Mid-Summer Greetings NENSA Community ~
It has been a busy summer here at NENSA ~ besides our virtual programing, staff is working on further fine tuning our plans, and back up COVID contingency plans, for our upcoming winter race and event schedule. We are vetting ideas as staff, and with a working group, and will to get these updated plans out to you, our NENSA members, in the very near future.
We have also been continuing to work on gathering resources for youth outreach and volunteer opportunities, as individuals and/or clubs, for our NENSA BLM initiatives and goals. We will have an update for you all in our next KickZone at the end of this month.
Here's what we have in store for you in this week's KickZone in the boxes below ~
- Join NENSA and MWOC for the Roy Varney memorial Roy-llerski (virtual) event for July! Be sure to watch the awesome video about Roy, as well as sign up on the link at SkiReg.com. You can rollerski, run, bike or hike your way through this awesome challenge anytime this month!
- TONIGHT at 7pm, NENSA's Insta Live Show, that was taped on 7/1, a Conversation on Race debuted in 8 parts, over the next 7 nights, for viewing on NENSA's YouTube Channel. See box below for links and a synopsis of each night's segment.
- Nine NENSA U16 athletes qualified for the US Ski & Snowboard National U16 (virtual) Camp, which starts this Saturday July 18th
- Video from a very successful Fort Kent Training Camp held this past week
- FasterSkier article on NENSA's Eastern REG (virtual) Camp
- Full NENSA.net Calendar Listing HERE
I hope this eNewsletter finds everyone safe and well ~
Best,
Amie
Amie W. Smith
Executive Director
New England Nordic Ski Association
Amie@nensa.net
781-864-0545
MEMBERSHIP:
RENEW
or
JOIN
today, and thank you!
GIVING:
DONATE
to NENSA today, and thank you!
Be sure to follow us on fb, Twitter and on Instagram @nensa_nordic
|
|
NENSA News from the Field
Highlights and Notes from NENSA and the Nordic World
|
|
NENSA and MOWC Present
Roy-llerski Virtual July Event
|
Registration is open for this July virtual event on
SkiReg.com
All ages and abilities are welcome to participate in the Second Annual Roy-llerski event to honor Maine high school skier Roy Varney who tragically passed away last July. This event is a fundraiser for the
Maine Outdoor Wellness Cente
r
whose creation was a dream of Roy's and which is now an incorporated non-profit managed by a board of his family, friends, coaches, and ski mates that "seeks to preserve the memory of Roy Varney by providing opportunities to access the outdoors for all Turner and surrounding residents of Central Maine and New England."
There are many participation categories in this month-long event that can be done on rollersks, or even running, biking or hiking! Check out all the category options and register
here
.
In addition to celebrating Roy and supporting a fantastic organization, you will also be in the mix for some sweet prizes from
Skida
,
UnTapped
, and
Sidas
.
All registrants get 30% off the
Sidas website
(code emailed on 7/31) and are entered into a raffle upon submitting event data
here
.
Get out there and have fun #forRoy!
The goal is to have fun, stay safe, and take the spirit of the journey with you!! Sharing photos or GPS tracks is highly encouraged. Registration is currently open via
SkiReg
and participants will input their photos and their data via a Google form.
And many thanks to our NENSA sponsors
SIDAS
,
UnTapped
and
SKIDA
who have all donated some great prizes for this July Event!!
Click
HERE
for current RESULTS and to view our weekly raffle prize winners!
Please enjoy this amazing and uplifting video about Roy from his friends and family ~
|
|
Taking a Stand Toward Making a Difference
Insta Live "Race Conversation" Drops Tonight at 7pm on NENSA's YouTube Channel
|
On July 1st, NENSA hosted a conversation on Race, with three NENSA athletes ~ Bill Harmeyer (UVM Ski Team alum/SMST2 skier), Linden Niedeck (CSU juniors Team) and Akeo Maifeld-Carucci (Craftsbury GRP/Harvard Ski Team alum) This hour long conversation has been edited into 8 sessions ~ the Introduction and Part 1 debut tonight on NENSA's YouTube Channel, and then each night this week at 7pm, a new Part will debut
(see links below - just cut and paste them into your browser for viewing each day)
. We hope you enjoy this week long programing of this important conversation.
As part of our Virtual Programming this Spring and Summer we have been hosting discussions for members of our community. On July 1st, we invited three athletes to come together and discuss Race, Ethnicity, Privilege and Racing.
Three New England Athletes discuss what brought them here to our discussion, Part 1 of our "Taking a Stand Toward Making a Difference" Series. We encourage you watch the entire series, tune in every evening at 7:00pm EST for the next installment.
We talk about what is happening with our clubs, and Team mates.Part 2 of our "Taking a Stand Toward Making a Difference" Series. We encourage you watch the entire series, tune in every evening at 7:00pm EST for the next installment.
We discuss important definitions that come up as part of this discussion. Part 3 of our "Taking a Stand Toward Making a Difference" Series. We encourage you watch the entire series, tune in every evening at 7:00pm EST for the next installment.
Bill Harmeyer asks Akeo Maifeld-Carucci: How do we best influence society as Athletes? We discuss important definitions that come up as part of this discussion. Part 4 of our "Taking a Stand Toward Making a Difference" Series. We encourage you watch the entire series, tune in every evening at 7:00pm EST for the next installment.
We discuss the word "Nordic" what it means to us, and the connotations it carries in our current environment. Part 5 of our "Taking a Stand Toward Making a Difference" Series. We encourage you watch the entire series, tune in every evening at 7:00pm EST for the next installment.
What steps is NENSA taking to make the sport more diverse and inclusive? Part 6 of our "Taking a Stand Toward Making a Difference" Series. We encourage you watch the entire series, tune in every evening at 7:00pm EST for the next installment.
What skiing wisdom do you have for younger skiers? Part 7 our last, of our "Taking a Stand Toward Making a Difference" Series. We encourage you watch the entire series.
|
|
National U16 Camp (virtual) Kicks off this Saturday July 18th ~
and 9 NENSA athletes have qualified to attend!
|
The US Ski & Snowboard National U16 Camp starts this Saturday July 18th and will include an evening presentation from a certain Kikkan Randall! Originally slated for being held in Sun Valley Idaho, it, along with most everything else these days, will be virtual. Building off the success of our NENSA Eastern REG (virtual) Camp, this too is sure to be a success! NENSA is proud of the 9 New England U16 athletes that qualified - as only the top 20 male and top 20 U16 females in the country are invited! Way to go New England!
Congrats to:
Trey Jones, Green Mountain Valley School
Fin Bailey, Stratton Mountain School
Jack Lange, Putney Ski Club
Cormac Leahy, Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club
Clint Macy, Dublin XC
Sofia Scirica, CSU juniors
Ava Thurston, MNC
Emma Charles, Mount Blue High School, ME
Hattie Barker, MNC
|
|
A socially distanced Camp Team photo!
|
|
Fort Kent
Outdoor Center
Holds Successful Training Camp
While restrictions and guidelines are understandably strict this summer due to COVID-19, some organizations are tackling the challenge and working to host safe summer camps. Last week Carl Theriault, the Streinz family, and the Maine ski community hosted a successful training camp in Fort Kent.
Enjoy this training video they sent ~
|
|
The Virtual NENSA Eastern REG Camp
~ from FasterSkier 7/7/20, by Peter Minde
|
Skiers are made in the summer, and one of the hallmarks of summer training is periodic training camps. But as with racing, the coronavirus pandemic has upended summer group training.
In April, the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) opted to turn their June regional elite group (REG) training camp into a virtual event. Part of the US Ski and Snowboard development program, REGs have a standardized format that helps evaluate athlete development.
“[The virtual REG] is a work in progress,” NENSA Competition Director Justin Beckwith wrote to FasterSkier.
In normal times, the Eastern REG brings together junior athletes from New England and New York. Beckwith generally gathers 40 to 46 athletes, evenly divided between men and women, together for an intense week of training, testing, and education. This year, 34 campers participated in the virtual REG. However, NENSA shared the REG program template as part of its #juneterm program. Clubs across the northeast integrated the template into their June training.
“Athletes are ranked by World Cup points for the 3 tests and along with NRL ranking allows a second route to National Training Group (NTG) camps,” Beckwith wrote.
“The virtual setting will also allow us to gather more data throughout clubs as many will be performing a similar training schedule this week and next.” ...read full story
HERE
|
|
NENSA Community supporting BLM
|
|
NENSA's new Youth & Introductory Program Director Kait Miller is selling one of her prints
|
|
|
NENSA's outgoing Youth & Introductory Program Director Tom Weir is selling some of his new music ~ dropping this Friday
|
How many of you knew Tom's hidden talent?? Well here it is:
Tom Weir is releasing four new songs on Friday with his band Old Moon, with all proceeds going to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and National Bailout.
|
|
|
Upcoming Events
A Look Ahead at the NENSA Calendar
|
|
Stay Tuned
~ more fun virtual NENSA programing coming your way for August, and beyond! #AppGap #coachingclinics #popupevents
Full NENSA.net Calendar Listing
HERE
Link to our NENSA Virtual Resources Page
HERE
Link to our NENSA BLM Resources Page
HERE
|
|
New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA)
49 Pineland Drive, Suite 301A
New Gloucester, ME 04260
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
