Why Reviving Factory Teams Is Important

A completely unbiased account... 

As I’ve written on Ski Post before, I loved ski racing; in high school, in college, and as a Super Tour skier with world cup goals. I loved it, but at a certain point for a variety of reasons it stopped being a sustainable way for me to compete. You can read more about that story HERE. However, I wasn’t ready to be done skiing competitively. Since there were many other options besides heading over to Europe to race ski classics (which is another great option) I planned to move on from skiing full time and only jump into the occasional marathon race here and there. I struggled a lot with the thought of leaving ski racing behind. With the revival of the Factory Team, there was an opportunity to continue racing in a way that brought me joy, but where I could still train hard and be competitive. I’m confident that I would have been a lifelong skier regardless of whether there were other opportunities for me to continue racing outside of the SuperTour, but the Factory Team offered a middle ground that allowed me to continue to pursue ski racing, but on my own terms. You can read about my first season on the Factory Team HERE. 

I could certainly write a much longer article about the ‘ideal state of competitive skiing in the US’ but I’ll save that tome for another day. For now, here are a few reasons that I believe having more opportunities to race competitively outside of the SuperTour is a valuable investment, both for individuals and for the health of US skiing as a whole. 

Personal Flexibility

A difficult component of racing and training full time is balancing the pursuit of excellence in sport, with other personal passions, goals, family requirements, etc... The structure of the factory team allows for athletes to train from anywhere, have a job, be more flexible around family and relationship commitments, and just generally have more wiggle room to make training work around, and with, a life that inherently involves other interests. While you might lose the  structure of a team training environment, you gain the ability to do what works for you, when it works for you.     

Competitive Flexibility

The focus of Factory Teams is on marathon racing, but it is certainly not limited to it. There is a lot of flexibility to choose what races are exciting to you, and mix and match between marathons, SuperTours, and other citizen races. There is even the opportunity (although not currently funded) to race iconic international marathons such as the Vasaloppet, Engadin and Birkebeinerrennet. The goal of Enjoy Winter is to invest and support domestic skiing here in the US. BUT, I think it is important to recognize that there is a lot of excitement around international races and World Loppets that contribute to skiers continuing to train and race here in the US. 

Racing the Engadin Marathon this past year. Bonus points if you can find me and spot my broken pole! 

Investing in a Community Foundation

You are far more likely to engage with and experience a sense of community at a local marathon than you are at a SuperTour. SuperTour racing is designed to elevate the top domestic skiers to the World Cup, so essentially, it is designed to choose who gets to leave. I say this not as a criticism - developing and sending our best athletes to compete on the world stage is incredibly important for the growth of the sport - but rather to illustrate the point that if we want to grow US skiing as a long-term, sustainable, and inspiring sport, we need to invest in creating as many opportunities as possible for the 99.99% of skiers who will never put on a world cup bib. More specifically we need to invest and build a foundation that does more to retain the top 10% of skiers, a lot of whom want to continue racing post-college or post-ST, but don’t have the team support to make it feasible.      

Leading a clinic at the Ski de She marathon. 

Creating Options

The more options there are for people to continue being involved in skiing, the more people will be involved in skiing. Simple enough to say, certainly harder to accomplish on the ground with financial, climate and participation challenges. The beauty of The Factory Team for me is that I get to travel to races that are more accessible to more people. Races like the Birkie or the BMT have elite racers, families, people racing with (or against) their friends, and skiers just trying to finish, all skiing the same course. I think adding more elite/competitive racers to domestic marathons, in addition to the well attended ones, and making them regular stops on a marathon circuit will only increase the excitement and participation. Even more so if they are paired with clinics and other community-centered events.  

So if any part of this elevator pitch strikes a cord with you, consider joining us! Enjoy Winter is offering a few different levels of racing support for athletes. 

Enjoy Winter Factory Team: Athletes train and race more or less full-time and race 4-6 domestic races per season with financial and equipment support. This is a great option for post-collegiate or post SuperTour skiers who would like to continue racing at a high level but with more flexibility.  

Enjoy Winter Ambassador Team: These athletes will train and race part-time, with partial race support at major marathons and generous equipment discounts. Great for folks who want race support, but aren’t necessarily interested in making racing their first priority. 

Enjoy Winter Athlete Force: The athlete force is a long time sponsorship program aimed mostly at junior, collegiate and SuperTour skiers. This sponsorship is primarily to provide athletes with equipment support for training and racing. From rollerskis, poles, training apparel, skis, sunglasses, and more - athletes can select what type of support they require. 

All Applications can be found HERE. 

And if you have any questions about the Factory Team or other sponsorships, skiing in general, or just want to say hi, feel free to shoot me an email at annikaL@enjoywinter.com