Greetings NENSA Community ~

This past weekend were some top 10 days for New England ~ perfect snow conditions under warm sunny bluebird skies! I was lucky to be able to be a part of our annual NENSA New England Women's Day, this year held at the Bethel Village Trails at the Bethel Inn in Maine. 200 women were treated to some fantastic morning and afternoon ski clinics, lunch, great raffle items from our sponsors SIDAS, TOKO, Swix, SKIDA, Fischer, Rossignol, and Ciclismo Classico, and most importantly, enjoy the fellowship of an amazing group of women! I always leave Women's Day with such a good feeling - both having introduced the sport of cross country skiing to a new group of women each year, and knowing how much it means to others who return year after year. A huge thank you to Trina Hosmer, Mary Heller Osgood, Amber Freemen and NENSA staffer Tom Weir for putting on another successful event!

Just take a look at what we have in store for you in this week's KickZone ~
  • Photos from Women's Day 2020
  • Stowe Derby Results
  • Recap, results and photos from the MNC Skiathlon held last Saturday 2/22
  • Team New England is defending the Alaska Cup at the upcoming US Junior Nationals for the 7th year in a row!
  • Upcoming Popular Citizen Races and Events this weekend include: The New England Bill Koch Festival in Great Glen NH and the Trapp's Race to the Cabin in Stowe on Sunday 3/1 ~ Get out there and have some fun this weekend!
  • The latest Zak and Club Points have been updated on the Rankings page
  • World Cup 2020 Ski Tour wrap up Recap
  • 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.

This weekend is the New England BKL Festival ~ I still fondly remember my days of skiing with my BKL Club, Prospect Mountain, and meeting Bill Koch for the first time, fresh off his silver medal in the 1976 Olympics! The magic of cross country skiing comes alive over these Festival weekends for our NENSA youth and their families ~ I look forward to seeing many of you this Saturday at Great Glen!
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
NENSA's New England Women's Day 2020
Women enjoying a classic clinic and the beautiful trails in Bethel ME!
Women enjoying a skate clinic and the beautiful day!
Two of the women who made it all happen - Sarah Weafer of BVT and Trina Hosmer
Our AMAZING volunteer instructors!
2020 Stowe Derby RESULTS
MNC Skiathlon RECAP
by Damien Bolduc
The Mansfield Nordic Skiathlon took place Saturday, February 22, at Sleepy Hollow Inn Ski and Bike Center. This was a new venue for the event that had previously taken place in Craftsbury and at the Ethan Allen Firing Range before that. This year's Skiathlon was shaping up to be a pivotal event as NENSA Popular Racing has spawned a competitive Club Series with two clubs competing for second-place set on a collision course that would meet at the epicenter of contentious skiing - the home of Wednesday Night Worlds, Sleepy Hollow. The outcome of this weekend could position both clubs to overtake the lead in the Club Series from CSU, which has had a comfortable margin since the Race for Snow held at the Weston Ski Track over a month ago.
51 Athletes and 14 JN coaches & wax techs are heading to Truckee CA soon!
  • Team New England has won the Alaska Cup the last 6 years in a row!
  • We will be defending it for the 7th year at the Auburn Ski Club in Truckee CA March 9th-15th
  • We won it there in 2015
  • If Team New England wins again this year - we will tie with Alaska for the most wins ever - 16 each!
  • #bringbacktheAKcup
Zak and Club Points Update!
Click HERE to see all the latest rankings for the Zak Cup and Club points in our NENSA Popular and Citizen Races 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 Wraps Up
February 20: Six Americans in top 30 in Stage 4 Ski Tour 2020
Jessie Diggins finished seventh and led a strong push by the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team with six athletes finishing in the top 30 in Thursday’s 34k freestyle Queen Stage of Ski Tour 2020. 
“That was really fun, and really hard,” Jessie said. “It was an all-out effort, and I’m really proud of that since it was one of my big goals for this tour - to go all out every single race!” ...READ MORE

February 22: Five Women Score Points in Ski Tour 2020 Classic Sprint
After a travel day from Meraker, Norway on Friday, the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team arrived in Trondheim, Norway—the final destination of the Ski Tour 2020—for a classic sprint. Sophie Caldwell and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen were the top finishers for the Americans, finishing 14th and 16th, respectively. ...READ MORE

February 23: Diggins Sixth in Ski Tour 2020; Three U.S. Women in Top 15
The Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team wrapped up the sixth and final stage of the Ski Tour 2020 on Sunday with a 15k classic pursuit in Trondheim, Norway. Jessie Diggins was the top U.S. finisher of the day and in the overall tour, taking sixth place, while Sadie Maubet Bjornsen also snagged a top-10 result, finishing in 10th place overall. Rosie Brennan took 12th. ...READ MORE
Jessie Diggins skis to sixth in the 15k classic pursuit to take sixth overall in the six-stage Ski Tour 2020. (Nordic Focus - Thibaut)
Upcoming Events
A Look Ahead at the NENSA Calendar
U pcoming NENSA Events: