Global Worldloppet Skier.
July 19, 2007
Our proposal to create a new recognition for those who have skied all 14 WL races was adopted unanimously at the WL Annual General Meeting. WL General Secretary Angelo Corradini communicated to us the text of an announcement to appear in the forthcoming WL magazine. Thus, the readers of the IAWLS web site are the first to be informed about the details of this new recognition:
NEW ! Global Worldloppet Skier NEW !
Here comes finally a new recognition for our affectionate competitors, a new prestigious goal to endeavour, the logical completion of a splendid sports career, be it on the non-professional level.
A complete round the world trip, an award to be exhibited in the most important place, a document to be proudly shown to friends!
The survey conducted by IAWLS in the Spring 2005 gave an overwhelming response in favor of the adoption of a new recognition for those who have skied all WL races.
Name of the recognition
After discussion with a number of skiers the name Global Worldloppet Skier (GWLS) came out as the preferred name. The word global conveys the idea of what it involves, the whole world. It is not advisable to use the word Master in order to avoid any confusion with the WL Masters.
Number of races
The GWLS requires the performance of all 14 WL races existing at the moment of the creation of this recognition. If new races are introduced in the future, they will be added to the required races. Thus a skier who had not finished all 14 races before the entry a new race must ski also the new race before becoming a GWLS.
Which kind of recognition?
We do not give a new medal or pin but “only” a diploma, and a list on the Worldloppet website. This is not a competition, we only list the GWLSs in alphabetical order. After each name, the year in which the GWLS was obtained will show how many WL races were involved. If a new race is introduced in 2009, the year 2009 after a name means that the GWLS included 15 races.
All Worldloppet races can be included in a GWLS since the year in which they became members of Worldloppet. The last race performed by a skier indicates the year of the GWLS achievement. Therefore, the first year for which the recognition is awarded is the year 2000 (inclusion of the Jizerská Padesátka race).
No Competition with the WL Master system.
The WL Master is the cornerstone of WL and it must remain so. GWLS is a new feature offered for skiers.
When a skier has obtained his/her first Master, the next goal can be to ski the 4 races not included in the Master, and become a GWLS.
For most skiers performing 10 WL races takes a long time. With the introduction of the GWLS, the skier has intermediate goals which make it easier to envisage the obtainment of a new Master. Thus, the GWLS concept is likely to invigorate the Master system.
Practical arrangements
When a skier has obtained 10 stamps in a passport, the passport is invalidated. For the GWLS it is not at all necessary to revalidate and amalgamate passports. Please simply send the dates, times and placements in the 14 races to the General Secretariat Office
The General Secretariat will send you the new prestigious diploma without any payments or further formalities.
This page was last revised on September 16, 2007