The Far West Nordic Ski Association announce that Peter Holmes was awarded the Ted Beauchamp Scholarship for 2014.

Holmes is a senior at North Tahoe High School and captain of the North Tahoe Nordic Team. He was a member of the 2014 U.S. Scandio Team representing the USA and Far West Nordic in Rovaniemi, Finland.

Ski racing is Holmes’ passion. He is very dedicated to training year-round, often training twice a day. He started competing in Nordic skiing in seventh grade and has received a leadership award for his work with other racers on his state champion North Tahoe team.

---

---

Holmes also is an accomplished student and is on the Far West Nordic Academic Team. He plans to continue racing at the collegiate level next year.

The Ted Beauchamp Scholarship is worth $300, but more importantly, the annual grant is one of the highest honors that a junior Nordic skier can achieve in the Far West Division.

---

---

The scholarship was set up in 1995 to honor the memory of longtime Far West Nordic Board member Ted Beauchamp, who gave tirelessly to help young athletes excel in the sport he loved.

Far West contingent fares well in American Birkebeiner

Thousands of Nordic skiers participated in the 41st annual American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisc., on Saturday, despite heavy snow and gusty winds that toppled the large tent at the starting area the night before.

Racing into a headwind and with a wind chill below zero, some 3,780 skiers completed the 50-kilometer skate race and another 1,865 completed the 54-kilometer Birkie Classic. Among them were a large handful of skiers with ties to Far West Nordic.

Farm Team alumnus Matt Gelso was the first American to reach the finish line and seventh overall in the skate race, and Chelsea Holmes was the sixth woman and 78th overall. Elite Team racer Patrick Johnson finished 14th overall and was third in his male 18-24 division.

Also competing in the skate race were Peter Hansen (191st overall, 12th M45-49), Wyatt Fereday (520th overall, 87th M25-29), Paul Honeywell (1,563rd overall, 204th M50-54) andKevin Murnane (1977th overall, 195th M40-44).

Competing in the Birkie Classic, former Olympic biathlete Glenn Jobe of Sierraville was 110th overall and third in his male 60-64 division.