Between August 3 – 9, the woods and select stretches of pavement near Stratton Mountain School were bustling with the energy of kids from around the Northeast, and from as far away as Colorado and California. NENSA got to contribute to one of those days by hosting an agility course complete with starts, single and double leg slaloms, loops, off-roading, over-unders, and a new hairpin turn glideout challenge, introduced by our Competitive Program Director, Ben Theyerl.
On their last morning of camp, SMS BKL Camp participants were the first to zip through the course. Testing skills they had practiced during their previous days at SMS, and tackling newly-introduced challenges, they wound their way around the Sun Bowl parking lot using chalk arrows and cones as their guides. Before enjoying a pre-departure lunch, they also spent some time with NENSA’s Youth & Introductory Program Director, Mackenzie Rizio, learning about the awesome network of ski programs across New England, why team matters, and a little bit about our “why.”
Then, the BKLers rolled out and the Juniors rolled in. Some extra challenges were added to the agility course, and the experienced Junior skiers strutted their stuff. Man, those kids were talented, demonstrating how New England’s collective efforts to train agility have certainly borne fruit. At the same time, a number of Juniors were just getting their ski legs under them, rising to the challenges associated with skiing on wheels.
Camp visits are one of our favorite parts of the summer because they’re a chance to see so many familiar faces, reconnect with friends and coaches from across the region, and spend time with the many different clubs and communities that make up the NENSA network.
After a grand flurry of activity, the Juniors skied back to SMS and quiet descended on the Sunbowl once again.
