The following press release was recently received from the National Nordic Foundation. Women interested in applying for this year’s program can do so here. You can also read Leslie Hall and Nancy Fiddler’s reflection on the first year of the grant program, née fellowship, here.
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The National Nordic Foundation (NNF) is excited to announce that the application period for Trail to Gold Coaching Grants is now open. The Trail to Gold Coaching Grant program provides American women coaches and technicians the opportunity to gain international-level experience through an immersive internship with the U.S. Ski Team.
The third class of T2G Coaches will further build on the success of the past two years by continuing to add a dynamic, impactful presence to the U.S. Ski Team coaching and ski technician staff on the World Cup. This year’s T2G Coaching Grant program, the second as an NNF Pillar Project, also represents the outgrowth of a successful partnership with the Women Ski Coaches Association (WSCA) and U.S. Ski and Snowboard. And most importantly, the T2G Coaching Grant program continues to celebrate the U.S. Olympic Women’s Cross-Country Book Project’s efforts to tell the story of women in U.S. Skiing, while writing that story’s next chapter. A recap of the first year’s T2G Coaching Grants, authored by Book Project members Leslie Hall and Nancy Fiddler, can be found here.
T2G Coaches receive funding to travel and join the U.S. Ski Team coach and wax technician staff for a two-week competition period of the World Cup. The program is designed to introduce T2G Coaches to all aspects of coaching and waxing at the sport’s highest level, while allowing them to serve as an integral part of the U.S. Ski Team staff throughout their internship. By applying their own coaching and ski service talents to World Cup preparation and competition, T2G Coaches further their coaching skills, and take back their experience to their own programs across U.S. skiing.
Applications are open from Monday, August 26, through Monday, September 9, at 8 p.m. EDT. Women coaches working at any competition level of U.S. skiing are encouraged to apply. Previous T2G Coaches may also apply for this year’s program. Applications will be reviewed by a panel consisting of representatives from the Trail to Gold book committee, the WSCA, and the U.S. Ski Team, including cross-country staff members and a recently retired U.S. World Cup female athlete.
