KickZone eNewsletter ~ May 9th Edition

Greetings NENSA Community!

THANK YOU, to all the wonderful NENSA donors who contributed to our annual April Fund Drive! It was very close, down to the wire of the last two hours on April 30th, but we did it! Because 154 of you stepped up to the challenge and donated, NENSA will be receiving the Donation Challenge gift of $7500 ~ THANK YOU!!

Congrats to Harold and Karen Peterson, the WINNER of the 2-night stay at the Trapp Family Lodge (drawn out of the Alakska Cup at our NENSA Board meeting this past weekend). This was one of the donation incentives we had for our April Fund Drive for anyone who donated $100 or more. And for everyone who donated $250 or more, your NENSA/SKIDA fleece neck warmers are also on the way to you shortly!

As we wrap up the 2018-19 ski season and plan for the the 2019-20 season,

we would like to THANK all our wonderful NENSA Sponsors ~

Associate, Contributing & Supporting Sponsors, Grants and

Contributing and Official Suppliers, all featured below .

Your support and sponsorship helps NENSA be the best it can be

~ THANK YOU!!

Lots of news from US Ski & Snowboard this week, from the nominating of the 2019-20 US Cross Country Ski Team, including NENSA Elite Team members Simi Hamilton, Sophie Caldwell, Jessie Diggins, Julia Kern and Ben Ogden, as well as the naming of their new Development Coach Bernie Nelson ~ you can read the full stories below.

Be sure to check out the summer calendar below ~ there is something for everyone, and more being planned everyday!

Best,

Amie

Amie W. Smith

Executive Director

New England Nordic Ski Association

Amie@nensa.net

www.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

THANK YOU to our NENSA Associate Sponsors!

Thank You L.L.Bean!

Thank You

Nokian!

Thank You

SWIX!

TWENTY ATHLETES NOMINATED TO 2019-20

U.S. CROSS COUNTRY SKI TEAM

PARK CITY, Utah (May 6, 2019) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced its U.S. Ski Team cross country nominations for the 2019-20 season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season.

Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen Colo.) will lead an experienced team of athletes heading into the 2019-20 season, which includes the return of FIS Cross Country World Cup to the U.S. for the first time in 19 years on March 17 in Minneapolis, Minn. North American World Cup events will also include Quebec City, Canada, March 14-15, and for the second consecutive season, the World Cup Finals will also be held on North American soil in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, March 20-22.

The 2019-20 team also includes largest D-Team the U.S. has fielded in many years with nine athletes, including all four members of the gold-medal winning 2019 FIS Junior World Ski Championships men’s relay team: Luke Jager (Anchorage, Alaska), Ben Ogden (Landgrove, Vt), Johnny Hagenbuch (Ketchum, Idaho), and Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, Alaska).

Athletes nominated to the team open the season with the first on-snow training camp May 18-31 in Bend, Ore., and Mt Bachelor ski area.

Each athlete accepting the nomination to U.S. Ski Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including an elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine, and high performance staff, and education opportunities.

An official U.S. Cross Country Ski Team announcement will be made in the fall.

2019-20 Cross Country Nominations

(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

A TEAM

Men

Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 7/14/91)

Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team ; 5/14/87)

Women

Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 11/21/89)

Rosie Brennan (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 12/21/98

Sophie Caldwell ( Peru, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team ; 3/22/90)

Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team ; 8/26/91)

B TEAM

Men

Kevin Bolger (Minocqua, Wisc.; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 4/11/93)

Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 1/28/92)

Women

Julia Kern ( Waltham, Mass.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team ; 9/12/97)

Caitlin Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska; Craftsbury Nordic; 1/30/90)

Hailey Swirbul (Aspen, Colo.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 7/10/98)

D TEAM

Men

Johnny Hagenbuch (Ketchum, Idaho; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 10/1/2001)

Luke Jager (Anchorage, Alaska; APU/University of Utah; 1/17/00)

Noel Keeffe (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; SSWSC/University of Utah; 8/24/99)

Zak Ketterson (Bloomington, Minn.; NMU; 4/2/97)

Ben Ogden ( Landgrove, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School/University of Vermont ; 2/13/00)

Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Winter Stars; 7/25/00)

Women

Hannah Halvorsen (Truckee, Calif.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 2/19/98)

Novie McCabe (Winthrop, Wash.; MVNT; 12/15/01)

Kendall Kramer (Fairbanks, Alaska; NSCF-FXC; 6/25/02)

THANK YOU Share Winter Foundation for your support

of our Nordic Rocks and Introductory Ski Program, and Marty & Kathy Hall for your support of the

NENSA Rollerski Programing!

THANK YOU NENSA Contributing Sponsors!

THANK YOU SkiErg & Concept2!

THANK YOU Bag Balm!

THANK YOU Craftsbury!

THANK YOU Salomon!

BERNIE NELSON JOINS U.S. CROSS COUNTRY TEAM COACHING STAFF

PARK CITY, Utah (May 3, 2019) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard announces today that Bernie Nelson joins the U.S. Cross Country Team coaching staff as D-Team/Development coach. Nelson, the former program director and head coach at the Bend Endurance Academy in Bend, Ore., brings a wealth of coaching knowledge and strong connections with a number of current D-Team athletes to the team.

“We are extremely excited to have Bernie join our U.S. Ski Team staff,” said U.S. Cross Country Head Coach Chris Grover. “Bernie is a highly-respected member of our coaching community and has a reputation for hard work, know-how, and is someone we’ve admired for some time. She brings the right combination of experience, work ethic, and personality to the position.”

“It is, without doubt, an exciting time to be a part of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team and I'm feeling really grateful for this opportunity,” Nelson said. “As a nation, we are an absolute force and are certainly establishing ourselves in cross country.”

Nelson, who has worked with several of this year’s D-Team athletes, replaces Bryan Fish, who transitioned to his new role as the Cross Country Sport Development Manager this past season, and Gus Kaeding, last season’s D-Team coach, who is transitioning to full-time Sports Science this season. She will hit the ground running when the team opens its first on-snow training camp May 18-31 in Bend, Ore., and Mt Bachelor ski area.

Nelson will be coaching the largest D-Team the U.S. has fielded in many years with nine athletes, including all four members of the gold-medal winning 2019 FIS Junior World Ski Championships men’s relay team.

Prior to her position at the Bend Endurance Academy, Nelson was the Elite Team Head Coach at the Bridger Ski Foundation in Bozeman, Mont. She has coached and worked as a technician on numerous international competition trips, including three of the last four World Junior/U23 World Championships.

THANK YOU NENSA Contributing Suppliers!

THANK YOU EnjoyWinter.com!

THANK YOU NENSA Supporting Sponsors!

THANK YOU Fischer!

THANK YOU Rossignol

THANK YOU VT Plank Flooring!

THANK YOU Holderness School!

THANK YOU Dublin School!

SafeSport Program

NENSA has always urged ALL New England coaches, parent volunteers, venue volunteers and anyone working with youth to take the SafeSport on-line course and get certified. NENSA has been requiring this of all our staff and volunteer coaches and wax techs at JN's and REG Camps for several years now. 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

Upcoming Events

A Look Ahead at the NENSA Calendar

Upcoming Events:

June 24-28 Eastern REG Camp in Lake Placid NY

July 3-7 Craftsbury Summer Camp (U16-U20)

July 8-12 Craftsbury BKL Summer Camp

July 19-21 Craftsbury Summer Camp (U14-U16)

July 29-August 4 GMVS XC Summer Camp

August 3 The App Gap Challenge Rollerski Race in Waitsfield VT

August 7-11 Dublin XC Devo Camp, Dublin School, NH

August 12-15 SMS BKL Camp

August 15-18 SMS Junior Camp

Save these Dates ~ more info to come soon!

September 21-22 : NENSA Fall Coaches Symposium ~ L200 Coaches Certification and L100 technique & master clinics, Dublin School, NH

October 12: Jericho Classic Fall Rollerski Race, Jericho VT

February 29 & March 1 : New England BKL Festival (location TBD)

March 6-8 : U16 Championships, Mountain Top, VT

March 7-15 : 2020, US Junior Nationals in Truckee CA

March 13-15 : EHS Championships, Gore Mountain, NY

March 17 : 2020 World Cup Race in Minneapolis MN - USA!!!

Full NENSA.net Calendar Listing HERE

THANK YOU NENSA Official Suppliers!

THANK YOU Skida!

THANK YOU Cabot!

THANK YOU Trapp Family Lodge!

THANK YOU SkiTrax!

New England Nordic Ski Association

49 Pineland Drive, Suite 301-A, New Gloucester, ME 04260

Call: 207.688.6503 | www.nensa.net