American Birkebeiner Announces Madshus Move to Gold-Level Sponsorship

HAYWARD, Wisconsin (December 8, 2014) – The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) is proud to announce its growing relationship with Madshus, maker of world-class cross country skis since 1906. Madshus, now a Gold-Level sponsor of the ABSF, is giving even more people the chance to try its skis, right on the Birkie Trail, at two major Birkie ski demos in 2015—the BirkieTour on January 18 and the American Birkebeiner on February 22.

Just six weeks ago, the company released a ski-industry first, its Madshus empower™-enabled skis – a “smart ski,” complete with its own app. Each ski has a built-in microchip that gives that ski a unique profile and identity. This technology improves everything from matching the best ski to the skier, to waxing and tracking performance on the trail.

The New York Times quickly picked up the story of this digital ski, saying, “First, the guesswork about which ski to buy is mostly eliminated by the microchip embedded in each ski. … Perhaps the app’s most useful information is about waxing, a feature of cross-country skiing that borders on mystifying and obsessive … the app can help to simplify. Anyone can wax a ski, but most people would like to spend less time waxing and more time skiing.”

Initially, the microchip is linked to software at retailers to provide support to the ski fitting process. Based on the skier’s height, weight, skiing ability, and style of skiing—skate or classic—customers can see which exact pairs of skis match their personal profile and even the right wax zones for them. All the data is displayed. It’s a very precise tool for enhancing the whole ski selection process.

The chip then uploads information from the ski to a free Madshus smartphone app. Through the app, skiers gain an internal look into the key data of each pair of empower-enabled skis (flex, camber heights, waxing measurements), as well as being able to monitor and record skiing performance. The Madshus empower app recommends the optimum places on the ski to apply the wax for a given user’s profile and the specific snow conditions. Skiers can also track and store critical workout data such as distance, speed, and location.

“We’ve had a long-standing partnership with the American Birkebeiner so we’re excited about growing our involvement as a Gold-Level sponsor and being at more events, especially with this new ski line,” said Chris McCullough, Global Brand Manager for K2 Outdoor, the parent company of Madshus skis. “From world cup skiers to fitness enthusiasts and recreational skiers–that’s the Birkie. We want to be where our customers are–we can tap into our brand DNA here.”

“Madshus is a great partner,” said Susan Kendrick, Sponsorship Director of the ABSF. “They have a fantastic product, actively seek out ways to help us improve the Birkie experience, and support skiers at all levels. We’re in good alignment on all of that.”

Birkie 2015 Demo Dates: Both will be held at the Birkie Trail “OO” trailhead. Birkie demos are free and open to the public. BirkieTour Demo is January 18. Birkie Ski Demo is February 22, the day after the American Birkebeiner race. Visit www.birkie.com, email birkie@birkie.com, or call 715-634-5025.

Get the Madshus App: The free Madshus empower™ app is available for iPhone or Android. Learn more about Madshus’ empower™ Technology, along with links to download the app, at madshus.com/empower.

Birkie Sponsors include SWIX, Title Sponsor of the Swix American Birkebeiner and Birkie ski events, Feb. 19-22, 2015, as well as Marshfield Clinic – Hayward Center, FITS, New Moon Ski & Bike, Madshus, Advantage Emblem, Gu Energy, Nuun Hydration, Cabin Stop, and dozens of other businesses, organizations, and professional services.

Posted December 8, 2014 at 6:04 pm