Jessie Diggins fund raiser

Jessie Diggins, Stillwater High School Nordic Ski team member from 2004 to 2010 and three time Minnesota State High School Champion, is now a member of the US Ski Team and the Central Cross Country (CXC) Ski Team.  In 2011, Jessie was the US National Skate Sprint Champion, Junior National Champion in four events and led the US Women’s team with her seventh place finish in the Junior World Championships in Otepaa, Estonia.  Jessie capped off her exceptional season with two individual top-30 races at the World Championships in Oslo, Norway, and anchored the Women's relay to a seventh place finish at this same event. 
 
Jessie’s success in 2011 fueled her goals for 2012 when she hopes to spend much of the season competing in World Cup races throughout Europe. Jess is focused on achieving a top-10 result at the Under-23 World Championships in Turkey and a podium finish at the US National Championships this January in Rumford, Maine. These goals support Jessie’s longer term dreams of representing the USA at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and anchoring the relay team to top 5 finish.  These goals require single minded focus from Jessie; she trains over 600 hours a year and made the sacrifices necessary to build a lifestyle around optimizing her athletic potential.
 
While the Midwest’s CXC team provides food and lodging for training camps throughout the year, Jessie’s US Ski Team support has recently been reduced by deep budget cuts; funding from this organization will be quite limited this season.  Jessie is expecting that national and international travel, lodging and race expenses for the 2011-2012 race season will reach $20,000. Jessie has worked to secure several grants and sponsorship packages that will help address these expenses, but, with the Nordic ski racing season starting on November 14^th, she is still several thousand dollars short of her anticipated need.  
 
To fill the gap, friends and supporters of Jessie are organizing a fund raising dinner at Chilkoot Café and Cyclery, in Stillwater, MN on November 11^th just prior to Jessie’s departure for the start of the Super Tour Race Series in Montana.