Nationals

USASA Nationals are getting closer! The invites have started going out and Whitney got hers on Thursday. She's registered, ready to go. I booked our rooms a month ago to make sure that we could get something in Center Village at Copper, near the action (and the lifts). The flights were taken care of this morning, now I just need to book the shuttle from the airport to Copper and I think we're set.

For a while Whitney was ranked 1st in her age group but currently she's tied for 3rd. A pretty good accomplishment for a girl from a small mountain in Virginia. I'm not sure that really matters though. She's had some awesome coaches this year, done really well in her races, gotten stronger and faster, races smarter, and expects to do well at Nationals.

She was talking with Chad last week and he encouraged her to move to the Open Class next year. She had been thinking about her plan moving forward and was planning to do her age group for another year then move to the Open Class. After this weekend I think she'll be moving to Open Class next year. We looked a bit at the Maine Mountain Series, which is where she'll be competing next year while she's in college and they have no one in the 18-22 age group, but four or five girls in the Open Class. She was also talking with one of the guys who competes in the Appalachian Series in the men's Open Class and he also said she should move up next year, that she's definitely ready for it. Guess it's been a good year for her!