Beatrice Bishop, Georgia Bishop and Antigone Loomis attended the Skirious Problems Ski Camp in Utah on August 12–13. The camp was hosted by World Cup athletes and podcast hosts Mika Vermeulen from Austria and Jimmy Clugnet of Great Britain. The goal was to give athletes World-class coaching in classic and skate technique with international pros, in small groups built for real feedback. Athletes had the opportunity to meet the people behind the podcast and train alongside athletes and coaches who love the sport like they do. In the end, athletes left with something practical: the ability to build and adapt their own training plan, not just theory.
Day one focused on classic technique. Athletes worked in small groups on classic sub-techniques, ran rollerski rotations on the track, and took part in a live presentation and open Q&A with the hosts. The day closed with a bounding and running session.
Day two shifted to skate technique, with small-group work on skate sub-techniques and a live Skirious Problems episode recorded with the athletes. The day also included core, plyometrics and skating jumps, with the overall takeaway centered on learning to build and adapt one’s own training plan.
Beatrice Bishop, a U16 athlete with SSWSC, shared a wrap-up of her experience:
“We had an unforgettable experience during the two-days of technique work, conversations, and long sessions. I also had the privilege to talk with Norwegian coach Vetle Leander Johansen, who inspired me so much.”
Beatrice also shared a few takeaways from the camp:
- Be confident in what you do, and how you do it
- Understand the purpose of each training session; without specific purpose, each session is just exercising
- You have to enjoy the process and the journey. One result won’t make you feel as good as the journey to get there (from Mika)
- It’s okay to get super frustrated and sad with training. That’s part of the process, and even the best athletes feel this
- It’s a privilege to be a Nordic athlete. It’s constantly being in the extremes instead of just working in a basic job where many days feel the exact same (from Mika)
- Learn to balance the life of an athlete and also having fun with friends: it is important to think about what would be healthy mentally and physically as an athlete when making decisions (from Jimmy)
Photo Captions:
- Beatrice Bishop working on V1 Skate technique (photo: Vetle Leander Johansen)
- Athletes and coaches at Soldier Hollow Roller Ski Venue (photo: Vetle Leander Johansen)
- Junior athletes hill bounding (photo: Vetle Leander Johansen)
- SSWSC athletes Georgia Bishop and Beatrice Bishop with Jimmy Clugnet (photo: Vetle Leander Johansen)
Story submitted by Cross Country Program Director, Ben Barbier.
