Greetings NENSA community,

It is a pleasure to share two partnership announcements this week:

First, we are thrilled to welcome Skida back as a longtime partner and to say thank you for their increased commitment to NENSA this year as a Bronze sponsor! Skida is part and parcel of New England skiing and we are so grateful for their support. Watch for their products at our events, on our podiums, and in our auction - and be sure to check out the custom orders available to NENSA clubs and teams.

We are also delighted to welcome Alpina as NENSA’s newest Silver sponsor! Their PRO line of cross country ski boots garnered a prestigious Red Dot Product Design Award in 2023 and they are headquartered locally (Lebanon, NH). In addition to their direct support, Alpina is offering a significant NENSA member benefit: 35% discount on the entire line of Alpina and Rottefella products (entry-level to elite Nordic boots and skis - junior, rollerski, backcountry, alpine equipment and more). Full details are on our member benefits page and all current NENSA members are eligible for this (and other) benefit(s).

It’s a packed edition of Kickzone this week. Our rollerski season is officially underway and we are still reveling in the magic of the 3rd Rollins Roll. You’ll find news and photos of that event along with more exciting news below:

In this week’s KickZone

• Rollins Roll Gains Momentum
• Rizio and Walton: 2023 Gallagher Award Winners
• Rikert Outdoor Center & Frost Mountain Nordic Ski Club to host 2024 BKL Festival
• Fifth Annual Roy-llerski Recap
• NENSA Camp Visits
• NENSA Rollerski Hats
• NENSA Membership
• Scenes from the Community
• New England Masters Training Adventure Camp 2023
• From Alpina: NENSA Members Save 35%

In the News

New Hampshire Union Leader

• Rolling Into Cross Country Ski Season

NNF

• Video: US Juniors Check in from the Blink Festival in Norway
• Announcement: Colin Rodgers Joins NNF Board of Directors
• National U16 Camp Recap: Working Together, Across Ages and Across the Country
• Summer Athlete Support Grants Application Open

US Ski & Snowboard

• Laukli Makes History: Wins 50th Sierre-Zinal Trail Race

Have a wonderful week!

All my best,

Heidi

Heidi Lange

Executive Director

New England Nordic Ski Association

heidi@nensa.net

www.nensa.net

Thank you!

Memberships directly support all of our year-round programming,

backing us in our mission to nurture and sustain an active cross country ski

community for all ages and levels throughout the East. 

Thank you for taking a minute to join or renew your NENSA membership,

and for the important support that it provides!

Please join me in thanking and supporting our wonderful NENSA Sponsors 

for their generous contributions and the ongoing impact that they have on NENSA programming and cross country skiing in New England!

The third edition of the Rollins Roll was one for the books, with brand new pavement, sunny skies, a 50% increase in participation — all while being co-hosted along with the longstanding Kearsarge Hill Climb bike race. The event was dreampt up several years ago by Kearsarge Nordic coach, Kevin Lee, and fits in perfectly with NENSA’s vision of creating programming across the New England region. On Sunday, 44 athletes strode up Mt. Kearsarge with enthusiastic cheering from parents, teammates and coaches from five different states. The event highlighted the strength of the New Hampshire community with over 30 skiers coming from the Granite State.

The New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation maintains this beautiful road up Mt. Kearsarge and the staff at Rollins loves cross country skiers. The roadway was completely redone this spring, and as reported by NENSA Board President, Ellen Chandler, “Rollerskiers love black powder!” The climb is just over five kilometers long with an 8.7% average grade and 1,738′ rise — a perfect landscape to challenge your lungs while enjoying a beautiful forrest. On Saturday afternoon race organizers saw an eagle soaring near the summit, and early Sunday morning a moose was spotted running up the road. If you’re ever near Warner, stop by and check out this beautiful place!

In 2014 NENSA began the tradition of honoring the top ranked male and female Eastern Cup skiers with the Gallagher Cup. NENSA is pleased to announce that Luke Rizio (Prospect Mountain Ski Club) and Evelyn Walton (EMXC) are the 2023 Eastern Cup Champions – their inspired efforts are a perfect way to celebrate Mike Gallagher’s legacy as an athlete, coach, and community leader. The two skiers who win this award each year do so by being consistently dominant in New England’s premier race series (winners are determined by the lowest average points from seven of the eight EC events).

Both of this years recipients share common traits that go beyond skiing, including huge smiles and being amazing teammates. Several of their race results throughout the winter were the same — which is not unlikely for individuals being rewarded for consistency. While Rizio might have a flare for distance, Walton has the same for sprinting — prowess that placed both of them on the US Ski Team radar this season for inclusion into the National Training Group, a program for bringing together the top talent from across the United States.

The New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) is excited to announce that the 2024 New England Bill Koch League (BKL) Festival will be hosted at the Rikert Outdoor Center in Ripton, VT with the Frost Mountain Nordic Ski Club on March 2-3. The BKL Festival is the marquee event of the Bill Koch Youth Ski League whose mission is to introduce young people to the lifelong sport of cross-country skiing, and the many associated health, fitness, and social benefits, in a fun, inclusive, and safe environment.

Once a year children, families, coaches, and caregivers from ski clubs from all over New England and New York come together at the annual Festival for a weekend of fun on cross country skis featuring racing as well as a wide range of non-competitive winter activities for skiers of all ability levels from kindergarten up to 8th grade. The site rotates through the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. For 2024, NENSA is thrilled to be working with the Rikert Outdoor Center and the Frost Mountain Nordic Ski Club on this fun and inclusive event featuring relay and individual races by age group, as well as an engaging, fun, and educational mix of non-racing activities that all can enjoy. The Frost Mountain Nordic Ski Club is “dedicated to creating a healthier, more active, outdoor lifestyle for all ages and abilities in the mountains once home to Robert Frost in central Vermont.” They have made their mission a reality within their local community and have reached even further through hosting fun BKL events including the 2019 BKL Festival. We look forward to returning to Rikert for the Festival and can’t wait to see the exciting activities they cook up to make their “Myths in the Mountains” theme come to life for all Festival-goers.

A big thank you to the dedicated individuals who participated in the Fifth Annual Roy-llerski and supported the Maine Outdoor Wellness Center!

This year’s online Roy-llerski raised $255 with seventeen unique participations. On July 15th the MOWC also hosted their annual fundraiser and community gathering to celebrate the Center’s three-year anniversary. You can check out some impressive skiing by our Speedy Repeaters and the mother / son challenge in the 1:11:19 categories here. Thanks again to everyone who participated for supporting the MOWC and keeping the memory of Roy alive. #forroy

THANK YOU TO OUR SILVER SPONSORS

NENSA membership is about so much more than licensing and individual benefits. As a NENSA member, you are part of a broader community helping to grow and support cross country skiing in the Northeast, ensuring that the sport we love continues to grow and thrive.

Our membership year began May 1 and now is an excellent time for sign ups and renewals. Membership revenue sustains our organization and directly supports our year-round offerings and subsidizes low and no-cost programs that make our New England ski community vibrant and inclusive.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard works to provide a safe environment in which athletes can train and compete, free from abuse and inappropriate behavior. Please review U.S. Ski & Snowboard's Athlete Safety policies, the SafeSport Code, and the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies and join us in sustaining a culture of safety.

If you are an athlete who has experienced inappropriate behavior or know of an athlete who has experienced inappropriate behavior, report a concern:

The U.S. Center for SafeSport

Hotline:  833-587-7233

Report:  CLICK HERE

U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Report: CLICK HERE

We all are part of promoting a culture of safety through education, listening, and speaking up.

by Art Copoulos

With all the summer camps going on, it was great to have one for the old folks, or I should say, THE MASTERS! That’s right, the MASTERS – a highly skilled bunch of veteran X/C skiers, honing their vast skills, and attacking the hills and the mountains! We are Masters of cross-country skiing, right?  

Day 1 was a rainout of our planned moose hoofing, but on day 2 we did a long roller ski climb in Norwich, VT where Hilary McNamee, Ford Sayre head Nordic coach, pedaled along and provided valuable technique suggestions.  I realized I forgot everything I had learned the last 50 years about skiing, that I need to do this more often, and that riding a bike and hiking is not the best way to train for skiing! 

THANK YOU TO OUR BRONZE SPONSORS

NENSA Members Save 35%

Proudly based in Lebanon, NH, Alpina has long been known for its quality Nordic boots having helped place many athletes atop the podium time and time again. If you’re interested in upgrading your current boots or experiencing what Alpina has to offer, then we invite you to contact our fantastic friends at Nordic Skater and mention your NENSA membership number for a super cool 35% off MSRP. This offer allows for access to the entire range of Alpina & Rottefella products. Subject to availability. Contact NS for full details

Rolling Into Cross Country Ski Season

August 13, 2023 | By John Koziol

WARNER — An accomplished cross-country ski racer, Art Copoulos traveled from Anchorage, Alaska, to finish near the bottom of the field in Sunday’s third annual Rollins Roll rollerski race on Mt. Kearsarge.

And he loved it.

A Massachusetts native who recently came back to the East Coast, Copoulos is the director of a documentary — “Why We Cross Country Ski” — that asks and answers that question.

In his opinion, the question has three answers: to improve health and fitness, to bring families together and to experience happiness and joy.

Those reasons, as well as the chance to do some off-season training, are why the Lyme-based New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) holds rollerski races, including for the third year, the Rollins Roll that saw 47 competitors, ranging in age from 13 to 66, tackle the 3.5 mile long course that has an 8.7% average grade and rises 1,738 feet.

“I think I was last,” joked Copoulos, “but I enjoyed it.”

Video: US Juniors Check in from the Blink Festival in Norway

Aug 16, 2023 | by Ben Theyerl

Sandnes, Norway – Down on the south coast of Norway, the highlight of the yearly nordic skiig calendar comes in August. That’s when the Blink Festival plucks the best skiers in the world out of their solitary pursuit of podiums next winter, for a chance at one in the heat of the summer. It’s a highlight and a cap on an offseason of training, and a whole lot of fun too.

Joining in this year, among athletes from across Europe, were some Americans. Specifcally, a group of American Juniors on a US Ski Team Development trip, sponsored by NNF. Among them were some of the country’s exceptionally talented juniors – gathered from across the country for a chance to race together on the world stage. They hopped in with the Blink Festival when it came to downtown Sandnes for a sprint day, just days after another American, Sophia Laukli, had made waves at the festival by taking her second podium spot in two tries on the famous Lysebottn Opp. They came inspired, and with cameras at the ready too. Check out all the action, documented for us kindly by Dartmouth College/Mansfield Nordic’s Ava Thurston.

Announcement: Colin Rodgers Joins NNF Board of Directors

August 14, 2023 | by Ben Theyerl

NNF is proud to announce that Colin Rodgers has joined our Board of Directors. Rodgers brings a truly diversified set of experiences in nordic skiing, having been a high-level racer, development coach, and program director at some of the leading programs in the country, including the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, and his current role as Nordic Program Director at Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) in Waitsfield, Vermont. For all of his diverse roles in the ski world, he brings a singular enthusiastic and joyful presence which has distinguished him as a leader in building programs that developing skiers can learn and grow as skiers, and as people, in. Those qualities have been recognized by numerous organizations, including US Ski and Snowboard, who awarded Rodgers 2023 Coach of the Year honors this spring.

The accolades and the resume though, belie why NNF is so excited to have Rodgers as part of our leadership. Simply, he is one of the most passionate people coaching in American skiing today, bringing innovative ideas towards skier development without ever losing sight of what the core experience for skiers should be, having fun, and finding joy, on skis. That dynamic presence is one that NNF supporters can be proud of leading our organization. Welcome Colin Rodgers!

As he steps onto the Board, Rodgers was kind enough to field a few questions on NNF’s work, published as a Q and A here:

National U16 Camp Recap: Working Together, Across Ages and Across the Country

August 9, 2023 | by Ben Theyerl

Looking Towards the Future in Lake Placid, New York

Ostensibly, last week’s camp in Lake Placid, New York, was a U16 camp. The first step into the national development system for the top U16 performers at last year’s Junior Nationals, getting together to meet their peers from across the country, do some training, engage in some competition, and see one of American skiing’s premier ski venues as they’ll get to see it for many more years to come – a place where skiing has always been, and remains, the heart of a community. In fact, the National U16 camp was all that, but through a couple of special guests and the dedication of the coaches and athletes present, it also served as a demonstration of the care and commitment that those working in US skiing today have put into creating a community where the premiant ethos is teamwork. A whole community, spanning a continent, driving towards the future together, searching for success not just in nordic skiing, but for nordic skiing too.

Summer Athlete Support Grants Application Open

by Ben Theyerl | Aug 7, 2023 

Application Open Until Friday, August 18th: The National Nordic Foundation (NNF) is excited to announce that the application for our Summer Athlete Support Grants is now open. Our Athlete Support Grants offer an additional round of funding to support individual summer training opportunities for developing nordic skiers across the United States.

These Summer Athlete Support Grants provide skiers with additional possibilities to pursue summer training opportunities both within the US and abroad. Highly organized, and creative, summer training opportunities have played a crucial part in building a strong development system for US skiing. Through grant recipients, NNF hopes to expand the possibilities for US skiing’s offseason program while also fostering our relationship with the international ski community through our best asset, our skiers.

Laukli Makes History: Wins 50th Sierre-Zinal Trail Race

August 16, 2023 | by Leann Bentley

Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athlete and professional trail runner Sophia Laukli secured another historic victory at the 50th edition of the Sierre-Zinal trail race, becoming only the fourth American to win the race and the first since 2014. She now leads the Golden Trail World Series overall rankings. 

Battling through rugged terrains and challenging elevations in the picturesque Swiss landscape, Laukli showcased her dominance in the strong field by crossing the finish line four minutes ahead of the second-place and eight minutes ahead of the third-place. Laukli now leads the Golden Trail Series leaderboard. Only four Americans had won the mountain race before Laukli, dating back to its inception in 1974. 

“I’m really still quite shocked by the result, but it feels so good,” said Laukli. “I’m definitely very proud of this result because I think it totally exceeded my expectations - along with everyone else’s - which is always pretty fun… for it to be a surprise.”

THANK YOU TO OUR OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS

New England Nordic Ski Association

P.O. Box 97

Lyme, NH 03768

Phone: 802-331-0762