Birkie Warriors & Inga Contest Winners Announced
Please join the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation in congratulating the winners of the 2013 Birkie Warriors & Inga Contest. The three cross country skiers will re-enact the 800-year-old legend that inspired Birkie Warriors & Inga page at Birkie.com.
The roles of the two Warriors, Torstein and Skervald, will be played by long-time Birkie skiers Chris and Tom Lawn (Tom is Chris’s dad). These two historic warriors rescued Prince Haakon during the Norwegian Civil War in 1206. Lori House, also a capable and passionate skier, will take on the role of Queen Inga from Varteig, mother of Prince Haakon and a legendary figure in her own right.
Up for the Challenge
The contest winners were carefully selected by judges who know exactly what it takes to ski 54 kilometers in full Warrior and Inga costumes while encouraging their fellow skiers along the trail. Each year, those judges are none other than the two groups of skiers who took on these roles the previous two years.
Strong Skiing Experience
Each group that enters the contest submits information about how many Birkies they have skied, how many they have skied Classic, and what their times were. They also submit a short essay about their team members. People write about all sorts of things–family traditions, strong friendships made closer by skiing, Norwegian connections, and just their love of cross country skiing and the Birkie. It is a big commitment to ski the full Birkie Classic race on wooden skis while wearing period costumes. Entries must demonstrate the group’s skiing ability plus their enthusiasm for taking on these roles.
Chris Lawn has skied 17 Birkies and 5 Kortes, with five out of the last five Birkies skied Classic. Tom Lawn has skied 27 Birkies, with four out of the last five skied Classic. Lori House has skied 3 Birkies and 1 Korte, with all three Birkies skied Classic. They showed fast finish times in these races.
The Warriors ski the entire Birkie. Inga may choose to ski the Birkie or shift to the Kortelopet to www.Birkie.com.
For more information, email [email protected] or call 715-634-5025.
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