Ski de She: New women-only cross-country ski race set for debut this winter
Thousands of skiers from around the world flock to northwestern Wisconsin every February to ski the American Birkebeiner, the largest cross-country ski race in the country.
But the vast majority of those competitors are men. Last year, for the longest marathon races, there were more than three times more male skiers than women.
Enter the Ski de She, a new cross-country ski race and camp, sponsored by the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation, designed specifically for female skiers who want to build camaraderie and improve their skiing skills, and to make the sport of cross-country skiing more accessible and inclusive.
"Doing 50 or 55 [kilometers] on Birkie Saturday can be a little intimidating for people, especially when you're in the minority out there,” said Kristy Maki, event director for the Foundation.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
“So we wanted to provide a way for women to gain more confidence and more technique. So it makes them feel like they can compete with everyone out on the course and give them a little more confidence to go into more races."
The inaugural event is scheduled for Jan. 27-29 this winter in Cable, Wisc. It begins with a camp, limited to 100 registrants, that filled up within a week after the Birkie Foundation announced it, Maki said. There’s already a long waiting list.
And she said women are registering every day for the races, which include 10k, 20k and 30k distances that will begin at the Birkie starting line.
Kikkan Randall, who won the first U.S. gold medal in cross-country skiing, along with Minnesotan Jessie Diggins, at the 2018 Winter Olympics, will be part of the Ski de She festivities.
Maki said the foundation has been thinking about a women's only event for years. They’re popular in Scandinavian countries, which often include women’s only races as part of their larger ski competitions.
Several years ago Maki said there was a women’s only race in the Twin Cities called the Inga Lami. But now she said the Ski de She is the only women’s-only cross country ski race in the Midwest.
"We really hope that it becomes a weekend that motivates women to continue to live healthy outdoor lifestyles and that motivates other women to to take up the sport and to meet new people and new friends to help them along in their journey."