On Sunday, October 30th, when the rest of the world probably had more halloween on their minds than skiing, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Ski Team hosted their annual Ski Fest. The ski fest is a night that celebrates skiing and an opportunity to introduce the community to the Nanooks squad. The event, which was held in the school's recreation center, featured free food, an expo where manufacturers showed off the season's newest gear, a raffle, a paper airplane contest (more on that later), and keynote speaker: former NCAA Champion, Olympian, and current U.S. coach Pete Vordenberg. Vordenberg addressed the question: Should an athlete ski in college? Namely, is college an important developmental step in route to the U.S. Ski Team? His speech suggested that there is no one right answer, other than that each individual athlete is ultimately responsible for his/her own personal athletic development. Since the NorAm SuperSeries events take place in Fairbanks this coming weekend, some of the nation's top athletes attended the ski fest and were introduced to the audience and/or signed autographs. The highlight of the evening for many youngsters was the paper airplane contest. Children climbed to an upper balcony and attempted to lauched their paper airplanes closest to a Toko wax box that lie open on the table. The honorary judge for this event was none other than top U.S. skier Kris Freeman, who upon careful visual measurement pronouced one lucky child the winner and new owner of the Toko wax box. UAF Nordic also opened their brand new, impressive waxroom so that guests could take a look around.
