TRUCKEE, CA—The 2009 Junior Olympics officially kicked off today with the skate sprint competition at Auburn Ski Club.

Another sunny day in the Sierras and conditions at Auburn Ski Club are looking better than ever. As coaches are already busy testing skis for next week’s competition, most have smiles on their faces.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a JO’s when conditions were this good,” Far West Coach Jeff Schloss said Friday.

“There’s tons of snow but it’s well packed down and it’s not getting too warm. It’s going to get a little warmer but not hot like 2005.”

As a first-year Older Junior, Truckee local Bernie Nelson is determined to place well at this year’s Junior Olympics, especially because she is on the host team.

After taking the State Championship crown last week at Auburn Ski Club, Nelson, a senior at Truckee High School, is one of the few athletes on the team who competed in the last Junior Olympics (’05) held at Auburn Ski Club.

She recalls ’05 as her “best Junior Olympics — ever” and said she hopes to top them this year.

2008 New England Junior Olympic team

The week is over – it is always amazing how fast the week goes but how long the days feel for the wax techs and coaching staff! But its all good- the staff worked really well together and the end results of watching our skiers race hard and race well, day after day, made up for all of the hours.

It was a spectacular day of racing at Kincaid Park. Hard tracks, perfectly groomed to the point you couldn’t even remember that a few days ago the stadium was a slush pond. It was amazing, the transformation. Great skiing on a variety of klister and even some teams using hard wax early in the day. The Alaskans totally dominated the day, winning every race EXCEPT for Far West taking the J2 Girls with Joanne Reid coming from behind for the win.