IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships Report

As part of the entertainment segment for the opening ceremonies of the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) World Championships, there was a lumberjack competition/demonstration between two talented participants, both hailing from northwest Wisconsin. During the difficult and dangerous springboard chopping event one of the competitors fell off his board in the midst of a powerful swing. Wet feet and a wobbly smooth board make for slippery conditions. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, but without missing a beat (chop) our brave lumberjack was back on his board swinging away. Although the competition had already been decided by then, the lumberjack continued to chop at his tree with no intention of quitting. Spurred on by the victor, the crowd began to cheer louder and louder, bursting into a thunderous ovation when he finally chopped the top off his tree. I share this story because it pretty much sums up the spirit of the IPC World Championships. Although it comes across as sounding cliché, every single participant in these games is a winner, and they are backed fully by everyone involved - one hundred percent.

The stadium and start/finish has been put together on the flat area where the old Telemark coliseum used to be. The trail winds down that sharp hill near the Hytte, and then heads off toward the downhill ski area with different length and grade variations depending on the event. The trail designers seemed to have taken advantage of every possible hill because this is a difficult course. It is mostly in the open meadow for easy viewing with the hills reaching the maximum allowable grade of 12% in some cases. I hope they keep this trail open for the future use; it looks like fun! For the standing skiers, they have to make several difficult climbs before the trail heads off into the woods near the mountain biking course. They arrive back into the stadium after a screaming fast downhill and tight corner. It bears repeating: this is one tough course!

I venture to guess that anyone with a bit of knowledge about the Paralympics would accept the fact that these athletes have faced unfathomable adversity to make it to this competition. What has surprised and dazzled me, though, is their high level of athleticism. These athletes are fierce competitors and talented skiers. They ski fast - really fast! I carefully watched US medal favorite Andy Soule leave the gate, noticing his perfectly synchronous pole movements and his grace and agility to manage corners. No wasted energy. Every poling motion was done with quiet efficiency which paid off in huge dividends when he had to climb back to the stadium. Andy has already demonstrated his outstanding skill winning a bronze and silver medal in the sitting biathlon event. Oksana Masters and Tatyana McFadden are here. They are relatively new to winter sports after making their marks in summer events.

The standing and visually impaired skiers demonstrate exceptionally clean and smooth technique with lots of glide. Some skiers in the former category have no arms at all, yet they are still able to reach and maintain a high level of speed throughout the entire course - including those nasty climbs.

Canadian and Olympic champion Brian McKeever, guided by Erik Carleton, was the winner in the men’s long visually impaired cross country race. Brian just missed out competing for Canada in the Olympic Games, finishing fifth in the coaches selection process in picking a four-man team. He is one very fast skier which puts a lot of pressure on his guide to keep up with him. There can be no bad days for guides when you are on ‘Team Brian’. The way the guides communicate with their ski competitor is fascinating. A radio device is often used. No physical contact is allowed.

I’ve been fortunate to both watch the competition and interact with the athletes personally. Through the informative IPC web site, I have read each athlete’s biography and gained a little better understanding of the path that brought them here. There are over 180 athletes participating from 20 countries. Beyond the physical challenges they overcame to achieve this athletic accomplishment, many have traveled great distances to be here which presents its own challenges as any global traveler knows only too well. Skiing requires a lot of bags and equipment. There are language barriers, time zone changes, customs must be cleared, and then you have to eat, stay hydrated, and get plenty of rest. This and other events could not happen without dedicated IPC staff, coaches, and the many volunteers who generously devoted so much of their time to make this all possible. I was as inspired as much by the efforts of the many local volunteers, the CXC staff, the Cable Chamber, and all other support crews as I was of the competing athletes.

The US team consists of Oksana Masters, Tatyana McFadden, Augusto “Goose” Perez, Omar Bermejo, Sean Halsted, Andy Soule, Dan Cnossen, Bryan Price, and Park Rapids native Aaron Pike. Omar is coming back to the Northland later in February to compete in the American Birkebeiner FT race. He has his sites set on crushing the 3:00 hour mark. I believe he will!

On the second night of the competition, Sunday, my wife Ann and I were given the honor to present the medals to the women’s and men’s visually impaired champions. If I have ever received a greater honor than this in my lifetime it is not coming back to me at this moment. This has been truly an amazing event and I feel fortunate to have been involved, even in a small way.

While finishing putting on my boots for a ski on Sunday, I noticed some resistance in my zipper. Figuring that it was just stuck I gave it a really good pull which resulted in a broken zipper. The boot was clearly beyond repair, but I recalled that I had kept my old boots in storage. After locating them I made the change and finally headed out the door for a ski. After Saturday’s thaw and Sunday’s cold temps I found out that my connector trail to the Birkie was pock marked, frozen solid, and borderline dangerous. I skied out a few Ks when thinking that my old boots just didn’t feel right, it just wasn’t the best of conditions, and thus it would be OK for me to just bag it then and there and turn around. It was at that point when I thought of my new friend, USA Paralympian Omar Bermejo, and wondered what he would do if he were in my boots. The voice in my head told me that Omar wouldn’t even have stopped for a moment to question the decision, he would ski on and so should I. I kept skiing and had an amazing time.

There is still time to witness and be part of this historic event. I guarantee you will get caught up in the excitement and cheer loudly for all these outstanding athletes.

Check out the event’s web site: http://www.paralympic.org/cable-2015

Thanks Omar
Thank you volunteers and event staff
Thank you Paralympians
You are an inspiration to us all!!