Greetings NENSA community,


With a little chill in the air today, we are looking ahead at a few very busy weeks at NENSA and an offering or two for everyone as we launch our fall programming.


First up is the FreeFall Rollerski Race in Jericho this Sunday, a perennial favorite on our fall calendar. NEW this year is a three-lap 6km course for Masters and Recreational skiers that has no fast downhills. We are excited to welcome some new competitors and continue building masters participation in our Rollerski Series. Please note that registration closes tomorrow, Friday, at 5:00 P.M. and there is no day-of-race registration.


Next weekend we head to Lake Placid for a full weekend of racing and rollerski events. Saturday’s Keys to the Castle race at Mt Van Hoevenberg offers an inclusive Court style format where skiers advance through all sprint rounds following a timed qualifier. It’s a perfect opportunity to sharpen your tactical skills and experience the thrill of successive sprint rounds in the company of well-matched skiers. Following the sprint, a fun agility course for new youth rollerskiers will be supported by NENSA and NYSEF coaches, followed by a biathlon super sprint. On Sunday, we will be on Whiteface Mountain for Climb to the Castle, another mainstay and favorite event on our fall calendar, and an ideal opportunity for rollerskiers of all levels to push their limits while enjoying spectacular views! NEW this year is a short course option.


The following weekend, October 1-2, NENSA is partnering with U.S. Ski & Snowboard to offer an Eastern Coaches Conference with a BKL leader/coach clinic, a technique refresher clinic, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard L100 and L200 certification clinics. We value the opportunity to gather with coaches from a wide variety of backgrounds and clubs, to share ideas and form friendships. Please join us - it’s a sure sign that winter is right around the corner, and a perfect opportunity to collectively prepare and get in the mode. 


All information for these upcoming events is linked in this week’s edition of KickZone:

  • NENSA FreeFall in Jericho - registration closing tomorrow at 5:00 P.M.
  • Castle Conquest weekend events and races
  • Eastern Coaches Conference in Dublin, October 1-2
  • Scenes from the Community

 

In the news:

  • FIS is taking over governance of Para Nordic skiing, what does it mean for the sport’s development in the United States?
  • Long time US Biathlon President Max Cobb named Head of International Biathlon Union: Sustainability and Competition keys to Growth He Says


I hope you can join us, and I personally look forward to seeing you!


All my best,

Heidi


Heidi Lange

Executive Director

New England Nordic Ski Association

Heidi@nensa.net

www.NENSA.net


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Thank you to all our NENSA Sponsors ~ they are such a HUGE part of our NENSA programming continued success, and we so appreciate all their support. I want to be sure we all acknowledge the businesses who support us and cross country skiing!


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NENSA News from the Field

Last Call for NENSA FreeFall in Jericho

Registration closes FRIDAY at 5 P.M. (no day-of-race registration)

Just one day left to register for the FreeFall Rollerski Race in Jericho, VT on Sunday. A nice field is forming with juniors, collegiate, elite and masters!

THANK YOU TO OUR ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

 L.L.Bean, SWIX, Salomon and Fischer/OW!

Rollerski Racing Continues in Lake Placid

September 24-25, 2022

NENSA is excited to return to Mt Van Hoevenberg and the Whiteface Toll Road to partner with the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and New York Ski Education Foundation (NYSEF) for a full weekend of summer snow sport activities!


The Castle Conquest is a trifecta of competition and fun at the world-renowned Lake Placid Olympic Sites. Mt Van Hoevenberg’s “Keys To The Castle” race kicks off the weekend on Saturday, followed by a Biathlon Super Sprint and BKL rollerski fun zone. On Sunday, the NYSEF “Climb to the Castle” race ascends the 8% grade of the Whiteface Veterans Memorial Highway.


Come enjoy the competition for yourself OR the experience of cheering on and being inspired by some amazing athletes competing in one of the most beautiful backdrops of mountains and forest at the Lake Placid Legacy Sites. 

Whether you are a coach, parent, volunteer, or athlete, we all play a role in providing a safe environment for the sports that we love. U.S. Ski & Snowboard  Athlete Safety policies, the SafeSport Code, and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard MAAPP help us support that culture of safety.  
  • If you witness or are aware of inappropriate behavior or misconduct - REPORT IT!
  • Reports may be made anonymously!
  • Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse – Report to law enforcement or child protective services in your jurisdiction immediately.
  • Reports to the Center - SafeSport hotline at 833-5US-SAFE (587-7233) or CLICK HERE to complete an online reporting form.
  • Reports to U.S. Ski & Snowboard - CLICK HERE

You may see QR codes posted at events this season. The QR codes open a page on www.usskiandsnowboard.org for quick links to reporting from your smartphone.
Learn more about reporting and try the QR Code:

Thank you for your diligence in maintaining sport safety and protecting our athletes. 

Eastern Coaches Conference 

Dublin, NH, October 1-2 

NENSA is excited to support a full weekend of coaching and leadership training for coaches of all ages. This weekend will support U.S. Ski & Snowboard (USSS) Level 100 and Level 200 certification options and offer NENSA Bill Koch League Coach Education. Participants cans also shadow the L100 In-Person clinic, as a technique refresher and earn USSS continuing education credits.


Continued participation in education elevates the quality of our member clubs experience. NENSA also acknowledges the key added benefit of conferences as they bring together a wide range of coaches for collaboration and socialization...read the full story and find all registration details HERE

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS:

Designed by NENSA's very own Youth & Introductory Program Director. Cost is $25 per hat (includes shipping and handling). All proceeds go to supporting NENSA's community-based programming and events.

Available for purchase HERE

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

Scenes from the NENSA Community

Wow - we were so impressed with this project taken on by a junior skier

in Maine to build and share ramps and the joy of rollerskiing

with her community. We used these ramps at a NENSA clinic

recently and thought they were the nicest we have seen. We can

also attest to the smiles they brought to skiers' faces in this community! 

What good fortune for a club and a community to have such leadership in a junior athlete.

NENSA at the SeeChange Sessions Summer Summit in Burlington, VT this week.

...and Mansfield Nordic hard at work near Burlington, VT on the same day.

CROSS COUNTRY

In The News:

FIS is taking over governance of Para Nordic skiing, what does it mean for the sport’s development in the United States?

September 4, 2022 | by Ben Theyerl


The International Ski Federation’s (FIS) annual Congress held at the end of May this year was an unusually dramatic affair. Fights over media rights – whether to look at serializing the sport of Nordic skiing into something like Formula 1’s Drive to Survive – sent skiing’s international governing body into a metaphorically different part of the Netflix catalog, less Dive to Survive and more House of Cards, West Wing, or Newsroom. If only Aaron Sorkin could write in Swiss German or French.


But like even the best political thrillers, the FIS Congress had its filler episode. And in this one, they dispensed with all the power plays and posturing to agree resoundingly on one thing; on May 26st in Milan, 94% of FIS member confederations voted to transfer international governance of para nordic skiing from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) into the fold of FIS...read more at FasterSkier


Long time US Biathlon President Max Cobb named Head of International Biathlon Union: Sustainability and Competition keys to Growth He Says

September 1, 2022 | by Ben Theyerl


For the first time ever, an American will preside over international governance of a nordic sport. On Tuesday, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) announced that longtime U.S. Biathlon President and CEO Max Cobb has been named the IBU Secretary General. Cobb will finish up his second term on the IBU Executive Board and leave his post as at U.S. biathlon at the end of September, then begin his new role overseeing international competition, governance, and sport development this October.


The appointment of Cobb as IBU Secretary General marks the culmination of a long career in U.S. biathlon in which he has overseen the organization through stark growth in the sport, success on an international scale for U.S. biathletes, and through unique challenges like hosting the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, where Cobb served as the chief of competition....read more at FasterSkier

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS:

Upcoming Events

Full NENSA.net Calendar Listing HERE


September 18: Free Fall Rollerski Race - Jericho, VT

September 24: Keys to the Castle Mt. Van Hoevenberg - Lake Placid NY

September 25: Climb to the Castle - Whiteface Mountain, NY

October 1-2: Eastern Coaches Certification Conference - Dublin NH

October 23: The Maine Event: XCX Sprint - Pineland, ME

October 28-29: US Ski & Snowboard Virtual Fall Coaches Symposium

November 6: Mt. Greylock Hill Climb Rollerski Race - Lanesborough, MA


December 3-4: NENSA's Technical Delegate & Event Organizers Training Weekend (Location TBD)

December 17-18: Eastern Cup #1: Rikert Eastern Cup Opener Ripton, Vermont


Looking Ahead to 2023:

January 14-15: Eastern Cup #2: Chisholm Ski Club Eastern Cup and Bates Carnival Rumford, Maine

January 22: Women’s XC Ski Day

February 4-5: Eastern Cup #3: Roy Varney Memorial Quarry Road Eastern Cup, Waterville Maine

February 18-19: Eastern Cup #4: Dublin Double Eastern Cup Dublin, New Hampshire

March 4-5: New England BKL Festival - Craftsbury, VT

March 10-12: Eastern High School Championships - Rikert, VT

March 11-18: U.S. Junior Nationals - Fairbanks, AK

March 17-19: Eastern U16 Championships - Fort Kent ME

March 22-26: Supertour Finals - Craftsbury VT


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New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA)
49 Pineland Drive, Suite 301A
New Gloucester, ME 04260
Phone: 207-688-6503 www.NENSA.net
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