The Silver Fox Trot is our local Ford Sayre Bill Koch League race – designed specifically for kids up to 8th grade. It is scheduled for Saturday, February 14th at Garipay Fields in Hanover. While racing is not a focus of our 1-day a week program, I’d like to encourage our skiers to participate since many of them will think this is great fun!
The official information and registration for the Silver Fox Trot are located at: https://www.fordsayre.org/nordic/silver-fox-trot/bkl/
However, because many of our families are new to cross-country skiing, I wanted to share a few details that you should know:
- The race occurs in the same spot as our children practice, so they are familiar with the venue.
- Ford Sayre coaches will be available to support your child(ren) in the race – and will preview the race course with them, help your child at the starting area, and be present to cheer them on during the race. Next week I will send out an e-mail with more details.
- The Silver Fox Trot has several different age groups/categories:
- The Lollipop race (for our youngest skiers) is not timed, children do not receive places, and children usually receive a chocolate bar at the end. It is only 200 yards long – and is a FANTASTIC introduction to racing!
- The 1st/2nd grade age category is not timed, but children are ranked by their finish times. Their race is only 1 km! (This will seem quite short to many of our 1st/2nd graders).
- Skiers in grades 3 and higher will receive a time and a ranking. Distances increase by grade level. For more details, see: https://www.fordsayre.org/nordic/silver-fox-trot/bkl/
- The Silver Fox Trot is a Mass Start This means that a big group of kids all start at the same time.
- The Silver Fox Trot is a “classic” race for Lollipop skiers and for children in the 1st/ 2nd grade category. But, it is a “freestyle” race for skiers in the 3rd/4th, 5th/6th, and 7th/8th grade categories.
- This means that the older skiers can use any technique that they wish, and most will use the skating technique. All children in second grade or younger MUST use the classic technique (no skating is allowed in a classic race).
- Note: Our 1-day a week children have only been taught the “classic” technique. It is perfectly OK to use the classic technique in a freestyle race, but your child shouldn’t compare their race time or place to children who are skating since the techniques are so different.
If your child isn’t interested in participating, we’d still like to encourage them to come watch! And, if you are available, we’d love to have your help as a volunteer. Volunteers are involved in many different ways, so please contact Lou Bregou at silverfox@flume.net if you are interested.