FAQ

Southwest High School (SWHS) Nordic Team strives to provide a superior athletic, team, and community experience for nordic skiers of all levels. Our goals are to improve physical and mental health, encourage personal growth, and develop lifelong skills. And we also have fun! 

Nordic skiing is open to students in grades 7-12 and includes both classic and skate skiing techniques. We welcome everyone who wants to be part of a fantastic winter sport, gain racing experience, and strive to reach their personal best.

The team atmosphere is energetic and caring. It doesn't matter if you are new to skiing or training to win the state tournament, there's a place for you to have fun and make friends. 

Yes, October 21, 2024.  If you missed it, have no fear: review the presentation slides.

Registration can be completed online.  Please visit our Join the Team page to get started.

2024-25 season registration will close on 11/27, but it may be possible to join after that date under special circumstances.  Please contact Coach Greg Rhodes <gregsrhodes@gmail.com> with your registration questions.

Your physician or mid-level health care provider can complete your sports physical.  This can be done during an annual well-child exam.  You must bring a copy of the MSHSL Sports Physical Form.

If you've recently had a well-child exam, your physician may be able to complete the form without a separate office visit.

A sports physical may also be available at no cost from the school clinic at Southwest High School.

Yes! We encourage skiers who are curious about nordic skiing and the ski team to join us and learn how to be a life-long skier. We encourage beginner skiers to attend as many practices as possible and have found that skiers who attend practices consistently improve faster and have more fun skiing with teammates. We will continue to welcome all skiers at all practices.  Monday and Thursday practices will focus on technique improvement, which is helpful for new skiers. 

No! If you don't want to race you certainly don't have to. However the majority of the team races, and has a lot of fun doing so. There are three levels (varsity, JV, and novice) so you can race with people who have the same experience as you.

Yes! Our Booster Club wants to ensure that cost is not a barrier to skiing. Simply email us at SWHighSchoolNordicSki@gmail.com or contact Coach Greg at gregsrhodes@gmail.com to request a full or partial scholarship.

Dryland practices: typically the first 2 -4 weeks of the season will include training without snow, dryland training. Dryland training is a normal aspect of Nordic skiing and is a very important part to prepare skiers for time on snow once there is enough snow for us to ski. Dryland practices will happen at a variety of locations ranging from meeting at SW High School to other local and regional parks. Make sure to check the calendar on Team App for specific location and times.

Once there is sufficient snow, practice is held both at Hyland Hills Ski Area and Theodore Wirth Park. We meet at 4:00 pm and 6:15 pm depending on the day. Races are usually at 3:00 pm or 4:00 pm at Wirth. Practice details will be published on Sunday in the SWHS Nordic News, as well as in the TeamApp calendar.

Please reference our Equipment Guide for information about what you will need to be a nordic skier.

The Southwest Nordic Booster Club supplies rental skis and poles to athletes who choose not to purchase their own equipment.

Supply is limited, and is generally issued on a first come, first served basis.  Please contact Coach Pete Moran <rossimoran@gmail.com> for information about rental equipment.

Each season, our team takes a trip for 3-4 days during winter break. This year, we will travel to Powder Hound Lodge, near Ironwood, MI. The trip is open to all skiers, and is an excellent opportunity to build team culture and community.

Registration for the trip will close on December 4th.  Please contact our trip coordinator, Emily Bijnagte to join.

You can do both club skiing and high school skiing. However, it involves a lot of communication between the skier and their coaches. If you are thinking about doing both club skiing and high school skiing, reach out to Coach Greg Rhodes (gregsrhodes@gmail.com) as well as your club coach. With open communication with everyone a skier can be successful at JNQ races as well as enjoy skiing and racing with their high school team.

You can buys skis at any of the ski shops near Minneapolis. Pioneer Midwest, Gearwest, and Finsissu are all great options. If you tell the employees what your goals are for the season they can help you find the right pair of skis. If you have never skied before or if you want to make it to state they will help you find the perfect ski. We also offer rental skis and poles in both classic and skate.

For skiers attending Anthony Middle School: upon arrival at school, bring your gear to the main office, and the staff will instruct you where to store it.

For skiers attending Southwest High School: you may store your gear in Coach Edie's room, N144.

Nordic skiing consists of two different techniques. They use different skis and different length poles. Here is an example of high level skate skiing. Here is an example of classic skiing. Both techniques are nordic skiing but they are quite different from eachother.

While you don't have to do both skate and classic it is highly encouraged. If you would prefer to do just one technique it is fine.

There are usually around 5 conference races during the season. Towards the end of the season there will be a conference championship meet where the 10 fastest racers will compete. It is a pursuit race which means in the morning you will race 5k in one technique and in the afternoon you will race 5k in the other technique. You start based on your time in the morning, so for example if you finished 2 minutes behind the first person in the morning, you would start 2 minutes behind them in the afternoon. In the afternoon whoever crosses the finish line first wins. After conference champs the top 7 compete in the sections meet. Sections is also pursuit format, with an additional relay. The top 2 teams and 6 individuals in the sections meet move on the the state meet to compete. The state meet is pursuit/relay and it is the last meet of the season. It's usually in mid February.

If you a parent who is interested in joining the booster club please contact Sheila Eldred at seldred@gmail.com, we can always use more members!!!

If you take any pictures please share them!!! You can add them to our shared album or send them to any of the coaches or captains!