Greetings NENSA Community ~

Our northern regions (minus Boston...) have been blessed with some fantastic snow these past few weeks and the result is amazing skiing conditions for our NENSA programing and our cross country ski fans across New England! So many great events and races still to come. Just take a look at what we have in store for you in this week's KickZone ~

  • Introducing our 2020 New England Junior National Team ~ they are headed to Truckee CA March 7th -15th to defend the Alaska Cup for the 7th year running!
  • Read a fantastic recap of our final weekend of Eastern Cup racing ~ the Dublin Double at the Dublin School, and the Cheri Walsh Memorial at the Holderness School ~ including links to photos, results and rankings.
  • John Roderick Marathon Recap by Damien Bolduc
  • Peg Hendel honored with the Bob Hansen Volunteer Award at Holderness
  • NENSA's visit to the Stowe BKL practice this week
  • Upcoming Popular Citizen Races and Events this weekend include: MNC Skiathlon on Saturday 2/22, The Stowe Derby and GNA Paintball Biathlon are Sunday 2/23. Get out there and have some fun this weekend!
  • Sign up for NENSA's Women's Day ~ It's THIS Sunday February 23rd in Bethel ME ~ Saturday evening social, Sunday AM yoga, our fantastic morning and afternoon ski clinics for all abilities, THE raffle, lunch and so much more!
  • The New England BKL Festival is fast approaching ~ February 29th and March 1st at Great Glen in NH.
  • The latest Zak and Club Points have been updated on the Rankings page
  • World Cup 2020 Ski Tour Recaps
  • New England athletes shine at The Gatineau
  • Susan Dunklee wins silver at Biathlon World Championships!
  • 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 at Women's Day or the New England BKL Festival!
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
Eastern Cup Finals –
Mid Winter Conditions – JN Team Naming
A talented field of 200 skiers, comprised primarily of athletes ages 14-20, were treated to true winter conditions last weekend in New Hampshire. The two-day affair started on the serpentine trails of the Dublin School – for the Dublin Double – with two fast paced freestyle races on a shimmering track. In one of the final tests for athletes in the hunt for a spot on the New England Junior National team – racers contested a 3 kilometer prologue and a 1.5 kilometer sprint. On Sunday the Holderness School sculpted the perimeter of their trail system to traditional skiing perfection – with two parallel tracks on a 5 kilometer loop. If that wasn’t enough a terrain filled course for Bill Koch skiers and a well designed cross country jump made for a true Nordic scene.

Click HERE to read the full recap of the weekend in Breaking News on NENSA.net, see all results and view more photos

And ~
Link to PHOTOS from the Dublin Double at the Dublin School SmugMug page (all 2969 photos! Yes, you are in at least one of these!)
Link to PHOTOS from the Dublin Double by Dave Priganc
Link to PHOTOS from the Cheri Walsh Memorial Race at the Holderness School by Dave Priganc
Wyatt Teaford (SMS) racing the classic trails at Holderness on Sunday
Aggie Macy (Dublin XC) racing on her home course this past weekend
And, introducing the New England Junior National Team named at Sunday EC final race...
The New England U16 Girls Team
The New England U16 Boys Team
The New England U18 & U20
Women's Team
The New England U18 & U20 Men's Team
Holderness awards Peg Hendel the Bob Hansen Volunteer Award after the
Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup Race

You know the old saying ~ it takes a village ~ well it does! This past Sunday, after the iconic classic distance race on the final day of EC racing, the Holderness School honored one of their own. This year Peg Hendel was awarded the Bob Hansen Volunteer Service Award for her work running registration for the Cheri Walsh Memorial race for the past 32 years! And let me tell you, no one runs a race registration like Peg does ~ she is the best! Congrats to Peg! And remember ~ ALWAYS THANK the many many volunteers who come out each and every weekend to help put on races and events all over New England!
NENSA's Women's Day is just a few days 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 THIS 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! This photo to the left was taken TODAY!! The trails look amazing!

Link to more info and registration page click HERE
John Roderick Half Marathon
February 15, 2020
By Damien Bolduc, Pole-itzer Prize winning writer of ski racing
 

The NENSA Popular Racing Series swooped to Black Mountain, in Rumford, Maine, for the John Roderick Half Marathon and 10km Race. The Chisholm Ski Club was fully prepared to offer the event upholding its reputation for excellence in organization, efficiency, hospitality, and a world-class venue. Volunteers welcomed and immediately supported the athletes letting them know about the race, the course, the location of amenities, and the post race meal. They also listened to the athlete's requests and were able to make accommodations on the fly while maintaining a seamless event.

Click HERE for full story ~ and it's always a good one!
NENSA visits Stowe BKL!
NENSA Youth & Introductory Program director Tom Weir dropped by Stowe BKL on Tuesday! Stowe has been rebuilding their BKL club this year and has seen a surge of interest from new skiers and parents under coaches Jeremy Huckins and Ross Scatchard. It's always fun for us to visit clubs around New England and help spread the fun of the Bill Koch League!
CSU juniors and EMBKL are enjoying a
Training Camp at Craftsbury this week over their school winter break!
These Boston area clubs are now one organization
EMN ~ Eastern Mass Nordic!
Below is their first new club "family" photo!
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! Did you know 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:
World Cup Ski Tour 2020 Recaps
February 13: New Travel, New Venues, New Fun For Ski Tour 2020
The second stage race of the season kicked off Saturday 2/15 with Ski Tour 2020 along with a new twist on racing, travel and environmental stability for the FIS Cross Country World Cup tour.
Ski Tour 2020 will take place at both familiar, and unfamiliar Nordic venues in Sweden and Norway, featuring six stages over nine days at five different locations. Östersund, Sweden will host the first two stages - an individual start freestyle and a classic pursuit. ...READ MORE

February 15: Diggins, Brennan Off to Solid Ski Tour Start
Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan led the way for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, finishing eighth and ninth respectively, in the opening stage of Ski Tour 2020 in Östersund, Sweden, Saturday. ...READ MORE

February 16: Brennan, Diggins Lead U.S. in Stage 2 Ski Tour 2020
In a wet and wild Stage 2 of Ski Tour 2020, Rosie Brennan and Jessie Diggins led four Davis U.S. Ski Team athletes into the top 25 in Sunday’s 10k classic pursuit. But at the end of the day, the real winners were the U.S. Ski & Snowboard wax technicians. ...READ MORE

February 18: Diggins Leads U.S. In Challenging Stage 3 Sprint
Six members of the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team advanced to the heats in the Stage 3 freestyle sprint held on the lower slopes of Sweden’s National Ski Area in Are, with Jessie Diggins leading the way in 11th Tuesday. ...READ MORE
Gatineau Loppet Podiums for New England Athletes!
Congrats go out to a number of New England athletes who PODIUMED that this years Gatineau Loppet in Canada this past weekend.
MEN 50k Classic:
🥇Fabian Stocek - CZE (Dartmouth alum)
🥈Chris Bunrham - USA (NWVE)
🥉Neal Graves - USA (Stowe Nordic)
WOMEN 50k Classic:
1st Sara Graves (Stowe Nordic)
2nd Annavitte Rand 
WOMEN 50k Skate:
2nd Emily Stitt (Ford Sayre)
3rd Sara Graves (Stowe Nordic)
OVERALL WOMAN: Sara Graves! (Stowe Nordic)
Dunklee Guts Out Silver Medal at
Biathlon World Championships
ANTHOLZ-ANTERSELVA, Italy (Feb. 14, 2020) – A day after turning 34...and wearing bib #34...Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt.) won the silver medal in the women's 7.5-kilometer sprint at the IBU World Championships. Dunklee turned in a gritty performance at the high-altitude course in Antholz to capture her second world championship silver medal. She is still the only U.S. woman to win an individual medal at a world championships.
Read full story HERE
Susan Dunklee reacts to her silver medal at the IBU World Championships on Feb. 14, 2020
(photo by NordicFocus)
Upcoming Events
A Look Ahead at the NENSA Calendar
U pcoming NENSA Events: