NANANordic nominated for FIS SnowKidz Award

Kindergarteners in the NANANordic program get ready to ski.

The 2014 FIS Congress in Barcelona, Spain will include the presentation of the third FIS SnowKidz Award to recognize and promote the best examples of bringing children to the snow this past winter.

The 2014 FIS SnowKidz Award saw the highest number of nominations with a very high standard. Nominations came from 14 countries and three continents. The jury had plenty of work processing the nominations including a large amount of extra material such as videos, press releases, media stories and brochures.

In the end, the jury, consisting of Satu Kalajainen (FIS Youth & Childrens’ Coordination Group), Antoine Goetschy (head of the Youth Olympic Games at the IOC), and Riet R Campell (President of International Ski Instructors’ Association) has selected the following projects for the final round:

• Skifahren mit Flocke (AUT)
• Kids as active WSD organisers (BLR)
• Hill Tournament for Kids (FIN)
• Primary Schools Contest for Ski Jumping (GER)
• Site na Sneg (MKD)
• Wintersport Experience (NED)
• Rivella Family Contest (SUI)
• Alle pa Snow (SWE)
• NANA Nordic (USA)

Each of the finalists will receive CHF 4444.44 to invest in their project and the title of FIS SnowKidz Award Finalist. The selection of the top three will be made in Barcelona by the FIS Council and the winners will be presented with their prizes on Monday, June 2.

The only North American nominee, NANANordic, seeks to introduce the lifetime sport of cross-country skiing to rural Alaska through a sustainable Nordic ski program, starting with the 11 villages in the NANA region. In April, some of the world’s best Nordic skiers join NANANordic to teach rural Alaskan students from Kindergarten through 12th grade how to cross-country ski, and a team of coaches spend a week in selected villages, bringing skis, boots, poles and other gear for the children to use.

In the month after the announcement, FIS will release case studies on each of the nominations that will be published on the FIS SnowKidz website for the public to view.

Release courtesy of FIS