Greetings NENSA Community!

Mother Nature has had a crazy week, but the good news is, all NENSA races this past week have happened, and in good conditions, despite the rain, sleet, ice and thankfully, finally snow, that has fallen. It is snowing here in Boston today, and it is a beautiful and welcome site out my office window.

Our Eastern Cup weekend at Rikert was a huge success, as was the Geschmossel Classic race at Bretton Woods on Monday. Really great recaps on both race days, including some nice photos, can be found in the box below.

Check out the amazing New England juniors who qualified for Junior Worlds/U23 Championships in Gome Switzerland, and our one Craftsbury junior who qualified for the U18 Scando Team trip to Finland, both coming up in the next few weeks.

See who has hopefully made the Olympic Cross Country team so far, in the box below, including 6 NENSA Elite Team members! Final team announcements will be made the week of January 22, subject to USOC approval.

This week SWIX launched the "SWIX Closet" for NENSA members. Click HERE to see this offer on closeout SWIX products, as well as other member offers from our NENSA Sponsors.

This weekend brings the White Mountain Classic One Day Club Championship in Jackson NH on Saturday 1/20, and Eastern Mass BKL Sprints in Weston MA on Sunday 1/21. 

Check out the full calendar listing at the bottom of this newsletter, to see all the Eastern Cup, SuperTour, Zak Cup, Marathon, citizen racing and other great events happening all over New England this winter - so many great events coming up!

I hope to see you out on a snowy race trail soon - perhaps at the White Mountain Classic this Saturday?

#23daystoPyeongChang

Best,
Amie


Amie W. Smith
Executive Director
New England Nordic Ski Association
Amie@nensa.net

Be sure to follow us on fb, Twitter and on Instagram @nensa_nordic
NENSA News from the Field
Highlights and Notes from NENSA and the Nordic World
Olympic Cross Country Team Update
(so far)
#23daystoPyeongChang
Erik Bjornsen (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) ^
Sadie Bjornsen (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Rosie Brennan (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) ^
Sophie Caldwell (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Jessie Diggins (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Simi Hamilton (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) ^
Andy Newell (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) ^
Kikkan Randall (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint, distance) ^
Ida Sargent (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) ^
Liz Stephen (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance) ^

^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
Final team announcements will be made the week of Jan. 22, subject to USOC approval.
RED = NENSA elite team members! #goNewEngland #nensaeliteteam
Race Reports and Recaps from the Rikert Eastern Cup & Geschmossel Classic Zak Cup Races ~
EC Day One ~ Sprints ~ Recap/Report HERE

EC Day Two ~ Distance race ~ Recap/Report HERE

Photos of Day Two Distance Races
(photos courtesy of Dave Priganc)

Congrats to Eli Enman of NWVE and Kathy Maddock of Dublin XC for taking overall wins at the Geschmossell Classic at Bretton Woods this past Monday. Full results at: https://www.nensa.net/results/ (including the Rikert Eastern Cup races)
New England Juniors Headed to Junior Worlds/U23 Championships in Gome Switzerland & U18 Scando Trips
Congrats to our New England Juniors & U23's, who qualified at US Sr. Nationals in Anchorage AK the first week of January, for the Junior Worlds/U23 Championship Teams:

Ben Ogden, 17, Landgrove, VT, SMS
Bill Harmeyer, 20, Burlington, VT, UVM
Julia Kern, 20, Waltham, MA, SMS/Dartmouth
Karl Schulz, 19, Lake Placid, NY, UVM
Sofia Shomento, 18, Bozeman, MT, Dartmouth
Andrew Egger, 22, Edina, MN, Colby College
Lydia Blanchet, 20, Anchorage AK, Dartmouth
Lauren Jortberg, 20, Hanover, NH ,Dartmouth

Justin Beckwith, NENSA's Competitive Program Director, will be going for the third year in a row as the teams Head Wax Tech. Matt Boobar, SMS will being going as a U23 coach, and Peter Kling, GMVS will be there as tech staff.

And last, but certainly not least, qualifying for the U18 Scando Team Trip to Vuokatti Finland:
Callie Young,17, Jay VT, Craftsbury Nordic

Congrats to all - looking forward to following those races and Championships!

In front of huge crowds in the historic German city of Dresden, Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) and Ida Sargent (Orleans, Vt.) sprinted to third behind two powerhouse Swedish teams in a World Cup freestyle team sprint Sunday. It was a career-best match for Sargent. Italy beat Sweden for the men's victory. 
The podium finish for Caldwell and Sargent matched their finish in the Olympic test event at Alpensia in PyeongChang, South Korea last February. The duo had been fifth in Planica, Slovenia a year earlier. Caitlin Patterson (Anchorage) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) teamed up to finish eight for the women, as did Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) for the men. 
All NENSA Clubs and Coaches should check this out:

As of January 15, 2018, those wishing to access SafeSport materials must use the below access codes.  Please share widely with your club volunteers and coaches and encourage them to utilize these resources. 

Onboarding Link:
 
Access Code:
NBUD-E6QB-WGT3-BW7Z

Upcoming Events
A Look Ahead at the NENSA Calendar
Upcoming Events:
January 21 EMBK Sprint Races
January 26 & 28 US Ski & Snowboard SuperTour Craftsbury VT
January 27 Craftsbury Marathon Craftsbury VT
February 24 The Bogburn Classic
February 25 Stowe Derby
Link to full month by month NENSA.net Calendar Listing HERE
Renew your NENSA Membership today, and THANK YOU!
Take pride in joining the New England Nordic community with your NENSA membership in knowing your dues are coming right back to you in the form of NENSA programming and our ongoing support of venues, clubs, athletes and coaches across the region. 

NEW this fall ~ "upgrade" your membership to either a Contributing Member ($100) or a Lifetime Member ($500 single/$750 couple) and or partner sponsor Out There Nordic will send you either a $20 or a $75 gift certificate for your increased membership support to NENSA! It's a win-win, for you and for NENSA!

There are more reasons than ever to re-new your NENSA Membership! In the past few weeks we have added 4 new NENSA Members Only Benefits & Offers to our website ~ and the list is growing every week! Check back often as we will be adding a few more from our wonderful sponsors next week! Go to our "NENSA Members Only Benefits and Offers" tab, under Membership, on NENSA.net to see the latest offers!

Questions?? Email george@nensa.net or call ( 207-688-6503) George in our NENSA office - he is there to help you! 

New England Nordic Ski Association | 49 Pineland Drive, Suite 301-A, New Gloucester, ME 04260
Call: 207.688.6503 | www.nensa.net