NZ Cross Country Ski Association Announces Strong National Team
Tuesday 22 September 2009, 1:04PM
By Snow Sports New Zealand
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The New Zealand Cross Country Ski Association (NZCCSA) has this week announced its five-strong New Zealand team for this Northern Hemisphere winter led by Tauranga’s Katie Calder.
Calder leads the strongest team Cross Country Skiing in New Zealand has seen to date, including Ben Koons, of Sidney, Maine USA; Andrea Fancy, of Vernon British Columbia; Nat Anglem, of Christchurch and Andrew Pohl, of Dunedin.
All athletes have less that 150 International Ski Federation (FIS) points and have improved their FIS ranking over the past season.
“With five athletes all under FIS point totals of 150, NZ Cross Country is in its best position ever,” said NZCCSA’s Convener of Selectors, Alastair Smaill. “All athletes trained at the Snow Farm this winter and competed in the inaugural 100% Pure NZ Winter Games.”
After becoming the overall winner in this year’s Australia New Zealand Cup (ANC), Calder received a valuable subsidised entry into World Cup races for this coming Northern Hemisphere season.
Calder now has 10 sub-100 (FIS) point races under her belt and has achieved the ‘A’ qualification standard for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Koons, who has returned to the sport after a lengthy break due to injury, lowered his FIS point average down to within half a point of meeting the ‘A’ qualification standard for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
The Olympic “A” qualifying standards require the average of an athlete’s five best performances to be under 100 FIS points.
Anglem, whose most notable performance this year was a resounding win in the Winter Games triathlon, also improved his FIS points, while Fancy and Pohl showed substantial improvements in their FIS points this season. Fancy dropped 36 points, while Pohl dropped a valuable eight points in the Winter Games alone.
Snow Sports New Zealand is the official governing body and National Sports Organisation representing all snow sports in New Zealand. Cross Country Association New Zealand is a member of Snow Sports New Zealand.
ENDS