This past Tuesday,
Caitlin Compton and I were the guests of honor at the October meeting of the
North Star Ski Touring Club. We were contacted by the club to speak about the career path of a professional skier.
Little did the program coordinator know when she contacted me, but I in fact owe my existence not only as a skier, but also as a human being, to the North Stars. For in fact, it was in 1982 that my parents met in the singles club of the North Stars. Both of my parents learned cross-country skiing as members of the club, so were it not for this organization, I would not have become a skier myself, and might not even exist.
My first strides, thanks in-part to the North Stars. (Check out the Karhu boards)
The North Stars were a great audience. The 50 members at the meeting were very interested in our stories, and after the presentation asked some really thoughtful and probing questions about being a professional xc skier. They actually wanted to know where the money came from in oder to continue training and racing, and they also asked about what drives us to pursue our racing goals day-in, day-out.
I covered a career path from infancy to going pro, while Caitlin described what it is like once you join the ranks of the professionals.
The point we tried to impress upon the audience was how vital community support is in order to make it in the sport of cross-country skiing.
The whole presentation was a terrific experience: from meeting people who said they remembered me on ski trips when I was just a baby, to hearing about all the exciting trips that the club puts on every winter, to finally how receptive and complementary everyone was to what we had to say. It was just really nice to be in such a positive and passionate group.
