At the start of every November, Meisner snow park is brought to life by the Summit Nordic team. The silent air is suddenly filled with the soft shush of skis, the excited chatter and the buzz of anticipation of a new season. 

The Nordic team has seen incredible success over the years with 26 Oregon State titles since 2003. 

Last season, the Nordic ski team took the win at state with the boys team and the combined team. In the relay, Summit raced ski to ski against Bend High, and won by a close nine seconds.

The team hopes to match this success and continue fueling the positive environment they’ve built this new season. 

“I think it’s going to be a great season, there’s good snow already, we’ve already been skiing and the Nordic summit team is always fun,” said Sophie Capozzi, a Summit sophomore on the Nordic team.

The big change for the team is caused by the inevitable factor of Summit students graduating. 

“We had a ton of amazing skiers graduate the last couple seasons, so there is a measure of “rebuilding” this year with Summit Nordic,” said John Downing, a Summit Nordic coach.

It’s vital to rebuild the team, as Downing touched on, because in a vibrant ski town, there is fierce competition. Bend High’s girls team has one of the strongest trios in the nation, in Nordic the top three skiers determine the teams score. Bringing on a talented freshman, Caldera is also bound to challenge the Summit team on the trails.

However, with so many up and coming skiers and a tight community of coaches the Nordic Summit team is on the right track to another state victory. 

Beyond and notably more important than a win at state, the main goal of the Nordic team this season is to expose young people to the joy of Nordic skiing. The beauty of the sport is that students can continue to seek out and enjoy it long after their highschool years. 

“Professionally, I literally work with athletes into their 90s! So I’m not kidding when I talk about thinking about the long game in Nordic,” Downing said.

Nordic also teaches young people important lessons that they will carry forward.

“Doing a Nordic workout in the wind and snow really sets you up to push through other hardships in life. It makes you a stronger, more resilient person,” said Summit sophomore Nola Stryker.

The Nordic team charges into their new season with these core values in mind. The team’s next big race is this coming weekend, to show support, come to the race and cheer on Summit’s passionate young skiers!