The Besh Cup Series, Alaska’s premier cross country ski competition, will be competed on Saturday and Sunday, January 15-16 with Besh Cup Series Race #3 and #4 on the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna.
The Besh Cup Series is a series of six races which are qualifiers for the Alaska Junior Olympic Team and for Team Alaska for the Arctic Winter Games. Collegiate skiers and Master skiers also compete in the age-group ski events.
Besh Season Format
The Besh Cup racing schedule aims to mirror the United States Ski & Snowboard Junior Nationals Championships experience which includes:
- 2 sprints races, 2 individual start races, and 2 mass start races
- 3 classic technique, 3 freestyle technique
- Similar distances & formats to Junior Nationals race
Saturday Freestyle Sprint
Distance & Format Information
- Sprint qualification race (U14 and older) is followed by afternoon heats for the top qualifiers.
Qualification Race – 10am Start
(U14 and older). After the qualification race the U12 and younger skiers have an abbreviated format of a qualification heat (all move on) and a final heat for standings. If participation numbers dictate that we need to create smaller race groups for the U12 and younger skiers, CCAK will do that.
Sprint Heats – 12:30pm Start (U14 and older).
Awards Ceremony
- U08/U10/U12 awards will follow the youth races at approximately 12:00
- Awards for top 3 in each A Final heat will follow the U14, and U16+ heats, respectively.
Sunday Classic Interval Start
Race Day Schedule (approximate)
- 11:00 – U08/U10 M&F
- 11:10 – U12/U14 M
- 11:25 – U12/U14F
- 11:40 – U16 M
- 12:00 – U16+F
- 12:30 – U18+M
Link to Cross Country Alaska (for all Besh Cup information)
Photo courtesy of cross countryalaska.org
