Greetings NENSA community,

Individual reasons for participation in sport are widely varied, but the health and lifestyle benefits are consistent and well established. This year, NENSA is proud to announce a new series of Community Tours and Events: a wider range of shared experiences to cultivate an ever more welcoming, engaged, and diverse community. These festive, non-competitive events offer shared and fun experiences to all from young BKL families to introductory skiers and seasoned athletes. Please see the full announcement below and plan to join us at one or more this winter.

Along the same lines, NENSA is so proud to share that we are a 2023/24 Share Winter Foundation grantee! Share Winter’s support over many years has enabled substantial equipment and program development. In the coming season, we are enrolling 22 new schools and will provide 52 schools and over 6,000 children the opportunity to experience the joy of skiing as part of their school curriculum!

The roar of snow guns about us feels fitting as we dive into winter…

In this week’s KickZone

• NENSA Winter Auction 2023 is Live
• NENSA Awarded a 2023-24 Share Winter Foundation Grant
• Annual NENSA Event Organizer and TD Seminar
• NENSA Launches New Community Tours & Events Series
• Registration Open for 2024 Women’s XC Ski Day
• NENSA Winter Events Poster
• 2023-24 Eastern Cup Primer
• NENSA Membership
• Scenes from the Community

From Our Partners

• Welcome to BirdieBlue, NENSA's newest sponsor!
• Craftsbury Demo Day
• Support KWCF at Killington Cup this weekend
• NENSA Members Save: Best Nordic Ski Great Escapes

In The News

• Nordic Insights: Episode 4: Ben Ogden Unfiltered (now with good audio quality)
• Nordic Insights: Six Nordic Athletes Announced for American Team at 2024 Winter Youth Olympics
• Nordic Insights: Jessie Diggins on the 2023/2024 Season: Taking Care of Her Mental Health, and Taking Things Day by Day
• Nordic Insights: Editorial: Matt Whitcomb On Why You Should Support the NNF Drive for 25
• SMST2: Ben Ogden's New YouTube Channel
• US Ski & Snowboard: How to Watch 2023-24 Cross Country World Cup

I wish you a holiday week full of joy and adventure.

All my best,

Heidi

Heidi Lange

Executive Director

New England Nordic Ski Association

heidi@nensa.net

www.nensa.net

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!

NENSA's annual Winter Auction is LIVE and features over 150 items. Check out all of the wonderful offerings…art and handcrafted items, vacation rentals, special experiences, delicious treats, ski gear, clothing, and accessories…and watch for new arrivals. There is something special for everyone and we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to all of our sponsors and supporters for their generous contributions.

Funds raised in NENSA's annual auction are crucial for advancing our mission and directly support daily operations beyond what membership and entry fees cover.

The auction runs for two weeks and new items are being added. Please keep an eye on the site and thank you for supporting NENSA!



NENSA is thrilled and honored to be a 2023/24 Share Winter Foundation Grantee. The Share Winter Foundation is a grantmaking organization working to improve the lives, health, and fitness of youth through winter sports, and their generous support helps fund our Nordic Rocks program. In addition to their generous grant contribution, they are also funding new equipment for our Nordic Rocks schools this year through Madshus and Lost Nation R&D, a setup that includes a novel binding design engineered to be compatible with everyday footwear and mounted on a universal touring ski. We are grateful to work with an organization whose mission aligns so closely with our youth mission to introduce young people to the lifelong sport of cross-country skiing, and the many associated health, fitness, and social benefits, in a fun, inclusive, and safe environment.

NENSA is pleased to share that our Annual Fall Event Organizer & TD Seminar will be hosted by the Holderness School on the weekend of December 2 & 3. 

Venues that are hosting an Eastern Cup, the Bill Koch Festival, U16s or Eastern High School Championships are required to send their Chief of Competition and one other representative (ideally the Race Secretary). Popular Series/Zak Cup/Club Cup hosts are not required to attend, but are strongly encouraged. Coaches are also encouraged to join and learn about the latest changes that impact them and their athletes as well growing relationships with event organizers and TDs. Each year we strive to add more meaningful subject matter and activities to the seminar. Topics range from event setup & procedures to rules updates. Highlights of the seminar include group work activities to build knowledge and better race jury relationships as well as video review of rules infractions from the previous season, and networking opportunities.  

Cultural development of sport has always been and continues to be a guiding principle for the work we do at NENSA. This culture is rooted in introductory and community programs that cultivate an engaged and vibrant community. 

NENSA is thrilled to launch a new series of community programs this season that includes opportunities across our region ranging from instructional clinics to adventure and touring formats. These events are family friendly and are for anyone who is looking for non-competitive fun in the snow! 

Women’s XC Ski Day registration is open!!! We are excited to share that this year’s event will be held at Inland Woods + Trails in Bethel, Maine. Registration includes cross-country ski clinics, wax demonstrations, a fantastic prize drawing, a tasty lunch, and a donation to our benefit organization.

THANK YOU TO OUR SILVER SPONSORS

NENSA memberships expire on April 30 and must be renewed annually. Now is a perfect time to check your membership status and take care of your renewal as various announcements of a fun and full winter season are being rolled out!

Membership directly supports 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 your renewal, and for the important support your membership provides!

NENSA membership provides...

• Access to Eastern Cup, Bill Koch Festival, and U16 and Eastern High School Championship events
• Education at Eastern Coaches Conferences and TD/Event Organizer Seminars
• Eligibility for the NENSA Development and Elite Teams and the New England Junior National Team
• Discounted entry to NENSA events
• Scoring and ranking in our Eastern Cup, Popular, and Rollerski series
• NENSA Kickzone and Trail Tales youth newsletter subscriptions
• Exclusive discounts and special offers from NENSA sponsors, continually updated on the Member Benefits page
• Access to the NENSA Gear Swap

U.S. Ski & Snowboard works to provide a safe environment in which athletes can train and compete, free from abuse and inappropriate behavior. Please review U.S. Ski & Snowboard's Athlete Safety policies, the SafeSport Code, and the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies and join us in sustaining a culture of safety.

If you are an athlete who has experienced inappropriate behavior or know of an athlete who has experienced inappropriate behavior, report a concern:

The U.S. Center for SafeSport

Hotline:  833-587-7233

Report:  CLICK HERE

U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Report: CLICK HERE

We all are part of promoting a culture of safety through education, listening, and speaking up.

THANK YOU TO OUR BRONZE SPONSORS

It is a pleasure to welcome BirdieBlue as NENSA's newest sponsor! Please click on the logo to visit their site and learn about this woman led, outdoor adventure brand's mission to upcycle discarded ski clothes into bold accessories entirely made of upcycled, recycled, or compostable materials. What a privilege it is to work in partnership with creative folks whose mission and values are so near and dear. Look for them at our events this season, enjoy a discount for NENSA members (at the Member Benefits link below), and check out some wonderful BirdieBlue items in the NENSA auction!

ON-SNOW EQUIPMENT DEMO DAY

Saturday, December 2, 2023

9:00 AM 3:00 PM

The annual industry demo day is back! Join us on Saturday, December 2nd to check out the latest in ski product from industry leaders like Fischer, Salomon, Atomic, Rossignol, and Madshus, along with retailers like SkiRack and Caldwell Sport. Skis, boots, and poles will be available to demo on our snowmaking loop (and whatever natural snow might be available). 

Support KWCF at The Stifel Killington Cup this Weekend

Killington and Killington World Cup Foundation share a unique partnership with both parties benefiting, but more importantly the northeast community benefits from this partnership. Killington graciously has given the Killington World Cup Foundation exclusive access to VIP ticket sales for the Killington Cup. Through these ticket sales and packages, KWCF is able to give out grants to support access to winter sports in the Northeast. KWCF also pays for the athlete housing at the Killington Cup. Over the last four years this partnership has brought more than one million dollars in incremental resources to the winter sports infrastructure in the region and engaged over 10,000 participants in our grantee’s programs! There are 18 World Cups and the Killington Cup along with Killington World Cup Foundation is the only one giving back to the community.

Welcome to Best Nordic Ski Great Escapes, a new quality travel resort guide for cross-country ski lovers the world over who are eager for travel, adventure, romance, and to explore nature. Featuring many top spots across Canada and the USA, there’s a great selection of venues with fabulous coverage of trails, lodging, dining, events, attractions etc. along with superb photos. A must for all passionate and committed x-c skiers this one-of-a-kind travel guide is a great partner to help you plan your next great escape.

Take advantage of our NENSA 30% discount and pay only $6.95 (reg. $9.95).

Episode 4: Ben Ogden Unfiltered (now with good audio quality)

by Nordic Insights | November 10, 2023

When I pre-listen to these podcasts to write these blurbs for the site, I do so as a fan as well as as an editor. I need to know what the episode says to be able to write something helpful about it, of course, but also I find this stuff interesting — this is something I would listen to anyway, even if this weren’t my job — and I want to see what I can learn from it, as a skier and a ski fan.

All of which is a roundabout way to say that my notes file for this episode is roughly 2,000 words long. Ben Ogden is a great interview, and he held back little here.

Would you like to know what advice Ogden has for young skiers? How he worked to recalibrate his mental preparation when moving from college skiing to the World Cup? What changes he thinks FIS should make to race formats to increase the entertainment value of its television product? The one crazy thing he really wants to ask Klæbo about his dominance?

It almost seems unfair that the man who is currently the brightest star in American men’s skiing is probably its most interesting, and certainly its most unassuming, but there you have it.

Six Nordic Athletes Announced for American Team at 2024 Winter Youth Olympics

by Nordic Insights | November 17, 2023

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has recently announced the six American junior skiers, three men and three women, who will represent the U.S. at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea.

Per a USSS press release, the athletes and their club affiliations are:

Women:

Sydney Drevlow, Loppet Nordic Racing

Neve Gerard, Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation

Rose Horning, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail

Men:

Benjamin Barbier, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club

Tabor Greenberg, Green Mountain Valley School

Landon Wyatt, Bridger Ski Foundation

Jessie Diggins on the 2023/2024 Season: Taking Care of Her Mental Health, and Taking Things Day by Day

by Nordic Insights | November 20, 2023

A preseason press conference in professional sport — and I make this observation with nothing but immense gratitude for any athlete who gives up their time to take questions from the unwashed media — is not typically your best venue for new news or unexpected insights. Athlete A has had a strong summer of training. Athlete B has made some real gains in the weight room. Athlete C is really excited for the season ahead. Real gripping stuff. Again, no snark here, at all, to the athletes who are gamely answering these questions; rather it can just be hard to find real news about sports when the games haven’t started yet.

Keep that full weight of generic expectation in mind when you listen to Jessie Diggins’s opening remarks at her 2023/2024 preseason press conference, held earlier today before an international Zoom audience of roughly two dozen reporters. Here’s the opening statement from a universally beloved, multi-time Olympic medalist:

Editorial: Matt Whitcomb On Why You Should Support the NNF Drive for 25

by Nordic Insights | November 21, 2023

This is Tuesday. It is the second day of Drive for 25, the flagship fundraising program of the National Nordic Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports developing American skiers.

I talked with Matt Whitcomb, the head coach of the U.S. Ski Team, earlier today about why NNF is important, and about why supporting NNF supports American skiing. If you don’t read a single additional word of this interview and just go here and donate $25 (or more) to NNF right now, neither Matt nor I would be offended. In fact, speaking as someone who just spent the last hour transcribing this, I would consider that time very well spent. Go donate now!

Once you come back from donating, you should read the rest of this article. My questions are in bold; Whitcomb’s answers are in roman text. Go team.

Ben Ogden’s New YouTube Channel

As you might expect from this guy, Ben’s doing blogs differently! Here’s the latest video account of what is going on in Ben Ogden’s life. Make sure you subscribe and let him know via YouTube what you want to see more of. We are excited to follow Ben on this year’s FIS World Cup.

How to Watch 2023-24 Cross Country World Cup

by Leann Bentley | November 15, 2023

The 2023-24 Cross Country World Cup season is officially upon us, with the first event slated for Nov. 24, in Ruka, Finland. This season includes the first FIS Cross Country World Cup in the United States in over 23 years - the 2024 Loppet Cup presented by Stifel, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Feb. 17-19. 

Use the table below to stay updated on events and how to watch information, for both domestic and international races.

THANK YOU TO OUR OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS

New England Nordic Ski Association

P.O. Box 97

Lyme, NH 03768

Phone: 802-331-0762