Recruiting Season Is Underway For U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing

BethAnn Chamberlain likes to joke that the winter feels “very short” for Para Nordic skiing coaches and athletes. They have only a few months when there’s snow on the ground, and they try to cram in as much training and racing as possible. The time goes by fast.

The winter is an especially busy time of year for Chamberlain, who serves as a development coach with U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing. It’s when she does much of her recruiting.

Over the past few weeks, Chamberlain has been traveling around North America to meet with adaptive athletes at various ski events and training camps. She encourages athletes either to start cross-country skiing or to stick with it after giving the sport a try.

Her goal is to help grow Para Nordic skiing in the U.S. If along the way she could discover a few athletes who might someday qualify for the Paralympic Winter Games, even better.

“I’ve always had the viewpoint that to find our next Paralympic medalist in this sport, we need to grow the sport in general. We need to have this community of athletes,” Chamberlain said. “I want to provide an opportunity for all of the athletes to have an idea of what is involved to get to that elite level and then for them to understand their next steps in working towards that process. Ultimately, that has to be the athlete’s decision.”

In November, Chamberlain joined 14 athletes who are relatively new to cross-country skiing for a weeklong training camp hosted by U.S Paralympics Nordic Skiing in Canmore, Alberta. All the athletes had some experience racing, but none had competed in an international race.

The athletes spent several days in Canmore training alongside members of the U.S. national and development teams, including gold medalists Oksana Masters, Kendall Gretsch and Dan Cnossen.

It was the most amount of time that some of the up-and-coming athletes will get to spend training on snow this winter.

“They all have great potential for racing internationally, and we had an amazing opportunity to be on snow together and be cohesive with the athletes from all over the country,” Chamberlain said. “But then we also take advantage of our national team and development team being there, and the Canadian national team and development team being there.”

After leaving Canmore, Chamberlain traveled to Breckenridge, Colorado, to attend the Hartford Ski Spectacular, one of the nation’s largest winter sports festivals for people with disabilities. It gave her the opportunity to connect with adaptive athletes who have expressed an interest in Para Nordic skiing.

Chamberlain said the increased attention that Para Nordic skiing has received lately — in part due to Masters’ crossover appeal as a multi-sport star and the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian of all time — has helped make adaptive athletes more aware of the sport.

“I definitely think we’ve seen a shift in awareness and understanding because of Oksana, Kendall, Dan and everyone,” Chamberlain said. “But then I think Para sport in general is maybe getting a little bit more publicity, which is amazing.”

Chamberlain’s travel schedule isn’t expected to lighten up anytime soon.

She was expected to join a group of mostly new skiers in Minneapolis for what she called “a talent ID camp” from Dec. 16-18. She planned to do some training with them on snow and in the gym, and introduce them to what it’s like to compete in a Para Nordic skiing race.

It’s all part of her recruiting efforts for U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing.

“Initially, we want to get a critical mass of people together, introduce them to the sport, help them understand it and then continue to support athletes in whatever way we can in whatever direction they want,” Chamberlain said. “And, ultimately, yes, we want to find those athletes that really are excited to compete and continue to work hard and put the time in to reach that elite level. That is the ultimate goal.”

Chamberlain will continue to meet with athletes and recruit through the new year. In mid-January, she plans to hold a small training camp for junior adaptive athletes in the St. Paul, Minnesota, area around the same time that several local races are being held there.

A few days later, on Jan. 27, she’ll take part in a ski clinic at the Weston Ski Track in Weston, Massachusetts, giving even more athletes an opportunity to try Para Nordic skiing for the first time.

“We do a lot of dryland training (in the summer), and we can get a lot done. But it’s not the same, especially for sit skiers who rely so much on learning the maneuvering tactics that can only be done on snow,” Chamberlain said. “So we try to fit a whole lot into the few months of winter that we have, and that’s training, that’s competing and all of the other little things that go along with getting ready to do that.”

Alex Abrams has written about Olympic sports for more than 15 years, including as a reporter for major newspapers in Florida, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He is a freelance contributor to USParaNordicSkiing.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.