The third event in the 16th Annual Flint Hills Resources Town Race Series, the Woolly Rhino Open, will be held on Saturday, January 14, February 18, 2012 on the Jim Whisenhant Ski Trails at Birch Hill Recreation Area in Fairbanks.  Start time is 11:00 AM.  Elementary and junior high races will be held in mass-start format in free technique.  The high school and adult races will use the interval start format in free technique.

Entry is free for all Fairbanks school-aged athletes.  Those beyond school years may enter by picking up entry forms at the Birch Hill Cross Country Ski Center, Goldstream Sports, Raven Cross Country or Beaver Sports.  Forms may be dropped off at Beaver Sports or Raven Cross Country.  Entries are closed as of 5:00PM on the Wednesday prior to the race.  There are no race day entries.

Click on the links below for course maps, stadium diagrams, course profiles, entry lists, start lists, result lists and any other information that might be available.  To view this information, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is a free program.  If you do not have Acrobat Reader on your computer, click here to download the program.

When temperatures are below -10F / -23C, Elementary and Junior High Races may not be held.  When temperatures are below -20F / -29C, the race may be postponed or cancelled.  Click here to view the weather conditions at Birch Hill at this moment, or you can call the weatherphone at 457-4837 or the racing hotline at 474-4434.

Below is the press release for this year's race:

Flint Hills Resources Town Race Series' Woolly Rhino Open this Weekend

The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks is pleased to announce that the sixteenth annual Flint Hills Resources Town Race Series continues with the Woolly Rhino Open, Saturday, January 14, at 11:00am at the Jim Whisenhant Ski Trails at Birch Hill Recreation Area. The Flint Hills Resources Town Race Series provides a competitive forum for skiers of all ages beginning with pre-schoolers. Over 200 entries are anticipated.

Racing begins at 11:00am with competition in the Kindergarten-1st grade-2nd grade class (.75km), followed by 3rd and 4th grade class (1.25km), and 5th and 6th grade class (1.75km). Each of these age classes will have two mass starts, one for boys and one for girls. The format changes to interval starts beginning with the 7th and 8th graders (2.5km). High school and adult women will go 3.5km, and high school and adult men will go 5km. All races will be held in free technique.

Entry is free for all school students from Kindergarten through high school. School students must be entered through their school club or team. The entry fee for adults is $10 for members of the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks, and $15 for non-members. Race entries close at 5:00pm Wednesday, January 11. There will be no late entries or race day entries.

Competitors may pick up and drop off entry forms at Beaver Sports and Raven Cross Country. Forms may be picked up at the Birch Hill Cross Country Ski Center, the old Birch Hill Warming Hut, Woolly Rhino or Goldstream Sports, as well.

All elementary finishers receive a ribbon recognizing their achievement. Elementary and junior high school-aged competitors who finish three or more of the races in the series will receive a free, commemorative t-shirt at the conclusion of the series.

For further information on the Flint Hills Resources Town Race Series contact the NSCF Race Program via e-mail at sportalaska@gci.net. Any public or private school ski programs, or home school families in the area who would like to participate but who have not received materials should contact John Estle at 347-1061, and request that materials be sent to them.

Flint Hills Resources is in their fifteenth season as the series sponsor. Woolly Rhino, a third-year sponsor, is the presenting sponsor for this event. Fifteen-year partners Kendall Subaru of Fairbanks and Fairbanks Youth Sports sponsor other events in the series. The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks also receives support from Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.

The remaining race is: Saturday, January 28, 2012 - Kendall Subaru of Fairbanks Classic - All races for all age classes will be interval start format in classic technique.

E-mail the Competition Program Director

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