Greetings from the U23 World Championships in Schilpario, Italy!
My name is Kate Oldham and I am on the U23 Women’s squad this year for the 2025 JWSC. This season I’ve had several “firsts” in my career including my first National Title at US Nationals and my first World Cup starts. These firsts have felt sudden and exciting, but looking back at the last 6 years of my career reveals some of the processes that led to these incredible opportunities to represent the USA. I’ve attended five international racing trips (including the Scando Cup and OPA Cup Finals) that have been supported by the NNF, each time learning something new about best practices for international travel, racing, training, and preparation. These development opportunities for American athletes are critical to being comfortable each time we reach the next level of ski racing, all the way up to the World Cup level.
Coming to U23s from the World Cup, I felt more knowledgeable about important race-day elements like ski testing and race strategy, as well as having confidence in my pre/post-race routines. This, in addition to phenomenal work by the Team USA staff, resulted in a great day of sprinting and a Top-10 result!
The team here is exceptionally talented and has already shown great potential to succeed at the Junior World Championships level. After a lot of hard work, and with the support of the NNF and a tremendous wealth of community backing, Team USA is ready to show results after the long season(s) of preparation.
Thanks for following along!
Kate