Greetings NENSA Community,

This is an exciting time of the season; one that energizes and inspires us every day at NENSA as we report on and plan consecutive events. A number of opportunities this past weekend welcomed skiers from every segment of our regional, national, and N. American communities - novice and seasoned, young and mature alike! Whatever your role - participant, athlete, coach, parent, volunteer, official, community or event organizer, mentor, sponsor, or fan - thank you for making New England skiing special.

In this week’s KickZone

• Craftsbury Marathon Ski Festival & Supertour: Registration Deadline 7pm TODAY
• Stratton Terrain Challenge: January 27
• Food, Friends, and Festivity at the 2024 Tour de Stowe
• Classic Conditions Welcomed Skiers at the 2024 White Mountain Classic
• SuperTour/EC Racing in Lake Placid Highlights the strength of North American XC Skiing
• Putney Youth Double-Feature
• The John Ogden Youth and Introductory Program Endowment
• NENSA Launches New Para Skiing Resources Page
• Para Nordic Intro Clinic at the Weston Ski Track: January 27
• New England BKL Festival Update
• FIS Webinar: Training the Female Athlete
• Membership
• Scenes from the NENSA Community

From Our Partners

• Bivo: Nanoplastics: A Closer Look at What's in Your Water
• Toko: Latest News
• Best Nordic Ski Great Escapes: NENSA offer
• Nordic Skater: Youth Ski Packages for NENSA members

In The News

• Conway Daily Sun: Nordic Tracks: What can a Nordic ski club do for the community?
• Nordic Insights: Episode 8: Zach Caldwell Waxes Poetic on Ski Waxing
• Portland Press Herald: Yarmouth native makes history as youngest American to win World Cup cross-country ski race

All of us at NENSA 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!

Stratton Terrain Challenge returns for the third year at the Stratton Nordic Center as part of NENSA’s Popular Race calendar. With support from the Stratton Mountain School Nordic ski team, West River BKL and the Putney Ski Club, you can look forward to a fun and challenging “terrain challenge” freestyle race. There’ll be tight corners, swerving downhills, dips and loops, and plenty of ups and downs on a course that will keep your heart pumping. This grassroots event has a great festive atmosphere. It certainly one you want to make sure to experience! This event is part of the NENSA Zak Cup and Club Cup Series.

Saturday morning greeted skiers with still air and a crisp -18C temperature, which rose slightly through the day. It really felt several degrees warmer and the day proceeded smoothly. 389 racers toed the line for Sprint Qualifying in the morning. The afternoon was quite busy with over four hours of Open, U18/U20 & U16 heats. The final climb “Grindhouse Hill” proved to be the decisive moment in many of the heats. However, we saw some of the tightest sprint finishes in an Eastern Cup in recent memory with many groups of four to six athletes battling in the final 150m.

Sunday proved to be another chilly but wonderful day, with blue sky and lots of sun. Skiers contested the 3.3km loop for the 10km and 2.5km loop for the 5km Mass Start races. To say these are hard is an understatement – these really are grueling World Cup courses with fast downhills. Skiers should be proud that they performed well on them! One of the themes of the day was the strength and depth of the Canadian skiers. Many of them crossed the border to join the weekend’s racing. They proved to be very good classic skiers, providing a good challenge for our New England and New York athletes – which brings to mind our hashtag #SkiingBetterTogether.

Over the last eight years, NENSA’s Nordic Rocks program has introduced thousands of children in the Northeast to the joy of cross country skiing with their teachers and classmates, and shared the health and lifestyle benefits associated with exercise and outdoor fun.

Generously funded by the Share Winter Foundation and the Killington World Cup Foundation, the overarching goal of this program is to provide all children with an opportunity to ski.

Beyond a structured and fun introduction, another key aim of this program has always been to identify and facilitate connections between school programs and nearby youth programs in order to provide a pathway and the support necessary for ongoing participation in the sport. In Putney last week, thanks to the vision and energy of community members, a new Nordic Rocks program was launched and a partnership formed with the local club.

There have been a lot of changes in the Para skiing world with the FIS becoming the new governing body for the various Para ski sports over the last few months. The general theme is to integrate Para and non-Para athletes as much as possible. At NENSA, we have been paying attention to this development and have been encouraging local event organizers to offer Para clinics and races in conjunction with other events they already doing. The more conversations we have had, the more it has become obvious that we need a central resources page for our region. Today we are unveiling the page linked below which includes information on organizations, events, tools, and some great skiers to follow on social media.

A big thank you to the staff of US Para Nordic for been very helpful compiling resources and creating opportunities. We want to encourage anyone with a Para athlete in their life to reach out to our regional and/or national partners for opportunities to become involved or to better support this amazing group of skiers!

THANK YOU TO OUR SILVER SPONSORS

Women are not small men. However, they are often considered so because of lack of research and popular understanding of their biology and physiology. The FIS sub-committee Women Nordic Disciplines is happy to announce the launch of a new webinar series addressing the crucial theme of Training the female athlete.

This series of webinars intends to provide an advanced and up-to-date scientific knowledge about a wide range of female-specific topics and will offer all participants the opportunity to ask questions to some of the main experts in the field. The webinar series is open to everyone. The programme will run from 16th January to 17th December 2024.

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

Nanoplastics: A Closer Look at What's in Your Water

by Bivo | January 24, 2024

A few years back, Robby and I were in the thick of parenting chaos (still are with #2) with our little bottle-challenged daughter, Svea. She was on a mission to reject every bottle in sight. We had to test bottle after bottle and always hated the idea of feeding her out of plastic. We appreciate her stubbornness but damn, that was a stressful one! Thankfully, she finally gave in and went straight to a glass sippy cup that was a win for all of us.

In our quest to avoid plastic for Svea, a light bulb moment struck. Every time we exercised, we were sipping from plastic, gahh! That's when Bivo was born – and the category of performance hydration was addressed.

Fast forward to two weeks ago when a nanoplastics bomb dropped, thanks to researchers out to Columbia University. Turns out, these microscopic troublemakers can play hide-and-seek in your body – from intestines to brains. We know far too little about what this actually does to our bodies and a lot more research needs to be done.

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).

Youth Ski Packages!

Introductory Junior Classic Package

Classic Fishscale Skis, Bindings, Poles, Classic Boots - $250

Junior Race Classic

Classic Skin Skis, Bindings, Poles, Combi Boots - $450

Junior Race Skate

Skate Skis, Bindings, Poles, Combi Boots - $450

Contact AJ Parks and provide your NENSA membership number: (603) 763-2727

Nordic Tracks: What can a Nordic ski club do for the community?

by Sally McMurdo | January 19, 2024

In Jackson Ski Touring Foundation’s daily emails, I spotted an event that sounded interesting — “Ski and Snacks.” Originally scheduled for Dec. 29, it was rescheduled to Jan. 15t, Martin Luther King Day, because of the lack of snow. This event was part of the New England Nordic Ski Association’s “Community Tours and Events Series.”

“XC Ski & Snacks Tour is a group event for individuals, friends groups and families who want to have a little fun on snow and ski to the Cocoa Cabin together, in loose groups,” the event was described as. “There will be guides to lead groups and help with ‘break out groups’ along the way as skiers settle into their own comfortable pace. The turn-around goal is the Cocoa Cabin, making for a 5K round trip. We will have marshmallows to roast along with cocoa at the Cabin (of course). We are working on some toasting treats to enjoy at the fire pit upon return to the Touring Center.”

It sounded like a fun event, especially for families, but there was more to it than that. A special guest skier was to attend. Mackenzie Rizio, the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) youth and introductory program director was coming to talk to participants about Nordic ski clubs.

Episode 8: Zach Caldwell Waxes Poetic on Ski Waxing

by Nordic Insights | January 24, 2024

Ancient Romans used the phrase ab ovo usque ad mala (“from egg to apples”) to describe the complete course or duration of a process or event. The idiom refers to the full sweep of the traditional Roman meal, which would begin with eggs and end with apples, or some other fruit. If you do not have an erstwhile Classics degree like this reporter you may be more familiar with the phrase “from soup to nuts,” which describes the same thing, but in American. The latter term is well over a century old by this point, but is also in English; it may not be in a “hip” argot that “trends on TikTok,” but at least you can understand it.

All of which is to say: This episode is an eggs-to-apples, soup-to-nuts masterclass in ski preparation with Zach Caldwell, longtime proprietor of Caldwell Sport. Note that I did not say “ski waxing”; Zach Caldwell does not do something so plebeian as to “wax” a ski. (Actually, he literally does precisely this, all the damn time, but bear with me, I’m making a point here.) Zach Caldwell divines a ski’s properties, thinks about what he knows about local ski conditions and snow characteristics historically, cross-references this with snow conditions this hour/day/week/fortnight/decade, considers the genealogy of this particular ski, casts some runes, consults a nearby haruspex, and only then starts testing paraffins.

… or maybe you just want to be told that you only need to hotwax your skis every 100 kilometers’ worth of skiing, and can get away with liquid paraffins most of the rest of the time. Caldwell will tell you that, too.

Seriously, though, there is a heck of a lot of good information here, and it in fact truly does take a potentially opaque and offputting subject and present it in a simple and straightforward manner.

Yarmouth native makes history as youngest American to win World Cup cross-country ski race

by Travis Lazarczyk | January 18, 2024

When the rest of the competition was fighting fatigue, skier Sophia Laukli was hitting her stride.

Laukli, a Yarmouth native who represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics, showed off her hill-climbing ability in the final stage of the Tour de Ski cross-country race at Val di Fiemme, Italy, on Jan. 7.

She powered past the competition for her first victory on the World Cup tour, winning the women’s 10-kilometer mass start freestyle race in 38 minutes, 16.5 seconds – 17.1 seconds ahead of Heidi Weng of Norway.

At 23, Laukli became the youngest American and first Mainer to win a World Cup cross-country ski race.

“It really couldn’t have gone any better,” Laukli said via phone from Oslo, Norway, her home while she competes on the World Cup tour as a member of Team USA. “It took a second to soak in that I’d won. … I definitely just like climbing. It’s pure fitness and endurance, and less technical and tactics. Everyone else finds it the hardest race, but for me, I love it.”

THANK YOU TO OUR OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS

New England Nordic Ski Association

P.O. Box 97

Lyme, NH 03768

Phone: 802-331-0762