Dear Skiers, Parents and Coaches,

This letter is to notify you of an important Besh Cup rule.

All J2, J1, and OJ competitors who plan to try out for Junior Olympics or Arctic Winter Games MUST have a valid USSA competition
license by December 15.

Only skiers who have current USSA (United State Ski and Snowboard Association) licenses will earn Junior Olympic (JO) qualifying points in Besh Cup races. If you do not have a USSA license prior to the race, you will not receive qualifying points for that race. You do not need a USSA license to simply compete in Besh Cup races, only to earn JO points.

J2,J1,OJ Skiers: You need a USSA competitor license. This costs $120 (in 2007). Prior members must submit renewal forms before October 15th to avoid a $25 late fee.

J3 Skiers: You DO NOT need a USSA license in order to qualify for Arctic Winter Games. However, if you make the Arctic Winter Games team will need to have a USSA license in order to compete. So if you expect to qualify, you can make your life easier by getting your USSA license early.

The license application can be downloaded here.
You must apply for a USSA license directly through USSA, not through Cross Country Alaska.
It can take 4-6 weeks for USSA to process your license application, so we strongly suggest you apply now.

This rule was implemented prior to the 2004/2005 season for the following reasons:

1. In the past few years, USSA, the United States’ governing body for cross-country ski racing, has placed increased emphasis on National Ranking List (NRL) points as a development tool for junior skiers. NRL points are used to select the US team for World Junior Championships and to determine which skiers will receive USSA funding. Only skiers with USSA licenses are eligible for NRL points. By getting our Alaskan skiers in this pipeline at an early age, we can help them make the most of these opportunities.
2. All skiers who go to Junior Olympics and Arctic Winter Games must have a USSA license. In the past, many of our Alaskan skiers have applied for a USSA license on the eve of JOs, which creates headaches for the skiers and extra work for our coaching staff. We will avoid this problem by having these skiers get USSA licenses at the beginning of the season rather than the end.
3. NRL points are used to seed skiers at Junior Olympics. Skiers who do not have any points must start at the back of the pack. This new policy will ensure that all Alaska JO skiers will earn NRL points in their Besh Cup races and will be seeded appropriately.
4. Besh Cup races are the primary opportunity for most aspiring Alaska skiers to earn NRL points. Because of the way points are scored, it is extremely important for all skiers in the race that the top five finishers have USSA licenses. For this reason, we strongly encourage all top senior and master skiers to get USSA licenses as well.

Please help spread the word so that all Besh Cup skiers are aware of this rule change. If you have any questions, or need a USSA license application mailed to you, please email the CCAK administrator (on the Contact Us page). Thank you for your help in making this new policy a success.

More Info:

Questions? Try our USSA license FAQ

For an explanation of how you earn JO and AWG points in Besh Cup races, click here.

Download USSA license

USSA members website