2011 National Masters & 2011 Masters World Cup

The Worlds & Nationals In One Mega Event!

The Masters World Cup returns to North America in March 2011 and once again will provide U.S. skiers with a special opportunity to combine a trip to ski with the entire XC ski world plus hundreds of USA skiers from coast-to-coast. In an effort to encourage as many U.S. skiers to take part in the MWC2011 as possible, American XC Skiers (AXCS) will once again overlay the National Masters on the "almost-home snow" Worlds.

The exact same MWC2011 races will thus count double as both Masters World Championships and U.S. National Masters Championships. If you enter the MWC2011 as a USA skier then you will automatically be included in calculations for USA National Masters titles (we'll go down thru each MWC2011 race result for the top three USA skiers).

For anyone that has not yet had the opportunity to visit the Sovereign Lakes/Silver Star area, you are in for a very special treat come 2011. This is truly one of the great XC ski vacation spots on Earth featuring ample ski-in/ski-out lodging, over 100km of interconnected trails, plentiful snow, gorgeous British Columbia mountain scenery, a full alpine mountain, and the (usually) snow-free valley cities of Vernon and Kelowna just a short drive away for any off-snow activities you can dream up. On a map, Vernon is just a bit north of Kelowna, B.C. (airport code: YLW) which is the air destination most U.S. Masters electing to fly in will want to select. Many western USA skiers can easily drive up with this location just north of the US/Washington border.

The format for the MWC2011 will be very similar to the MWC2008 (held in McCall, Idaho USA) with the same exact events, just a bit different order. Races begin on Saturday, March 5 and conclude on Friday, March 11 followed by a closing banquet.

Although no qualification process is required to take part, as with the McCall event, all USA skiers are required to belong to a national XC ski association with a choice of AXCS membership ($40 for the 2010/2011 season, you can join anytime after March 30, 2010 and have your membership benefits extend thru 10/31/2011!) -- or USSA membership ($140) is also valid for participation. All USA entries will need to be submitted using a very specific process to be outlined in Fall 2010 on xcskiworld.com (come back often).

The official USA connection to the World Masters Association, AXCS will provide extensive pre-event information for all USA skiers via AXCS membership materials and xcskiworld.com posts. Once the event starts, the association will provide daily on-line information from National Team Leader meetings will be posted as well as daily Team USA live informational sessions in the Silver Star village. Two special NM2011 award ceremonies will be held (in addition to the MWC2011 ceremonies) to recognize and award the top USA finishers from the MWC races as well as to name the 2011 U.S. Masters Team at the conclusion of the entire event.

Despite the impressive "World" and "National" titles, as nearly 700 USA master skiers found out in McCall, the Masters World Cup is one of the most inclusive and inviting events for "just average" citizen skiers you'll ever find. You can read more about the event in this article. The bottom line is that the Worlds is absolutely an event for a wide variety of skiers and AXCS encourages you to circle the 2011 dates on your calendar now!