Greetings NENSA community,

It is with great excitement that I share the news that Kait Miller, NENSA’s Youth & Introductory Program Director, has been recognized as a top 10 finalist from a field of over 100 qualified applicants for a Team USA Service & Hope Award, an honor noted as an “exceptional feat given the impressive turnout and excellence of applications”. This award recognizes Olympic and Paralympic athletes who demonstrate a “commitment to serving and bettering their communities through nonprofit work…and honors athletes who embody the Olympic…and Paralympic values…as well as charitable organizations whose missions focus on youth sport, physical activity, or health and well-being.” Congratulations and thank you, Kait, for your spirit, tenacity, and dedication and the positive impact you have had on skiers of all ages and abilities in New England!

We are thrilled to officially kick off the Eastern Cup season this weekend thanks to a nimble and collaborative effort between Frost Mountain Nordic, Rikert Nordic Center, and Mt. Van Hoevenberg - one prompted by and potentially to be rewarded by mother nature! We would like to express our gratitude to everyone involved for their adaptability and dedication to making this event safe and successful.

In this week’s edition of KickZone

• NENSA Auction thank you!
• Eastern Cup Opener in Lake Placid
• Silver Fox Trot recap
• Nordic Rocks update
• NENSA membership
• Scenes from the Community
• Fischer and Skirack: Tour de Hollenbach
• Skirack/Patagonia: Banff Film Festival, January 26-28
• Toko: Newsletter and Race Wax Recommendations

In the news

• NNF: 2nd Virtual Speaker Series Talk, 12/16 at 1:00pm, Øyvind Sandbakk
• U.S. Ski & Snowboard
• Ogden Seventh in Beitostolen Classic Sprint

Have a wonderful week, one that will hopefully be capped by the official arrival of winter.

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!

Our sincere thanks goes to everyone who contributed to a very successful 2022 NENSA auction. The collective efforts of our sponsors and supporters who provided an array of wonderful items, talents, and services, all bidders, ambassadors who shared our site and posts, and our staff and board, in particular our auction committee, raised over $26,000 and exceeded our goal! Thank you!

The opening Eastern Cup has been relocated to Mt Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, NY. 

Registration remains open and we thank the Rikert Outdoor Center and Frost Mountain Nordic for continued partnership to make this event happen despite one of the toughest starts to winter in a few years.

Mt. Van Hoevenberg has been able to consistently blow snow and is currently expanding available terrain. All race formats will remain as planned and any schedule changes will be updated to both NENSA website and the SkiReg page.

Registration closes TODAY at 5pm.

We realize a venue change presents logistical challenges for many skiers — NENSA along with the venues and organizing committee made this decision as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding. With the limited amount of skiing available across the East Coast it is no small miracle we are able to host a sanctioned competition.

This year’s Silver Fox Trot freestyle race hosted by Ford Sayre at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center was a huge success! Despite the event falling unusually early in the season, nearly 300 racers showed up to partake of this long-time running Popular competition. The Craftsbury Outdoor Center did a fabulous job ensuring there was ample snow to ski on, with an undulating 2km race loop, room to warmup and areas for kids to play on skis. The enthusiastic crew from Ford Sayre showed up in force and ran a very smooth event...read much more, see results, season scoring update, and lots of photos HERE.

On the road! Last week NENSA delivered some brand new Nordic Rocks Madshus and Lost Nation Research and Development equipment to two returning schools and two schools new to the Nordic Rocks program. A big thank you to the Share Winter Foundation and the Killington World Cup Foundation for funding this program and helping us get more children outside on skis. Now we just need snow!

While we cannot accept any additional new schools for the 2022-23 season, we can add you to our school waitlist for the 2023-24 season if your school is interested in joining the program. Read more HERE



THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS:

Reporting Misconduct and New QR Code for Reporting

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.

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

It is time to renew NENSA memberships. NENSA membership is required for attendance at the BKL Festival, Eastern Cup, U16 and EHS Championship events, as well as for Junior National, Zak, and Club Cup rankings. NENSA members receive discounted entry fees to many of our events as well as exclusive offers from our sponsors that are constantly added and updated HERE. Membership directly supports 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 tend to your renewal, and for the important support your membership provides!



THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

Tour de Hollenbach

In 2022, the Hollenbach family explored 23 cross country ski centers around the state of Vermont, one of the top Nordic destinations in the U.S.A.

The project was dubbed the “Tour de Hollenbach,” an incredible adventure for Jake, Helen, and their son Johannes. In this short video, we catch up with the Hollenbach family as they navigate the fun and challenges of cross-country skiing with a 3-year-old. Jake and Helen made it a positive experience for their son with appropriate gear, groomed trails, and plenty of snacks.

Jake Hollenbach is a Fischer Nordic athlete and Nordic expert at the Skirack, a ski & outdoor shop located in Burlington, Vermont. If you'd like to learn more about the Tour de Hollenbach, be sure to read his blog about this experience on Skirack's website:

• Tour De Hollenbach Part 1: Sleepy Hollow through Rikert
• Tour De Hollenbach Part 2: Blueberry Lake to Prospect Mountain
• Tour De Hollenbach Part 3: Stowe Mountain to Craftsbury

NNF Invites Ski Community to 2nd Virtual Speaker Series Talk on Friday, December 16th at 1:00pm EST with Øyvind Sandbakk

December 2, 2022 | by Ben Thereyl

The National Nordic Foundation (NNF) is excited to announce the next talk in our virtual speaker series, after the success of our first lecture with Dr. Stephen Seiler. In keeping with the theme of education on training physiology, our next event will feature a talk entitled “Optimizing Long-Term Performance-Development in Endurance Sports” delivered by Norwegian Researcher Øyvind Sandbakk on December 16th at 1:00pm EST.

Our lecture series is free to attend, with a recommended $25 donation going directly to NNF to support our Pillar Projects this winter, and beyond. Donation and registration for Sandbakk’s talk on Friday, December 16th at 1:00pm EST can be found here and here. Limited to the first three-hundred participants. Registrants will receive a recording of the talk afterwards. You must be registered beforehand to receive a recording.

Ogden Seventh in Beitostolen Classic Sprint

December 9, 2022 | by Tom Horrocks

Ben Ogden posted his second top-10 FIS Cross Country World Cup result of the season, finishing seventh in Friday’s classic sprint in Beitostolen, Norway. Julia Kern was the top-placed U.S. woman in 10th.

After posting the seventh-fastest qualifying time, Ogden scorched the field in his quarterfinal heat, hammering the final climb and sprinting to an easy win. In the semifinals though, he got pinched in the last corner and finished third....read more HERE



THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS: