Greetings NENSA community,

We are in between two consecutive weekends with some of our largest rollerski events this year. We aim to be as inclusive as possible in our programming efforts and we were delighted to see the range of juniors, collegiate, elite, and masters skiers, cross country skiers and biathletes, newer to rollerskiing and seasoned alike, share the course in Jericho on Sunday. Please read on for a full recap, photos, and a video from the event.  

In Lake Placid this weekend, we have a weekend-long rollerski festival with offerings for everyone. All details are below including an update on the Allagash Masters Cup standings, a youth play park and learn to rollerski opportunity, and much more. We hope to see you there!  

In this week’s edition of KickZone:

• Castle Conquest in Lake Placid
• Allagash Masters Cup
• Youth Play Park in Lake Placid
• Thank you Fischer/OneWay
• FreeFall 2022 Recap
• Eastern Coaches Conference, Oct 1-2 in Dublin
• U.S. Ski & Snowboard membership early bird renewal deadline reminder
• Scenes from the NENSA Community

All my best,

Heidi

Heidi Lange

Executive Director

New England Nordic Ski Association

Heidi@nensa.net

www.NENSA.net

GIVING: DONATE to NENSA today, and thank you!



MEMBERSHIP: RENEW or JOIN today, and thank you!

Please take a few minutes to do that and support the organization that supports XC skiing here in New England, and beyond! NENSA is here for you, running programing for you, our ski community ~ we need your support!

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!

Calling all youth/BKL skiers in the Lake Placid area to come join NENSA and NYSEF for an hour of rollersking fun at Mt Van Hoevenberg! Bring your boots, poles, and helmet. Rollerskis will be provided. This learn-to-rollerski opportunity will take place on Saturday September 24th from 12:15-1:15pm after the “Keys to the Castle” rollerski race. Show up early and watch some high level sprinting action before trying roller skiing yourself! Register for free HERE 

We debuted our freshly wrapped trailer at the races in Jericho last weekend and are simply marveling at the benefits this offers as we continue to expand our programming.  We are so grateful to Fischer/OneWay for their support and for helping us realize our mission at NENSA to "nurture and sustain an active cross country ski community for all ages and levels throughout the East".  Our sincere thanks, Fischer/OneWay!

This past weekend 114 hearty humans braved the wet weather at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, VT and competed in Sunday’s Free Fall Rollerski Race!

The FreeFall has become a staple of NENSA’s roller series and always draws a competitive and fun crowd. Open racers were slated for a 15km and juniors a 5km — both utilizing the same full 5km race loop which includes some sporty downhills. Minutes before the men’s start it began to rain and the track became slick. Racers took the challenge in stride and navigated downhills, and slippery ups, with varied tactics. At the finish there were unfortunately more DNF’s due to falls than we have ever experienced — but the overwhelming feedback was that was “wild fun” and “really hard.” Before the women’s race the Jury made the decision to eliminate the furthest loop and eliminate the most technical downhill on the course for safety reasons. The women contested an 11.5km course. Both races saw a really awesome overlap of juniors, collegiate and elite level skiers.

In addition the incredible support we receive from our NENSA associate sponsors – Salomon, LL Bean, Swix, and Fischer – we are also grateful to Enjoy Winter and Swenor Rollerskis for supplying NENSA with an awesome fleet of rollerskis so the top-seeded athletes in all our events have matched skis. All women and juniors, and 35 men raced on matched skis. And no NENSA rollerski race would be complete without the exceedingly tasty support of Cabot who has generously donated cheese for this season’s podium finishers!...read the full story, see results and photos courtesy of Paul Bierman HERE

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS:

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

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.

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

U.S. Ski & Snowboard membership renewal reminder

The early-bird registration deadline of October 15th is fast approaching. Registrations received after October 15th are subject to U.S. Ski & Snowboard late fees for renewing members 13 and over. We encourage you to register now....click HERE

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: