FAST TRACKS

September 2009

Where Did the Summer Go?

For those of you who like crisp mornings, has this been the summer! The temperatures for the most part have been perfect for training. For those of you who have traveled (or live in the North Country) the leaves are starting to change, some have seen frost, and temperatures in the 30’s.

It’s now time to start planning for the coming ski season. With that in mind our Fall meeting will be held October 24th beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Mora Vasaloppet Nordic Center. We have a full day of activities planned including a presentation by CXC (Center Cross Country, part of the United State Ski Association for those of you unfamiliar with club organizations outside of high school skiing).

I cannot stress enough how important this meeting will be. We have several agenda items that will require a vote. Items include: continuation of the True Pursuit format, a proposed Multi-Event Championship, and how we are recognized by the State High School League (team or individual sport). Currently our format for scoring and the naming of a State Champion is “Team”.

These are issues that have been bought forward (in many cases several times) over the past years by our membership that we need to bring to a closure. These items were discussed at our spring meeting, and several informational items were added to our web page.

As I said we will be voting at the fall meeting. For those of you unfamiliar with our voting procedure each head coach (boy’s and girl’s) will have a vote. If the head coach is responsible for both teams, they will have two votes. If for some reason a head coach is unable to attend our bylaws allow for a proxy vote by the assistant coach of the team.

We will not be doing electronic voting, nor absentee ballot. There will be information pertinent to the vote handed out at the meeting. Plus we will have a (very) brief discussion prior too each vote.

By bringing closure to these items we can move forward with other issues pertinent to Nordic Skiing. Included is the growth of our sport, and how in these hard economy times can we create and sustain a funding mechanism will support our programs.

Have a pleasant Fall and I hope to see you at our Fall Meeting.

Mike Hecker

President Minnesota Nordic Ski Coaches Association