Bill Brooker Photo by Wende Carr
Old Forge businessman Bill Brooker has been invited to direct the waxing crew for the U.S. Ski Team’s Nordic Combined Competition in Midway, Utah from December 13 through 15.
The 10K freestyle race will be held at Soldier Hollow Ski Resort, home of the 2002 Winter Olympics Nordic competitions.
Brooker received the invitation from Dave Jarett, head of the U.S. Nordic Combined Team, and Olympic gold medalist Bill Demong.
Demong, whom Brooker coached as a youth, is now a veteran leader of the young US Ski Team.
Participants at this World Cup B event will race in World Cup competitions this winter.
Brooker, a service technician for Swix ski wax company, has supported Swix-sponsored athletes for a number of years.He earned a reputation for his ski waxing expertise while waxing for Junior National competitions with many champion racers.
Brooker said he will be “calling the shots” in terms of choosing the waxes to be used and application techniques in Utah.
“I don’t over-think the decision-making it and get paralyzed by it,” he said.
According to Brooker, man-made snow mixed with natural is his specialty, and he’s already made the decision to apply just glide wax—not kick wax—during the competitions.
“I’ve really got glide figured out,” he said.
In emphasizing the importance and value of the science of waxing, Brooker noted that the Norwegian Ski Team has had representatives in Sochi, site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, for over a year now, working to master the waxing application process for their local conditions.
As for the upcoming competition in Utah, Brooker says Zach Caldwell of New England is “the guy to beat,” and Tyler Fletcher, who set a new fastest cross-country time, is also someone to watch.
“I just LOVE waxing! If I were to choose what I’d do on a holiday, it would be this,” he said, adding that one of his life’s dreams is to wax at the Olympic Games.
