Greetings NENSA community,


It is a pleasure to welcome Nordic Team Solutions as our newest NENSA Supporting Sponsor! Many NENSA members know firsthand the value of the resources and content offered by Nordic Team Solutions and we are so pleased to partner with organizations such as NTS whose work so closely aligns with and supports the interests of our community. Click on the logo to learn more and watch for upcoming content and resources right here in KickZone.


NENSA staff arrived in Lake Placid last weeked to a snow-capped Whiteface Mountain. It was such a joy to see, especially because the brilliant sunshine on Saturday allowed our annual ascent on Sunday to proceed as planned. Along with all of the seasonal planning taking place, including our coaching symposium this weekend, it was a sure sign of the approaching winter season! You’ll see evidence of that in KickZone today and in the upcoming weeks alongside updates and announcements for the final two rollerski events in our series.


In this week’s edition of KickZone

  • Castle Conquest Recap
  • Eastern Coaches Conference - registration open until 5:00 PM today
  • Membership renewal
  • A transcontinental rollerski story
  • Toko team order forms


In the news

  • FasterSkier: Climb to the Castle Weekend—Climb, Sprint, and Biathlon
  • NNF: Inaugural Trail to Gold Fellows Selected for Upcoming World Cup Season


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!


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NENSA News from the Field

Castle Conquest Recap

This past weekend over in New York featured a variety of fun and exciting events that constituted the Castle Conquest. Saturday featured the Keys to the Castle event court-style skate sprints, a BKL/youth agility rollerski session, and a mass start biathlon race at Mt Van Hoevenberg. Sunday featured the legendary Climb to the Castle skate race up Whiteface. Below are links to event coverage for your reading and viewing enjoyment.


Check out the Fasterskier race report of Keys to the Castle Skate Sprint & Biathlon Races and the Climb to the Castle Race HERE.


NENSA is proud to partner with ORDA and NYSEF to continue hosting rollerski events in Lake Placid!  The court-style sprints featured in Saturday’s events are a synthesis of ideas from conventional sprinting and perhaps one of the most progressive rollerski competitions held to date at the Olympic Jumping Complex, just up the road, in August of 2018.  That event pitted in a duel which highlighted the strengths of Andy Newell and Ludvig Sognen Jensen “LUDDEYO.” Newell, perhaps one of the most agile, and Luddeyo at the time the fastest 100 meters sprinters in the world. Since the inception of these events, including ramps in a rollerski competition, NENSA, ORDA and NYSEF have partnered to put on developmental opportunities for athletes all while creating a show that is entertaining for participants and spectators alike....read the full story HERE

Photo Album
Results
Allagash Cup Masters Standings

THANK YOU TO OUR ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

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

Eastern Coaches Conference 

Dublin, NH, October 1-2 

The Eastern Coaches Conference in Dublin this weekend offers U.S. Ski & Snowboard (USSS) Level 100 and Level 200 certification options, NENSA Bill Koch League Coach Education, and an option to shadow the L100 In-Person clinic as a technique refresher or for USSS continuing education credits.  This is the single opportunity for L200 certification in the East this year...find all registration details HERE

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. 

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS:

Membership Renewal Reminders

Plans and preparations are well underway for the approaching winter season and it is time for membership renewals. Renew U.S. Ski & Snowboard memberships by October 15th to avoid late fees. It is also the perfect time to renew NENSA membershipsNENSA 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.  Memberships also 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 tend to these renewals, and for the important support your membership provides!

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA SUPPORTING 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

Scenes from the NENSA Community

A friend shared with me the story of these athletes and their 2014 transcontinental rollerski journey. I share this here for inspiration in the several remaining weeks of the rollerskiing season.  Timing is tight for this sort of feat, but we would love to have you join us at our remaining events including the Mt. Greylock Hill Climb on November 6.

From our NENSA Partners

Toko Team Night Program


Attention NENSA Teams

From Toko: We are continuing with our popular team night program. The purpose of this program is to facilitate team orders from team members through Toko dealers. We offer this program using two order forms: one for gloves and bags and the other for waxes and tools. Please get together as a team and decide as a team that you will make a team order. The coach or a volunteer distributes the forms to the team members and assigns a deadline date by which all order forms have to be filled out and returned. That person then contacts a local ski shop (hopefully a Toko dealer) and sends them the orders. The shop would then place a special order to us (at a special price). We would send the product to the ski shop. Team members would then go to the local ski shop and pick up and pay for the items that they ordered. We have pretty much everything in stock now so the turnaround would be quick.

CROSS COUNTRY

In The News:

Climb to the Castle Weekend—Climb, Sprint, and Biathlon

September 27, 2022 | by Peter Minde


On an overcast Sunday, Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier and Emma Page were the men’s and women’s winners of the Climb to the Castle roller ski race. Both were first-time victors.


Izquierdo-Bernier, of the club Fondeurs-Laurentides north of Montreal, won in 39:06.5. Ripp, of Paul Smith’s College, finished second for the men in 41:17.0. Behind him, Parke Chapin of Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) took third in his first Climb to the Castle, in 42:41.7.


In the women’s event, Emma Page of Mansfield Nordic (MNC) finished in 52:42.7, Dolcie Tanguay came second in 55:06.2, and Master skier Kathy Schwenk finished third in 57:52.2.


The Climb to the Castle follows the auto road on Whiteface Mountain in New York’s Adirondacks. At 4,867 feet, Whiteface is the fifth highest Adirondack peak. The toll road snakes upward for five miles at an eight percent average grade, gaining about 2300 vertical feet. Unlike the wet racers experienced in 2021, today the weather was dry, with a start time temperature around 50 degrees, and only a light breeze. Every two minutes, athletes went off in waves of 15....read the full story, including coverage of Saturday's sprint and biathlon races, at FasterSkier

Inaugural Trail to Gold Fellows Selected for Upcoming World Cup Season

September 28, 2022 | by Ben Theyerl


The National Nordic Foundation (NNF), Women Ski Coaches Association (WSCA), and Olympic Women’s Cross-Country Book Project are excited to announce the selection of the inaugural Trail to Gold Fellows. The selection committee determined that the following Fellows represent extraordinary coaching talent, and will have the opportunity to gain international experience and credentials while working with the US Ski Team coaching staff over the course of the upcoming 2022-23 World Cup season:


Trail to Gold Fellows:

Naomi Kiekintveld (Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center), Ruka and Lillehammer.

Annika Martell (Williams College), Beitøstolen and Davos.

Liz Stephen (Park City Ski and Snowboard Club), Tour de Ski.

Caitlin Gregg (Team Birkie), Milano and Les Rousses.

Lizzie Larkins (Montana State University), Tallinn and Lahti.

...read more HERE


THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS:

Upcoming Events

Full NENSA.net Calendar Listing HERE


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


Link to our COVID Protocols HERE

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with NENSA as your beneficiary!
Did you know that NENSA could benefit from the Amazon purchases you are already making??! Please link your Amazon account to Amazon SMILE (with /smile) and choose NENSA as your non-profit beneficiary! All the purchases everyone is already making, all add up, and we would love to be able to benefit from that! Thank you!!
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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