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Sergey

“TOP SX SECRETS” ski cross camp in Saas-Fee

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Attention ski cross athletes and coaches!

This summer, USSX will be launching “TOP SX SECRETS” ski cross camp in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. This camp will be available for US athletes only!
Projected dates for the camp are July 20th to July 31st.
The camp is aimed at anyone who wants to give ski cross a go or develop their current techniques.
We are limiting the numbers to a maximum of 20 athletes which will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
The specialized coaching for the Skicross discipline will be provided by the Head coach-Sergey Khlop who raised the winners of the Europa Cup and World Cup and has the highest USSX coach level.
The camp will focus on:

  1. Ski Cross basic fundamental skills and techniques
  2. Training on the full ski cross course / blue and green levels.
  3. Dry-land training and exercises for particular muscle groups
  4. Theory of ski cross: Methods of effective training, tactics of preparation for the competition.

For more details and to book, please email contact@ussx.org with the athlete name, age, and previous experience in ski cross.

SKI CROSS CLINIC

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Here we publish the secrets of the ski cross, answers to your questions, and the news of ski cross of USA.

Question: I often hear about “NEW TURNING TECHNIQUE”. What is it and how does it differ from how the most athletes ski?

Answer: For more than 8 years there is a so-called “NEW TECHNIQUE” of the turn. Almost all world leading athletes use this technique to achieve the best results. For a ski cross, this method of turning is the main one.

It solves the following problems:

The distribution of the weight of the athlete along the entire length of the ski, which allows you to ski
parallel throughout the entire arc and optimally use the entire length of the ski for the best slip.
Solves the problem of excessive strain on the lateral muscles of the body and back muscles.
Significantly reduces the time of transition from one arc to another.
It allows you to react much faster to the need to adjust the radius of the arc.
It allows to significantly increase the stability and steadiness when on the ski cross course due to the wider setting of skis and the position of the back while passing the obstacles.
The main difference between the “new turning technique” and “old” is the position of the center of gravity above the skis (see figure) and the absence of unloading of the skis between the turns. The change of the turning radius does not occur due to the edge angle of the skis and the pressure on the front part of the boots but due to the pressure downwards on the ball of the foot. (Figure) For more details on this technique, see our website http://ussx.org/

SKI CROSS CLINIC

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Here we publish the secrets of the ski cross, answers to your questions, and the news of ski cross of USA.

Question: I am 16 years old and I engaged in alpine skiing for years. I understand that I can not reach the Olympic level. Do you think I should try myself in ski cross?

Answer: Ski cross is a very technique and intelligent sport. Here you can achieve success even if you have a small weight but a good speed of reaction  and thoughtful tactics. But you must understand that ski cross is the new level of skiing! It is not enough to know the GS technique and have strong legs and back. In the ski cross, it is perhaps even less than half of the technique of the athlete. It is necessary to pay special attention to the technique of overcoming various obstacles, the technique of skiing next to other athletes on the course, the technique of correct start and the modern turn. The turning technique in the ski cross has requirements similar to the GS, but more demanding in relation to the width of the skis and the center of gravity.

Given all this, we can conclude that it is possible to achieve a high result in the ski cross even at your age. And since the ski cross is a pretty young sport, the competition is not so high and the chances for success are much greater than in Alpine.

We recommend that you find a good ski cross coach or sign up for a “USSX Virtual coach” program, and read the yellow level training program at http://ussx.org/tools/coach-training-manual-yellow-level/

And of course, start taking part in the USASA ski cross competition series.

We wish you good luck and hope to see you in the national team.

USSX president’s address to the US Ski Cross community

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We believe that you are truly passionate about the future of ski cross in the United States. So are we. This is why we want to connect, share our recent developments that may impact the development of US ski cross and get your feedback on what we should do next. It is self-evident that today US ski cross is behind Europe and Canada in numbers of athletes in race teams and in athletes’ performances at international competitions. In 2015 we have founded United States Ski Cross with the goal to improve on both of these weaknesses. Since then USSX has been actively assisting selected athletes and coaches with informational and financial support, helped to organize events, and also created a consolidated program for development of ski cross in the USA. The program was presented to USSA at the annual summit in Park City and reviewed again more recently during our visit to USSA last September. This program contains comprehensive training manuals for athletes and coaches of various experience levels, safe competition course design guidelines based on the racer experience level, winter/summer exercise plans, etc. Strong emphasis is placed on the grassroots initiative, bringing new athletes to the sport. USSA recognized our efforts and provided positive evaluation for the program. We outlined future engagement strategy and opportunities to collaboratively work together. One good reference model for collaboration is currently exercised by USA Nordic. There are many benefits to be a specialized organization focusing all efforts on core competencies. We believe this could be the most viable operational model for USSX as well. USASA also have been our strong supporter. And we have plans to offer our SX-1000 and SX-2000 ski cross training programs to be taught by USASA. Here are a little more details on what’s going on right now: As you know, USSX is a nationwide organization dedicated to the development of ski cross in the United States. Our goal is to create an easy-to-follow structure of this sport for everyone who is involved. And to build a pipeline for the athletes and coaches from the beginners level all the way to the Olympics. That is why we created those manuals and the educational programs (some of the program materials can be found on ussx.org). We are also willing to help this sport and athletes, in particular, to raise funds and find good sponsorship. USSA nor USASA does not have the ski cross specific educational programs. We applied to both organizations and asked them to utilize our programs. This September I’ve been told by the USASA officials that they would be glad to include our SX-1000 and SX-2000 content to their educational programs. Late September we went to Park City for the meeting with USSA officials. We discussed how we can continue the growth of SX in the USA all together, what steps should we take, how USSX can help and so on. In the conclusion of this meeting, we agreed that it would be mutually beneficial if USSX could go the same path that the USA Nordic just went. FYI: USA Nordic became a National Leadership Organization for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined. They are a USSA affiliated institution while USSA is still the governing body for those sports. But at the same time, USA Nordic got the following privileges and responsibilities: 1. Developing sport in the best interest of the sport community 2. Managing the National Team 3. Conducting all the events including FIS (under USSA umbrella), etc. All of the above mentioned gave USA Nordic the freedom to act in the best interest of the sports community, find the best sponsorship for their athletes, promote their sports and involve more kids in it (and many more positive things). USSX and USSA, both believe that following the same path would be the very best of what can be done for US ski cross. At USSX we are trying to develop the sport and help each particular athlete, coach, and club to be the best they can. And right now we are building the team of like-minded people to do it together. Today we have a unique opportunity to unite the ski cross community and involve all contributing members to make a real impact on the future of the sport in the United States. We reach out to you to join forces and together achieve the grand vision of growing Olympic skicross champions. We truly value any feedback you can offer us. And so we ask you to please get back to us and provide your ideas and suggestions for the most efficient path to accelerate the growth of skicross in the United States. We look forward to hearing back from you!

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