SKIJOR USA 2019

March 29, 2018

By now, key organizers and players within our Skijor Community have received an official letter from our Team at SKIJOR USA
announcing the launch of our organization in advance of the 2019 season.

The contents of this letter can now be viewed publicly on a new a website

www.skijorusa.com

We hope that you will take the time to explore the site and consider what we are proposing and determined to accomplish.  We firmly believe it is time for new leadership and a fresh perspective. . . 

Let us be clear, we are not seeking to "govern", we are seeking to LEAD.  

We do not seek to impose our will on races or competitors, rather we are looking to build consensus through a well-structured organizational body and then act upon it and uphold it.  Our model is, in fact, based on the feedback we have received at many races in the past year and continue to receive.

The organization currently in place has made promises they have not kept and attempted to micro-manage the sport to a debilitating degree.  There is discontent, disappointment and dissension in the air.

We wish to remedy this through positive action and real results!

We respect that some races may elect to remain independent.  We fully respect this and will not be soliciting memberships from these races. In time, however, we hope that they will see that we support the autonomy of races and that the benefits of joining our Alliance outweigh a desire to remain isolated.  

Other race venues may choose to continue to work with the other organization.  Again, we will respect this decision, but we find it unfortunate.

The model they are following has failed before and is failing again.  If our recent "treatise", which is now common knowledge, serves to infuse this organization with some new ideas and they decide to act upon them, so be it.  In fact, we already know that our ideas have been given credence by this group.  But please remember that if these ideas did NOT originate with an organization, implementation is far less likely to be successful.  

Some of you who are close to me know exactly what I am speaking about because this would not be the first time this has happened.

Enough is enough.  Help us build a sport and,
to borrow from our great leader Abraham Lincoln, support
an "Organization (not a Government) of the skijorers, by the skijorers, for the skijorers." that "shall not perish" but SUCCEED!

YOU are the key to our success.  Speak up, speak out, and demand results.  We are ready to deliver.

In brief,

For 2019 we envision three regions:

Northern Rockies
Montana
Central Rockies
Wyoming, Utah & Idaho
Southern Rockies
Colorado & New Mexico


Our goal is to add structure to our national circuit so that races that are close geographically can work together, lending each other support, 
and so that teams of competitors can focus on excelling regionally while qualifying to compete in a year end National Championship.  

Competitors who "nominate" for points at Qualifying Races will be asked to declare a "home" region and enter as a "team".  This will not limit the number of races a competitor can attend or the number of teams he/she chooses to form, but it will give structure to a point series that is seriously lacking now.

We are asking races to try an optional 4D format to eliminate the conundrum affecting racers who excel in the Sport Division.  If races choose to continue with the current structure, we understand that.  Change is hard.  We are simply asking races to also experiment with how the other format would turn out and then make a determination for the following year.

Statistics from six 2018 races are available for race organizers joining the Alliance to consider.  Open Division would be Division 1 with a one second time split (this could easily be separated into two divisions at 30 second splits.)  Sport and Novice Divisions would combine as Divisions 2, 3 and 4 at one second intervals.  More competitors would place and be paid.

We believe that this new and improved structure will enable us to attain both regional and national sponsorships more effectively, and we have a Team ready to chase these sponsorships starting immediately.

Our Alliance Races will be able to access an event insurance plan tailored to their needs and work directly with a professional agent.

The skijor community will have an organization that is
TRANSPARENT and ACCOUNTABLE
made up of a team of people who do not have skin in the game or stand to benefit as competitors.  Such conflicts of interest are unacceptable.  
Meetings will be recorded and shared.  Your voices will be heard and your comments and suggestions posted but kept anonymous if that is your wish.

These are just a few of the many advantages to the new structure.

Please visit the website in the next day or two and look for more announcements regarding SKIJOR USA.  Your input is very important to us.

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JOR ON!

Loren Zhimanskova