This past winter, young skiers all across the east from Buffalo, NY to Moosehead, ME participated in NENSA’s second annual virtual XC Ski Bingo game completing activities ranging from night skiing to backcountry skiing to three-legged skiing. This year, with open borders, everyone participated on one card although participants could get Bingo by completing a row or column of activities without leaving their home state or their own backyard! Participation grew this year with 71 unique participants skiing in 6 states (MA, ME, NH, NY, VT, and WI) in 2 countries (US and Canada) at 64 different ski areas! The smiles and stories shared by participants were inspiring and heartwarming, and we were truly excited to see how many young people got outside to play on their skis.
Like last year, we think the participants and their families tell their stories better themselves. So without further delay, here is some of what they had to share:
“Our backcountry ski was right out our front door and to some tree farm trails we have never explored before! It was so much fun and felt adventurous even though we were close to home.”
“Love racing my sisters up the hills!”
“I loved playing ‘Fire In The Forest’ with my friends in Bill Koch club! I made pizza for a snack when I went backcountry skiing with my sister. I like cold pizza and cold snow.”
“So exciting trying night skiing for the first time, we loved it!!!”
“We had fun building jumps with our BKL club after the big snow storm!”
“Saw a horse and cows while skiing!!!”
“I am lucky because I get to ski two or three times every week. My grandma let me use her trail tracker app to log how many miles we ski.”
“We made a family human slalom course and didn’t use our poles all day! It was hard work but really fun.”
“I was able to ski with Gretchen the Grouse at Prospect.”
“Had a blast at Alleghany winter cabins this year on open trails to skijour with the dog!”
“My brother and I would “compete” at our Bill Koch practices to see who could complete the most items on our Bingo list. This is my first time skiing and I really love my Bill Koch friends. I even raced for the first time at the Festival this weekend and had a great time!”
“I kept asking Mom to bring me to the lantern ski at Great Brook, but there was no snow when we were able to go. I was so determined to night ski that I took my skis and hit the trails behind my house.”
“Zeke knew that he needed to ski to the high point to get Bingo, so it provided the extra encouragement to push a little farther on a beautiful day. The reward was a super fun downhill where he squealed with delight and finished with a huge smile on his face. And his 3.5 year old brother, who was being pulled in a chariot, also loved the fun and fast downhill. Family memories to cherish and finish the ski season on a very high note!”
“My favorite bingo activity was the 3-legged race! My friend and I did it and tried to skate! Classic would’ve been a better choice, but it was so fun! We laughed so hard the whole time! I thought we were going to fall over from laughing.”
We are grateful to the families and ski areas that supported participants in their many activities. And we are also grateful our NENSA sponsors for providing fantastic Bingo raffle prizes.
Click below for an album with more Bingo photos to see what the players have been up to all winter and happy spring!
