The Nordic Rocks program has brought cross-country skiing to
hundreds of school P.E. classes in the Midwest and New England.
Cross Country Skier Magazine 45.1 | By Peggy Shinn
The kids came running onto the play-ground in their snow boots and snow suits, but not for recess. These first graders at Northwest Elementary School
in Rutland, Vermont, were outside for their physical education class, and—thanks to the New England Nordic Ski Association’s (NENSA) Nordic Rocks program—they
were going to learn to cross-country ski on a snowy February day.
P.E. teacher Bryan Cupoli takes recess outside with the Nordic Rocks program. Phillip Belena
After a short introduction by their P.E. teacher Bryan Cupoli—who reminded them that “we can do hard things, and we are going to challenge ourselves today”—the kids each found a pair of Madshus skis lined up on the snow.
“We are going to fall, and that’s OK—we’re going to get back up!” Cupoli enthused, before Mackenzie Rizio, NENSA’s youth and introductory program director, took over with the first lesson: Dead Bug!
Like dead bugs, the kids flopped on the snow, rolled onto their backs, lifted skis
in the air, and proceeded to learn how to get back up (tip sideways, push yourself up with your hands, stand up). With that lesson mastered (mostly), the kids then learned to step turn on their skis, glide around the play-ground and play Simon Says—with lots of opportunities to employ the new Dead
Bug get-up-off-the-snow technique. Some giggled and shrieked with delight, others focused intently on gliding without falling.
“Don’t pick up your feet, it’s not like walking,” Rizio said as she demonstrated
the glide. “Instead of picking up your feet, push them forward to glide. Your knees and ankles are like springs.”
By the end of the lesson, one child gushed, “I’m so excited to go skiing!”
Another exclaimed, “I want to cross-country ski all winter!”
While it might seem fitting that Vermont kids are learning to cross-country
ski, it has become a rarity. Many children in the Rutland community—and other towns in snowy climates—do not have the opportunity to experience winter sports. They don’t have the exposure to cross-country skiing, or their families lack the funds to pursue the sport.
“Nordic Rocks is a literal introduction in the school yard to a winter sport that embraces our region’s offerings and traditions,” says NENSA’s executive director Heidi Lange. “It’s about health and lifestyle, getting outdoors in winter, staying healthy and active.”
IN THE BEGINNING…
The Nordic Rocks program was developed by Central Cross-Country Skiing (CXC)
board member John Hugus in the Midwest over a decade ago. During its #rst season (2013-2014), CXC used a grant from the National Winter Sports Education Foundation (NWSEF)—started by U.S. Ski Team board members to expand opportunities for youth to get into winter sports—to bring Nordic Rocks to 15 schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The following year, another NWSEF grant allowed CXC to further expand the program in the Midwest.
In 2015, Olympian Andy Newell brought the program to three schools in southern Vermont and introduced about 300 kids in grades K-6 to cross-country
skiing. Newell had been helping NWSEF—rebranded the Share Winter Foundation in 2019—expand Nordic skiing opportunities to youth in New England.
NENSA began administering the program in New England in 2016, while CXC still
runs it in the Midwest and Colorado, where it has expanded to 116 schools.
[Left] A young participant shows off her pole-free technique. [Right] NENSA junior development director Isabel Caldwell holds a lesson on fishscales. Phillip Belena, both photos
It is inspiring to see the smiles on the kids’ faces as they glide their skis for the first time.
NENSA’s Nordic Rocks program has also grown and is now offered in 61 schools
in New England, bringing the sport to 7,307 kids in grades K-6 each year. Northeast and Northwest Elementary Schools in Rutland are two of the newest.
“Many of these kids would never have an opportunity to try cross-country skiing,”
says Cupoli. “It’s about exposure and about getting them outdoors in winter.”
“By breaking down barriers to winter recreation, this initiative is not just about skiing—it’s about empowerment, inclusivity, and ensuring every child has the chance to embrace the magic of the winter in New England,” says Rizio.
NORDIC ROCKS XC SKI BINDINGS
Key to the Nordic Rocks program is the unique binding that allows kids to strap on the skis wearing their regular snow boots—cross-country ski boots not required. The result (besides teachers not having to schlep myriad pairs of boots around): Kids don’t use valuable lesson time trying on and lacing up ski boots. They can strap on the skis no matter what’s on their feet—although Crocs do not work very well.
At the Rutland program, one girl wore pink sparkly Ugg boots while one boy had beefy well-insulated snowmobile boots. With a few clicks on the binding base plate, the universal bindings—designed by biathlon rifle and equipment manufacturer Lost Nation R&D in Vermont—adjust to any foot size, and both the rigid base plate and silicone straps hold boots to the skis without lateral slippage.
Through grants from the Killington World Cup Foundation and Share Winter Foundation—and, for the Rutland program, a donation from Casella Waste Systems—NENSA purchases about 300 pairs of 127-cm Madshus skis at cost from the company every year, and Lost Nation mounts the proprietary bindings. Skis are allocated to schools based on maximum class size—usually 15 to 20 pairs, enough so that every student in each P.E. class has a pair, plus the teachers and volunteers. Since the bindings are adjustable, one group of skis can be used by all classes in the same school, and schools keep the skis as long as they are participating in Nordic Rocks.
“We have an active wait-list,” says Lange. “We allocate the amount of equipment that we can fund, and we just keep our interest form and our wait-list going on a rolling basis.”
“It’s an amazing program that fits perfectly with the Killington World Cup Foundation’s mission to increase access to winter sports to youth in New England,” adds Killington World Cup Foundation executive director Lynn Boynton. “It is inspiring to see the smiles on the kids’ faces as they glide their skis for the first time.”
The only downside: Many kids only have P.E. class once a week, and often for less than 45 minutes.
Back in Rutland, on a cloudy day in February, the afternoon P.E. session combined the two first grade classes. With an hour to play on skis, the kids were climbing up a small incline and, hands on their knees, gliding back down. A few “dead bugs” lay giggling in the snow.
As one girl climbed the hill for another run, she looked at Rizio and announced that she had skied before, “but not cross-country.”
When Rizio asked how she liked it, the girl’s face lit up.
“This is much funner!”
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