CW-X Conditioning Wear, a division of The Wacoal Sports Science Corporation, will become the “Official Baselayer Supplier” of the U.S. Telemark Ski Association. The agreement will put members of the U.S. National Telemark Ski Team in CW-X Tights and Tops from December 2008 through the end of 2009.


“Telemark is a sport that demands high endurance. We believe the targeted support and accelerated recovery benefits provided by CW-X will offer a substantive edge for our athletes,” said Eric Lamb, U.S. National Telemark Ski Team member and secretary of the U.S. Telemark Ski Association.


Thirteen team members along with associated board members will receive CW-X Conditioning Wear, and the CW-X logo will appear on team apparel and at races. The team raced in European World Cup events in December before traveling to Austria for the world championships in late January 2009. The United States Telemark National Championships will be held in Steamboat Springs, Colo., February 26 through March 1, 2009. For more information on the U.S. National Telemark Ski Team, log onto ustsa.org.


“This is an excellent application of our support technology,” said John L.A. Wilson, president and COO of Wacoal Sports Science Corp. “We strongly believe the team will see improved performance and better recovery times by wearing CW-X.”

CW-X said that in telemark skiing, a skier’s heels are not fixed to the back of the binding, thus allowing them to flex up from turn to turn. Telemark boots have a “duckbill” front like a cross-country ski boot that slides into the toe plate, and bellows over the forefoot to permit a deep forward flex. Competitive telemark skiing events are very similar to traditional alpine race events, with the addition of a jump for distance, banked turns and a cross-country section. The most well known of these events, the Classic, begins with a downhill race through 40 or more gates and finishes with an uphill cross-country sprint.