Click HERE to read and enjoy! December racing updates | NENSA’s 2020 Club of the Year Award | Year End Giving | Women’s Day postponed to 2/21/21 | BKL Youth BINGO in full swing | December Club Virtual KM Challenge reaches 10,000 km’s to date
NENSA 2020 Club of the Year is Holderness Nordic!
Club of the Year: This award is given annually to honor a NENSA club that is making great strides in supporting the NENSA mission to sustain a vital and active nordic skiing community in New England.
Our NENSA 2020 Club of the Year is Holderness Nordic!
When NENSA hosts an Eastern Cup at Holderness School we know it will be both an outstanding and an inclusive event. The Holderness Nordic race organizers encourage high school racers to join, who typically may have never skied in an Eastern Cup before, as well as also having a robust Masters participation. Holderness Eastern Cups always include BKL races, and in the past few years, they have made a wonderful CXC (cross country cross) course with fun jumps, bumps, gates and tunnels to ski through, even incorporating one of those jumps into our Eastern Cup loop as an option for the older skiers! The Holderness School and the Holderness Nordic Club are intertwined – the coaches, trails, the whole infrastructure – and this full community support shines brightly at every event they do!
The Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup race, always held in February, and historically, our final race of the season, has also been the spot where NENSA typically names our Junior National Team. Holderness Head of School Phil Peck and Holderness Nordic Club Leader Peter Hendel always make sure that there is a fun raffle, filled with lots of great prizes, for ALL participants racing that day, as a fun and inclusive way to keep the celebration going before naming the New England JN Team.
“Holderness always embraced the concept of making a ski race a Festival — recent terrain park additions to BKL and top-junior racing naturally complements the vibe of their events — and helps guide XC Skiing into the future.” Justin Beckwith, NENSA Competitive Program Director
But their commitment to the Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup race is not the only reason that Holderness Nordic Ski Club rose to the top of our NENSA Club Award nominees this year. Holderness Nordic has it all – the staff, the support of the entire school community, and fun “old school” trails. But they are also looking to the future with a new John Morton homologated 2.5k loop and sprint course, snowmaking, and lights all coming to fruition this coming year, thanks to the generosity of an alum. The goal is to still keep the trails playful and fun to ski on!
Holderness Nordic embraces their love of cross country skiing in everything they do. This New Hampshire club of about 30 BKL & middle school athletes and 20 high school athletes has a lot of history surrounding it, and the folks running it. The coaching staff, led by former U.S. Nordic Team Coach Pat Casey, is also remarkable. Current coaches include Olympian Kristina Joder Casey and NENSA trustee Peter Hendel. Head of School Phil Peck, who was also a World Cup skier and Olympic coach, makes time to ski with the team when he can as well.
Fall Training 2020
Thirty-seven years ago Phil Peck came to Holderness from coaching with the US Team. He wanted to coach young athletes and also teach. The only school in the country he wanted to work at was Holderness because of the balance of academic and snow sports excellence. Phil was blessed to coach with wonderful coaches like Dennis Donahue, Steve Gaskill, and Peter Hendel. One challenging snow year during the late 80’s Holderness hosted 3 Eastern Cup Races, the Nordic Combined Championships, and two college carnivals.
While Phil moved out of coaching at Holderness to become head of school 20 years ago, Peter Hendel has never left the program and has been the “quarterback” of 30 Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup races. Before Peter started teaching and coaching at Holderness, he led the club’s Bill Koch program. Now, in “retirement” Peter is the culture keeper of Holderness Nordic. He works with their remarkable Bill Koch Club coordinator (and Holderness graduate) Molly Whitcomb and Frosty Whitworth to support the BKL program and robust middle school program. Peter also assists the terrific Director of the Holderness Nordic Program, Pat Casey, AND he is the assistant groomer. Peter is the behind the scenes force who has given tirelessly of himself to the Holderness school and Nordic Club Program for almost 40 years.
Kristina Casey describes Peter as, “A dream – gentle, kind, gets everything done – he has such a passion for the sport”
Phil sums it up well saying, “Peter Hedel is a rock star. He loves coaching and is super excited about the middle school coaching he is now doing. Peter does not want any attention – he wants to serve.”
Coach Peter Hendel going over some logistics with his team
For the last eleven years, Peter has supported the Holderness School Nordic Head Coach Pat Casey. The Nordic program at Holderness School has a long tradition of producing world-class athletes, and Pat has been an incredible asset to that program. He and his wife, Kristina, have been especially impactful in their outreach to the local community. Working with Molly Whitcomb, they are providing training options for Holderness Nordic Club members, especially middle school and high school, year round. Pat has also played a pivotal role (working with John Morton) in helping Holderness envision how they can transform their playful “old school” trails into a world class facility that still has that Holderness feel. These new trails, and the snowmaking will all be in place for the opening of the 2021-22 ski season.
Coach Pat Casey (center) with Holderness School coaches Disney and Duran
Phil Peck comments, “What I love about Pat is that he is so capable – as a coach and leader. He is unpretentious. As the saying goes – confidence is grounded in humility – Pat exudes that! He has a huge work ethic, never draws attention to himself – it’s all about the kids and making the program better.”
Kristina Casey talks fondly about her husband Pat and Peter Hendel’s working relationship, “They work so well together – they admire each other SO much – it’s business, but it’s not. They are both psyched to being doing what they are doing”
Phil on Peter & Pat as a team: “They energize each other! Peter is continually growing and learning new things – they feed off of each other in a really positive way”
Congratulations to Holderness Nordic, your entire coaching staff and community for being the NENSA 2020 Club of the Year! Holderness Nordic truly is a community and a family affair. Here’s to your incredible past and to your future! Thank you from all of us who have benefited so greatly from your club and your events over the years. We can not thank you enough, and we can’t wait to get out and ski on those new trails a year from now!
Marty & Kathy Hall step up to the plate with a $10k donation and a $10k Challenge for our NENSA programing this season
NENSA would like to thank Marty & Kathy Hall for the wonderful opportunity they have given to NENSA, and our ski community, with the Marty & Kathy Hall $10k Challenge~ The Hall “Mark of Excellence” Award! Not only have they helped NENSA financially with a recent $10k donation, but they are also offering this additional $10k Challenge, which will support both individual athletes and the top school or club. Their generosity will add a great challenge aspect to our competitions this year!
The $10k Challenge is split into two $5k awards ~ spreading their generosity over more programs and athletes:
#1: $5000 will be awarded to the top school or club in New England based on the top 20 overall finishes (20 male & 20 female) for the App Gap Challenge and Lost Nation Roll Rollerski races, four Eastern Cup weekends, and select Popular Races. At the end of the season, the school or club with the most points will be awarded $5000 by the Hall’s.
#2: $5000 will be used for FIS podiums – NENSA will be supporting a robust FIS schedule this season and, thanks to the Halls, awarding cash prizes to top finishers similar to past U.S. & Snowboard SuperTour events and current Nordique Canada FIS events. For the first four FIS races, December – January, this Challenge will offer $1250 per race which will pay out for podiums ($300/$200/$150 per gender). While there is no national SuperTour series this winter, the Hall Challenge will offer our top New England based athletes much deserved monetary awards this season.
In the words of Marty and Kathy, “It is with great pride that we give these dollars to join the fray and journey to international success—we need help though—please join the battle!” Thank you again to the Halls for these very generous donations!
If anyone else is interested in supporting NENSA, and our programing this winter and beyond, please contact Amie Smith, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 781-864-0545.
NENSA COVID-19 Considerations ~ contingency planning for our events and races this coming season
The Covid-19 pandemic poses significant challenges to NENSA’s 2020-21 winter event schedule. We are committed to hosting races and will make every effort to safely put on events in whatever form they might take. Our first objective is to ensure the health of our community in New England. Our second objective is to host our major events: Eastern Cups, Popular Races, U16 and Eastern High School Championships, the Bill Koch Festival, and Women’s Day as scheduled. To further foster excitement and an inclusive and community-centric atmosphere around skiing, NENSA will also be organizing some new fun season long challenges and goal-oriented activities. Skiers are encouraged to limit their travel and attend events that are within their region and state.
State and regional guidelines will dictate how we conduct events. We understand that the course of this pandemic, and thus the guidelines put in place to keep us safe, might not progress linearly. While the nature of competition will remain the same, we must operate our events in a manner that ensures the safety of all athletes, volunteers, staff and the communities in which our events are held until the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. Below you will find detailed information about different contingency plans – please note all of these outlines require that participants abide by the New England Cross Country Promise (NECCP) – failing to follow these guidelines may warrant removal from an event and jeopardizes our community and the entire event calendar. Our goal is to be transparent and keep our community informed and up-to-date on our evolving thoughts and plans. Please note participation may be limited by what state and/or county you are coming from and the duration of your stay (ie. day trips vs. lodging).
Eastern Cup Contingencies:
Plan 1 – Individual start distance races and spreading out start times by age group to minimize the number of persons physically at the venue at any point in time following Covid guidelines and NECCP. Competitors must complete an Event Health Screen form on Wednesday night including temperature check. Upon arrival at the venue competitors must pass a verbal health screen before unloading from their vehicle. Please note spectators will be limited (or restricted to their vehicles), there could be limited coach access to courses, there will be no indoor spaces provided by the venue, wax areas will be monitored for physical distance, and bathrooms will be assigned by state. Volunteer and event staff will be reduced in number. There will be no NENSA sanctioned mass start or sprint competitions this season. We respectively ask that all persons at the venue must wear a face covering and cover their mouth and nose at all times. Athletes/coaches must cover their nose and mouth in the start and finish area and if they are within 6 ft of another individual on course.
Beginning October 1st competitors will be able to purchase their 2021 race bib and an assigned timing chip to allow for a touchless registration and timing system. There will be no day of race registration. Registration refunds will be offered until 5pm on the Friday before the event. Results will only be published online and there will be no physical award ceremonies. Events will be recorded at several locations to help facilitate spectating and provide coaches with footage for reviewing performances.
Plan 2 – Alternate dates and/or venues – moving EC’s to February or early March when we could re-emerge from potential early/mid-winter quarantine and or venue closures.
Plan 3 – Regional races within states in New England – states determine “Championship” Teams. We recognize that the naming of the New England Junior National Team and regional ranking are major goals of many junior competitors. Regardless of the shape our event seasons take, NENSA will make every effort to celebrate athletes as we normally do to ensure continuity and incentive to all competitors. In this vein it is important for all athletes, parents and coaches to understand that NENSA’s number one goal is to offer competition to our members and we need to work together to make it through this time of uncertainty.
Plan 4 – Events will take place over a nine day period commencing on the original scheduled date for the event. Competitors will register as normal and sign up for a timeslot to visit the venue to complete their race. Racers will wear their bib and use their own timing chips for identification. Courses, including timing implements, will be maintained and marshalled by NENSA and timing staff throughout the period. Results will be posted online and competitors will have 24 hours to file protests/corrections via email. Competitors are strongly encouraged to wear fitness trackers to monitor their efforts and ensure all competitors have skied the correct course.
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Popular Racing:
NENSA feels it is important to promote local and regional racing and encourage competitors to minimize the distances they travel this winter. Many popular races traditionally have race fields less than 100 competitors and by nature allow for less skier density at a venue. With over 20 events typically on the Zak and Club Cup calendar there are “local” options for most of our skiers. Competitors should carefully evaluate inter-state travel and are encouraged to be self reliant (ie. traveling with food and limiting restaurant and convenience store visits and use of lodging outside of their state).
NENSA will work with Popular Race organizers individually to gauge safety concerns and current willingness to host events. Many of the same considerations used for Eastern Cup and our Championship events are applicable to Popular Races. Alternative formats such as the rolling start used by the Long Haul Loppet last winter should be encouraged as they reduce skier density and have proven popular with competitors for convenience and now safety!
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Women’s Day, U16 Champs, EHSC, and BKL Festival: We have a detailed draft of contingency plans for each of these events that we are still fine-tuning. These plans will be published later this summer after we work out a few more details and integrate feedback from host venues.
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New Community Events: These events are in the beginning phases of planning and are subject to change but we wanted to give a glimpse of what we are cooking up. Stay tuned for updates!
State Passport – Get a Cross Country Center passport for your state and see how many you can check off during the whole season! Additional challenges might include skiing a certain number of kilometers at each Center or skiing all their open trails.
Ski for Ks – See how many kilometers you can log this winter individually, as a club, and as a region. Similar challenge with elevation gained. Can NENSA members collectively ski one million kilometers this winter?
NENSA Community Time Trials – Race 5k every week throughout the winter. Anyone can participate. Self-timed, or timed as part of your own club’s citizen race series, and reported to NENSA. Course must be a loop or an out-and-back. Participation leaderboards maintained by NENSA.
FORTY YEARS LATER, SISTERS JUDY & CARLIE GEER REFLECT ON LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE 1980 OLYMPIC BOYCOTT
From Team USA: By Peggy Shinn | July 19, 2020
Forty years ago, Judy and Carlie Geer should have been walking into the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Games Moscow 1980—the first sisters to ever row together in a double scull for Team USA.
It would have been the second Olympiad for Judy, the first for Carlie, who had never even seen crew until she had begged for time off from her camp counselor job so she could watch Judy compete in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. In those Games, Judy had rowed in the coxed four, finishing sixth, and Carlie—wanting to keep up with her big sister—said to their dad, “I’m going to row in the next Olympics with Judy.”
Instead, they stayed home. They did not know at the time that they would stick with competitive rowing through the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where Carlie would win a silver medal in the single sculls.
“I probably could not have told you right away that I was definitely going to keep training and racing for another four years,” said Carlie by Zoom from a cabin at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in northern Vermont. “All I knew was I didn’t want to stop because I was loving what I was doing.”
Judy echoed Carlie’s thoughts. She has loved rowing ever since setting foot in a practice barge at Smith College in the early 1970s.
This realization—that they were rowing because they enjoyed it, not because they coveted Olympic or world championship medals—made the devastation of the 1980 Olympic boycott easier to digest. And the lessons learned have helped Judy guide her children in their athletic pursuits. Hannah and Emily Dreissigacker competed in the 2014 and 2018 Olympic Winter Games in biathlon, respectively, and brother Ethan also competed internationally in biathlon…read full article HERE