Ski Team Update: Preseason Competition Approaches

BOULDER – When the calendar hits November and Ski Ball is over, that usually means one thing for the Colorado Ski Team: Competition is getting closer and snow is in the forecast.

The dryland training season is coming to a close for the alpine team, which has spent 10 days over the last three weekends on snow for the first time at Copper Mountain. Copper annually opens early for the US Ski Team to train and most of the programs in the RMISA usually take advantage of this fact to get on the snow as early as possible.

Things are a little different on the Nordic side, where you need more than one hill covered in snow to train on skis. The Nordic team will look to get on snow for the first time in mid-November.

While the collegiate skiing season doesn't start until Jan. 9 when the Buffs host the Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational at Eldora (alpine) and Steamboat Springs (Nordic), both squads will begin preseason competition in the coming weeks.

The Nordic team will get on snow for the first time over the school's fall break the week of Thanksgiving by heading to West Yellowstone, Mont., where they will get 10 days of training in, with the last for days racing in the Yellowstone Ski Festival from Nov. 20-24, the first races of the preseason.

A smaller portion of the team will then return to West Yellowstone a week later for the US Ski & Snowboard SuperTour Opener Dec. 1-2. The only other competition for the Nordic team before the start of the collegiate season will be at the US Cross Country Championships in Craftsbury, Vt., on Jan. 3-9. The Nordic collegiate season then opens in Steamboat Springs on January 12-13 in Steamboat Springs.

In addition to the last three weekends of training at Copper Mountain in which the Buffs got on snow a total of 10 days, the alpine team will now transition to Eldora, its traditional training ground that opened earlier this week, and the Buffs will hit training especially hard the week that school is out for fall break.

Shortly after that, the Buffs will return to Copper Mountain on Nov. 26-27 for the first preseason races of the season in a pair of giant slalom competitions. The team will also take part in the Holiday Classic at Steamboat Springs from Dec. 20-22.

Mikaela Tommy will be taking part in a World Cup race in Killington, Vt., Nov. 24-25. She will then travel in Europe for some world cup races over the school's winter break before returning for the start of the collegiate season in January. Tommy has 45 career World Cup starts in her career. Fillip Foretjek (eight starts), Max Luukko (one) and Teddy Takki (one) also have World Cup starts under their belts.

Several alpine skiers may also participate in NorAm Cup races but the extent of that has not been determined yet. Tommy finished third in the NorAm Cup last year and won the Giant Slalom title. All of the Buffs on the alpine team have competed in a Continental Cup-level race at some point in their careers.

Colorado University Athletics

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Max Luukko

Teddy Takki

Mikaela Tommy

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