At ski races across the US, competitors are starting to abandon a type of wax that many count on for speed amid concerns that it contains toxic chemicals that threaten human health, and could reach streams and other critical groundwater sources.
The International Ski Federation, the governing body for international skiing, announced plans to ban the use of fluorinated waxes in all disciplines next season.
Those waxes contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, collectively known as PFAS. They are commonplace in the environment and have been linked to a growing list of health problems.
Nordiq Canada, the governing body for cross-country skiing in Canada, also prohibited high and medium-fluorinated waxes in most cross-country races this season.
The Norwegian Ski Association banned the use of fluorinated glide wax — used in both classic and skate skiing — for all athletes aged 16 or younger two years ago.
That leaves skiers to use hydrocarbon waxes on their skis.
“I’m very happy with the decision not to use it,” said Sverre Caldwell, director of the SMS T2 team of elite cross-country ski racers, including US Ski Team members, based at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. “For two reasons: one is the potential danger and the other is, anything that kind of evens the playing field is good to me. It should be the athletes racing, not the skis racing.”
The move to shift away from those particular waxes goes well beyond the professional circuit and the skiers themselves.
In Vermont, the VPA Nordic High School Coaches Association decided to stop using all fluorinated glide waxes this season, and in Maine, high-fluoro waxes were banned at the state championship.
Wax technicians, coaches and athletes have been heating the so-called fluoro waxes with irons on the base of skis and then scraping it off for years — often in wax rooms and trailers before a race.
Many now wear masks and work in highly ventilated areas and wonder if they have suffered any health problems from all that exposure to the wax.
RAIN CANCELS RACE
A men’s World Cup combined race that was canceled on Friday because of bad weather has been rescheduled for today.
The International Ski Federation said that a giant slalom initially scheduled for that day has been moved to tomorrow.
Earlier on Friday, the federation called off the Alpine combined race “due to the rain and snowfall during the night, the current weather situation and the forecast for the day.”
Today’s race would be the third and last Alpine combined race of the season.
Alexis Pinturault of France, who won the discipline title three times, leads the season standings with 180 points, followed by Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway with 112 and Loic Meillard of Switzerland with 110.
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