Alliance Mission

The XC Ski Alliance has five main objectives that are discussed in detail below.

1. To gain the support needed for Alliance athletes to train and race full-time.
   Skiing is a very expensive sport and there is little funding available for athletes, even at the elite level. For the 2008/2009 season, the goal is to raise enough money to support the two founding XC Ski Alliance Team athletes. By the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, The XC Ski Alliance aims to have raised enough money to expand the number of athletes supported by the team. In addition, the Alliance would like to be able to provide grants for other athletes that have qualified to race at large international competitions, like the World Championships, but still have to pay for a portion of their trips. Often, only a handful of athletes from our country qualify to go to these international races and there is no reason why they should have to pay out of pocket to represent the USA, except that the funds are just not available. The XC Ski Alliance would like to make international racing funds available.
2. To create a well distributed alliance of people that support cross-country skiing and its development in our country. That is it, the Alliance is just people who like the sport and want to see the USA improve. The goal of the program is to have over 500 memberships in the first year and to have at least one member from all 50 states.
3. To promote junior development in the United States.
   Everyone will agree that if there are more juniors out on the ski trails, there is a larger talent pool to draw top notch athletes from. In addition, the bar is raised to be the best on your high school team or on the podium at the Junior Olympics. Young athletes will have more fun being surrounded by friends. More kids will fall in love with the sport and become life-long members of the skiing community. More parents will get involved and slowly, we will develop more of a skiing culture in the USA. The XC Ski Alliance plans to help junior development by holding high school clinics and helping out with youth ski leagues. The focus of these clinics will be on technique and fitness, as well as the opportunities that can arise from a skiing career, such as skiing on a collegiate team, or competing at the Junior National and Junior World Championships.
4. To spread ski specific education across the country.
   Lack of ski education is a major problem with programs in the United States. Many programs have gone out and gotten the financial support and coaching leadership that is required to maintain a program. Often these programs have great intension, but lack the ski specific education required to create international skiing success. The XC Ski Alliance believes that the USA can have more high quality programs by proper distribution of ski specific information. Central Cross-Country Skiing has already begun this process by creating the CXC Academy which makes world-class training and racing information available to everyone. The XC Ski Alliance will continue to spread this knowledge through ski education clinics for master skiers, coaches, and citizen racers. In addition, the XC Ski alliance athletes will be writing several informational articles that will be published by various skiing media organizations.
5. To promote Health and fitness in the United States.
   Cross-country skiing is unique because it is a sport that people can continue to participate in their entire lives. It is a low-impact, whole-body activity that can easily boost a person’s metabolism, even at the recreational level. Because of this, it is a great activity to help promote health and fitness in the United States. The XC Ski Alliance plans to contribute to health and fitness awareness by conducting summer Nordic walking clinics. Nordic walking does not require you to have a background in Nordic skiing so it can be used to reach a new demographic of people (non-cross-country skiers). The goal of these clinics is to spread some basic fitness knowledge outside the ski community and introduce these people to our sport at a recreational level. Nordic walking also has the potential to boost trail system use in the summer and get more people interested in cross-country skiing for fitness.

The XC Ski Alliance also has an endurance-based personal training program called Alliance Training. Alliance Training is designed to help everyone from beginners to serious athletes reach their training and fitness goals. You can learn more about Alliance Training HERE.