Greetings NENSA Community,

It’s mid-January, winter has finally arrived in New England, and the range of event offerings this week truly exemplifies our mission to support an active cross country ski community “for all ages and levels throughout the East”.

The historic Stowe Mini-Marathon has been reimagined as the Tour de Stowe, a Community Festival and part of the NENSA Community Tours and Events series. The Tour features levels of challenge for all ages and abilities, trailside snacks, an Expo, equipment demos, multiple raffles, and an Austrian celebration in the Bierhall. Other events this weekend include the White Mountain Classic Marathon where bragging rights will be awarded to the top Club and the top State on the day, and the Lake Placid Eastern Cup and U.S. Ski & Snowboard Supertour, the event likely to feature the largest, most competitive fields in our region this season.

Whatever your age or ability, we hope you’ll find just the right opportunity to come join us in officially welcoming Winter, 2024!

In this week’s KickZone

• Tour de Stowe - Saturday
• White Mountain Classic - Sunday
• Eastern Cup #2 and US Ski & Snowboard Supertour - Saturday/Sunday
• Women's Day Registration closes FRIDAY
• John Ogden Youth and Introductory Program Endowment
• NENSA Launches 2024 Nordic Rocks Season
• NTS/NENSA Tech Talk 1.0
• Bogburn Legacy Continues at Rikert
• 48th Annual Geschmossel Recap
• XC Ski and Snacks Recap
• FIS Webinar: Training the Female Athlete
• NENSA Community Tours & Events
• Membership
• Scenes from the NENSA Community

From Our Partners

• Bivo: Performance and Fun - Why They Matter
• Toko: Latest News
• Cross Country Skier Magazine Tour de Trail, 1st Stop: Tour de Stowe
• Nordic Skater: Youth Ski Packages for NENSA members

In The News

• US Ski & Snowboard: 2024 Cross Country U18, Junior World Championships, and U23 Teams Announced
• NNF: U18 Nordic Nation's Trip Lands in Falun, Sweden, for Races this Weekend
• FasterSkier: US Team Announced for Period 3 World Cups
• FasterSkier: Sophia Laukli - One on One

Have a wonderful week!

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!

The next stop in the NENSA Community Tours and Events series is the Tour de Stowe, an Austrian extravaganza featuring skiing through the Trapp Family Lodge countryside, schnitzel, cider, blueberry soup, a vendor expo, raffle, ski demos, and so much more…

Co-hosted by Stowe Nordic and NENSA, this new festival is a re-imagining of the Stowe Mini-Marathon of years past. Course options for everyone welcome all generations of skiers!

BKL and reduced-junior entries can enjoy a supported ski featuring blueberry soup and doughnuts, try equipment demos at Cross Country Skier Magazine's first stop along their Tour de Trail (with raffle proceeds benefitting NENSA's youth programming), and return to the warmth of the Yurt for cider from Cold Hollow and a Vendor Expo featuring our good friends from Skida, BirdieBlue, Mountain Road Outfitters, and Cabot.

Adult participants in the 12km and 20km tours are additionally invited to a community celebration in the Bierhall with schnitzel, bratwurst, pretzels, and local beer and a raffle featuring generous donations from Swix that include a wax table, ski and boot bags, and waxes/supplies.

The hills truly are alive, heralding in winter with a blanket of fresh snow. Some minor schedule and course adjustments have been made, all updated in SkiReg, for a later/warmer start and sheltered courses.

Proceeds go to the Stowe Nordic Foundation and will support youth nordic programs in Vermont.

Skiing, friends, delicious food, fun products, and a community celebration in the Bierhall are certainly a few of our favorite things and we look forward to seeing you!

The word on the street is the skiing is getting really nice at JacksonXC – just in time for the White Mountain Classic! A long time favorite of Master skiers, this event doubles as the NENSA 1 Day Club and State Championships – this is the first year both categories are being contested. All age groups, Senior through M12+ can contribute to State and Club scores. The key to success is wide diversity, so gather as many club teammates and in-state ski friends to boost your scores this year. This event is part of the NENSA Zak Cup and Club Cup Series and the first event in the NENSA Marathon Series. In addition to great scenery and trails, this event offers a great post race meal and extended opportunities for camaraderie.

Eastern Cup skiing resumes at Mount Van Hoevenberg this weekend! Skiers from all over the Northeast and Eastern Canada will gather to test themselves on the new World Cup trails. The weekend is an all classic skiing affair, with lots of Sprint heats for juniors on Saturday in addition to the Open rounds, as well as Mass Start action on Sunday. 

Please note that the 2024 Women’s Day event has only a few spots remaining!

Inland Woods + Trails has 7km of skiable terrain and it is sure to be another spectacular event this year. There is no day-of registration this year and we will not be accepting day of substitutions for folks who are no shows. Thanks for understanding!

Registration closes Friday at 7:00pm.

Snow is falling all over New England, and our NENSA Nordic Rocks skis are enroute to their new homes in schools in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. This year, NENSA is thrilled to share that we are nearly doubling our program to include a total of 47 new and returning schools, and serving 6,090 children. Check out the below video that highlights the impact the NENSA Nordic Rocks program has on the schools that are enrolled.

We are especially excited to announce a fresh, all new injected-molded binding design for this year from Lost Nation R&D, for mounting on Madshus skis. Stay tuned, we will be sharing the thought behind the innovative design by Lost Nation R&D soon!

A big thank you to the Share Winter Foundation and Killington World Cup Foundation for funding this program and helping us get more children outside on skis.

While we cannot accept any additional new schools for the 2023-24 season, we can add you to our school waitlist for the 2024-25 season if your school is interested in joining the program.

Andy Newell developed as a skier through NENSA programming, Prospect Mountain and the Stratton Mountain School. He went on to become a 4x Olympian and now shares his passion for sport though coaching the Bridger Ski Foundation Pro Team as well as running Nordic Team Solutions. His impacts on American Skiing are widespread and perhaps the best part about Andy is his love of playing on skis.

One component of playing on skis happens to be cutting edge technique work.

Andy joined forty NENSA coaches last week, sharing insight into new ways to look at technique — and fielded questions from coaches of a wide background.

NENSA will be sharing an edited version of the NTS / NENSA Tech Talk shortly on our YouTube channel (make sure to like:) and Coaches Resource Page. We are thrilled to work with Mr. Newell and NTS and look forward to future collaborations. For anyone on the talk or some who might have missed it, make sure to say hello this weekend at the Lake Placid SuperTour / Eastern Cup.

#skiingbettertogether

The snow gods, the Haydock’s, and the Rikert Outdoor Center made an exceptional event for well over 200 participants. This was the 35th edition of the Bogburn, an event steeped in celebrating the roots of cross country skiing — and the second running of the event in Ripton. Traditionally held in Pomfret, Vermont on a single track, the event needed some new legs due to climate change — Rikert’s robust snowmaking system, and the Frost Mountain Ski Club have stepped up to carry on the legacy of this event.

JacksonXC was the host of the 3rd event in the Community Tours and Event Series. It was a bright, beautiful day for a round-trip tour to Jackson’s Cocoa Cabin. Our participants ranged in experience and age, from a first-time cross country skier all the way to an EISA skiing alum, now mother to some young XC skiing enthusiasts. The group met at the touring center and then started out towards the Cocoa cabin. We glided through the woods, chatting and exchanging our favorite riddles.

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. The first webinar will be held on 16th January 2024 at 16:00 CET.

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, addressing the following topics:

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

Join us for free demos and fun in the Northeast

Once again, Cross Country Skier magazine and a few of our industry friends are teaming up to

head to some of New England’s top cross country centers for the 2024 Tour de Trail. At each

stop, we will be offering the latest classic and skate skis for demo. Plus, we’ll be selling

raffle tickets to support NENSA’s youth and family programming (drawing will take place

shortly after the last tour stop).

Cross Country Skier magazine’s Tour de Trail is made possible with the support of Salomon, Alpina, Kästle, Madshus and Atomic.

Come on out and meet other Nords for a great day on the trails!

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

2024 Under-18 Cross Country Team Announced

by Leann Bentley | January 17, 2024

U.S. Ski & Snowboard formally announced the 12 athletes that will represent the United States at the U18 Scandinavian trip in Falun, Sweden, Jan. 19-21, 2024. 

The 12 athletes called up to the team were selected based on their strong results in the U.S. National Championships held earlier this month in Soldier Hollow, Utah. The qualified athletes who accepted their nomination will be given the opportunity to race against skiers from around the world in three different events, including both sprint and distance races. 

“We qualify this team at the U.S. National Championships and put the sharpness of that racing fitness to the test again, as a team, six days later,” said Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Development Coach Greta Anderson. “This year, we are at the iconic venue of Falun – the 2027 FIS World Ski Championships venue. For our Under-18 team, it is a great preview of where they could be competing in the future and this all is made possible from the generous support from the National Nordic Foundation (NNF) and the extended cross country community!”

2024 Cross Country Junior World Championships, U23 Team Announced 

by Leann Bentley | January 17, 2024

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has formally announced the 22 athletes representing the United States at the upcoming 2024 FIS World Junior and Under-23 Ski Championships held in Planica, Slovenia, Feb. 5-11, 2024.

The 2024 World Junior and U23 Ski Championships welcome the top junior and U23 cross country skiers from around the nation, including current B and D Team athletes on the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team roster, to a world class venue to compete against the best in the world. Included in the group is two sixth-year veterans of this event, Novie McCabe and Johnny Hagenbuch, and multi-time top-10 World Juniors athlete Sammy Smith, who just completed the entire Tour de Ski at only 18 years old. 

“We have had an amazing year so far at every level for cross country skiing in the U.S. and we have a higher density of athletes than ever before skiing at a higher level,” said Greta Anderson, Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team development coach. “We are bringing a strong and well-rounded team of 22 athletes to Planica. We’re excited about this trip and are very grateful for the support from the entire cross country community and the National Nordic Foundation (NNF).”

U18 Nordic Nation's Trip Lands in Falun, Sweden, for Races this Weekend

by NNF | January 18, 2024

Team USA has landed in Sweden for this year's U18 Nordic Nation's Trip!

Some of the best young skiers from across America are getting their first "World Cup-like" racing experiences at one of the World Cup's premier venues this weekend, racing a skate sprint Friday, before back-to-back 10 k on Saturday (classic) and Sunday (skate).

Bridger Ski Foundation's Natalie Nicholas wrote into NNF ahead of the weekend, with the sights and scenes as the American team has settled down in Falun for a week of all things Swedish, including breakfast spreads, picturesque town, and, of course, some great skiing too!

Action for Team USA kicks off Friday with a Skate Sprint.

US Team Announced for Period 3 World Cups

by Chris Grover | January 15, 2024

Dear Cross Country Community,

We are pleased to announce the Team for Period 3 of the 2023-24 World Cup season:

Sophia Laukli—One on One

by Ken Roth | January 17, 2024

On the last day of the Tour de Ski, Stifel U.S. Ski Team member Sophia Laukli had a first-ever win in a World Cup race. She’s also on pace to have her best season as a professional skier. After the Tour de Ski, the 23 year old Laukli spoke to FasterSkier from her residence in Oslo, Norway. She shared her thoughts about her Tour, climbing Alpe Cermis, how her professional running career is affecting her skiing, and—what she admits are her weaknesses­—Sprinting and Classic races.

THANK YOU TO OUR OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS

New England Nordic Ski Association

P.O. Box 97

Lyme, NH 03768

Phone: 802-331-0762