KickZone eNewsletter ~ October 21, 2020 Edition

Greetings NENSA Community ~

October is flying by...

A few reminders and updates from the NENSA:

Our plan is to continue the programing you have all come to know and love, but in the safest way we can these days. We thank you for your continued patience and support as we navigate COVID and offer you various different opportunities to connect and participate, even with a pandemic.
NENSA as an organization, and regional divisional leader, is committed to remaining fluoro free. What this means is all of our NENSA races will remain fluoro free at all levels - from our Eastern Cup race series, our Citizen races & Marathon race series, U16 & EHS racing, right on down to our Bill Koch Leagues. We are not pausing or delaying the inevitable - we are moving forward to a fluoro free wax world for our ski community.
With the elections less than two weeks away, our the NENSA Board of Directors and staff strongly encourages everyone in our cross-country ski community to fulfill their civic responsibility and vote in the coming elections in November.

NENSA would also like to take this opportunity to continue to welcome back our Sponsors as they renew their partnership with NENSA this year! Please remember to thank and support all of our NENSA Sponsors! This week we welcome back and THANK to our long time NENSA sponsor partners ~ The Trapp Family Lodge and Fischer

Here's what we have in store for you in this week's KickZone in the boxes below ~

U16 Champs and EHSC Moves to State-Based Model
Registration closes at 8pm tonight for the Lost Nation Cup Rollerski Race on 10/25
NENSA Eastern Cup / FIS - Bib Purchase and Timing Chip Rental available now on SkiReg.com
Registration is now open for our virtual (via Zoom) NENSA Technical Delegate (TD) and Event Organizer training on Saturday November 14th
NENSA Member discount for Cross Country Skier Magazine
Updates from our NENSA Partners: including U.S. Ski & Snowboard Continuing Education Series ~ Women in Coaching & Leadership ~ free ~ 10/29 & 10/30; Concept2 virtual World Sprints training; TOKO athlete interviews continue with Sverre Caldwell and NENSA's own Kait Miller(!); Information from ShareWinter.org on scholarships through the LV Foundation's Sports Matter Scholarship

Click here for 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 this year, more than ever!

I hope this finds everyone safe and well ~

Best,

Amie

Amie W. Smith

Executive Director

New England Nordic Ski Association

Amie@nensa.net

www.NENSA.net

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

U16 Champs and EHSC

Moves to State-Based Model

During a productive Junior Committee Meeting, the decision was officially made to move to a state-based model for U16 and Eastern High School Championships. Many factors contributed to this decision including a desire for as many skiers as possible to be able to partake. NENSA will work with each state to host championship events that fits safely within their state’s COVID guidelines. Plans are in the works for the exact format of these events but will likely include a unique challenge event in addition to racing, with metrics that facilitate competition between the states. We are actively working towards a concrete plan within this new structure and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we all navigate this new world. Our goal is to offer fun, inclusive, and, above all, safe events this season. We will keep you posted as our planning progresses and we have more details to share!

Last Call to

Join NENSA and the COC for

The Lost Nation Roll this Sunday 10/25

on the new Craftsbury rollerski loop ~ Registration closes at 8pm tonight!

Registration is OPEN here (until 8pm 10/21)

The Craftsbury Outdoor Center is excited to invite racers to attend the first open rollerski race on our freshly paved rollerski track, this Sunday October 25 starting at 9am. In the early portion of the summer of 2020, the Outdoor Center paved a 3.3km portion of their trail network in order to provide off-the-road rollerskiing for their athletes and the greater community. After hosting a series of time trials and smaller biathlon races, they are excited to open the track up to the public for a race.

NENSA is thrilled to be hosting this event with the COC and we look forward to sharing photos and results with you on our social media platforms this Sunday!

NENSA Eastern Cup / FIS - Bib Purchase and Timing Chip Rental

"Bib & Chips" (hold the salsa and guacamole)

Available now on SkiReg.com

NENSA and our venues are working tirelessly to produce a schedule of high level races that will keep competitors, officials and volunteers safe during the COVID pandemic. As per our Eastern Cup COVID-19 Contingencies we identified a system that will allow for touchless registration and timing systems by purchasing a race bib and assigned timing chip for each competitor to use throughout the season. Each competitor's bib and chip number will follow them throughout the season as a NENSA, USSS and/or FIS number does. This effectively eliminates the need for typical registration / bib pick-up - eliminating a touch point and gathering point at events. This purchase will also help subsidize the cost of vetting participants: athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers - including health screenings and adherence to state and county travel guidelines.

These bibs and chips will be used exclusively for the FIS competitions hosted at Craftsbury and all Eastern Cups. In order to compete in these events, you need to purchase your bib (you will keep it at end of the season) and rent your Zone4 chip. Eastern Cup fields (Eastern Regional Qualifiers) will have unlimited field size. FIS races at Craftsbury will be limited to racers with current FIS licenses and the field size is currently capped at 120 participants. If you intend to race in any of these races you need to purchase your NENSA bib and rent a chip.

Hey NENSA members ~ check this new offer out ~ subscribe to Cross Country Skier Magazine for just $12!! Click on the ad below for the offer, and to enjoy a years worth of gorgeous photos and wonderful articles!

Registration is now OPEN for

NENSA's Technical Delegate & Event Organizers Training

(virtual via Zoom)

Saturday November 14

10am-2pm

Calling all TD's, Chief of Comps and Event Organizers! Save the date ~ Saturday November 14 from 10am-2pm ~ registration and agenda is now open on SkiReg.com. All the info and updates you need for this coming season!

THANK YOU to rk Miles for the lumber donation to help NENSA build some new ramps and supporting our rollerski programing here in New England! Check out this video NENSA made on how to build your own set of ramps (and be sure to stop by r.k. Miles for all your lumber needs on this fun project!)

NENSA COVID-19 Considerations ~

Contingency Planning

for our Events and Races

this coming season

The Covid-19 pandemic poses significant challenges to NENSA’s 2020-21 winter event schedule. We are committed to hosting races and will make every effort to safely put on events in whatever form they might take. Our first objective is to ensure the health of our community in New England. Our second objective is to host our major events: Eastern Cups, Popular Races, U16 and Eastern High School Championships, the Bill Koch Festival, and Women’s Day as scheduled. To further foster excitement and an inclusive and community-centric atmosphere around skiing, NENSA will also be organizing some new fun season long challenges and goal-oriented activities. Skiers are encouraged to limit their travel and attend events that are within their region and state.

....click HERE for the current NENSA plans for Eastern Cups, Popular/Citizen Racing, U16 & EHS Camps, BKL Festival and Women's Day

Venues, event hosts and event organizers check out:

NENSA COVID-19 XC Ski Event Host Guide

From our NENSA Partners

WOMEN IN COACHING AND LEADERSHIP ROLES

Thursday, October 29^th 10:00am - 12:30pm MDT

Friday October 30^th 10:00am – 12:00pm MDT

(This series is free compliments of U.S. Ski & Snowboard)

Join your peers for this first ever series of presentations and guided discussions designed for women in and aspiring to leadership roles in our sport.

Historically, some of the persistent barriers for women in coaching and leadership roles include the lack of institutional support to access professional training and development opportunities and the lack of women for networking and mentoring. Thus, we are providing these sessions as a new initiative with the hopes of breaking this cycle and supporting women in sport leadership positions. Often there is a gender difference on learning, communication, emotional intelligence, motivation , leadership, problem solving, etc. and U.S. Ski & Snowboard strives to provide a supportive and comfortable learning environment to enhance women’s confidence, skills, continuous development and readiness for future work.

This series is produced by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Gender Equity in Ski and Snowboard Coaching Task Force for women in or aspiring to coaching and leadership roles. The series will be recorded and available for viewing later by all interested.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard coaches will receive one continuing education credit per session and both sessions will be recorded.

For session descriptions and presenters CLICK HERE

Get Ready for the

12th Annual SkiErg Sprints

This year’s edition of the SkiErg World Sprints takes place November 12–15, 2020. Get ready to throw down your best 1k SkiErg time to see where you stand up against others around the world!

The 1000 meter race distance offers a good challenge that is a reasonable training goal for almost everyone. It will most likely take you somewhere between three and six minutes to complete. A little training will go a long way towards improving your performance and making the race more enjoyable. Training will also help you to dial in your optimal pace: fast enough to get you a personal best, but not so fast that you start too hard and “fly and die.” ...read full story HERE

Please enjoy these wonderful ATHLETE interviews with Sverre Caldwell and NENSA's own Kait Miller,

conducted by Ian Harvey from TOKO!

From our NENSA partner ShareWinter.org:

One way that you can help your youth pursue more advanced skiing and riding opportunities is for them to apply for a scholarship from the Lindsay Vonn Foundation! Through the LV Foundation's Sports Matter Scholarship - youth can apply for funds to pursue more opportunities in skiing/riding (among other sports!). LV Foundation also has an enrichment program for academic pursuits as well.

Learn More Here: https://www.lindseyvonnfoundation.org/scholarships

We'd love for you to share these opportunities with your youth, and if they apply, please have them put the name of your organization (NENSA) and Share Winter in the "How Did You Learn About Us" section (the LV Foundation is going to look out for our applications).