Junior Olympic Hopefuls: Renew Your USSA Membership Now
Cory Smith
Oct 4, 2024
 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 MUST have a valid USSA competition
license by December 15, 2005.
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.
J2,J1,OJ Skiers: You need a USSA competitor license. This costs
$110 for first-time members. Prior members must submit renewal forms before October 15th
to avoid a $25 late fee.
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Besh Cup races are the primary opportunity for most Alaska juniors
to earn NRL points. Because of the way points are scored, it is extremely
important for all skiers in the race that the top finishers have USSA
licenses. In the past, we have had skiers without points finish in
the top five and ‘ruin the points’ for the rest of the skiers.
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 Cory
Smith . Thank you for your help in making this new policy a success.
Questions? Try our USSA license FAQ
For an explanation of how you earn points in Besh Cup races, click
here.
Download
USSA license
USSA
members website
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