Greetings NENSA Community ~

Last week I ended my KickZone letter by saying please do a Snow Dance ~ well it worked! Snow fell across New England on Thursday and Saturday into Sunday, and it made for some great skiing conditions! We had a great weekend of Citizen Popular races, from the Silver Fox Trot at the Rikert Nordic Center, the Race for Snow at the Weston Ski Track outside of Boston, fun team sprints in Craftsbury, and the iconic Geschmossel classic race at Bretton Woods.

This weekend brings the Freeman Frost 22k half marathon at Jackson XC in NH, which is also a One Day Club Championship! BKL'ers and adults will love the 15th annual Mountain Top Paintball Biathlon in Chittenten VT, and there were be two citizen races at Craftsbury this weekend, immediately following the Eastern Cup, Suptertour and Carnival races. Saturday's 10k skate race is also a Zak Cup. So many great and fun opportunities to get out and race and have fun with your friends and family on snow this weekend!

Check out what's in this weeks KickZone in the boxes below:
  • TODAY is the last day to sign up on SkiReg.com for this weekend's Lost Nation Cup: Eastern Cup, Suptertour and UVM Carnival in Craftsbury. Registration closes at 9pm tonight. But there is DOR for the two Citizen Races and the BKL races Saturday and Sunday.
  • Recap of our Popular Citizen Races from last weekend
  • Youth Olympic Games Updates ~ medals for Team USA, including New England's Will Koch!!
  • World Cup Updates from US Ski & Snowboard
  • World Biathlon Updates from USBA on GRP athletes Susan Dunklee & Clare Egan
  • Sign up for NENSA's Women's Day ~ Sunday February 23rd in Bethel ME
  • The latest Zak and Club Points updated after the Geschmossel
  • NENSA's 2019-20 Wax Policy
  • SafeSport Information
  • NENSA's Calendar of Events

Check out our full calendar with links to all of the races this season at the bottom of this newsletter. NENSA is looking forward to this weekend's 2020 Lost Nation Cup in Craftsbury which will be a combined Eastern Cup/Supertour and the UVM Carnival weekend. The UnTapped Maple Tent will be there sampling their organic maple syrup based sports nutrition solutions for athletes on Saturday ~ hope to see you there too!

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
Popular Racing is Rolling into the New Year
Last weekend over 500 citizen racers competed around New England in four different events. Two of the events the 350.org Race for the Snow and the Geschmossel were a part of the 2020 Zak and Club Cup. Ford Sayre also hosted the Silver Fox Trot at Rikert, and Craftsbury hosted an informal Team Sprint. All the events attracted nearly or over 100 competitors each, and the Silver Fox topped out with over 200! One thing all the events had in common was a great community vibe – while there is certainly Olympic talent in every race there are also new faces and learning experiences taking place. NENSA is thrilled to see the concept of Popular Racing taking hold and we look forward to the meat of the season coming right up!
Speaking of NENSA racers, our masters, seniors and Club Cup skiers are filling the ranking lists and stirring up friendly competition.   Over 150 skiers are listed on our rankings pages representing 40+ clubs.   With so many races to chose from the competition will be close all winter. If you have never been a member, you can “Get Skiing” and join for your first year of racing or renew your old membership – lots of folks are doing it!
This weekend we have two Zak / Club events on the calendar – with a mass start freestyle race at the conclusion of the  Lost Nation Cup in Craftsbury Saturday  and the  Freeman Frost White Mountain Marathon  Sunday. Both events are likely to draw nice fields -pick your challenge: freestyle, classic or iron-person (do ’em both)! Don’t forget there is another fun option too – including an adult field – down at  Mountain Top for their 15th annual Paintball Biathlon Race!
Geschmossel Classic Race Recap
by Damien Bolduc
It was a fantastic day to be skiing, and the NENSA Popular Race Series is taking off. It is great to see so many people jumping into the races, whether for the first time or for the first time in a while.  The Geschmossel field was double what it was last year!
“Oh, what a difference a week can make! After last weekend’s no holds barred Bogburn bash held in balmy weather on a deteriorating course, the NENSA Series Racing returned with the more refined Geschmossel. There was a huge turnout for the 47th Annual Geschmossel held in what many considered perfect classic conditions. While the meaning of Geschmossel, according to Frank Feist (CSU), is far from refinement, it is what we have come to expect when Mount Washington Nordic is our host.
Upon our early arrival, it seemed we were late. Even though we beat our arrival time by 10 minutes and rolled into the parking lot at 9:20, a majority of the racers were already hustling around getting things in place for the race. It is around this time of the season that excitement in the series takes hold. The Geschmossel sometimes serves as a bit of a reprieve from die-hard racing, as mostly Masters gather for a race that is a little different for the folks that have to go back to work on Tuesday, but this year that would not be the case. NWVE took an early lead in the club series, and CSU is sure to have smashed that to pieces with their home Race For Snow, on Sunday, and other clubs are seizing on getting their members out in force. The series is shaping up, and the plot line is a little different this year...
The 4th annual Race for Snow held at the Leo J. Martin Ski Track in Weston MA to raise awareness of Climate Change and support 350.org
Click HERE to access Jamie Doucett's great PHOTOS from the 4th annual Race for Snow in Weston MA this past Sunday. All proceeds go to 350.org and this race was organized and run entirely by high school student athletes! BRAVO!!!
Skiers Brave The Cold at Silver Fox Trot
A new week, another classic New England ski race, and substantially different weather than last Saturday’s Bogburn. But the cold could not deter the New England Nordic faithful from a day of racing at Rikert Nordic Center for this year’s Silver Fox Trot.

All told, a staggering 227 racers took to the starting line. 90 of those skiers were affiliated with host club Ford Sayre; parents and volunteers who have seen the Silver Fox Trot evolve over the years assumed both totals were among the highest ever. The Rikert crew worked tirelessly to provide excellent skiing on several iterations of their race course.

None of this would have been possible without all the volunteers. Special shoutouts to Race Directors Margaret Loftus and Jonathan Durham for organizing and directing the entire operation; to Jonathan Chipman and Hope Rennie for coordinating the timing and registration operations; and the Ford Sayre JNT team and parents for volunteering throughout the morning and then throwing bibs on and taking part in the Citizens Race! The Silver Fox Trot is many things at once — a mainstay on the New England Nordic race calendar, an event for skiers of every age, ability, and inclination.

(A special thanks to Luke Costley, Ford Sayre coach for this write up)
NENSA Announces our GET SKIING
FREE Membership
for First Time Members
2019-2020 NENSA  GETSKIING  MEMBERSHIP: FREE!!!!
Good for First-Time NENSA Members only
Yes, you heard that correctly ~ we want everyone to  GET SKIING , so we are offering anyone, of any age ~ Youth, juniors, seniors, masters, parents, grandparents, a FREE membership to NENSA  (if you have never been a NENSA member before) . This is a great way to try our NENSA programing this coming season and join in all the summer, fall and winter fun! You can try out that rollerski race, BKL program, an Eastern Cup race, a Citizen’s race or a coaching clinic, and your NENSA membership is FREE! 
Click here to   JOIN NENSA TODAY
If you are already a NENSA member ~ THANK YOU! Click here to  RENEW   your membership today. June is the official start of our new membership year, so take a few minutes to renew, or join for free, and GET SKIING today!
NENSA's Women's Day Registration is OPEN
Don't miss out on all the fun ~ sign up today! Women's Day will be at the Bethel Village Trails at The Bethel Inn, Bethel, ME, on Sunday February 23, 2020

Link to more info and registration page click HERE
Zak and Club Points Update!
Click HERE to see all the latest rankings for the Zak Cup and Club points so far this season!
Special Savings and Offered from our
NENSA Sponsors on NENSA.net
NENSA is so grateful to all our Sponsors for their support of our non-profit organization and our sport! They also have some special offers for YOU, our NENSA members. Be sure to check out the Members Only Benefits page on NENSA.net. There you will find savings on UnTapped Maple nutritional products, Concept2 SkiErgs, Nokian Tyres, TOKO wax and savings from ShareWinter.com and the Trapp Family Lodge. It's another way we can say thank you to you all for being NENSA members and supporting us too!
NENSA WAXING POLICY
2019-2020 SKI SEASON
Mission Statement:  NENSA is committed to making safe and supportive competitive events for all cross country skiers. Concerns about fluorinated waxes have emerged from three schools of thought: the health implications of exposure, the environmental effects involved with the raw materials in many of the wax products, and the competitive advantage certain clubs may gain due to the perceived complexities of available products. NENSA would like to address these issues and help reduce the dependence on fluorinated waxes through education and waxing guidelines.
It is important to note that the wax industry will shift as the international market responds to mounting regulation of ingredients in Europe. We hope our stance will promote a healthy environment for athletes, technicians, spectators and New England venues. These policies are based on trust and NENSA cannot enforce compliance.

Click HERE to see our NENSA Wax Policy for the 2019-20 Season
SafeSport Program
U.S. Ski & Snowboard, our National Governing Body (NGB) requires the following individuals complete training provided by the U.S. Center for SafeSport:

Individuals associated with Member Clubs (that means any NENSA club)

  • Adult athlete members of Member Clubs, except Short Term Athlete Members due to their limited participation and Master Athletes who do not i) have regular contact with minor athletes or ii) have authority over minor athletes
  • Adult members (who are not athletes) of Member Clubs who i) have regular contact with athletes, or ii) have authority over athletes
  • Employees and Board Members of Member Clubs
  • Individuals providing services to Member Clubs, including but not limited to contractors, volunteers, interns, who i) have regular contact with athletes or ii) have authority over athletes
  • More info here: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/safesport-athlete-safety/safesport-training

NENSA urges ALL New England coaches, parent volunteers, venue volunteers and anyone working with youth to take the SafeSport on-line course and get certified. NENSA requires this of all our staff and volunteer coaches and wax techs at JN's and REG Camps. Please take time this season to be sure all your club volunteers and coaches are SafeSport certified. Do it today. Go to: https://www.safesport.org

Further information on SafeSport, and important updates made as of 4/15/19 to the SafeSport Program, can be found on our NENSA website HERE
E xciting News from our Partners:
 Youth Olympic Games and
World Cup recaps for this week!
January 17:
Koch, Palmer-Leger Each 4th in Opening Youth Olympic Games Sprint:
Will Koch and Sydney Palmer-Leger led Team USA, each finishing fourth, in the opening cross country 1600-meter sprint of the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In the women's race, Kendall Kramer was 16th, and teammate Nina Seemann was 17th. On the men's side, Brian Bushey was 27th and Kai Mittelsteadt was 47th. The Youth Olympic Games continue Sunday with a 1800-meter sprint competition.
RESULTS:

January 17 : Diggins Fourth, leads Four U.S. Athletes Into Top 30
Racing through deep, sugary snow in her first race since finishing the Tour de Ski earlier this month, Jessie Diggins led four Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athletes into the top 30, finishing fourth in Saturday’s 10k FIS Cross Country World Cup freestyle in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. ...READ MORE

January 18: Palmer-Leger 11th, Koch 17th in YOG Sprint
Sydney Palmer-Leger was 11th, and Will Koch was 17th to lead Team USA in Sunday’s Freestyle Sprint at the 2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Youth Olympic Games continue Tuesday with a 5k classic race for the women, and a 10k classic race for the men. The Games wrap up cross country competition Wednesday with the Nordic mixed team event.
RESULTS

January 18: Three Americans in Top 20 at Nove Mesto
Jessie Diggins once again lead the way for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in Sunday’s FIS Cross Country World Cup 10k classic pursuit in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, finishing in 10th. Rosie Brennan was 13th and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was 20th. ...READ MORE

January 21: Cross Country Bronze for Will Koch and Kendall Kramer at Youth Olympic Games
Kendall Kramer and Will Koch led Team USA, each skiing to Youth Olympic Winter Games bronze medals in their respective classic events Tuesday in Lausanne, Switzerland. ...READ MORE
Here’s an amazing story. Will Koch, US Cross-Country Skier, just won a bronze medal  🥉  at  Lausanne 2020 . He is the son of Bill Koch who’s a silver Olympic medalist  🥈  Bill also won the 1982 World Cup in the same venue at Vallée se Joux where Will just won his medal  😍🙌🏽
From US Biathlon:

Dunklee 10th, Egan 16th in Ruhpolding Pursuit

RUHPOLDING, Germany (Jan. 19, 2020) – Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt.) and Clare Egan (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) raced to their best finishes of the season Sunday in the women's 10-kilometer pursuit on the final day of the BMW IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding. Dunklee moved up 15 positions from the start to place 10th, while Egan moved up 12 spots to finish 16th.

Dunklee had three penalties on the range and stretched out to nip France's Justine Braisaz at the line to notch her top-10 finish.

"Ruhpolding has a great atmosphere, the fans are loud and supportive and it's a joy to race here," said Dunklee. "It was a lot fun to ski around Clare for several loops and we both threw down season bests. I was particularly proud of my lunge finish ahead of Justine to secure 10th."

Dunklee's time was 1 minute, 39.7 seconds back of winner Tiril Eckhoff of Norway. Egan was 2:01.8 back with two penalties.
Susan Dunklee (left) and Clare Egan (center) share a moment following the women's pursuit on Jan. 19. (photo by Evgeny Tumashov/IBU)
Upcoming Events
A Look Ahead at the NENSA Calendar
Upcoming NENSA Events: