This was the most successful year yet for the NCCSEF. We met our top priority of raising enough money to save the J1 Scandinavian Cup Trip. $11,360 was raised to support the J1 trip, with $4000 pledged for each of the next two years. There was a combination of donors including small $30 donations from trip alumni and large donations from private individuals.
2003-2004 saw a shift in the way the NCCSEF raises funds. The board made a decision to eliminate the newsletter and membership and instead focus on donations. This allowed us to drastically cut expenses and focus on fund-raising. We raised more money through donations alone than we have raised through membership and donations combined the last couple of years.
This was the most successful year yet for the NCCSEF. We met our top priority of raising enough money to save the J1 Scandinavian Cup Trip. $11,360 was raised to support the J1 trip, with $4000 pledged for each of the next two years. There was a combination of donors including small $30 donations from trip alumni and large donations from private individuals.
2003-2004 saw a shift in the way the NCCSEF raises funds. The board made a decision to eliminate the newsletter and membership and instead focus on donations. This allowed us to drastically cut expenses and focus on fund-raising. We raised more money through donations alone than we have raised through membership and donations combined the last couple of years.
Unfortunately, The U.S. Ski Team is being forced to cut their budget again this season. This year the World Junior team is taking the hit. There will be no U.S. Ski Team funding to the World Junior Team athletes this year. This puts U.S. athlete development at a serious risk unless the NCCSEF again steps up to do something about it. As I said last year, “One of the main reasons Rick and I started the NCCSEF was to prevent programs from being axed when the funding dried up post 2002.” That time is now.
Our success with raising money for the J1 trip needs to be duplicated for the World Junior Trip. I believe we should provide full funding for the top qualifiers and raise the amount we offer the other athletes $250 to $1000 per athlete. There is a likelihood that U-23 games will be run concurrently with World Juniors in 2005. This will be decided at the FIS meetings in June. I think we need be funding our top U-23 athletes as well. Funding everyone is not in our budget yet, but we could provide funds for a couple of the top athletes based on their performance at U-23’s.
This was another good year for the U.S. Ski Team in the senior ranks, with a couple of near podium finishes by Freeman and the reemergence of Rebecca Dussault. Our World Junior team slipped a bit this year but the J1 trip had all time highs. The development we have been supporting for nine years is paying off. We can take special pride in Freeman and Dussault’s results, as they have received a number of NCCSEF grants and were on the second World Junior team we supported. If Freeman was not funded by the USST to World Juniors five years ago, would he have still stayed with our sport? We need to ensure that these developing athletes are not the victims of the USST budget crisis.
Thank you,
Reid Lutter
Calendar
Calendar sales were below last year’s numbers. Sales were $16850, down from $23000.
We again sold out sponsorships ($6950 cash + in-kind Swix product).
The calendar continues to be our biggest fundraiser, although we are seeing fewer clubs commit to calendar sales over 100 pieces. We lost a lot of our big clubs this past year, and that cost us around 500- 750 calendar sales. Some of our sponsors donate items that we in turn sell to local skiers. Again in 2004 it was a challenge to sell all the items.
Computer
A new desktop was purchased at the end of fiscal 2003 to replace the one purchased in 1998. This new desktop includes DVD editing software, which we will use to convert all our videos to DVD this summer.
Endowment
We did not do a significant endowment drive this year. As a result only $300 of new money was put in. However, the fund is up with the market to $28,058 as of 5/15/04. All the dividend income is reinvested, and we have never taken any money out of the Endowment to date. All investing is done in consultation with Salomon Smith Barney advisor Bill Hocking, who can be reached at 651-215-8480.
Future Fund
We shrunk our Future Fund disbursements this year to match the funds we raised in 2003. Through the J1 trip and World Juniors, we disbursed $11,362. We will tentatively earmark $10,000 for Future Fund grants in 2004-05. This excludes the amount we will raise for the J1 trip and any additional funds we will raise for WJ full funding and U-23 funding.
Our Future Fund priorities continue to be: World Juniors, J1 Trip, U-23 and then other grant requests, respectively.
$8700 was contributed to the Future Fund from our general fund at the end of the year. The Future Fund contribution is based on 50% of calendar and membership gross sales. The change in our membership policy and reduction in calendar sales caused this number to be smaller then in recent years. Our investments were up with the market this year and are currently valued at $50,000, an increase of 25% over last year at this time. Combined with the $10,700 in the FMA checking, the Future Fund has now grown to over $60,000. All holdings are blue chip companies with a long-term buy and hold philosophy. All investing is done in consultation with Salomon Smith Barney advisor Bill Hocking, who can be reached at 651-215-8480.
Membership
As was mentioned earlier, we stopped soliciting memberships this year. $555 came in from members as donations.
National Cross-Country Ski Competitor
After nearly 40 issues over eight years, we halted publication of the National Cross-Country Ski Competitor this year. The time, expense and volunteer hours outweighed the advantages of continuing to publish the National Cross-Country Ski Competitor. We have gone to a web log on our web site, which we hope will continue our tradition of covering junior events.
Nordic Coaches Education Association
We put together a clinic for the Midwest coaches this year. Twenty-four coaches participated in the clinic. The event was funded by the proceeds from the NCEA lecture series in 2002-03. The 2003 clinic lost approximately $1500. This is an area that we can expand and I believe make money in. However, the budget will have to be tighter than the one I ran for this clinic.
Skiathon
The Swix Skiathon made money in 2003. We still have the challenge of getting more teams involved and getting the prizes out in a timely manner. Once again the teams that participated loved the event and the yield for their clubs. Our net income for the Skiathon was $2480 this season.
Rebecca Dussault will serve as a Skiathon intern for 2004-05, promoting the program and speaking on our behalf. She received a $3000 stipend in March. The funds for her internship were privately raised.
Video Sales
We paid the USOC $2000 for rights to the Olympic videos. They have continued to sell well, and I expect a big up-turn when we launch the DVD collection later this summer. Gross sales were $7911 this year. Expenses were $2688, which included the rights fees. We partnered with Lee Borowski for his “The new simple secrets of skating,” which we began selling on our web site this spring.
The NCCSEF is looking for the 2004 Junior Skiers of the Year. We need nominations from each division for their regional skier of the year. Please email Reid the nominations. Last years skiers of the year are now up on the site. Pictures to follow shortly. Click here to find out who they are.
School Year Program to start August 2004, skiers live and train at the Solleftea Ski Gymnasium in Sweden
The National Cross-Country Ski Education Foundation (NCCSEF) has formed a partnership with Solleftea Ski Gymnasium in Sweden to bring six cross-country skiers to Sweden to live and train for the school year. Pete Phillips will be the program director of the North American Ski Gymnasium (NASG), set to begin August 2004.
High School seniors and college-aged athletes will have the opportunity to ski and study at the Solleftea Ski Gymnasium in Sweden from August to May. A team of coaches and teachers are designing a set of classes and activities to provide the best vehicles for learning the language, taking part in local life, and maximizing training opportunities.
Solleftea is recognized as one of Sweden’s best ski academies. The school already enthusiastically participates in exchanges with ski academies in France and Finland, and is excited about a program with North America. Two members of the Solleftea coaching staff have spent time with programs in the U.S. and have worked with American skiers.
Skiers will ski in Europe as members of the Solleftea Ski Club, and will train with the skiers from Solleftea. There will also be some training sessions just with the North Americans. Athletes who are following a training plan from a home coach will receive support, advice and encouragement from the NASG coaches. We recognize the connection between home clubs and home coaches. We want to support that arrangement, not change it.
The athletes will live with local families or in individual apartments with other students from Sweden. Athletes will not live with other North Americans. We’ll gather together daily and will have a common spot to unwind, share a meal, and shoot the breeze, but immersion in Swedish culture is a cornerstone of the program. The NASG staff will bethere to monitor training and study and to provide easily accessible support.
There is room for only 6 athletes in our inaugural class. Applications are due May 14th, 2004. Acceptances will be announced on May 21 st , 2004. Call Pete Phillips at 207-824-4824 or the NCCSEF at 651-698-1908 for an application. Applications will be available on-line May 1 st at www.nccsef.org.
Tuition for the program will be $17,000 and includes school tuition, group travel to competitions, entry fees, and room and board from late August ‘04 until late May of ‘05. It does not include airfare.
For more information contact Program Director Pete Phillips 207-824-4824 or NCCSEF President Reid Lutter 651-698-1908.
North American Ski Gymnasium
Solleftea Ski Gymnasium
1821 University Ave #S248
Saint Paul, MN 55104
651-698-1908 (office)
207-824-4824 (Director)
Application for Admission
Thank you for your interest in the inaugural year of the North American Ski Gymnasium (NASG). Attached is the application for admission. You are encouraged to complete it as soon as possible as there are only six spots available and we use a rolling admission process.
The North American Ski Gymnasium will cost $17,000. That will cover all food, lodging, training expenses, camp expenses, coaching, racing fees in Europe and classes. You will attend language, sports physiology and culture classes as part of a regular school term with skiers ages 16-21. The program runs from August 27 – May 20. There will be a winter break from December 19 – January 9. You are welcome to stay in Sweden over the break, or you can return home for the holidays and U.S. Senior Nationals. The NASG will have staff to support you at U.S. Senior Nationals in January. Athletes will cover all transportation to and from Stockholm, and will cover Senior Nationals costs.
Attached is the information you will need to apply for a student visa to live in Sweden for the year. You should start to assemble the required items so you can apply as soon as you are accepted. Once accepted, the NASG will supply the accompanying paperwork to finish your visa application. You can visit the Swedish Consulate’s website at www.swedennewyork.com and click on “Studying in Sweden” for additional information. Solleftea is considered a folk high school.
The primary goal of this year abroad is to help you become a tougher, faster, and better skier. There are secondary goals that are almost as important: learning a new language, living and working as part of a team, opening up to a different culture and a different view of the world and, in general, expanding your horizon and your ‘comfort zone’. You need to be eager for the whole experience and ready to truly take an active part in making it the best it can be.
Please feel free to call or write me with questions.
Pete Phillips
207 824 4824
gamlefisken@yahoo.com
North American Ski Gymnasium
Solleftea Ski Gymnasium
2004 – 2005 Application for Enrollment
Name:
Address:
City, State Zip
Date of Birth: Gender:
Phone: Email Address:
Parents Names:
Parents Contact information:
High School Attended:
Date Graduated/Anticipated Graduation Date:
G.P.A.: Rank in Class:
Number of Years Skiing:
Coaches:
On an attached sheet please complete the following questions:
Please attach two recommendations; one must be from a coach.
- NASG Application (pdf)
- Swedish Visa Info (pdf)
- Swedish Visa Application (pdf)
The U.S. World Junior Championships Team traveled to Norway in February for four races. The NCCSEF has helped fund kids trips to World Juniors since 1998. In 2004 the NCCSEF will have to raise additional funds for World Juniors because the U.S. Ski Team is facing another set of budget cuts. Here are some stories from World Juniors in the athletes own words.
World Junior Training Camp – Tim Damrow
Before the races in Stryn began, the team traveled to Lillehammer for a small training camp, and some skiing on the 1994 Olympic trails. We arrived in Lillehammer on the first day, got unpacked and then fought to stay awake until the night. We were all dazed from the traveling and ready to get some rest. After what seemed like an eternity we finally got to go to bed.
We awoke the next morning and got ready to go out skiing. I don’t remember it not snowing for more then an hour, it was constantly coming down throughout the stay in Lillehammer. We drove up the rode to the Olympic stadium and headed out on the trails. Because of the amount of snow they were very soft and powdery, making for some semi-slow skiing. We finished skiing and headed back to the birkebeiner hotel. The “apartment” that we stayed in had a nice dining/living area, and the rooms we slept in were about half the size of a dorm room. The food consisted of boiled potatoes, bread, pasta, fish and fruits.
The U.S. World Junior Championships Team traveled to Norway in February for four races. The NCCSEF has helped fund kids trips to World Juniors since 1998. In 2004 the NCCSEF will have to raise additional funds for World Juniors because the U.S. Ski Team is facing another set of budget cuts. Here are some stories from World Juniors in the athletes own words.
World Junior Training Camp – Tim Damrow
Before the races in Stryn began, the team traveled to Lillehammer for a small training camp, and some skiing on the 1994 Olympic trails. We arrived in Lillehammer on the first day, got unpacked and then fought to stay awake until the night. We were all dazed from the traveling and ready to get some rest. After what seemed like an eternity we finally got to go to bed.
We awoke the next morning and got ready to go out skiing. I don’t remember it not snowing for more then an hour, it was constantly coming down throughout the stay in Lillehammer. We drove up the rode to the Olympic stadium and headed out on the trails. Because of the amount of snow they were very soft and powdery, making for some semi-slow skiing. We finished skiing and headed back to the birkebeiner hotel. The “apartment” that we stayed in had a nice dining/living area, and the rooms we slept in were about half the size of a dorm room. The food consisted of boiled potatoes, bread, pasta, fish and fruits.
We woke up each morning and were out skiing by about 9:30. We would ski for 1-2 hours and then come back to rest, eat, or do homework. There wasn’t much of the latter happening though. On a couple of occasions the coaches brought us to downtown Lillehammer to do some shopping and see the sights. It was fun to see all the stores and just how big skiing is in Norway. It isn’t just a sport, it’s part of their lifestyle. The skiing throughout the week was awesome because of the amount of snow, the experience of being in the former Olympic venue, and all the work the coaches did to keep our skis prepared. It was a great training camp where we all stayed healthy and felt prepared for the upcoming races.
World Juniors x 2 – Sonne Nordgren
I am writing from the beautiful fjordlands of Norway. I've been here for a few days now getting ready for cross country world juniors. Today I went out for an hour ski in the pouring rain. We were skiing through pools and streams of water. I've never skied in anything like that before. Tomorrow is the 5 km skate race, my first race here at world juniors. I'm hoping the weather will be a little nicer than today. So far it has been a good experience here in Norway.
For three weeks before I traveled to Norway I was in Lanselbourg, France for biathlon World Junior Championships. I did four races there, three individuals and the relay. Overall it was a very good experience. I didn't have the results I was hoping for, but by next year perhaps I will have learned how to shoot and I can place higher in the field. It was extremely beautiful in the French Alps. We had some very interesting weather there also though. The first few days there we had a huge snow storm that dropped a couple of feet of snow. During one of the races they actually had to cancel in the middle because it was snowing and blowing so hard that we couldn't see the targets!
This year has been an excellent opportunity for me to compete in two world junior events. Both have a group of very fast and talented athletes to compete against. Getting to know athletes from other nations and then racing against them is a lot of fun. I'm hoping for some good results in the next few races here in Norway. I think the US team as a whole will be able to produce some excellent performances in the races to come. We haven't been able to blow away the rest of the field yet, but we are getting better competing against all these Europeans. Keep training hard back home!
Sonne Nordgren
World Junior Championships: US Men’s Team Race Diary by Beau Baldock
Leading into the sprints at World Juniors on February the 7th four days of racing and preparation had already passed, and the competition was well under way. From the first day of races it was very apparent that the level of competitiveness was exceptionally high with both male and female athletes that had achieved top 30 finishes in World Cup races earlier in the season. Despite such intimidating and accomplished rivals, spirits remained high on the US Team, and everyone approached the final set of races very professionally and confidently both mentally and physically. We all knew that we had come to race, and we set about making all the final preparations and adjustments to perform at our very best (this of course greatly aided by the exceptional coaching staff composed of Pete Vordenburg, Ben Husaby, Sten Fjeldheim, and team doctor Billy Haug).
The morning of the sprint race greeted everyone with a pleasant surprise. The past number of days had been plagued by sporadic and incessant bouts of rain, and the courses had been reduced basically to mush, but the cooler temperatures and winds overnight helped to remove some of the moisture content from the snow and firm up the tracks. The stage was set for a fast day of racing. Competing for the men’s team would be Casey Simons, Tyson Flaherty, Mike Sinnott, and Beau Baldock. As we all set about our individual warm-ups everyone remained extremely focused and went through every detail of strategy and technical parts of the course that we had previously discussed (although, in the case of a sprint, the strategy is never to complicated… start hard, go harder, and finish harder still).
Beginning with the first man out of the starting gate, the qualifying round times proved to be staggeringly fast. With fast conditions prevailing, the top qualifying time was set by Robin Bryntesson of Sweden in 1:39.52. As the Americans came racing through the finish, it became apparent that unfortunately none would be moving onward into the elimination heats, but the times being posted by all of the US men showed promise and potential as we all were within seconds of continuing onward to the rounds. The results for the US junior men are as follows: Beau Baldock 27th, Tyson Flaharty 36th, Casey Simons 43rd, and Mike Sinnott 65th. Though none of us made it into the rounds, we crossed the line knowing we had put in our best effort, making for a successful day of racing. After the qualifying round of sprints, the men’s team headed out on course to cheer on the two American female qualifiers Katie Ronssee and Lindsey Williams and watch the men’s heats. Medallists for the day in the men’s field were Gold to Robin Bryntesson of Sweden, Silver to Ville Verkama of Finland, and Bronze to Martin Stockinger of Austria. All in all the day witnessed some exciting and fast races with impressive efforts on both the US men’s and women’s teams. The week of racing was not yet over, though, and preparations began immediately for the promising relay races scheduled for following day Sunday the 8th.
Men’s 30k Mike Sinnott
The first time I had ever done a 30km was at US nationals this year. For the majority of the World Junior team I think that this was true, or else they had skied one more the previous year. On top of the lack of experience, none of us had done a mass start 30km. That’s where we stood on Feb 3. The opening race for World Juniors 2004 was a 30km classic. Athletes chosen to race were Brett Bedard, Tim Damrow, Casey Simons, and myself, Mike Sinnott. Tyson Flaherty and Beau Baldock were running up and down the trails, screaming for us and waiting for their chance to battle the world. Despite a large extent of trails, the competition committee opted to use just 5km for the entire week (except the sprints). We were to race 6 laps of the 5km course, directly following the women’s 3 laps for their 15 km. The one catch to this 6 lap setup is that if you were lapped by the leaders, you were to finish that lap then step off the course as a DNF. The course was high atop a mountain, and weaved around a sparsely wooded area. It wound passed a small deserted farm and stayed near the stadium for a splendidly designed spectator course. The terrain was fair, with long hills, short hills, flats, and slightly technical downhills. There would be two tracks set around the course but more through the stadium. It looked like a lot of fun.
The mass start seeds were selected based on FIS points. Thus, of the 72 racers, I was ranked 72nd. Luckily the Belarus team showed up late, and they were all seeded behind me. I was actually excited about my seed, because it meant I was the underdog, and I had everyone in my sights. My finishing position would be based off how many people I passed. I could pick them off and work my way up the ranks. At the start I jumped right into it, making my way to the front. At one point I jumped between the tracks and just doubled polled passed everyone. I was filled with adrenaline and determined to jump into the lead pack. After about 2 or 3 km, I settled down a bit and joined the regular flow of things, but by now I could see the leaders and had already considerably increased my position. Through all my scrambling, I had even managed to make it into the lead for the Americans. Then, we reached the hillier section. I noticed that I could keep up on all the ups, but when a downhill came I was losing ground and had to fight back up to the pack. I was already starting to drop from my pack by the end of the first lap. Half way through the second lap I realized what I had done. I had sprinted my first two km of a 30 km, and worked real hard for the next 5km. With 4 and _ laps, I was pooped. I realized then, that I was not the best skier on the course that day, and I probably wanted to slow my pace. The leaders had already broken free, and the pack I was struggling to stay with was in the middle of the overall standings. It was around then that Casey Simons went by me (as did many racers as I slowed down to prevent any bonking). For the few laps, I followed about 20 seconds or so behind him, never letting him leave my sight. I fell in with a new group of skiers, leading them on the ups and falling behind again on the downhills. Slowly, I picked the pace back up and started to gain on Casey. My initial fatigue and adrenaline were gone, I was settling comfortably into a better rhythm for myself. By the fifth lap, I still felt strong and started picking people off again. Just before the stadium, I pulled back into the lead for the Americans.
As I circled the stadium for the last time, I could hear cheers roaring and a tremendous yell-the leaders were coming into sight on their last lap. I wouldn’t be passed, but I later learned that a little excitement was brewing for the Americans. One was in dead sprint for the finish with the leader to avoid dropping out (many skiers had already been lapped and dropped out). He had been passed, but was determined no to lose, and fought back into the lead! They came into the stadium and sprinted for the blaring crowd. One sprinted for victory, one sprinted for pride. They rounded the last corner leading into a straightaway and the American pulled away! He out-sprinted the winner. It may not have been the most ideal situation, but I think it shows a little about that racer. He was tired and mentally destroyed, but he wouldn’t fade away. He wanted that finish and found something extra deep inside.
I personally didn’t have such excitement, but I did have one more lap to go. I took the last feed, found a surprise coffee and coke mixture, and buckled down. There were weary racers ahead and I knew I had more in me to make up ground. I could see them ahead and saw their sloppy technique and fatigue. Feeling good, I started to reel them in and managed to pass multiple racers, but I, too, was tired. I saw some of the sloppiest racers ahead, and could do nothing to catch them. I crossed the line in 58th place, which would be my personal best for the week. It was nothing special, but I felt altogether good about it. I was the first American, which was a plus because all of them had beat me in the US, and I was at World Juniors. I learned not to jump out too hard in a mass start, and I learned a little more about jockeying for position (which, mind you, is very professional over seas compared to the Eastern College Circuit). None of the US guys were lapped or dropped out. We all had come to race and weren’t going to give up. It was a powerful learning experience, and I feel better prepared already to get it done next year.
Top Finishers were:
1. Anatoly Neuchesov, Russia, 1:24.32.7
2. Curdin Perl, Switzerland, 1:24.44.3
3. Franz Goering, Germany, 1:25.54.5
US finishers:
58. Mike Sinnott, Sun Valley, Idaho, Dartmouth College, 1:37.16.5
59. Casey Simons, Park City, Utah, University of Utah, 1:38.10.1
61. Bret Bedard, Cheshire, Mass., Stratton Mountain School, 1:39.40.0
68. Tim Damrow, St. Paul, Minn., Saukko Ski Club/University of Colorado, 1:43.58.5
The support was astounding. Despite very few US fans (we were on the other side of the world), I heard a good roar around the course and on the hardest sections. The coaches, parents, and girls team were awesome. An American flag was even out there whipping back and forth to egg us on. It’s amazing how much strength one can find when those stars and stripes appear at the top of a hill, towering over the Norwegian and Swedish colors. It’s a feeling hard to find, and a feeling I wish everyone could experience. I’d like to thank the US ski team and NCCSEF for their support too. I had a wonderful time and encountered invaluable race experience. Thank you to all who helped make it possible.
Sprint race – Casey Simons
In the qualifying round of the sprint it was pretty tricky snow. In the week before it had been raining almost everyday, making the snow supersaturated with water. The night before the spring it started to get colder and some serious melt/freeze action happened. The track was now an ice skating rink, super hard and fast.
In the qualifying rounds we skied well but not as well as we had all hoped. Beau skied really well, being only a few seconds away from the top 16. A few of us made a few dumb mistakes while racing due to the tricky snow. In the other races earlier in the week we were able to ski corners on a really tight line, now with it being so hard when I tried to cut inside I found myself loosing my edge and being pushed farther and farther towards the edge of the track.
It was really fun to watch some really good skiers ski in the final heats. Robin from Sweden, who won the qualifying round by 2.5 seconds, crashed in his quarter-final. He came back from last, about 20 meters back from the pack with a pole that was to long for him to take second. Later in the day he won the final heat by over 10 meters.
Alison Crocker
A surprise for the morning of the relay: snow!!!! After a week of above-zero temperatures and rain, it was very nice to finally have some fresh white stuff on the ground. It was an early morning as usual, van leaving from the hotel at 7:30 - and this time we had to be absolutely packed and out of our rooms since we were leaving right after the relay.
The women's relay team for the US was Lindsay Williams scrambling, Lindsey Weier with the second classic leg, Katie Ronsee starting out the skating, and Morgan Smyth anchoring. Lindsay Williams had a strong first leg, finishing in 6th place, behind the first big pack, but in front of all the others. Lindsey Weier increased our lead over all the teams behind us (including Finland and Norway) with the 5th fastest time of the second leg. She handed off to Katie still in 6th place, but Norway's third lap skier who posted the fastest leg time passed Katie early in the 5k course. Katie handed off to Morgan with the Finns right on her heels (under a second). Morgan had a strong battle against some of the fastest 5k skaters in the world- the Finn had a really fast race and passed her early on, while the Japanese skier and the Italian just got her in the second half of the course, leaving the US with a 10th place finish, ahead of France, Switzerland and Canada.
The race for the top three medals was very exciting- the Russians led the first lap by about twenty seconds, but then a strong Czech skier caught up in the second leg. The Russians and Czechs battled it out for the next two legs, until the Russian anchor, Irina Artemova (who had won both the 5k and 15k) made a significant move in the anchor leg to win it. Germany, Slovakia and Norway all seemed to be in the running for third place- Slovakia was in third with Germany close behind at the start of the final leg, and Norway was making a strong charge from the back. Germany moved on Slovakia and Norway kept catching up to Germany, but ran out of space, so the Germans went home with the bronze.
After the relay, we cheered on the guys, ate our last lunch of tomato-sauce less lasagna and pancakes at the athlete’s tent, then started on the 7 hour drive back to Oslo.
The J1 Scandinavian Cup trip was funded by the NCCSEF thanks to the generous support of donors and J1 Trip Alumni. The trip was lead by Sun Valley’s Pat Casey and Colorado’s Jeff Banks. The team was made up of Liz Stephen, Laura Spector, Hannah Dreissigacker, Ida Sargent, Cassidy Edwards, Ashley Quiggle, Joaquin Goodpastor, Jack Harris, Dominic Henriques, Simon Tomas- Train, Simi Hamilton, and Justin Singleton.
Following are the personal accounts of the J1 trip.
Boys from the west start it off. By: Joaquin Goodpaster
We're finally here! So far it’s been great. I started it off with some crazy baggage check lady telling me the gate to my flight from Reno to Denver was closed. I was there a half hour before take-off and it should have just opened. I gave my parents a quick kiss and barreled down to security check where I found out that my flight had just started boarding and there was really no reason to worry. Yeah, I really wasn't pumped at all. When I got on the plane I met up with my fellow Far Westerner Domm, and together we flew to Denver. In Denver we met up with about half the team and both our coaches. We then proceeded to Chicago where we met up with the rest of our righteous team and chilled until our seven-hour flight to Paris. On the flight the team did a lot of quality team talking and became extremely cohesive. Jokes were swapped and the bros were pretty tight.
The J1 Scandinavian Cup trip was funded by the NCCSEF thanks to the generous support of donors and J1 Trip Alumni. The trip was lead by Sun Valley’s Pat Casey and Colorado’s Jeff Banks. The team was made up of Liz Stephen, Laura Spector, Hannah Dreissigacker, Ida Sargent, Cassidy Edwards, Ashley Quiggle, Joaquin Goodpastor, Jack Harris, Dominic Henriques, Simon Tomas- Train, Simi Hamilton, and Justin Singleton.
Following are the personal accounts of the J1 trip.
Boys from the west start it off. By: Joaquin Goodpaster
We're finally here! So far it’s been great. I started it off with some crazy baggage check lady telling me the gate to my flight from Reno to Denver was closed. I was there a half hour before take-off and it should have just opened. I gave my parents a quick kiss and barreled down to security check where I found out that my flight had just started boarding and there was really no reason to worry. Yeah, I really wasn't pumped at all. When I got on the plane I met up with my fellow Far Westerner Domm, and together we flew to Denver. In Denver we met up with about half the team and both our coaches. We then proceeded to Chicago where we met up with the rest of our righteous team and chilled until our seven-hour flight to Paris. On the flight the team did a lot of quality team talking and became extremely cohesive. Jokes were swapped and the bros were pretty tight.
Sometimes the Eastern chicks would try to throw down some funky East Coast slang and say something's "wicked" and we were like "whoa." But it's all good. Finally we arrived in Paris where we had to run like Sonic the Hedgehog to catch our next plane to Estonia. We had a French escort that set the dominant pace, got us top-secret security clearance, and took us through short cuts. I felt pretty tight. After the mad rush, we finally got to hit up Estonian Air, kick back and relax. I slept most of the way. In Estonia we talked and chilled waiting for our shizband to come through in the clutch. But it didn't. When the baggage belt stopped we started to freak. The authorities informed us that it'd probably be a couple of days until our shizbandit arrived so the coaches tried to snag a couple of vans. The car rental dudes then made us wait a half hour to get our "mini buses." The team did some more bonding. Then came the three hour car ride to the Tehvandi Olympic Training Center in Otepää. More team bonding by playing games to stay awake so we could adjust to the new time zone. At the training center we snagged our keys, checked out the rooms, and then we were off on the prowl to find some grub. The only open restaurant was a pub where we got to shark out a little bit of billiards and grub on some chron bomb food. Back at the venue I passed out from sleep deprivation.
A wrong direction start - Hannah Dreissigacker
The trip so far has been a memorable experience! Liz, Ida, and I flew from Boston too Chicago together with a funny feeling that we were going the wrong way. In Chicago, we met up with the rest of the team, and after waiting awhile we left for Paris one hour later. The flight was an eight+ hour marathon of sleeping, talking, and watching movies, but we all got to know each other a little better. As we got close to Paris, we began to realize that we were going to have a really tight connection. The French stewardess turned out to be really helpful and nice and they got us all near the front of the plane and arranged for a guide to meet us when we got to Paris. It was a pretty cool feeling when they announced to the rest of the passengers that they should let the U.S. Junior ski team off first so we could make a connection! The Paris airport was like one huge maze, but luckily our guide knew the way and also had a pretty cool card that got us through all the security checkpoints really quick. They held up our Estonian air flight just long enough for us to get on. I got to Tallinn, Estonia feeling tired, jetlagged, and really psyched to be there!
After waiting around for at least 10 minutes after everyone else on our flight had left with their baggage, we realized that all of our bags were still in Paris. The customer service informed us that the next direct flight it could get on was in two days, and there was a small chance that an indirect flight could get it there sooner. While we waited for the rental vans, we played cards and ate yogurt that we bought using Kroons, the currency of Estonia. Twelve Kroons are worth one dollar. On the drive to Otepää, we couldn’t see much of the Estonian countryside because it was dark, but in the van I was in we played a game of ghost, which was funny because all of our spelling skills were completely shot. We only got lost once on the drive, but it was a city with really cool narrow streets and old buildings. Three hours later we arrived in Otepää.
We're staying at the Olympic training center here in Otepää, which is a big semi-circle shaped dorm building complete with saunas, a massage room, an altitude room, and a cafeteria. We got dinner at a pub (pubi) in town and then went to bed in the same clothes we'd already traveled in for 24 hours. It's two days later and I'm still wearing those same clothes.
The saga continues... By: Dominic Henriques
Jan. 21st: When we woke up for our first day in Otepea we were delighted to find that the Estonians eat very well. All of us were weary from two days of travel, but we were all pretty pumped to be in Estonia. Our first order of business would be to familiarize ourselves with Otepea (the A is pronounced like apple). So we hopped in the Euro minivans and cruised down town. We all scored some kroons at the Hansapank (pank=bank), then threw down in the city for a while. With great difficulty, and a lot of pointing, we ordered food and bought some chocolate. Europe has some bomb chocolate.
Our first experience with the Estonian ski culture was in the afternoon, when we walked to the stadium for a local race. The racers ranged from kids that could have fit in my carry-on to guys that could have stuffed me into that carry-on. Anyways, there was a light snow all day and we wished we were skiing, but are still managing to fully enjoy E-land.
Jan. 22nd: Day four in the same outfit started with a trip down to an old castle called "The Sangaste Loss". This castle had 99 rooms, which at the time it was built happened to be the legal limit. Apparently only the tsar could have more than that. The castle might have been a little rank, but it was tight because it made us feel better about our own stench.
In the afternoon we hit up a bar for some pool, where Coach Pat proved himself the undisputed champion. I at least got the cue ball in a couple times. So what else can active cross-country skiers do when they cannot ski? Bowling. Now I don't know if bowling is a serious thing in Estonia, but the lanes we went to were swank like no other. No alley I've been could comp. with the steez of this place. We got back to Tehvandi to find the bags of six lucky individuals: I was not one of them. It was about -9 degrees Centigrade today, good skiing weather.
Jan. 23rd: Friday went from the worst to best part of the trip as the day went on. That morning we went running though the streets of Otepea in our travel clothes, and followed up the run with some strength circuits. That part of the day was cold, but the turn around point was when J-Bomb (Coach Jeff) scored us some clean T-shirts.
Then we rolled in the Benz to a large city called Tartu. Before anything else, we hit up a pood (store) for new socks and underwear, we changed immediately in the bathroom. Then we walked the streets and us guys went into a cafe to get warm. It was there, when we were innocently drinking our coffee that some coincidentally beautiful Estonian chick came up and asked is she could take a picture with us. (That is exactly how it happened) She and a friend came to a movie and dinner with us, then we said goodbye and headed back to the fort. As if the day wasn't great enough, the airport dropped off our bags. We are stoked beyond comprehension. Now the ski part of the trip can begin. Estonia rocks.
Some bags arrive! By: Cassidy Edwards.
Hey everyone! We our having a time of our life here in Estonia, but it started out a little rough. We woke up the first morning smelly, tired, and grumpy. We had no clothes to change into. Our luggage had been lost. Everyone was pretty surethat we would get our luggage that day, so we put up with having no shower, no clean clothes, and NO SKIING. We went with the flow! The breakfast was excellent, to our surprise. After we ate we went and explored Otepaa. The city or town, I should say is pretty small, but very nice. We shopped at the grocery stores and bought a lot of chocolate, man we were in heaven. But that all changed when we arrived back at the training center. The airlines called and said they didn't know where our bags were except for six duffle bags! So no skis, but six lucky skiers would have clean underwear.
The next day everyone was just trying to have the most fun they could have without ski's. We went and saw the Sangaste Castle. It was set in the most beautiful setting imaginable. The castle was brick with snow covered trees surrounded by glittery snow. It was amazing.
That night we waited to see who's bags would arrive and when we were getting the rest of our bags. At around 8 o'clock when the six bags arrived we ran downstairs and saw that four out of six bags belonged to the girls! I was one of them! Simi got his and a wax box, so useful!
The next day we had enough outdoor clothing to go around so we decided to do a workout! We went for an hour and a half run on the snow covered roads of Estonia. It took our breath away, the girls at least. We finished our workout with an upper body routine. It felt so good to use some energy!
That night we went into Tartu, a city bigger than Otepaa and shopped around. We walked all over the city because Jeff missed his turn to get us into the downtown! The girls split up from the guys and when our hour was up we found our way back to the car, which wasn't easy in a foreign city. We found, as we ran to the car, that our team had grown larger. The six guys had asked two Estonian girls to the movies! It was pretty funny, but they did help us find the theater. We returned back to Otepaa with high hopes of seeing our luggage, but as the girls walked into the lobby Pat and Simi told us that we had to go into the conference room and sit down for the news. We did not want to know what they had to say, but as we walked to the door we saw the tips of the bags and we burst into smiles! The rest of the night was like Christmas, we had our ski's and the guys had clean clothing which was nice for all of us!
More luggage arrives – let’s go ski! Ida Sargent
Friday night almost all of our luggage arrived so Saturday was a very exciting day. Ashley's duffel bag still didn't arrive but luckily her ski bag came and she had used lots of ski clothes for padding. Everybody was so psyched to go skiing! A bunch of team members skied before breakfast.
After breakfast we all skated for 1.5-2 hours. It was a level one ski with pickups. Estonia is very flat but the trails were extremely hilly. There were many steep climbs and fast downhill’s. It was awesome skiing and nobody wanted to stop.
The day continued to get better with two good meals. Lunch was pasta and pork that was breaded and fried. Dinner was fried potatoes and steak. In the afternoon we tried the sauna and waxed our skis.
Sunday brought a classic time trial for the team and my birthday! Not many people can say they spent their sixteenth birthday in Estonia. The time trial was on a 2.5 km loop that the Otepää police department had raced on the day before. The boys did three loops and the girls did two.
I was the first one to start and it felt great. It was awesome to be skiing fast again after hanging out for the past week. I had the fastest time for girls followed by Liz, Cassidy, Ashley, Laura, and then Hannah. Hannah dropped her pole on the second lap. Simi had the fastest boys time with Dom, Justin, Simon, Joaquin, and Jack in close pursuit.
After the time trial everybody was very hungry and went to lunch eager to restore their energy. Lunch was boiled potatoes and a meat in gravy. Everybody took one bite and agreed it was the grossest thing they had ever tasted. Pat told us it was liver and I think he was the only one who ate it.
In the afternoon we just hung out, used the sauna and walked to town to stock up on chocolate. Dinner was just a slight improvement over lunch. It was fish and boiled potatoes. Estonian fish is extremely strong and the team is sick of boiled potatoes.
After dinner we had a team meeting. They brought in two Estonian cakes for me. They weren't too much different from American cakes but were still really good. Everybody was hungry and ate a lot. Simon beat Simi in the cake eating contest. I also got Estonian tea, cookies, and chocolate for my birthday. It was a fun day.
On Monday we skated easy for 1.25-2 hours. The skiing was amazing. The tracks, snow, and weather was perfect. Lunch was really good as well. It was pork meatballs and pasta. There was also beet soup for a side dish.
In the afternoon we did a strength workout and waxed. We waxed to get ready to run our skis through the speed trap the next morning. It took a long time. Cassidy and I spent over two hours putting multiple coats of wax on four pairs of skis. After a dinner of steak in gravy and fried potatoes, the team went bowling.
Bowling was so much fun even though we weren't that good. My group was Liz, Laura, Ashley, Jeff, and I. We probably weren't the top group but had a lot of laughs. The trip has been great so far and we all can't wait for the races to start!
The Racing Begins! – Sprint Race By: Ashley Quiggle
January 30th Finally the racing begins! This was the day we had all been waiting for. The sprint race started at 4:15pm so we all had a very relaxed morning. We kept ourselves busy watching bobsledding on Euro Sport and checking e-mails on the lone computer at the hotel (finally, the Fins were off it!) The hours ticked by slowly but finally it was time to drive to the course in Haanja. The girls all pilled into one van and we got ourselves pumped up with some music.
Since the sun was already starting to set the stadium lights were on, causing the entire area to glow. After skiing the course multiple times for warm-up, it was time to start. The course wrapped around the edge of the stadium and consisted mainly of flats, V2 hills and technical corners. I went into the starting area and waited as the starter counted down the last five seconds and let me go. At first skiing in the dark was challenging but I didn’t notice it for long. The course was very fast but I felt like I never really got up to full speed.
All of us hung around the start to see if any of the US racers made the top 16. We tried to make sense of what the announcer was saying because it was in a different language, and managed to understand that Liz, along with three of the boys, would be racing in the quarterfinals. Cassidy was 18th, Hannah was 19th, I (Ashley) placed 23rd, and Laura took 24th. After running to the vans to change into warmer clothes and grab cameras, we positioned ourselves at one end of the course where we would see the most of the elimination heats. Liz started well then almost tripped around the first corner, but she managed to catch up and finished a close fourth in her heat to take 14th place.
The rest of the evening was spent cheering for the guys, watching Simi make to the finals, and attempting to tackle our coaches to the ground (we were very unsuccessful). A flower ceremony took place after the last race and we watched as 1st Ulle Kiili from Finland, 2nd Astrid Jacobsen from Norway, and 3rd Tiina Taskinen from Finland received their awards. Then it was back to the hotel for dinner and rest.
Boys Sprint Race – Simon Thomas-Train
So, after about a week and a half of preparation (skiing, shooting a lot of pool in bars, bowling and other very difficult training) we are here in V?ru to race in the JI Scandinavian Cup. We are staying in a new hotel called the Hotell Kubija, located in V?ru and the races are being held at a venue about 15 minutes away in a small town called Haanja.
The trails here are not nearly as good as the trails at the Tehvandi training center and there have been people out shoveling nonstop for the past couple of days. Surprisingly, they pulled the snow together fairly well and had some good trails, except for one massive boulder that sabotaged my sprint race, but I'll get to that later. So the sprint course was one of the faster ones that I have encountered with some very quick up hills that could be glided over and sufficient rest afterwards. It was a very fast course with some very fast sprinters on it.
For some reason, the race start time was changed from daytime to 4:15 which is right around when it gets dark in this part of the world. This definitely turned up the level of competition because we all felt so much more pumped on ourselves racing under the lights in a very well organized stadium with cameras clicking and all that shizbam. There was a small opening ceremony where all the teams marched into the stadium led by some very gorgeous Estonian girls, whose beauty we did not fail to notice, repeatedly. But even this was not enough to take our minds off the coming races. Each of us had our separate expectations for the sprint race and personally I know that my sprint race is not what qualified me to come on this trip, so I had it in my head that I had to make it to the quarterfinals at least (top 16 in prelims). I had this goal set despite the nightmare I had had the whole night before about hooking my tip through the fence as I rounded the last corner of (ed note: The email got cut off. I will try to get it updated!)
The girl’s field was represented by just five in this race, with Ida Sargent's knee injury bothering her to the point of resigning to team picture taker and overall support giver. The girls all had very strong sprint races, showing the Scandinavians that we do know how to ski back home. Liz Stephen of Burke Mountain Academy was the only girl to advance to the 1/4 finals and although she had a strong race there, didn't have quite enough to move onto the semis. Despite this we still had strong finishes all around with Liz Stephen at 14th, Cassidy Edwards at 18th, Hannah Dressigacker at 19th, Ashley Quiggle at 23rd and Laura Spector at 24th. All in all this was a very strong showing by the girls.
Justin Singelton representing Alaska was the first male competitor on the course and had a very good race, fast enough to put him into the quarterfinals in 8th place, a perfect tie with Dominic Henriques of California. Two USA team members in the quarterfinals so far. Simi Hamilton then busted out a race fast enough to put him into third place overall after the prelims, a very exciting thing for all of us. Jack Harris and Joaquin Goodpaster both put forth superb effort but were unable to advance to the 1/4 finals, finishing 31st and 26th, respectively. Now, the epic tale of the sprint race of Simon Thomas-Train was quite a different story. I had psyched myself up very well for this race, had run several high speed tests of the course and felt completely confident in my ability to qualify. I had tried to dispel all thoughts of crashing into the fence from my head and had basically accomplished this, although I had forgotten about the possibility of their being exciting for us to watch, and Simi was able to throw together the best sprint race he could manage with Fins and Swedes boxing him out around the entire course and nearly tripping him up several times. It came down to the wire and in the sprint to the finish Simi ended up fourth overall. We ended with two US guys in the top ten, a very respectable finish worth being proud of. The saga continues today as we head out to leave our mark on the classic results in the 5 and 10-kilometer race.
10k Classic Race – Simi Hamilton
Well...another day on the snow, another Norwegian sweep. As the spectators filtered in to the stadium, and the butterflies began to fill the air around the warm-up area, another exceptional day of skiing had arrived. My number is finally called to the start, after what seems like an eternity of waiting. I pound out of the gate, my legs and arms moving as fast as humanly possible. I ski four grunting kilometers before I hear the inevitable words "Hup, hup." I quickly scoot to the side as the barreling Norwegian who started behind me flies past me. I hang on for what I later consider as "way to long", but he is too fast. He eventually drops me. 6 km., and thousands of calories later, I stretch across the line to trigger the finish sensor. I quickly learn that I sit somewhere around 20th place. Alright...I guess. Nothing compared to the three Scandinavian boys who went one, two, three. As the results were posted, the Americans learned of the 22nd (Simi), 26th (Dominic), 30th (Justin), 32nd (Simon), 33rd (Joaquin), and 35th (Jackson) that they had stolen that day.
A fine day of competition was followed by a socially active night of chatting it up with the "honeys" that strolled the halls of Hotel Kubija. Although the U.S. girls opted to have a dance party by themselves in their own room, the boys felt great pleasure in struggling to be the hansom, suave Americans they consider themselves to be. Credit has to be given for trying, right? All and all, a perfect day combined an excellent, successful morning with a relaxing, enjoyable evening.
Girls 5k Classic – By: Liz Stephen
The alarm clock rang at 8am, but I had long since been awake. The notion that today was the 5K classic race had woken me from my dreams hours before and I had drifted in and out of restless sleep ever since. I hopped out of the double bed that I shared with Cassidy (apparently the coaches thought that we needed to spend a little more time together) and pulled on my sweat pants. Cass, Hannah and I met in the hallway where we headed out for our routine morning walk/jog and stretch before heading down to breakfast.
We ate the usual, granola and yogurt, grits and anything else that appealed and went upstairs to get dressed. After packing up the vans and climbing in for the 15 minute ride to Haanja, hardly long enough to listen to all of our favorite Outcast songs, we set out on our way.
Clambering out of the van, we put on our boots and headed out to ski. The course, which we had previewed on Thursday, reminded me of a Vermont field, for much of it was out in the open. Unlike in Otepaa, there were no snow blowing capabilities, so there were a few spots with thin cover, but it wasn't bad.
My heart was filled with nervous excitement as I jogged towards the starting line, only minutes away from my start. Ida skied by, then Laura and Ashley, and I knew I would soon be out there too. Stripping down to my suit, I clipped into my bindings, and strapped on my poles, getting in line with the others. Trying to stay loose, when you are shaking with excitement is extremely hard, but I did the best I could and when it was my turn to put my poles over the wand, I could hardly contain myself. The race had begun.
The race seemed over before it started. That always seems to happen, except something was different about this race. For most of us Americans, we are not used to being passed, or beaten by over a minute in a 5K. We are used to being right up there with the winners a lot of times, and this whole experience came as quite a shock. I know for me, it was hard to answer the question of whether I felt as though I did well, or not, whether I should be happy with how I raced, or not. But we should all be. We just raced against the best athletes in the world our age and we, not only all finished in the top 30, but we were among them. That right there is something to be proud of. The whole point of this trip was to get us acclimated to the differences of racing internationally, and it did. From loosing our bags, to eating different food, to the time change, to having a new team, new coaches, all of these factors play a huge role in teaching us how to deal with all of the changes that racing in a different country brings.
I cannot emphasize enough how amazing this trip was. We couldn't have asked for a better group of kids and you would be extremely hard pressed to find two better coaches. Their experience, knowledge and excitement, gave our trip the added spunk and taught us a lot.
Results:
Top 3 Females in 5K classic
1.Marte Elden NOR
2.Emma Lundback SWE
3.Astrid Jacobsen NOR
Female American finishes
18.Liz Stephen
19.Ida Sargent
20.Cassidy Edwards
22.Hannah Dreissigacker
25.Ashley Quiggle
28.Laura Spector
Girls Relay Race – Laura Spector
At last we sadly encountered our last day in Estonia. The previous night had been the awards ceremony at the Hotell Kubija with a long table of fried delicacies to serve as our pre-race carbo-load. We were encouraged to pack what we could of our luggage because the next day we'd be heading back to Tallinn where we would spend the night in order to catch an early flight on Monday morning.
Sunday morning was the earliest of the three with the girls leaving the hotel at 8am. We happened to be the very first team there, stepping out to a barren, windblown stadium and piles of drifted powder all across the tracks. Race officials were digging away in the stadium trying to clear out snow that had blown in. After quite a long time of hanging out inside the lodge and watching without favor the snow falling from the sky at a severe angle, we headed out for our warm ups. Just as I was about to walk outside, Ida came walking into the lodge showing us with her fingers how much loose snow was in the tracks: about two inches. Well, at least I'm skating, I thought to myself.
I went out to ski the 3 kilometer course that followed the lighted warm-up course and then wound through the woods for a while before coming from the backside of the stadium into the finish area. The snow was definitely deep and fresh. The piston bully was on its way out there and I followed it around as it tried to compress the new powder. In many places the tracks weren't even visible anymore. At the intersections two guys on a snowmobile were fencing off the course that was marked "3k", which really confused me. Finally I realized that the nordic combined were having their skate race here before ours was to take place. So much was happening at the small ski center in Haanja.
Just before the start of the race officials skied up and down the start lane tracks to clear them out for the skiers. Our scramblers, Ida and Hannah, were in place in seeds 10 and 13. My team, USA II, figured that we could only go up. The race started and we watched the girls round the first corner, being aggressive so they didn't get pushed back by the Europeans, who have adopted a reputation for not allowing anyone to pass. About 10 minutes later Ida crested the hill toward the finish with Hannah right on her tail. Seeing both girls together was really exciting and got me pumped for my leg.
Next to go was Cassidy for the first team and Ashley for the second. Cassidy had a great race, coming in very quickly, and Ashley as well. Liz picked up the anchor for the first team, and I for the second. Ashley put me in position about 20 seconds behind the Estonian team, so I chased their skier throughout the entire course, hopefully making her very nervous. By the finish I was only 6 seconds back; if only there had been another lap around the stadium! The first girls team finished in 7th place, and our team finished in 9th. The overall results for the top three girls' teams were, in order: Sweden I, Norway I, Finland II. It's really exciting to see how countries come out when they race as teams against one another.
After the race we went around at the venue and also back at the hotel trying to score hats and other European team wear. Most of the girls traded their team hats with the Finland team for theirs. Our US ski team racing hats were also in high demand. The best results of the evening were the big blue Finland parkas that Simi and I traded our vests and jackets for. Simon also came out with a really cool white Finland nordic team jacket. All of the skiers on the other teams spoke excellent English, which made it much easier for us.
After we had wasted so much time running around trading ski clothes, we packed in a hurry, ate our last Estonian lunch, and left for Tallinn. In Jeff's van we resorted to telling dumb jokes in order to keep Jeff awake for the drive. Our taste buds were tantalized by the thought of Estonian pancakes at Kompressor one last time, but we were disappointed to learn that by 8:45 when we got to Tallinn they were full and would be closing in another 45 minutes. Nonetheless, we were satisfied with good old New York style pizza just down the street. It was a late night, an all-nighter for some, and we left the hotel at 5 o'clock the next morning.