Greetings NENSA Community ~

I loved seeing so many NENSA members and friends this past weekend enjoying another fantastic Craftsbury Marathon! Many thanks to our NENSA Masters Committee Chair Damien Bolduc, for providing another great race recap for us all to enjoy ~ see below ~ along with links to results, and photos for the weekend. A shout out to our NENSA board members who showed up in force to race, including Bryce Wing, Dave Hosmer, Elissa Bradlee, Diane Halvorsen, Tiffany Teaford, Carol Van Dyke, along with staffers Tom Weir and yours truly! It was a ton of fun and the COC volunteers, groomers and staff put on another amazing weekend event. Also great to have our NENSA sponsors UnTapped Maple & Fischer there with Tents and samples, and High Peaks Cyclery - with both Brian and Karen racing!

Also in this week's KickZone:
  • Our third Eastern Cup weekend, the Chisholm Eastern Cup and Bates Carnival is this weekend in Rumford ME. Online registration closed at 5pm today, but there is DOR for both the Saturday and Sunday's races.
  • Be sure to check out our NENSA sponsor SIDAS and their tent at the Eastern Cup this weekend ~ they are bringing along their great thermal products and foot insoles for cross country ski boots, and more!
  • The Mad River BKL practice had a special guest this week!
  • Upcoming Popular Races this weekend include the Flying Moose in Bethel ME, the Sweetheart Race in Woodstock VT, the Frost Mountain BKL Kick n'Glide at Rikert, The Great Caribou Bog Ski Race in Orono, ME, and Viking Race Night in Londonderry VT.
  • Sign up for NENSA's Women's Day ~ Sunday February 23rd in Bethel ME ~ Cami Thompson Graves will be the special lunch Guest Speaker along with our fantastic morning and afternoon clinics for all abilities, THE raffle, and so much more!
  • The latest Zak and Club Points updated after the Craftsbury Marathon
  • Registration is OPEN on SkiReg for our final Eastern Cup weekend #4 ~ two days of racing ~ three races total ~ at two venues! Saturday 2/15 will be the Dublin Double at the Dublin School in NH, and Sunday 2/16 will be the Cherri Walsh Memorial at the Holderness School in NH.
  • On Sunday 2/16 after the final Holderness EC race ~ our New England JN Team will be named on site.
  • Salomon is hiring a new Community Manager for New England
  • One of our NENSA Clubs, CRNA, is supporting and promoting Adaptive skiing here in New England, and beyond.
  • 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.

Hope to see you on a snowy trail soon!
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
Craftsbury Classic Marathon Recap
by Damien Bolduc
New England’s premier Nordic skiing event took place in Craftsbury today. Day one of the Craftsbury Marathon Ski Festival & Master’s National Championship kicked off with the Classic 50/30/16-kilometer race. People far and wide have been targeting this race, arriving in anxious droves to experience the legendary race. The Center was ready and welcomed participants from all over North America to their little piece of winter.
 
Commuting to the race was easy. Just a quick two-mile drive with the car loaded with the club's gear. The roads were clear, and the snow was piled high. The grooming on the outer loops looked superb. It was easy to unpack the car and set up. Mysteriously, Perry Bland’s ski bag showed up between trips to the car. It was another good sign. It was not long before skiers showed up and got to work with the serious business of preparing for a long race.

And if you want to see more great photos and a great video of both days of racing, just go to the Craftsbury fb page ! Enjoy!
Tuesday Afternoon Practice at
Mad River BLK had a special guest!
NENSA's Youth and Introductory Program Director Tom Weir stopped by Mad River BKL's practice yesterday at Blueberry Lake XC Center in Warren, VT for a day of games, cocoa, and fun on the trails! With fifty skiers in grades K-5 in the program, it was an awesome opportunity to see a growing club and introduce some new games as well as old favorites. Mad River BKL has been growing and evolving this year under the co-leadership of NENSA Competitive Program Director Justin Beckwith, Brie Beckwith, and Chris Badger.
NENSA's Women's Day is just a few short weeks away ~ sign up today!
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.

Cami Thompson Graves, Head Coach of the Dartmouth Cross Country Ski team will be our special guest lunch speaker. SKIDA once again is providing this great hat for our 2020 Women's Day, and as always the day includes both morning and afternoon clinics with top notch coaches, a great lunch and our amazing raffle!

Link to more info and registration page click HERE
JN Team Naming, meet the JN staff, and the Holderness School awesome raffle (for all!)
on Sunday February 16th
On Sunday February 16th, after the last Eastern Cup race at the Holderness School, NENSA will be naming our 2020 New England Junior National Team on site! We will have our usual team of 42 athletes, plus Autos and 13 staff members attending JN's in Truckee CA this March 7th-15th. Please come to the JN Team Naming ~ all are invited!

We will:
  • Name the 2020 New England Team
  • Distribute the 2020 Team Hats from SWIX
  • Distribute the 2020 staff vests from LL Bean
  • Sample sizes for trying on of our SWIX NE JN Team uniform (before ordering)
  • THE famous Holderness Raffle for ALL Eastern Cup racers that day!

**A reminder to please review the RANKINGS if you are hoping to be included on the team, and contact Justin@nensa.net if you have any questions or concerns. AUTOS ~ please confirm or decline your spot with Justin too!
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:
Salomon is hiring a Nordic Community Manager for New England
Salomon is hiring a Nordic Community Manager for New England. This is a great opportunity for someone based in New England that is looking to get their foot in the door of the Nordic industry. The job link and details for application are posted here:  https://smrtr.io/3Q8L8
NENSA Club Capitol Region Nordic Alliance (CRNA) is full steam ahead with ParaNordic

  • CRNA is headed to Waterbury VT to present ParaNordic during its winter festival
  • And to the Travis Mills Foundation in Rome ME x 2
  • To Lake Placid NY for USABS Camp and Winter ESGs x 3
  • Year round trail orienteering plus world trail O Championships. 2020 in Hong Kong!
  • Winter programming at Bobs Trees, in Hagaman NY...a wonderful venue!
  • Working with Microsoft Soundscapes to include the blind/visually impaired to participate in foot/trail orienteering....only one in country. 
  • Local/regional camps and clinics in our 5 sports
  • For more information on this ParaNordic Club contact Russ Myer at CRNA at: russmyer08@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
A Look Ahead at the NENSA Calendar
U pcoming NENSA Events: