Greetings NENSA Community,

What a wonderful start to winter we have had here in New England and in opening races around the world! With the development and success of U.S. skiing as a backdrop, we connected with regional grassroots organizers at NENSA’s annual Event Organizer and Technical Delegate Seminar last weekend in Holderness. Presentations and workshops took place over two days at a beautifully upgraded venue thoughtfully designed to host everything from playful youth programs to community gatherings and internationally sanctioned events alike. It was truly a pleasure to connect and learn alongside key volunteers in our community, cogs in a collective machine not always visible on event day.

This, coupled with the generosity of our community through key fundraising events, has my heart full of gratitude and appreciation. Please see below for much more along these lines - and thank you!

In this week’s KickZone

• 2023 NENSA Auction Gratitude
• Event Organizer and Technical Delegate Seminar Recap
• Quarry Road Opener Highlights Maine Community
• On Deck: Rodrigues Sprints and Kendall Memorial
• One-on-One with the Father of Cross-Country Skiing, John Caldwell
• Nordic Team Solutions – Virtual Technique Talk
• Welcome to Bivo, NENSA's Newest Sponsor
• NENSA Women's Day 2024
• NENSA Membership
• NENSA Winter Events Poster
• Scenes from the Community

From Our Partners

• Bivo: An Interview with Professional Nordic Skier, Ben Ogden
• LL Bean: Maine Outdoor Film Festival
• Sidas: Custom Insoles
• Garnet Hill Lodge: Lodging offer for NENSA members
• Skida: Skida Founder: Corinne Prevot | Trailblazer
• Toko Newsletter

In The News

• Nordic Insights: Norway Continues Relay Dominance as U.S. Men Take Historic Fifth
• Nordic Insights: Sweden Wins, U.S.A. Women Third, as Relays Return to Gällivare
• FasterSkier: U.S. Takes Third in Women’s Relay

I hope you are enjoying wonderful early season conditions this week and I look forward to seeing you soon.

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!

Our sincere thanks goes to everyone who contributed to a very successful 2023 NENSA auction. The collective efforts of our sponsors and supporters who provided an array of wonderful items, talents, and services, all bidders, ambassadors who shared our site and posts, and our staff and board, in particular our auction committee, raised over $28,000 and exceeded our goal!

Thank you!

This event is truly a community building exercise. Event organizers, volunteers, officials, some coaches and NENSA staff spend the weekend building relationships through activities and personal interactions, which improve our ability to work together successfully to put on events all across the region. We are very grateful to have such an engaged community helping to support the grass roots of our sport. A huge thank is deserved for all the presenters and group leaders who invested their time and expertise to make this a very successful Event Organizer and TD Seminar. Many thanks are also due to the Holderness School, its coaches and local athletes who worked with us to host this event!

Pat Cote and the Quarry Road Ski Club seemingly have created a utopic culture along the banks of the Messalonskee Stream in Waterville, Maine. However, the “magic” of creating a winter oasis for cross country skiing in early December is much rather a product of many years learning and hard work. On Sunday, despite there being no natural snow in the region — well over 100 skiers took to an expertly groomed loop of one point five kilometers of manmade snow in south-central Maine.

Snow is falling, excitement is growing and the winter season is getting underway! Skiing events are beginning to happen as well. Coming up this weekend we have the Rodrigues Sprints and Kendall Memorial races at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. These are a great opportunity to freshen up the skiing legs in preparation for the racing season ahead. Both are freestyle events and will be scored on the NENSA Zak and Club rankings.

THANK YOU TO OUR SILVER SPONSORS

It’s such a pleasure to welcome NENSA’s newest sponsor, Bivo!

Sponsorships are partnerships and we are incredibly fortunate at NENSA to work with wonderful individuals and businesses who share a commitment to our sport and community.

The first stainless steel cycling and ski water bottle with a flow rate fit for astronauts (no really, their engineer worked for NASA). Founded by a former NENSA skier, the Bivo team knows the importance of fast hydration!

Recently, Bivo shared their experiences with cross country skiing in New England and the power of sport for girls. We found Carina's reflections poignant:

All NENSA members are eligible for free ground shipping. Thank you Bivo!

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

An Interview with Professional Nordic Skier, Ben Ogden

by Bivo | November 29, 2023

Nordic skiing has a special place in my heart and always will. I was basically born into the sport and most of my strong memories as a child include two skinny skis under foot. When we moved back to Vermont, we had the pleasure of meeting Ben Ogden. Ben is a professional cross country ski racer who loves to have fun, make others laugh and is damn fast. Last season, he ended the World Cup circuit as the top U23 male skier in the entire world. That, my friends, is remarkable, and it's so fun to watch.

Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023

Time: doors at 5:30 PM, films start at 6:30 PM

Location: The State Theatre, Portland Maine

Ticket Info:

Advance Tickets: Adults: $15 (+ Service Fee), buy online Here.

Advance Tickets: Adults: $15, Under 18: $10, purchase in-person with no fees at STATE THEATRE BOX OFFICE (open Fridays 10am-5pm and 1 hour before any show)

Day-Of Tickets: Adults: $20. Under 18: $15

Group Pricing: For groups of six or more CLICK HERE

Lodging Offer for NENSA Members

NENSA members receive free 20% discount off standard published rates from Jan 2 through Jan 18 and during all of March.

Contact Garnet Hill Lodge, provide your 2023-24 NENSA membership number to make a reservation, and present your valid NENSA member card (you receive this on your confirmation email after renewing or joining NENSA) when checking in.

Oboz x Skida | Skida Founder: Corinne Prevot | Trailblazer

Norway Continues Relay Dominance as U.S. Men Take Historic Fifth

by Nordic Insights | December 4, 2023

Let’s take a moment and remember some American men’s relay teams from recent global championships. There were 2023 world champs in Planica, where the Americans finished eighth. There were the 2022 Olympics in Zhangjiakou, where the Americans finished over eight minutes back in ninth. There were 2021 world champs in Oberstdorf (eighth), 2019 world champs in Seefeld (ninth, four minutes back), 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang (eleventh of eleven, nine minutes back).

Candidly, my most enduring memory from that 2018 relay is of Noah Hoffman* heroically going L6 as he approached the stadium two-thirds of the way through his final leg, thereby narrowly avoiding being lapped by Norwegian anchor Johannes Høsflot Klæbo as he sailed in for the win and allowing the Americans to stay on course to finish the race. DFL > DNF, as they say; as someone who has been dead last plenty of times, I like to think there’s something to that.

Sweden Wins, U.S.A. Women Third, as Relays Return to Gällivare

by Nordic Insights | December 3, 2023

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” as well-known cross-country ski fan William Faulkner famously wrote in his how-to guide for klister waxing, Requiem for a Nun.

The American women were racing in the 4 x 7.5km relay against the six other countries and eight other teams out on course on Sunday morning. But they were also racing against themselves, or at least against the memory of The Breakthrough Historical Women’s Relay Podium™ that occurred here in November 2012, and that is all that anyone (including this reporter) could talk about once this stop loomed on the World Cup calendar.

U.S. Takes Third in Women’s Relay

by Ken Roth | December 3, 2023

On Sunday morning in Gallivare, Sweden the World Cup moved on to the women’s 4 x 7.5 kilometer Relay. Even casual fans of nordic skiing know what that means: stakes will be a little higher, motivation will be somewhat hotter, and emotions will be at 11. Even though today’s race isn’t a World Championship or Olympics, you need go no further than to look at team USA’s lineup shuffling to understand the stakes. Gone is the idea of putting Jessie Diggins on one of the last two legs in the hope that she could overcome any deficit. Today would be different . . .

THANK YOU TO OUR OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS

New England Nordic Ski Association

P.O. Box 97

Lyme, NH 03768

Phone: 802-331-0762