Which of the following are you? Overall 49 respondents across the following categories. Answer Choices Athlete who did not attend Junior Nationals or Arctic Winter Games 10.00 Athlete who attended Arctic Winter Games 5.00 Athlete who attended Junior Nationals 7.50 Parent of an athlete who did not attend Junior Nationals or Arctic Winter Games 32.50 Parent of an athlete who did attend Junior Nationals or Arctic Winter Games (parent did not spectate) 15.00 Parent of an athlete who did attend Junior Nationals (parent did spectate) 30.00 Please indicate your experience/opinion in the following categories: Extremely Positive Neutral Negative Extremely Positive Negative Receiving information to apply or renew US Ski & Snowboard licenses 30.77 48.72 15.38 2.56 2.56 Finding pre season information from Cross Country Alaska 25.00 52.78 22.22 0.00 0.00 Registering for races 44.44 47.22 8.33 0.00 0.00 Finding monthly pre race information for each Besh Cup race 28.95 44.74 23.68 2.63 0.00 Finding online information of results & standings 43.59 35.90 15.38 5.13 0.00 CCAK Website: Appreciate website updates during race season. Will continue to keep this a priority. CCAK Website: Blog style confusing, but understand the format Will continue to keep blog clean. is easy to manage. CCAK Website: Some difficulty finding results after races. There is a now a RESULTS tab at the top of the CCAK Webpage. CCAK Website: Need a tab for Besh Cups. There is and now it s at the top of CCAK Webpage. CCAK Website: Thanks for continuous improvements. Thanks for feedback to know where gaps exist. Communication: Often miss the announcement for update of US Ski & Snowboard does a heavy reminder in licenses. summer. CCAK starts reminding in fall. Communication: More information to parents & non racers CCAK will continue to connect skiers to US Ski & about joining US Ski & Snowboard. Snowboard. Communication: Send out emails for general/specific CCAK will continue to find best balance of email & information. posting on Website as well as Facebook to direct to new website posts. Races: Race organization is great; and matches the Host Clubs will continue to improve upon race infrastructure of CCAK staff, boards, & committees. management. Races: Posting race dates early for planning. Prelim schedule will be posted in May and confirmed in September. Races: Friday/Saturday races instead of Saturday/Sunday. Races: Anchorage Besh Cup maps color marking didn t correlate with trails. Did not preview the correct trail. This will not likely change. Thank you we will make sure markings, posted maps, and final courses match.
Please indicate your satisfaction with the following: Organization of Besh Cup race 1/2 in Fairbanks Organization of Besh Cup race 3/4 in Homer Organization of Besh Cup race 5/6 in Anchorage Besh Cup Season Awards & Team Alaska Naming Ceremony CCAK response to venue change Extremely Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied N/A 48.72 28.21 2.56 0.00 0.00 20.51 39.47 34.21 7.89 0.00 0.00 18.42 39.47 39.47 10.53 0.00 0.00 10.53 21.05 26.32 23.68 5.26 0.00 23.68 38.46 35.90 5.13 7.69 5.13 7.69 Venue Change: Notify 10 days in advance. Venue Change: Glad we had the opportunity to race. Fairbanks and its volunteers rallied and organized great races! Venue Change: Done well, quickly and communication was excellent. Venue Change: Difficult for younger skiers to consider an expensive change late in the week. Venue Change: Thank you for communication through the process. Venue Change: Why have the 10-day out venue change rule if it can so easily be changed to move the venue less than 10 days out? Venue: Consider Government Peak Recreation Area, Upper Susitna Valley, Valdez Venue: Homer trails were scary! Venue: Homer trail marking was outstanding! Venue: All trails were well groomed. Team Naming: Sound in Anchorage bunker is challenging. Team Alaska meetings were difficult to hear details. Team Naming: Confusing when there are AWG naming and consequences for those who thought they would be named. Team Naming: If there are alternates, should those be announced too. Considering a venue change at 10 days out is the standard for which we strive. The Board of Directors and the Competition Committee discussions after the Anchorage meltdown was thoughtful and was based on input from coaches, officials and host clubs. CCAK knew that any choice would not be popular with all athletes & families. All in all, CCAK is happy that we were able to offer a race weekend; and the fact that Fairbanks had cooperative temperatures and beautifully-groomed trails that weekend was helpful. CCAK is working with GPRA for future Besh race possibilities. Interval start race could be a possibility, but parking accommodations are a bit of an obstacle. Their volunteers were working to keep corners safe. TDs inspected and provided guidance. Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. Event conflict & rental fees for chalet in addition to bunker is a limitation. CCAK will communicate with all of the potential Team AK athletes (those highlighted and the few on the bubble) about accepting JN or AWG circumstances. Yes, we will announce alternates of AWG as well as JNs.
Please indicate your opinion of the race entry value. Just right Could be higher Sometimes I consider not registering U08/U10/U12: $7/race includes Tshirt. 36.36 39.39 0.00 24.24 U14: $20/race includes Tshirt if enters series. 61.76 8.82 0.00 29.41 U16+: $35/race includes Tshirt if enters series & one race discount if enters series by 11/30 N/A 89.47 2.63 7.89 0.00 Race Value: This is high. It would be helpful to understand how much the cost is for the organization to put the races on. Keep shirt please. You could consider a family cap per race series. Race & US Ski & Snowboard membership is high. CCAK will post. Likely will as it s a sponsor item. CCAK will discuss CCAK is not considering raising fees while operating costs are stable. For U14 and older: does receiving a T-shirt for registering for the series influence your decision to register for all six races? Offering shirts does not affect the cost of the races as the shirt are sponsored. Answer Choices Responses Yes 25.64 No 64.10 Not Applicable 10.26
When considering the mission of CCAK: "To create and support a cross country skiing culture and environment that allows Alaskan cross country ski racers to succeed at regional, national and international competitions." please indicate the importance of the following statements. It is important to follow the rules and format of US Ski & Snowboard. It is important to have US Ski & Snowboard officials (technical delegates) at races. Very Important Somewhat Important Neutral Not Important 53.85 28.21 17.95 0.00 41.03 23.08 28.21 7.69 As an FYI the Besh Cup races are sanctioned by US Ski & Snowboard (& FIS for some) and require that we have TDs. It is important that the season prepares skiers for JN (& 0.00 AWG) competition in distance & formats. 82.05 17.95 0.00 0.00 It is important that Besh Cup races are available to all age skiers. It is important to offer more than one opportunity for ski cross for U08 - U14. It is important to consider having a state championship weekend for skiers up to the U14 age group. It is important to field a U14 team for the Inner Mountain Division Championships during non-arctic Winter Games years. 48.72 17.95 20.51 7.69 18.42 26.32 34.21 15.79 18.42 21.05 26.32 28.95 35.90 28.21 17.95 5.13 N/A 0.00 0.00 5.13 5.26 5.26 12.8 2 Masters skiers in sprints has potential to take spots from skiers looking for sprint heat experience for JNs Besh races should not be available to Masters racers Masters should not interfere with opportunities for a developing skier. If CCAK mission is to create opportunity for AK racers to succeed at higher levels, this has potential for fewer juniors in the heats. Could you name Masters winner after qualifier? Give our kids the opportunity to ski against the fastest skiers - even if they are outside of the Team Alaska age group. It's the best way to get faster...to be more motivated to beat a masters skier! If having masters participate does not increase the cost, logistics, wear and tear on volunteers then include all ages in the Besh races. Skiing against more competitive/faster skiers of any age is an excellent opportunity for all skiers to get steeper competition and incentive to ski faster and beat the masters. It should be considered to not include master skiers in the sprint bracket of a junior race. Allow all ages in Besh Cup races. Offering options for younger skiers (often siblings) to participate and fuel their enthusiasm for the sport. We also believe keeping them low key, such as advancing all skiers through heats, is important. CCAK Competition committee will discuss topic. Other regions allow Masters skiers in the JN qualifier races. Thank you for this feedback. CCAK plans to continue offering races to U08/U10/U12 skiers and will encourage host clubs to implement more fun factors to their events.
Define how Besh Cup races prioritize the various age groups when making venue change decisions. It s difficult to be the family saying no to last minute travel arrangements. Offer U14 trip every year More supervision on U14 trips. Found it difficult to connect when my child went on 2017 IMD trip. Enforce rules for the parents who are out on the course and ski with their child. Based on the schedules planned for each host club to organize citizen races, high school races, middle school races, etc. there are a limited number of weekends available for each host club to organize Besh Cup races. Therefore, weighing options of rescheduling vs canceling when there is a viable option to have a race; even later than the standard, CCAK wants to keep a race on a scheduled weekend. In 2017, CCAK began offering an Intermountain Division Championships trip to U14 for the years that AWG is not available. So noted. It s a packed, very scheduled weekend of events. Organizers and officials have rules about this. Sometimes it is difficult to enforce. Will mention to officials and organizers as well as announce in race information to families. Fairbanks has a specific rule of no spectating on skis. Please rate your satisfaction with the following: Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree The team packet provided sufficient information. 52.94 47.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 The travel & transportation arrangements were reasonable 56.25 31.25 6.25 6.25 0.00 for a group trip. There was sufficient supervision & availability of coaches for your athlete. The communication of the event schedule (website & apps) was sufficient. 52.94 17.65 11.76 11.76 5.88 23.53 41.18 11.76 23.53 0.00 The value of the trip was reasonable. 31.25 43.75 18.75 0.00 6.25 The team uniform expectations were reasonable (requirement of wearing Team Alaska uniforms vs club uniforms for events & ceremonies). 64.71 35.29 0.00 0.00 0.00 Housing and food was not up to par. There were 5 Jr girls in small room with no place to sit! Much better housing at the Zermatt & social there too! Kids were told they would have a kitchen in their rooms and only one room, U18 boy & 2 U20 boys had a suite. (similar comment x 2) Accommodations should be more equal for all athletes. Alaskan athletes proximity to mingle with other teams was not ideal for the social (fun) factor. The coaches were GREAT, super organized, had their nightly meetings, were on time, they really did a great job... but one minor suggestion would be that the AK athletes should have been encouraged to go out on the course after their own races to cheer for their teammates on. Most of the other teams had big (loud!) posses of athletes out on the course cheering one another on- but our kids weren't really doing that for each other. Heard loud and clear. Trip planners try to find the balance of affordable and quality. Alaska has one of the larger teams (this year 52 planning on 50). Depending on timing, getting accommodations for a group of 64 is a limiting factor even booking in May the previous year. 2020 will be our next out of state JNs. We will keep this in mind when planning. Thank you. The Team Seed has been planted by our own Kikkan Randall and the US Olympic team. As much as possible, it should be encouraged to be out cheering for Team Alaska and all competitors. Great suggestion.
This was not a CCAK issue, but communication by the host was quite challenged and far below our expectations based on Besh cup communication. Good to know and good for 2019 JN Organizing Committee to keep in mind. CCAK provided excellent information; the junior national hosts did not Compared to the prior 4 JNs, the host club did not do a good job of posting information on their website. Whether you attended the event or followed it from afar, please rate your experience of Junior Nationals or Arctic Winter Games on the following: Excellent Above Average Average Below Average Poor N/A Overall event management 25.00 37.50 31.25 0.00 6.25 0.00 Event schedule & communication (website, apps, 17.65 29.41 23.53 11.76 17.65 0.00 venue signage) Trails & venue 17.65 52.94 23.53 5.88 0.00 0.00 Hospitality & fun factor 17.65 17.65 29.41 0.00 29.41 5.88 On site information announcements & public address system 35.29 47.06 11.76 5.88 0.00 0.00 Flower ceremonies after each event 23.53 47.06 29.41 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mid-week award ceremony 11.76 11.76 0.00 0.00 5.88 70.59 Final award ceremony 17.65 17.65 17.65 0.00 17.65 29.41 Live streaming 47.06 23.53 5.88 0.00 0.00 23.53 Live results 58.82 17.65 23.53 0.00 0.00 0.00 Please provide additional information if you wish. The man who did the live commentary did a fabulous job. Hire him for the 2019 JNs in Anchorage! Having no mid week awards made the final award painfully long. Having no all-team event was a sad way to end a week for kids who worked hard and were ready to be social. For JNs: Disappointed with host effort and information on site. For AWG: information I received was excellent and information from my skier Not having an opening ceremony was disappointing, it is an (presumably low cost) event that conveys good will and sportsmanship amongst competitors, and pride for teams, coaches, and families/friends. Eliminating the mid week awards ceremony was a mistake, it made for a punishingly long final event. There should have been some "fun" event for the kids at the end of a stressful week...if not the dance then the host team should've come up with something else. To have those kids sit at banquet tables for several hours was not fair or reasonable. A great announcer makes for an excellent event. US Ski & Snowboard was trying to tighten up the week with a compact race schedule, no opening ceremonies and no mid-week ceremonies. It will be discussed to reevaluate based on feedback. Great feedback, especially as Anchorage is hosting in 2019.
Please indicate your satisfaction with the following regarding your Junior Nationals or Arctic Winter Games experience. Excellent Above Average Average Below Average Poor N/A Travel days (arrive with in sufficient time to get settled/return trip timing not too rushed) 33.33 66.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Race preparation & support (on training days) 33.33 66.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Race day support 33.33 66.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Supervision & availability of coaches 66.67 33.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Food & accommodations 33.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 33.33 33.33 Availability of down-time activities 0.00 0.00 66.67 33.33 0.00 0.00 Organization of event by host club 0.00 66.67 33.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 Race schedule (order of races, number of rest/training days) 33.33 0.00 66.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 Communication of event schedule (website info, apps) 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Level of competition/challenge 66.67 33.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Fun factor of week 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Team Alaska spirit and camaraderie 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Please add additional information (optional) An athlete should not accept a spot when not able to fulfill the commitment. The housing at Junior Nationals was below average to poor. Many of our athletes were packed into tiny rooms with no space for gear, and there was no kitchen space or a place to prepare race food. The beds were small and uncomfortable. It is not healthy for teammates to be so crowded together; it has the reverse effect of team bonding. Not being in proximity to socialize with other teams was disappointing. Thank you for this feedback. This situation has not come up in recent years. CCAK will discuss. This has been discussed and we will work to improve for future travels.
Please let CCAK know your level of interaction/familiarity with CCAK regarding the following: Agree / Somewhat / Disagree N/A Often Sometimes / Never I use the CCAK and/or US Ski & Snowboard website to search for rules about race format, technique, and protocol. 36.67 33.33 30.00 0.00 I use the resources of my training club coaches to understand rules and race formats. I am familiar with the CCAK website and find it useful to get season & race information. 60.00 36.67 3.33 0.00 66.67 33.33 0.00 0.00 I am familiar with Team Selection Criteria on the CCAK website. 70.00 20.00 6.67 3.33 I am aware that the Competition Committee of CCAK and that it meets monthly to discuss rules, race formats, schedules, venue/trail conditions. I am aware that CCAK budgets for annual US Ski & Snowboard training and certification for race officials who volunteer for races and receive nominal stipends. I am aware that CCAK shares registration revenues with each host club. 50.00 30.00 16.67 3.33 30.00 23.33 40.00 6.67 37.93 24.14 31.03 6.90 I follow CCAK on Facebook. 50.00 3.33 26.67 20.00 I follow CCAK on Twitter. 20.00 0.00 50.00 30.00 Last year my U14 skier participated independently in the series with parent and friend support. This year he participated as U16 as part of training group. From this experience on both sides, it does seem coaches of formal teams have greater and more frequent access to race information than independent skiers. Last year I found team coaches universally generous with their time and assistance to myself and my skier - I loved that sense of community and sportsmanship. It might be worth considering an "at large" contact or representative of some kind to assist athletes and families who are not members of a team. Sometimes it is hard to find the information on the CCAK website. The email information is excellent and much appreciated. Regarding Team Selection Criteria. An athlete accepting a position on Team Alaska should be required to attend the entire JN series. Thank you for this feedback. This may be something to consider in the future though the general role of CCAK is to manage the races, standings, officials, coach development resources, & Team Alaska planning. CCAK is continuously looking to improve this. Thank you for your patience and continued feedback. It helps to know what people are looking for that isn t obvious. Thank you for this feedback. CCAK will discuss.