Greetings NENSA community,

NENSA kicked off our Championship Fund Drive this week. We have a fundraising goal, but the greater measure of success would be the broad participation of our community and the gratitude and trust in NENSA that would convey. NENSA’s Board of Directors got the campaign off the ground with 100% of board members making a personal contribution to the drive. I hope you will take a moment to consider what NENSA means to you and make a gift of any amount to the campaign. All funds raised directly support our operating budget, help us keep membership and program fees low, and support the work we do to inspire and empower our community. Thank you for your support and for being part of the NENSA family.

Championship season continues… Team New England has defended the Alaska Cup! Team VT prevailed at Eastern High School Championships! NCAA Championships took place last weekend in Lake Placid. Eastern U16 Championships got underway this afternoon in Fort Kent, World Masters are underway in Seefeld, Austria, and Supertour Finals begin in Craftsbury on Wednesday. The most festive and exciting championship of all, however, might be the NENSA Club Relay Championship and Community Barbeque/End-of-Season Awards Celebration. We head into the event with quite a few clubs in the running for the overall NENSA club title. Gather friends, family members, teammates, coaches - this event attracts skiers of all ages and abilities - but don’t delay! Registration closes on WEDNESDAY (for BBQ planning purposes) and you’ll certainly want time to properly accessorize. We look forward to celebrating the end of the season with you! All details follow:

In this week’s edition of KickZone

• Please donate to the NENSA Championship Fund Drive
• NENSA Club Relay Championships and End-of-Season Celebration
• Eastern High School Championships Recap
• New England Defends the Alaska Cup
• Long Haul Loppet Recap
• Chisholm Ski Club Dedicates Warner Wax Cabin
• SMST2 Seeks Program Director
• GRPSki, Biathlon and U23 Training programs accepting applications
• Scenes from the Community
• GMVS Summer Camp Registration
• SMS Summer Camp Registration
• Toko Newsletter

In the news

• Cross Country Skier Magazine: Jessie Diggins Finishes Third in Historic Holmenkollen 
• US Ski & Snowboard: Kern Sixth in Drammen City Sprints, Diggins Third in First Ever Women's 50k

Have a wonderful weekend!

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!

Dear NENSA Community,

Thank you for being a part of the New England ski community! Our work is made possible and our community vibrant through your participation, volunteerism, leadership, and engagement. In the heart of championship season, we are kicking off our annual fundraising drive and asking for your support to help NENSA continue to grow and thrive.

Over the past year our New England ski community has rebounded from the pandemic with resolve characteristic of cross country skiers. NENSA membership is approaching a 10-year high! Even as we have confronted some weather challenges, participation at our events is at an all-time high and is projected to be 1,000 event participants more than last year. We have expanded and diversified our offerings to serve a broader audience throughout the year with such new additions as introductory rollerski clinics, expanded opportunities for Para athletes, a pilot Regional Development Group camp that expands the number of athletes served by regional development opportunities, an introductory ski program focused on an urban setting, and team scoring at our Eastern Cup races. NENSA’s 2023 Women’s Day and Bill Koch Festival shattered previous attendance records and we have more than doubled the number of children served by our Nordic Rocks school-based program this year. Faced with unusually steep costs for US Ski & Snowboard Junior Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska, NENSA was able to secure advance airfare, offer support through our Athlete Fund, and offer New England skiers a lower trip cost than many other divisions. Finally, and as I write, New England has just taken the lead in Alaska Cup point rankings at Junior Nationals, showcasing the strength of our development pipeline.

Over 50% of NENSA’s operating budget is funded through sponsorships and donations. These resources directly support NENSA staffing and programming and reduce financial barriers to participation by keeping membership and event fees as low as possible. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Our goal is to raise $40,000 this month and we need your help. Please consider a gift of any amount and help us finish the year strong, backing us in our mission to share the joy of gliding on snow through educational, recreational, introductory and competitive programs to nurture and sustain an active cross country ski community for all ages and levels throughout the East.

With gratitude,

Heidi Lange, Executive Director

Ellen Chandler, NENSA Board President

“The NENSA Club Relay Championship attracts skiers of all ages and abilities and is the perfect way to involve all club members in a fun and exciting event. It is a true test to see who has the premier ski club/team in New England”

– former event host Jim Fredericks. 

This year’s event will determine the final placings in the season long Club Cup standings. There is tight competition between the top six teams, with NWVE coming on strong in the final events. Will you be there to see if Mansfield, Ford Sayre, EMXC, GMVS, NWVE or the Craftsbury Ski Club come out on top? Better yet, will you partake and enjoy the festivities while helping improve your club’s season standing? There will be awards for teams with cumulative ages under 100, over 100 and over 200 years – choose your teammates wisely! The Relays will be followed by a community-wide BBQ and NENSA will present the end of season awards. Make sure to bring your lawn chair, sunscreen, and best relay costumes as well as some friends to enjoy the event with!

Click HERE for full details including updated rankings and all registration info.

Please be sure to note that the DEADLINE FOR CLUB RELAY REGISTRATION IS WEDNESDAY to allow time for COC to plan the community BBQ. Don't delay - register your team today!

After three years we were thrilled to bring back the full three-day Eastern High School Championship event! We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend at the Rikert Outdoor Center with excellent snow conditions, clear skies, and a committed group of staff and volunteers.

Eastern High School Championships (EHSC) is the premier event for high school and prep school racers in New England and New York. Athletes qualify for the EHSC through state qualifying races in which up to 24 boys and 24 girls are selected from each state. Championship racing action kicked off at Rikert on Friday afternoon with an individual start 5k freestyle race. The boys raced first followed by the girls. The full 5k course was in mint condition thanks to the recent snowfall and exceptional grooming by the Rikert Outdoor Center staff...click HERE to read much more and to see photos and full results.

Ten years later New England was able to reclaim the Alaska Cup in Fairbanks, Alaska.

It wasn’t easy and it was close — which says so much for the state of American skiing! We leave Alaska with gratitude to our hosts, competitors and the amazing community here in Alaska that put on a first rate show!

Full recap to follow soon!

In the meantime, links for photos and results are below.

This year’s Long Haul Loppet was held on a beautiful sunny March day. JacksonXC’s Ellis River trails were groomed to perfection for touring skiers and racers. Nearly 150 skiers started over the course of the morning in the self-seeded rolling start.

This event has an old school feel to it, with winding trails that have just enough room for a skate lane and classic tracks. The elevation change on this uphill/downhill course is noticeable not online fatigue, but the change in snow conditions, with the upper parts of the course having powdery snow. Meanwhile the lower parts having faster transformed snow, more typical of March skiing. For their efforts skiers were rewarded with another feature of old school skiing – a fun kilometers long downhill to the finish!...click HERE for full results, a Damian Bolduc report, and more photos, results, and recaps from the Hard'ack and Rangeley Loppet & Burt Kettle Classic events.

The Chisholm Ski Club’s Youth Development Program and the Mountain Valley Nordic Ski Teams needed a new place to wax skis and to serve as a meeting space. One man envisioned, then spearheaded the transformation of the v-board storage shed into a beautiful and very functional waxing room to serve the needs of the next generation of Nordic skiers from the River Valley. . . that man was Chisholm Ski Club Youth Development Program coach, and Chisholm Ski Club Chief of Course, Dan Warner. . . we know him as “Mouse”. To recognize his work and dedication to our young skiers and to the Chisholm Ski Club, it is our great honor and even greater pleasure to name this facility, “The Warner Wax Cabin!” Thank you, Mouse for all your work and dedication!

Click HERE to see more photos from the day.

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. 

The SMST2 team is planning to expand our program by hiring a Program Director, adding several new team members and accepting 3-4 athletes into our summer program. It is our goal to make a good thing even better.

The Program Director will work closely with the Head Coach supporting the athletes in establishing training and travel plans. The Program Director will oversee all outreach projects, fundraising events and social media posts. The Program Director will help with most workouts, but will not travel as much as the Head Coach. The Program Director must be positive, organized and knowledgeable in all aspects of cross country skiing. For more information, please e-mail Sverre Caldwell at scaldwell@gosms.org.

Full job description available HERE.

The Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP) Ski & Biathlon teams are now accepting applications for the 2023-24 training year as well as for their summer U23 training programs. Applications will be due by end of day March 31 and decisions will be made by April 15.

GRP is looking for skiers and biathletes who have shown good ski speed over the past couple years. Skiers who have not yet tried biathlon will be given the opportunity if they’re interested...click HERE to learn more about the program and the application process.

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

2023 GMVSxc Summer Camp registration is LIVE

Build training volume on foot and on rollerskis while exploring our local roads, mountains, trails, and rivers. Increase your strength in our world-class Racing Performance Center, and enjoy rejuvenating recovery sessions led by our experienced coaching staff. This year's camp will conclude with a race effort!

Join us July 25-30, 2023.

Join us for an SMS Nordic camp this summer! 

The 2023 Stratton Mountain School summer Nordic camp will be held on the SMS Campus.

The SMS Nordic Program has combined sports science, a variety of proven training methods, a culture of athlete-driven excellence, and of course, FUN(!) to boast one of the most successful Nordic programs in the world. The program's unprecedented national and international success has produced 16 Olympians in the past seven Winter Olympics. Over 35 SMS Nordic athletes have made the U.S. World Junior Team, and 25 have made the U.S. National Team. Each Summer, SMS Nordic hosts two summer camps for young skiers filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign up today! 

BKL Camp: Aug 7-10

Junior Camp: Aug 10-13

Jessie Diggins Finishes Third in Historic Holmenkollen 

March 16, 2023 | by Peggy Shin

In another big stride toward gender equality, the women on the FIS Cross Country World Cup finally had a chance to race 50 kilometers. And it happened at the “Super Bowl” of cross country ski races: the Holmenkollen Ski Festival in Oslo, Norway.

“It was so, so cool to finally get to do this race,” said Jessie Diggins, who placed third, after a thrilling sprint at the finish, behind two Norwegians: Ragnhild Gløersen Haga (2018 Olympic champion in the 10km freestyle) and Astrid Øyre Slind (skiathlon bronze medalist at the recent 2023 World Championships). “I’ve been wanting to do this for my whole career. It absolutely is the right message that we want to send to young girls all over the world: you work just as hard as the guys, you should get to race the exact same races. 

“We got a chance to show we absolutely can do it,” added Diggins, as if there was ever a doubt...click HERE to read the full story.

Kern Sixth in Drammen City Sprints

March 14, 2023 | by Leann Bentley

The Drammen City Sprints are unlike anything on the World Cup circuit and today Julia Kern crossed the finish line in sixth place, adding another top-10 result to her hefty resume. 

Shutting down main street, trucking in snow, setting the 1.2k course with four lanes of classic track, the Drammen City Sprints bring some of the most exciting ski racing to the center stage. With fans lining the entire course, flags hanging from apartment buildings balcony's to the start and finish on the steps of a famous church, the atmosphere is just electric. With only two more weeks of World Cup racing left, the best athletes in the world are giving it their all until the very end. 

For the U.S., Kern led the day for the women and Ben Ogden led for the men. Kern initially qualified in 17th, right behind teammate Rosie Brennan (16th) and Jessie Diggins (14th). Today, Kern was focused on one thing: her double pole...click HERE to read the full story. 

Diggins Third in First Ever Women's 50k

March 12, 2023 | by Leann Bentley

"It was a beautiful day to make history," said Hailey Swirbul.

It was a historic day on the World Cup with the women racing the first ever 50k and 2023 World Champion Jessie Diggins crossed the finish line in third place. 

The Holmenkollen 50k is one of the longest running cross country ski races in the world and is known to be one of the most grueling courses on the circuit - and historically, only the men raced this course. This year, it was the women's turn. 

Diggins, Rosie Brennan, Hailey Swirbul and Alayna Sonnesyn were the four athletes to represent the U.S. on the historic start line and through the 31 miles, with over 6,000+ feet of vertical gain, contributed to one of the most exciting races we have seen all season...click HERE to read the full story.

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS:

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