• Another camp at Mt. Hood is being offered to Northern Division athletes.  
• Silver Run has posted its Summer Camp (Beartooth Pass) information.  
• In its continuing effort to provide the best structure possible for athletes to achieve their Olympic dreams, the USSA enlisted the pro bono support of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company to help evaluate the way support is delivered to athletes and parents through USSA clubs and development programs nationwide.  McKinsey & Company were asked to consider several issues and offer recommendations for how the USSA can grow into a better organization.  McKinsey examined all facets of the USSA in an objective approach.  Over 100 interviews across the organization were conducted with coaches, club and regional leaders, athletes and parents, as well as experts at other successful sports and non-profit organizations.  These interviews revealed that there is significant support for the USSA to become a more club-based organization with a more effective partnership and support to member clubs.  This transition will be focused on three major areas: strengthening club support and services, improving communications and enhancing athlete and parent/other member support and services.  The study was undertaken in winter 2012-13, with implementation beginning in the spring of 2013.  To view a more detailed report on McKinsey & Company's findings, as well as how the USSA plans to execute these plans, click here.
• The USSA Club Excellence Conference is approaching.  This conference is designed for USSA club leaders.  Topics cover ski and snowboard club management, organization, leadership, operational and athletic programming areas.  Scheduled just before the USSA Congress meetings, this educational event is a valuable addition and allows club leaders to also participate in the sport meetings where USSA rules, regulations and programming are discussed.  Highlights:
• What Parents Want From a Ski & Snowboard Club
  Lester Keller, PhD, USSA Sport Psychology Coordinator & Alpine Development Director
  This presentation will review the research done by Dr. Keller into parent expectations and motivations for enrolling their children in ski and snowboard programs. By better understanding parent needs, clubs will have greater ability to recruit new families, retain current members and achieve personal development and performance goals.
• Incorporating LTAD into Ski and Snowboard Programming
  Matt Terwillegar, Sport Manager, Utah Olympic Park
  Matt has spent years incorporating the principles of long-term athlete development into the sport programs run by the Utah Olympic Park, including 2012 USSA Club of the Year FLY Freestyle. He will talk about how to deliver age-appropriate programming in terms of choices, programming, and education for coaching staff, parents and athletes.
• Clubs Raising the Bar,  Panel Discussion
  A panel discussion highlighting game-changing projects being taken on by clubs. Panelists will share how they were able to take the projects from an idea to reality and the lessons learned along the way
Click here for a PDF copy of the full schedule.  Don't forget to sign up for the conference by clicking here.
• Information on the Mt. Hood/Northern summer camp has been posted.  
• The Northern Division Awards for the season have been posted.  Congratulations to the winners!
• MISSING ITEMS CORNER.  
• Skis at Discovery.  Shane Petrey (on the MSEF team) lost a pair of Atomic Racers.  They are "free skis" that were at the top of the course.  The skis are marked with "petrey".  They are hoping to get them back before the YSL championships in Big Sky. Contact Stacy Petry if you have info, spetrey@stauberusa.com
• Black Spyder Boys Force Training snowpants with suspenders.  Size 12 in very good condition.  Charcoal gray Spyder logo.  Green, blue and red pattern on suspenders.  No name.  Last seen next to BSSEF  team jacket just prior to U14 boys first slalom race on Sunday at Missoula YSL races.  If found please contact Beck Trebesch (BSSEF) at 406/579-6809 or at Discovery this weekend.  
• Still listed as missing from an earlier race:  Silver Run is missing clothing from the race the weekend of January 20, a Men's Small Obermeyer puffy coat, dark blue.  Email silverrunski@gmail.com if you picked it up by mistake.  
• "Intents to Compete" for events are due to Jeremy and Sherri the 1st day of the month before the event takes place.  Please use this form if you are not familiar the format.  Remember intents for Western Region events (includes divisional FIS) and out of region USSA events come to Sherri and Jeremy.  Nor-Ams, FIS U's, and out of Region FIS are done through the on line process.  IMPORTANT NOTE:  Any one OUT of high school must submit an intent to compete at WR Junior Champs and also must have Northern paperwork in, attend at least 1 ND tech event and 1 ND speed event to remain on the selection boards. Also - a FIS license is required to go, so be aware - FIS licenses take about 10 days to go through.
• PLEASE NOTE:  Race Administrators throughout the division have asked us to remind you of proper entry procedures:
• Use ONLY the USSA Team Entry form.  A sample of that form, filled out, is here.
• Fill out the form completely using the event columns
• Use a separate form for EACH gender!  
• Put coaches names and USSA #'s on the bottom and any additional info the RA might need.  
• Do NOT enter, pull, add or change the entry WITHOUT using this form as an ATTACHMENT.  In the subject line of your email, put your team's name and what event they are for, i.e, MSEF Entries for Stano Cup.  
• Once again DO NOT use emails for changes, pulls or adds.  Too many emails back and forth are too difficult to follow.  
• IF there is a deadline and a late fee, you WILL be charged.  
• If after you submit your entries, something changes - make the changes in RED and attach the same form with the changes and date the changes!  This clarifies things much easier for the RA.  
• Northern Policy is that you must pull athletes by 5 pm the night prior to the event (except in cases of illness or injury) or PAY the full entry fee for all days.
• The 12-13 Handbook has been posted.
• There are changes to the current USSA Comp Guide.  
• Dave Bayliss has put together a website for Northern Division for collaborative learning for ski race officials, coaches, and parents.  Learn from and teach your peers from across the USSA about managing and officiating a successful ski race.  Ask questions; get answers.  Check it out, here.
• The amended By Laws have been approved and are available for distribution.
• USSA is lauching a new program called SkillsQuest as part of its Alpine Training System.  Read about it here.
• A reminder of the Travel Policy, found here.  Lodging and transportation arrangements are made with a certain number of athletes in mind.  Please acquaint yourself with the Travel Policy for Northern Division when it comes to payments and refunds.  
• Due to the reorganization of the USSA site, I have downloaded and posted the Master Packet of USSA forms to save others the trouble of finding these forms.  That zip file is here.
• USSA now has online events scheduling for sanctioned events.  Coaches or club presidents will need to register and have your Club ID # ready.  Note there is a late fee after November 15th!  Please note that events fees increased this year.
• Teams providing "comps" to selected racers will need to send in the Division Head Tax form, located here.

2012 - 2013 USSA Deadlines and Form

It's time to get your racing license for next season!   To compete in a USSA Sanctioned Event, an athlete must be a member of USSA.  This year you can apply for your license ONLINE.  

Please note completed applications will only be processed with proper payment.   USSA accepts Visa, Mastercard, personal and cashiers checks.   The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association prefers Visa.

The deadline to be included on the first alpine FIS points lists is May 31st.  To assure that your membership is processed for inclusion on any list, your membership materials must be received by USSA at least seven days prior to the closing date for that list.  Registrations are not considered received until they are complete.  It is the athlete's responsibility to ensure that his or her USSA and/or FIS membership registration is received.  You can contact USSA member services (435-647-2666) to check the status of your application.  Remember to include your Northern Division fees.

Please note:  USSA and FIS points are not continually being updated they are recalculated for each new list.   For more information on how points are calculated, see chapter 3 of your USSA Alpine Competition Guide.

FIS License Applications

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association alpine competitors registering for FIS who have not sent in their FIS registration by August 15, 2012 will have to pay $155, compared to $85.  To complete registration USSA must have a completed USSA Alpine Competitor application or renewal form, a completed FIS declaration and payment for USSA, FIS and any other applicable division or state dues.  This year, you can register online.  Or click here to go and download the Adobe registration application.

The FIS and USSA hardcopy forms require the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free here.

Northern Division Handbook 2012 - 2013

Download this useful guide to racing rules for the Northern Division.  

Payment

Payments for racing fees can be made to the following.   If you are using credit card payment, please note that we only accept American Express, Visa, and MasterCard.

Sherri Hale
Northern Division USSA Manager
P.O. Box 217
Whitefish, MT  59937
(Home) 406-225-2432
(FAX) 406-545-2289
(Cell) (406) 871-7429
nodivmanager@northernussa.org

 

Northern ACC Chairman Jeremy Ueland (406) 579-7005 acc-chair@northernussa.org	Northern Division President Rick Duncan 2248 West River Rd Deer Lodge, MT 59722 406-846-9631 (H) 406-846-2757, ext. 26(W) 406-560-5021 (C)
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