News & Stories

Midwest Junior Championships 2016: Registration Now Open!

Looking Ahead to the Midwest Junior Championships and Festival 2016

The 2016 Midwest Junior Championships and Festival (MJC) is looking to be the best yet! Coming off of another successful weekend of spring-time season-capping events, the MJC was delighted with numbers jumping from the 200s to the 300s. This weekend of races and festival events for anyone ages 15 and under is moving into its sixth year at Theodore Wirth Park.

2016 Registration and Event Information

Detailed information about the Midwest Junior Championships events and Festival is available under the Event Information pages. To register, click the button below to visit the registration page.

Click Here to Register!

Recommended Lodging Options

For those coming from out of town, check out our listing of local lodging options with racer discounts, shuttle services and waxing spaces. The West End Hotels are the Loppet Foundation’s preferred lodging partner for Midwest Junior Championships.

2015 Event and Festival Highlights

Two major factors played into last season’s breakthrough success, one being the CXC Youth Cup being launched by Central Cross Country (CXC) and the Minnesota Youth Ski League (MYSL), which had its season finale races held at the MJC. This drew in athletes from a wider base of locations, including numerous clubs from Wisconsin and Minnesota, extending its reach all the way to Northern Michigan and Canada! The Canadians’ presence brought in a particular excitement that can only really come with international competition and friendly northern neighbors. They not only provided excellent competition, but also contributed camaraderie and friendliness, even signing a Canadian flag and gifting it to one of our Loppet middle school team athletes.

The second success was our Saturday Festival, which was a new concept. Race organizers see the weekend as an opportunity for high-level racing against athletes all over the Midwest, but also as an inviting resource to introduce kids to racing in a friendly and festive way.  We want to celebrate a winter of skiing and improvement, and for some kids that means racing but for others, it’s simply enjoying a great day on skis, employing their learned skills. So with that, the festival events arose, and out came Paintball Biathlon, Skijoring demos, Fish Scale Frenzy, Giant Skis, SkiCross, Scooter Soccer, and more. The MYSL provides a trailer full of youth ski equipment to borrow on a first come first serve basis.

All in all, the competition events, the Classic Tandem Sprints, Classic Individual Start Race, Age Gap Relays, Freestyle Mass Start Race and Four-Person Mixed Relays, are in solid form and ready for another smooth run.

Local Fall and Winter Youth Programming

Those interested in fall or winter youth programming are invited to check out the Skiwerx program, or Minnesota Youth Ski League programs at www.mysl.org or the FAST KIDS program at www.loppet.org/lnr-fast-kids/.

We look forward to another terrific winter of youth ski racing. See you on the trails!

The Loppet Foundation
Minnesota Youth Ski League