Kate Oldham Nordic Racing 2019

This season has been a game-changer. As a high school junior this year, Kate skied her heart out in early January at the US (Senior) Nationals in Vermont and she clinched a spot on the US team for the U18 Nordic Nations Championships (Skando Cup) in Otepää, Estonia (1/20/19-1/30/19). This is a development opportunity that she and her coach, August Teague, were aiming for next year as a senior, so it was very exciting to realize it a year ahead of schedule. Shortly after returning from the International Comp in Estonia, she will head to Anchorage, AK to ski in the Junior Nationals in early March. 

As a 14-year old, Kate first joined the National Competition Nordic Team at Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club's (AVSC) the summer before her Freshman year at Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) with a new coach, August Teague. Sounds glamorous - it’s a grind. To give up your summer to a winter sport every year and commit to training 6 days a week, often twice a day for almost 11 months a year is a leap of faith and unfathomable for most teenagers. That hard work paid off when she qualified for Junior Nationals in Lake Placid as a Freshman and again as a Sophomore. She was named All-American both years for her top-10 and top-5 placements in the U16 age category. Now, she is headed to her first International competition as a U18.

As her success and opportunities keep coming, so do the expenses. Kate's Nordic training, coaching, travel and racing is likely to cost up to $18,000 for the year. So many of you have asked for a way to contribute and support her, we finally created this page. Thank you for taking the time to read through this.

Sincerely, Julie, Nelson and Ben and ...

A note from Kate...
AVSC's guiding principles are commitment, teamwork, and integrity. I have I have integrated these into my athletics and other parts of my life as well; most importantly, my academics at CRMS. This year, maintaining the balance between academics, training/racing, working part-time and my social life has been more difficult than ever. As a Junior taking two AP courses and looking ahead to college, it has taken lots of discipline and time-management to achieve my academic goals and stay healthy on all levels. I am so thankful for the support of my coaches, advisors, parents, teachers, teammates and friends. 

These elite training camps and races this year are full of opportunities to test myself against the fastest Nordic racers in the country and the world!  Each race and training camp offers incredible opportunities to learn and grow as a person and an athlete. The bottom line is better training and racing experiences lead to better results. I hope to continue to race at a national and international level for my last year of high school and in college and maybe beyond. 

For the last two seasons, I have been one of six AVSC athletes to participate in Project Ski More to raise money for Protect Our Winters (POW) and fight climate change. The project raised over $5,000 each year and we hope to surpass that this year! If you are interested in learning more, please check this out!
https://www.projectskimore.com

Being involved in this sport on such a demanding level, I have learned how rewarding hard work and commitment can be. Nordic has given me the opportunity to learn a lot about myself. People often ask me how I can enjoy committing so much time to training and the answer is simply that I love having something to focus on and a way to challenge myself.  Nordic has become a way of life for me and I will enjoy this lifestyle for so many years to come. I hope one day as an adult,  I can support young skiers coming up in the sport.

Thank you for considering a donation and giving me the opportunity to succeed at this next level.

- Kate Oldham


All American 2016-17
All American 2017-18
State Champion 2017-18
Skier of the Year for 2017-18 at the Colorado State Championships
https://www.aspentimes.com/news/sports/avscs-kate-oldham-named-to-u18-team-for-scando-cup/

https://www.soprissun.com/2018/03/21/oldham/