Greetings NENSA Community ~

As May turns into June, we are humming along here at NENSA. We have been busy creating our fun and challenging virtual programing for you, as well as planning for the rest of the 2020-21 season. We are going to have a ski season, we are just not sure exactly what that is going to look like yet. We are making plans, back up plans, and contingency plans. NENSA is committed to making a vibrant strong ski season for the coming winter!

We have been humbled and ecstatic about how well received our #25KinMAY virtual Rollerski Challenge was received by you all! 213 of you officially signed up on SkiReg, and so many more just went out and logged your km's. We had over 680 data entries and in the end, over 13,000 km's were skied, by folks on four continents! Thank you for all your awesome social media posts and shout outs! See box below for the full recap of that program, as well as our lucky raffle winners in each category! Thanks again to our incredible sponsors, SWIX, Salomon, EnjoyWinter.com, Trapp Family Lodge and Great Escapes Nordic Magazine for donating great prizes to our participants for#25KinMAY!

There is so much more to come this month! On Monday we kicked off #JuneTerm. NENSA is partnering with Nordic Team Solutions, GMVS and the EnjoyWinter.com brands of Swenor, Bliz and Anti-Freeze face tape, to bring you a month long event with opportunities for BKL, recreational and competitive collaboration. Each week will present its own challenges – with leaderboards and social recognition for outstanding efforts and creativity. This month-long program is designed to continue to bring our broader ski community together – share standardized testing and challenge data – and yet be flexible enough to be integrated into athletes personalized training programs. We hope you will join us! You can sign up today on SkiReg.com

Here's what we have in store for you in this week's KickZone ~
  • A full wrap up of our #25KinMAY Rollerski Challenge!
  • We have kicked off May with more fantastic virtual programing with #JuneTerm
  • In honor of our 25th year ~ we are looking for photos showing our NENSA history. If you have photos to share please email them to photo@nensa.net (yes - we've created a special email for NENSA's history!) 1995-2020.
  • From US Ski & Snowboard: Congrats to Pat O'Brian, SMS T2 for being named Cross Country Domestic Coach of the Year!
  • From Cross Country Skier Magazine Podcast: an interview with Chris Grover, on COVID, funding and selects for the 2021 U.S. Cross Country Ski Team
  • From TOKO: the fluorination ban that the FIS will be instituting for the 2020/21 season.
  • Check out NENSA's new VIRTUAL Resources TAB on NENSA.net for all the latest programing from NENSA, clubs across New England, and beyond.
  • Stay tuned, our third NENSA Insta Live show will be next Wednesday June 10th at 7pm ~ with special guest to be announced soon!

I hope this eNewsletter finds everyone safe and well, and able to get outside to enjoy this beautiful weather!
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
Colin Rodgers (GMVSxc) joined Justin Beckwith towards the end of the month for a 25km ski ending at the top of Appalachian Gap and
happened upon Andrew Gardner of UnTapped Maple. And below, Bob Witkowski psyched on the final day of #25KinMAY – time for some rest Bob!
#25KinMAY Surpasses Expectations & Motivates Community
In response to our socially distant landscape this spring, NENSA created a virtual rollerski challenge to engage the community, give athletes added motivation to train and have some friendly competition. The format was geared so that skiers of all abilities could participate at their own pace and comfort level. From it’s introduction the concept proved popular with tens of skiers signing up in the first days and a constant stream of mentions and tags on social media. People were getting after it and they were having FUN! As the month went on we skied 5000, then 10,000, and finally over 13,000km together!

Folks could sign up as Rockstar’s and ski the full 25km in one go — or as many choose — to go further! Will Koch, Sam Murray, Jack Lange and Philip Lawson all logged 100+km skis. All told 92 skiers officially logged over 150 unique 25km (or longer skis) — putting together an impressive 4667km total for the group. Although it wasn’t intended as a competition, skiers are listed by pace per kilometer   on the results page   – a stat which no doubt spurred some competition... s ee full story HERE including links to the raffle winners! Thanks again to SWIX, Salomon, EnjoyWinter.com and Trapp Family Lodge!
NENSA Announces JuneTerm Virtual Program
#JuneTerm
June 1-30
Coming off of the success of our first ever virtual program #25KinMay, we are super excited to announce our next option for virtual summer programming in partnership with Green Mountain Valley School, Nordic Team Solutions, and Enjoy Winter: JuneTerm.

JuneTerm is a month long event with different opportunities built in for BKLers, Competitive Skiers, and Masters – though anyone is welcome to sign up for whatever category they want! Each week will come with it’s own unique challenge ranging from backyard agility courses for BKL skiers, to a virtual recreation of NENSA’s typical REG Camp training schedule for competitive skiers. As with our previous virtual programs and challenges, our number one priority is safety and NENSA is urging skiers to keep it local, and follow all local guidelines for gathering.

One of the most fun parts about May’s virtual program #25KinMay was seeing daily photos, videos, and GPS tracks from the people who took part. That content does a lot to help keep our community together, and we are excited to see JuneTerm continue to do so during this unprecedented time. We will be sharing photos, videos, and other fun stuff from our participants as the month goes on.
JuneTerm will feature a great raffle with prizes from Swenor Rollerskis, Start Poles, Bliz Sunglasses, and Anti Freeze Face Tape. There will also be an awesome club challenge with a prize going to the club who racks up the most participation. For every week a participant completes the challenge they will earn one point for the club they designate in registration. NENSA will tally participation at the end of each week and reward the club leader with a special prize.

To learn more about JuneTerm, or to sign up head over to SkiReg at the link below.
Some of great prizes that were up for grabs in our NENSA #25KinMAY Rollerski Challenge from
SWIX and Salomon!
Congrats to #rockstar Anthony Mollano who will be styling with Triac Carbon Skate Rollerskis, and #speedyrepeater Marque Moffett with be string on the SWIX Carbon classic rollerskis!
Congrats to Deb Nordyke ~ our #rockstar raffle winner of the Salomon's new FW20 SLAB Carbon skate
Recognize these folks??!!
NENSA's 2006 Marathon Series Poster!
In honor of our 25th year ~ we are looking for photos showing our NENSA history ~ especially from the early years of NENSA. Clubs, races, staff, Board members, Committees, events...if you have photos to share please email them to photo@nensa.net (yes - we've created a special email for NENSA's history!) 1995-2020. Thanks!
Looking for some fun challenges and ways to stay fit and engaged during these shelter at home times? Check out some of these fun ideas from our NENSA Virtual Resources TAB on NENSA.net
More News from our NENSA Partners & Community!
Cross Country Domestic Coach of the Year
Patrick O’Brien
Stratton Mountain School
Patrick O’Brien (South Londonderry, Vt., Stratton Mountain School) was named Cross Country Domestic Coach of the Year. O’Brien, in his sixth year coaching the elite SMS T2 team. 
In a program where recruitment of elite athletes is paramount, O’Brien has had success sustaining a world-class training group for all elite participants. His team presently includes a Junior World Champion, four World Cup podium athletes, and an Olympic gold medalist in Jessie Diggins.
This past season, athlete Ben Ogden split his time between the University of Vermont and SMS T2. Ogden skied the second leg of the Junior World Championship relay team that took gold. Sophie Caldwell hit the World Cup podium in Davos and was fourth in three other events. Julia Kern hit the podium in both the U23 World Championships and the Planica World Cup - finishing third in a freestyle sprint for her first career World Cup podium. 
With his experience, O’Brien is often called upon to coach international teams. He always extends his skills to help athletes from all clubs.
"I have so many people to thank for helping me along this journey, especially Sverre Caldwell for being instrumental in sharing his knowledge and passion for coaching with me these last years. I also recognize our team and the amazing athletes I work with day in and day out. Their drive and passion for the sport has been so incredibly rewarding for me and like any coach knows, seeing them achieve their goals brings a big smile to my face! I am very honored to receive this award and recognition as
Cross Country Domestic Coach of the Year.”
- Patrick O’Brien, SMS T2 Team Coach, Stratton Mountain School
SEASON 3:
CHRIS GROVER ON COVID,
FUNDING AND SELECTS FOR THE
2021 U.S. CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
In early May, U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced its nominations for the 2021 Cross Country Ski Team. As always, we found the selections notable for many reasons. Hot on the heels of some great finishes at Junior Worlds, next year’s team is fat with young talent, including the biggest D team ever. But the team is equally notable for the absence of some great veteran skiers who didn’t meet the criteria. And some may have noticed these selections were announced as the “Davis U.S. National Cross Country Team Program.” Did the team pick up a new sponsor? In this episode, Cross Country Skier’s Adam Howard is joined by Chris Grover, longtime U.S. Cross Country Ski Team head coach, to talk about all of these developments.
This episode of the Cross Country Skier Podcast is made possible by you. If you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please consider  making a contribution.

TOKO: News from FIS Spring Meeting 2020 that was held on 25 May Virtually

The major topics that were addressed are the following:


Cortina (Italy) is supposed to host the World Alpine Ski Championships in 2021. The organizing committee has asked the FIS to postpone the event until 2022. The FIS council has decided to review that request in until 1 July 2020. So this is still undecided.

The FIS World Cup racing calendars have been finalized and posted on the FIS website.

The big issue was the fluorination ban that the FIS will be instituting for the 2020/21 season:
The Council decided in November 2019 that the use of fluorinated ski wax will be banned for all FIS disciplines from the 2020-21 season which have been shown scientifically to have a negative environmental and health impact. Regulations have been established in USA that are already in place and will be implemented in the EU from July 2020 which impact the manufacturer of these products. Read full story HERE
Upcoming Events
A Look Ahead at the NENSA Calendar
U pcoming NENSA Events:
June 1-30: #JuneTerm : a new fun vitural challenge each week for all ages ~ BKL to Elite to Masters, and even elite Masters!
Stay Tuned ~ more fun virtual NENSA programing coming your way for July! #JulySprints

Full NENSA.net Calendar Listing HERE