizes the land of 71 private landowners, the Town of Jackson, the White Mountain
National Forest totaling158 km of trails over 60 square miles of land. Over 1/3 of a million
skier-visits have been recorded since 1985.

In September 1998, the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation created the Jackson 2000 Junior
Olympic Organizing Committee to pursue the bid for the event, initiate fund-raising upon awarding
of the bid to Jackson, recruit volunteers and organize the event.

The Organizing Committee’s objectives are to:

Event Statistics:

Sprint Races -- March 6, 2000
Classical technique long distance races -- March 8, 2000
Free technique short distance races – March 10, 2000
Mixed technique team relays – March 11, 2000

Executive Organizing Committee

Chairman – Nat Lucy
Event Coordinator -- AO Lucy
Chief of Competition – Thom Perkins
Chief of Competitor Services – Jim Dunwell

Jackson’s Event Experience

The village of Jackson has a long and proud history of cross-country ski racing that goes back
to the 1930’s with such races as the annual Langlauf and Freeman Frost Races. Since it’s inception
the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation has put on many competition events including:

History of Event

The United States Ski Association Junior Olympic Championships began in the mid-1960s.
This event started out as both a cross country and jumping event and did not occur every year
until the mid-1970s. It was during this time period that the event opened to female competitors.

Athletes, age 20 and younger, must earn the right to compete at the Junior Olympic Championships
through regional qualifiers. The location of this event rotates throughout the United States by the Regions
and Divisions that make up the United States Ski Association.

2000 is the year of the eastern region and for the first time, a New Hampshire venue is hosting the event!
Past event venues were:

What is Cross Country Ski Racing?

Cross-country ski racing combines strength, quickness and endurance with the technical
skills required to ski over demanding terrain.

Junior Olympic races feature individual and team relay competitions. The individual races
include distances of 3/4-km, 5-km, 10-km, and 15 km. The 3-member relay teams race
3-km to 5-km per team member.

There are two techniques -- "classical," which requires the conventional form of diagonal
stride, and "free," which has no restrictions on technique and in which the faster "skating"
style is used.

Classical skis are waxed for traction, enabling the racer to ski uphill. For free technique, the
entire ski is waxed for glide, requiring the competitor to utilize the technical skill to negotiate
the uphill sections.

The race courses are 14-20 feet wide and are laid out with a challenging mixture of uphill,
downhill and rolling terrain. Both free and classical techniques utilize machine compaction
to create a firmer course. The free technique course is generally smooth and untracked,
while the classical course features groove-like tracks.

In individual races, skiers start one at a time at 30-second intervals. Relay races employ a
mass-start format, which introduces new elements of race strategy. As in bicycle racing,
skiers will draft off of one another, take turns leading and sprint for the finish.

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