TRAIL TO GOLD FELLOWSHIP
In partnership with
The Trail to Gold Fellowship is a project designed to help American women ski coaches get the experience needed to become qualified international coaches.
Support for this project is provided by the Olympic Women’s XC Book Project, through which the book, Trail to Gold: The Journey of 53 Women Skiers was created, published and sold. This book is a collection of stories that shares some of the history over five decades of US women competing internationally as well as the efforts and changes which have occurred to bring the present day American team to its current status. The Trail to Gold book committee wishes to continue their tenacious legacy and brighten the sport’s future by supporting women in ski coaching. The Trail to Gold Fellowship is proudly administered by the Women Ski Coaches Association (WSCA) and supported through generous donations of the Olympic Women’s XC Book Project, the National Nordic Foundation, and Lumi Experiences.
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 1, 2022
World Cup Internship Opportunities for American Women
An exciting new opportunity for American women ski coaches and ski technicians is available for the coming winter. The Trail to Gold Fellowship will provide funding to the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team to cover the expense of bringing a small number of selected women coaches and ski technicians on World Cup trips, to learn, experience and actively engage as coaching and ski tech interns, with the American World Cup Team. The aim of this collaborative offering is to help raise the knowledge and experience level of American women cross-country ski coaches and to increase the number of qualified international-level coaches and service technicians.
The Fellowship takes its name from the book, Trail to Gold: The Journey of 53 Women Skiers, which came out in November 2021. Written by the U.S. Olympic Women Cross-Country Skiers, 1972-2018, Trail to Gold shares the collective journey of women skiers over five decades, culminating in the achievement of an Olympic gold medal by Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall in 2018. The book was led by a committee of eight of the fifty-three Olympians. Healthy sales of the book have resulted in having some net proceeds; most of which the book committee are choosing to donate towards the development of U.S. women coaches and technicians in the sport.
The National Nordic Foundation (NNF) has stepped in to both manage the Fellowship, and increase its scope through its own donations’ appeal. Members of the book committee, NNF, the U.S. Ski Team and the Women’s Ski Coaches Association (WSCA) are working closely on details of the Fellowship, and the application process.
Applications for the Fellowship open August 1st, and will close by September 1. The application can be found online here. A selection committee with members from the Trail to Gold book committee, the U.S. Ski Team, and WSCA will review the applications and choose the interns who will join the U.S. World Cup skiers racing in Europe for a trip length of approximately two weeks.