Season Kickoff Notes - Contact CCAK with any questions or clarifications!

Sunday, November 2nd

 

1. CCAK Board member introductions

2. Besh Cup

   1. Registration is Open!

   2. Locations and distances

      1. Anchorage: Freestyle sprint, classic mass start (10/5/3.75/1)

      2. Homer: Classic individual start (5/2.5/1), freestyle individual start (7.5/3/1)

      3. Fairbanks: Classic sprint, freestyle mass start (15/7.5/3.75/1)

   3. Process for venue change 

      1. Comp Committee will meet on Wednesday 10 days prior to racing to make any changes based on conditions

      2. Final decision may be made as late as Sunday, 6 days prior

   4. New registration deadline

      1. Monday prior to racing at 11:59 PM

   5. New sprint format - Colin Fay

      1. U14 will have Royal Court Heats

      2. U16 will race open qualifier, those that are top 30 will advance to open heats

      3. U16s not in open heats will have Royal Court semis and finals, up to 3 finals

      4. See link above for a detailed heat schedule

   6. Volunteering 

      1. CCAK wants to encourage any parents who are able to volunteer at Besh Cup races, particularly in Homer (Besh 3 & 4) where the organizing committee will need extra help. Contact CCAK for interest.

   7. New Whatsapp group for 2025/26 race season

3. Junior Nationals

   1. Head Coach - Eric Strabel

   2. Qualification Criteria 

      1. The Competition Committee is working on the full selection criteria, but decided in May that the team size should be reduced to 42 on Arctic Winter Games years. 

   3. Team size - 42

   4. Trip dates

      1. Thursday, March 5th 2026 - Sunday, March 15th 2026

   5. Projected cost

      1. With plane ticket - $3750

      2. Without plane ticket - $3000

4. Arctic Winter Games

   1. Head Coach - Connor Scher

   2. Qualification criteria

      1. Athletes qualify through Besh Cup racing

      2. 18 athletes total: 3 per age group U14/U16/U18) per gender

   3. Dates of Trip

      1. Saturday, March 7th 2026 - Sunday, March 15th 2026

   4. Trip Cost: Less than $2000

5. Rules and Regulations - Lin Hinderman

   1. For FIS racers:

      1. Once a skier has a yellow card, they will retain that yellow card until they receive a second, in which case they will be disqualified and their yellow card will reset

      2. Examples for a yellow card: skating in classic race, false start in sprint

   2. For all racers:

      1. Current USSS license is required

      2. For athletes turning 18 this season, Safesport training is required, refresher modules are required every year after

      3. Background check is required every two years for athletes and coaches 18 and over

      4. Sometimes background checks can take several weeks, it is best not to wait

      5. Athletes will not be allowed to register for Besh Cup races until they have a current membership

6. Questions! 

   1. Email info@crosscountryalaska.org with questions at any time

   2. Fundraising: Are there any fundraising plans for the Junior National trip?

      1. CCAK is planning to dedicate one or more of the Tuesday Night Race series to the JN trip, have JN athletes put on the race in exchange for JN trip support