USRowing Training Center's women's team returned last week from a cross-country ski training camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. The athletes trained out of the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center, a home base for many USA winter athletes currently competing at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Justin Moore, women’s rowing head coach at Williams College, coached a similar camp for the USRowing women's team last year and returned this year to help both novice and experienced skiers get the most out of the Van Hoevenberg Nordic Ski Center at Lake Placid. Moore believes skate skiing is one of the best cross-training sports for rowers.

"The requirements for body awareness, balance and flow of momentum are immediately transferable to rowing, and the cardiovascular requirements for both sports are tremendous," said Moore.

U.S. National Team Women's Head Coach Tom Terhaar praised Moore's coaching as well as the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center, which provided "a great experience, with state-of-the-art facilities and a great staff." Terhaar agreed with Moore and emphasized the additional psychological benefits of the cross-training trip.

"While fitness was one of our primary goals last week, it was also an opportunity for the athletes to shake off some of the mental fatigue of winter training,” said Terhaar.

The women's team is currently training in Princeton, N.J., before departing next weekend for a three-week training trip to the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.