By Gavin Kentch
The Drive for 25, this year’s annual flagship fundraiser for the National Nordic Foundation, ends today. Lest I bury the lede: You should donate here, and you should do so before the end of the day. I have already donated, qua Gavin Kentch. I have already donated, qua Nordic Insights. Your contribution, which is tax-deductible, directly supports both the present and, especially, future generations of American skiing.
With that out of the way, here’s the column:
To scroll through the wall of donor names on the NNF page is to be reminded, for not the first time, that American skiing is just one deeply small town. Look, there’s Michelle Schamberger, Nina’s mom. Susan Schwartz, Kendall Kramer’s mom. Ann Bushey, of the Brian Busheys. Natalie Flowers, as in UAF skier Cole Flowers. Kim Bentley, presumably USSS press officer Leann Bentley’s mom or sister. Julie Ingelfinger, Maeve’s cousin or aunt or grandmother. This is one part fundraiser, one part family reunion for a far-flung, freakishly athletic extended clan.
Russ Parker, uncle to Bend phenom Neve Gerard: “We are so proud of you, Neve. Love, Uncle Russ and Elaine.” Danielle MacBain, another Gerard fan: “We’re so grateful for NNF’s help on Neve’s journey!”
Speaking of Bend: Eric Eggers: “I had the opportunity to chat with Zach at the Bachelor staging area in May, a very thoughtful young man, I wish him the best of luck in competitions!”
Or here’s Barbara and Gary Schneider: “You make us proud every day, Ava. Keep working toward those goals. Love, Grandma and Grandpa.” Try to read that one without tearing up.
Marty Schoonmaker, aka JC’s mom. Dina Schoonmaker, aka JC’s grandmother, who writes, “Rooting for my grandson, JC!” (and who also put in 500 bucks, hells yeah JC’s grandmother). EJ and Mindy Belding, JC’s aunt and uncle, who note: “Special shout out to my handsome nephew JC Schoonmaker ❤️ We ❤️ You.” Handsome JC Schoonmaker himself is also on the list of names, donating funds to lift up others.
This is of course deeply wholesome, as well as giving me cover to refer to the above-mentioned athlete as “handsome JC Schoonmaker” for the rest of his career. But I think that there is a deeper truth here: This sport that we all deeply love is so small in this country, so insular, so overlooked by the rest of the world, that you are guaranteed to know, or at least have very strong connections to, the people competing in it.
Jessie Diggins is, by this point, roughly as good a skier as Jayson Tatum is a basketball player or Mookie Betts is a baseball player, a perennial all-star and on any given day capable of being the best in the world at her pursuit. Are Tatum or Betts’s parents kicking in funds to support NBA or MLB outreach projects? To be fair, they might be; I truly don’t know. But I do know that some familiar names pop up on the NNF donor scroll: Deb and Clay Diggins. You can probably guess whose parents these are.
You know this, but it is worth noting, that people are not acting out of self-interest here. Jessie Diggins is remarkable, but she likely hasn’t received NNF funds in a decade or so, just given the arc of her career. JC Schoonmaker is probably just a few years removed from the up-and-coming status that saw him getting NNF grants, but hopefully is getting a little more support now that he is on the U.S. Ski Team A-Team. These athletes, and their parents, are donating because it will lift up the generation behind them, not because it will directly benefit themselves.
Or, as a pair of Vermont-based ski fans, Dan and Linda Bushey, wrote along with their donation: “We have enjoyed watching Brian grow, develop and progress. He had help along his way, now we help others.”
The U.S. Ski Team past and present is also showing up.
Past: Sophie Caldwell Hamilton: “Go USA! Go Team AVSC!” Liz Stephen: “Let’s splurge for a bottle of wine for all those fancy techs! Go get ’em team!” Holly Brooks: “NNF is crucial to US Ski Development & getting more female coaches on the road is such a tremendous project! Go Team!” Betsy Youngman, a 1988 and 1992 Olympian. Erika Flowers. Kate Arduser. Lina Sutro. (Yes I know some of these latter names were not literally on the national team, but they were damn close, and they know what it takes to chase your dreams at this level.)
Present: Bernie Nelson. Michael Earnhart. Matt Whitcomb. Handsome JC Schoonmaker. Rosie Brennan: “Love having women on the road!” Leann Bentley: “It’s true—the Trail to Gold program gives the U.S. an advantage. Here’s to all the women involved (shoutout Kristen & Bern)—it does make a difference.”
And, hilariously, this made-up entity created just to troll Matt Whitcomb: “From the National Hot Coaches Alliance. NHCA has been a long time supporter of Coach Matt. ‘He’s just the best,’ says KP, NHCA Austin chapter member.” But hey, “Anonymous” here also gave 50 bucks, so count it.
People in this country care about skiing. A lot. I see it in my inbox and on my Instagram comments and out on the Anchorage ski trails [Bradley Cruz, MD, throwing in $500: “Anchorage, Alaska loves Cross-Country skiing!” in case you think I’m the only one saying it] when Zanden gets that breakthrough seventh place, or Gus or Ben or JC gets that first career podium. If you also care, and you like those results, and you’d like to see more of them, the single best thing you can do today is to donate $25 or more to NNF. Go team.
