Justin Beckwith

NENSA is thrilled to announce Pennie Rand as the 2019 recipient of the Chummy Broomhall Award.  This award honors Chummy, who was the Chisholm Ski Club leader for nearly 70 years, a two-time Olympian, and a builder of the race courses for Squaw Valley, Lake Placid and Black Mountain.  He embodied the spirit of being a volunteer as he was a man who gave his time to generations. NENSA proudly presents this annual award to honor the unsung heroes of ski racing.  

This year NENSA would like to honor Pennie Rand, of Richmond VT, for her limitless enthusiasm for our sport of cross country skiing, and her support to our NENSA programing and athletes, of every age.

Pennie infuses enthusiasm with everything she does – from founding and organizing five editions of the exciting Cochran’s Nordic Ski Cross, to making wild flower crowns for the winners of the annual App Gap Challenge rollerski race (and serving on the timing crew), to attending countless NENSA, EISA, and community events — LL Bean Adirondack pack on her back, camera in hand, and cheering as loudly as she can for each and every competitor!  

Eli Enman of Sleepy Hollow has this to say about Pennie: “When I think of Pennie and the Nordic Ski Cross, I just think of all her energy, and love of skiing come bubbling through.  She’s a great organizer, and she is awesome at pulling people in to volunteer to put on the most fun race possible.  It’s also worth noting that the ski cross race is a sort of cross discipline event, with both Nordic and Alpine parts.  This is reflected in her joy of all things skiing – with Pennie it’s all about getting outside on any type of equipment to enjoy winter.   In short, she makes skiing fun and it’s impossible not to get caught up in her enthusiasm for the sport.”

Pennie is a native Vermonter from Middlebury and was the Vermont Skimeister Champion in both 1980 and 1981. She is a certified Nordic instructor and has led ski tours to Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Iceland.  She is an alum of the University of New Hampshire where she was on the Nordic Team. Fitting of her well-roundedness, her daughters, Karin and Annavitte have competed both as Alpine and Nordic skiers — and it’s fair to say their “best day” is skiing together as a family with dad, Matt, in the woods where there is a combination of covering some serious ground and catching powdery schusses along the way!

In the 1990s, Rand was executive director of the Catamount Trail Association. She is a freelance photographer and an Alpine ski coach and starter for Cochran’s Ski Club. In 2014 she served as director of operations at the Vermont Ski Museum in Stowe VT. Currently Pennie assists Molly Peters coaching the St. Michaels’s College ski team.

Pennie stared the Cochran’s Ski Cross seven years ago as an end of season event — the once local race, has now grown to become a regional phenomenon that draws a diverse field with top collegiate and club racers (including National and International Champions), juniors, masters and local legends of both XC and Alpine skiing.  This past April, registration was closed after 200 athletes signed up!  

While the Cochran’s event is a celebration of the season and the skiing community there is no doubt that skiing skills and racer mentality are being learned by all the competitors.  Many chose to wear costumes to disguise their intents – but it’s fair to say all the racers give it their all in search of bragging rights or just to push their personal boundaries!  And the woman behind this fun phenomenon is Pennie, who is right there in the thick of the action, making sure the event is top notch — starting the race all while while cheering for everyone (and laughing in her signature belly laugh)!  

Adam Terko of Mansfield Nordic on Nordic Cross 2019, “The hype was real! And the participation and engagement for this type of sport is a big box you can check on the list of ‘why New England is the strongest region in the country.’ It’s not just our awesome access to trails, clubs, competition, and resources. It’s local events like this where community members like Pennie have a vision and are willing to put it all together to make something like this happen…and the ski community that comes out to shred when it happens!”

Our hats are off to Pennie Rand for helping push the level of skiing forward, and NENSA thanks her for all she has done for our sport! 

Editors note: Pennie and Matt are currently in Iceland courting their mountain spirit – as it should be.

2019 Cochran’s Nordic Cross Video

Pictures and Results

Blog from Mansfield Nordic: Why Nordic Cross Matters

For those of you who follow collegiate skiing you will not be surprised to hear that the University of Vermont’s Patrick Weaver is the 2019 NENSA Coach of the Year.  The ever humble Weaver had to get used to winning this winter — to be exact his skiers won 15 of 20 individual EISA races, and topped the team scores of 16 of the 24 EISA cross country team events including winning both of the season’s relays.  The Catamounts continued to mount a hardy fight at NCAA’s, finishing third in Nordic competition, en route to a overall second place team finish at the 2019 Championships – and oh yeah, they hosted the event too.  UVM skiers received many end-of-season accolades, including Lina Sutro being named EISA Skate Skier of the Year and Bill Harmeyer earning the title of both the Classic and Skate Skier of the Year.  Freshman standout and EISA Rookie of the Year, Ben Ogden, was also a member of the historic 2019 FIS Junior World Ski Championship gold medal relay team.  All of this success under Weaver’s leadership equated to earning the honors of both EISA and NCAA Coach of the Year for 2019.

“Weave was one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked with and I feel privileged to have been able to ski for him. I feel like in my four years at UVM I really developed from a junior skier into a competitive athlete, in a way that I’m not sure I would have found anywhere else and I owe that to him. Weave’s calm, yet passionate form of coaching taught me a lot about training, balancing life, and how to remain calm in stressful racing situations! It was an honor to ski for Patrick and something that I will always value and remember.”  
Alayna Sonnesyn – UVM 2018

For nine years, the two-time Olympian and two-time National Champion, has led his Catamount squad with a soft-spoken confidence.  The Lenox, Massachusetts native and alumnus of the University of New Hampshire has a deep love for the mountains and ski trails of New England.  Weaver’s experience as a competitive athlete and his approachable demeanor attract top athletes from the east and throughout the world.  The 2019 UVM cross country  squad consisted of seven Vermonters along with skiers from New York, Minnesota, Colorado, California, Russia, Germany and Norway.

Patrick brought to his coaching the same focus, expectations and work ethic that he had as a student athlete while at the University of New Hampshire.  As a coach, he changed the University of Vermont’s team atmosphere to a positive, energetic and goal-oriented team that represents both the state and UVM at the highest level.  The team’s results and consistency Weave’s team had this past winter was impressive.
Cory Schwartz, Head Coach UNH Skiing, Weaver’s College Coach

NENSA and US Skiing are so lucky to have coaches like Patrick Weaver involved in our programming.  In the past years Weaver has been involved in NENSA coaches clinics, regional camps, helped organize Eastern Cup races, and just this past year took home the first Marty Hall College Cup as the top club in the 2018 NENSA BagBalm Rollerski Series.  We look forward to watching the bright future of the UVM Catamounts under the watchful eye of Patrick Weaver.  Congratulations – GO Cats GO!!

“I had an incredible first year with Weave. This year was my first year in the program, first year in college, first year away from the parents and everything else, but thanks to Weave’s incredible experience with these things and his quiet yet insightful coaching style, the transition happened relatively smoothly and easily. He is a pro at knowing when to be light and fun and when it’s time to crack down, something that is invaluable in a coach especially in a sport like skiing.”
Benjamin Ogden – UVM 2022, 2019 EISA Rookie of the Year, Junior World Champion

42 athletes from the Eastern Division have been selected to take part in the 2019 US Ski & Snowboard Regional (REG) Program.  This intensive program brings together the top junior skiers from throughout the East for a week of testing and instruction, led by US Ski Team World Cup Coach Matt Whitcomb and 10 regional coaches.  This year we return to the Northwood School campus in Lake Placid, New York – an ideal venue with the prestige of an Olympic Village and fantastic training opportunities.

Athlete Attendance 2019 REG:
Girls: Anna Lehmann, Ava Thurston, Camille Bolduc, Charlotte Ogden, Elsa Bolinger, Evelyn Walton, Nina Seemann, Quincy Massey-Bierman, Schuyler Michalak, Shea Brams, Sofia Scirica, Laura Appleby, Lillian Bates, Adrienne Remick, Madeline Kitch, Rose Clayton, Kennedy Lange, Agnes Macy, Sammie Nolan, Anna Schriefer, Grace Mattern

Boys: Aidan Burt, Brian Bushey, Elvis McIntosh, Finn Sweet, Griffin Wright, Henry Johnstone, Jack Lange, Keelan Durham, Mathias Boudreau-Golfman, Sam Murray, Trey Jones, Zander Martin, Gavin Blauch, Alex Burt, Marcus Wentworth, Brian Beyerbach, Colton Martin, James Flanigan, Kai Frantz, Lucas Jenkin, Everett Sapp
*Athletes are selected by: 1)Elite and Development Team criteria 2) Final U18/U20 JN Points 3) Mid Atlantic selection

REG is a highly valuable tool for US Skiing and a great partnership between US Ski & Snowboard (NGB) and NENSA (RGB).  It is especially exciting time to be a part of US Skiing as we are currently ranked as the fourth strongest Nordic Nation for junior skiing — FIS Mark Hodler Trophy standings.  Many of the athletes who have contributed to this rise have come through Eastern REG programs.

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Agility day at Eastern REG 🤙🏼 Check the insta story for more vid🤘🏼 #getloose #senditfortheboys #skitraining @nensa_nordic @usskiteam @llbean @ben.0gden

A post shared by ❄️Andy⚡️Newell❄️ (@andynewellskier) on Jun 27, 2018 at 2:26pm PDT

Testing results from 2018 REG:
2018 REG Agility Test – Northwood School
2018 REG 800m Double Pole Test – Jumping Complex
2018 REG Uphill Run Test – USBA Test at Whiteface

We look forward to an amazing week in Lake Placid – stay tuned for updates on social media June 24-28!

Also please note and amazing opportunity to learn current technique from Matt Whitcomb, June 29th from 9am-12pm and get exposure to agility ramps with NENSA’s Justin Beckwith from 12-1pm.  Full details here. Registration here.

In 2014 NENSA began the tradition of honoring the top ranked male and female Eastern Cup skiers with the Gallagher Cup.  NENSA is pleased to announce that Callie Young (Dartmouth) and Josh Valentine (GMVS) are the 2019 Eastern Cup Champions – their inspired efforts are a perfect way to celebrate Mike Gallagher’s legacy as an athlete, coach, and community leader.  The two skiers who win this award each year do so by being consistently dominant in New England’s premier race series (winners are determined by the lowest average points from seven of the nine EC events).

Callie Young raced in seven Eastern Cups with two junior category victories, in addition to competing in four EISA Carnivals for Dartmouth.  She ended the year second overall on the New England Junior National (JN) ranking list and attended JN’s in Anchorage, Alaska where she was a team leader with individual results of 4th, 5th and 9th in the U20 age category.  She then went on to anchor NE’s U20 National Champion Relay team.  Callie having fun and skiing fast at the Holderness Eastern Cup. Young is ranked 68th on the overall National Ranking List and 43rd for sprint.

Young grew up racing for Craftsbury, her former coach Anna Schulz describes her passion for racing and her teammates, “Callie loves skiing and racing more than just about anyone. She has this rare ability to balance a fiercely competitive streak with genuine kindness and compassion. It’s pretty common to see Callie bury herself in some sprint rounds and then put on 5 layers and drag herself back out to cheer for any buddies who are still racing. I can’t think of a more deserving recipient.”  Cami Thompson-Graves, Callie’s current coach at Dartmouth, describes her as someone who, “does everything that is asked of her and never complains, she is a gem!”

Josh Valentine also raced in seven Eastern Cups, with two, second place overall finishes and ended the year in sixth position on the New England Junior National (JN) ranking list.  Josh had a breakout performance at the 2019 US Senior Nationals – winning the classic sprint for U18 athletes.  This result along with solid skiing in the distance races qualified him to represent the US at the U18 Scandinavian Championships held this year in Otepaa, Estonia.

At Junior Nationals Valentine made a big impact on Team New England with individual finishes of 4th, 6th and 8th in the U18 age group.  He skied the scramble leg for the NE team that went on to finish 4th.  Valentine is ranked 75th on the overall National Ranking List and an impressive 32nd for sprint!  GMVS coach Colin Rodgers, describes Josh as, “a determined individual.  When he puts his mind to something he gets it done.  What sets him apart is his game day focus.  It is impressive.”

We congratulate these skiers and thank them for reminding us of Mike Gallagher’s competitive spirit.  Mike was a three-time Olympic cross-country skier and the Head Coach of the US Ski Team from 1980-86.  You can read more about Gallagher here on fasterskier.com

The National U16 Camp Announces Selections and Program for Summer 2019

The tenth edition of the US Skiing National U16 Camp will be held Monday, July 22, 2019 (arrival day) to Monday, July 29,  2019 (departure day) at College of St Scholastica.  The NU16 camp brings together the top U16 Boys and Girls from across the USA for a week of intensive training and ski sport education as one of the first steps in the US Skiing National Development Pipeline.   The camp rotates in location throughout the country and this year’s camp will be held at the College of St Scholastica in Duluth, MN.   The greater Duluth region offers ideal training venues in a beautiful natural setting.  US Ski Team staff will lead the camp along with a selection of top regional coaches from across the US.  Selection for the camp is based on results from this year’s US Junior Championships, held in Anchorage, Alaska.  In addition to the top twenty boys and top twenty girls selected via JN results, each USSA Division is afforded two discretionary picks of one boy and one girl (must have competed as a U16 last season).

NENSA is proud to announce that the following athletes have qualified for this opportunity:

Girls:
Ava Thurston – Mansfield Nordic
Sofia Scirica – CSU
Elsa Bolinger – Ford Sayre
Quincy Massey-Bierman – Craftsbury/MNC
Camille Bolduc – Craftsbury
Evelyn Walton – CSU
Clara Lake – CSU

Boys:
Trey Jones – GMVS
Aidan Burt – Mansfield Nordic
Mathias Boudreau-Golfman – Stratton Mountain School
Jack Lange – Ford Sayre
Sam Murray – Ford Sayre
Elvis McIntosh – Frost Mountain
Evan Nichols – Ford Sayre

In addition we are pleased to announce that Kathy Maddock, Dublin XC, will accompany our New England U16’s as our regional coach.

Congratulations to these athletes — we look forward to seeing your reports from camp!

On April 7th Cochran’s Ski Area, in Richmond, Vermont hosted their 5th annual Nordic Cross event.  Registration was closed after 200 competitors signed up!  The event always draws a diverse field with top collegiate and club racers (more than a handful with international experience), juniors, masters and local legends of both XC and Alpine skiing in attendance.  Although each addition of the event has grown, this year there was an explosion of energy, both in the course design and participation.  For 2019 skiers were enticed to try the “pond jump” and a set of five “whoops” that increased both the challenge of the course and the excitement for spectators.  Perhaps more impressive than the terrain was the turnout — the once local race has now become a regional phenomenon.

2019 Cochran’s Nordic Cross Video

Pictures and Results

Although the Cochran’s race is held on an alpine mountain, with its start at a higher elevation than the finish, the course is just as demanding aerobically as it is technically.  The combination of fast descents and solid climbs create a brutal demand on the legs.  At the finish it is quite common to hear racers exclaim, “That was the hardest race I did all YEAR!”  And that’s a lot to say for a eight to ten minute effort.

While the Cochran’s event is a celebration of the season and the skiing community there is no doubt that skills are being learned by all the competitors.  Many chose to wear costumes to disguise their intents – but it’s fair to say all the racers gave it their all in search of bragging rights or just to push their personal boundaries!  All fun aside, Cochran’s event is quite relevant in the current state of cross country skiing and the skill of New England skiers are certainly some of the best in the US and perhaps the world.  This year we saw terrain features popping up at many of our touring centers and Cross events have now been a part of the BKL Festival, U16 and Eastern High School Championships.  NENSA strongly supports this format and hopes that it will continue to help skiers develop technical skills, and draw attention and new participants to our sport.

Cross Country Cross, or the addition of exciting terrain and obstacles into a traditional ski course, is slowly creeping it’s way into mainstream.  In May of 2017 FIS published guidelines to try and define this exciting development:

Cross-Country Cross is a competition where competitors compete on a cross–country ski
course that includes both traditional and non-traditional elements such as natural and
artificial terrain features, corridors, obstacles and tight turns, as well as different natural or
artificial types of turns, jumps, waves and other skiing terrain features or obstacles.

Blog from Mansfield Nordic: Why Nordic Cross Matters

Our hats are off to Pennie Rand and Cochran’s Ski Area for helping push the level of skiing forward!  We can’t wait to see what 2020 holds!!

While most of New England is still skiing – our 2019 Zak, Club and Marathon season has come to a close.  NENSA is thrilled to pair with Cochran’s Ski Club to host end-of-year awards after the Nordic Cross event on April 7th.  Masters are encouraged to participate or just spectate and enjoy the awesome atmosphere that has been described as, “Hilarious, challenging and loads of fun!”  Event founder, Pennie Rand welcomes skiers of all ages to, “Come celebrate your passion for skiing, your love of Cochran’s and embrace spring, on Nordic skis!”  You can read full details about the event here – Masters awards will begin around 3pm, including commemorative glasses for Zak racers who completed the minimum races, and Swix wax, Cabot cheese, and more for category winners.  Marathon Challengers will also receive their Swix hats!

Video from Cochran’s 2018 event.

It was a fantastic winter for citizen racing in New England with all of our 19 scheduled races going off without a hitch.  All rankings are posted here.  We owe a huge thanks to all of our venues, organizers and volunteers for pulling off these events!

While all of these citizen races are open to the general public 199 of our masters NENSA members are listed in Zak Cup age group results – a growing number from 2018!  In Club Cup racing we had over 900 competitors helping to push their club upwards in rankings.

In the overall rankings two familiar names rose to the top in a competitive field.  Eli Enman of NWVE / Rossignol competed in nine events, rarely finishing off the podium and garnering 120 of 125 possible points.  Kathy Maddock of Dublin XC finished the season with a perfect overall score, competing and winning five races, scoring 125 points.

NWVE again proved that they are the deepest and most organized club in New England scoring 1703 points with 194 racers — that’s an average of almost ten competitors at each event!  However club competition is heating up throughout the ranks and we had an upset as Mansfield Nordic Club unseated the Cambridge Sports Union from their 2018 second place finish by a mere 23 points.

Thank you to all our competitors and we hope to see you Sunday, April 7th at Cochran’s in Richmond, Vermont!

It’s hard to believe but the final Zak and Club races of the season are happening this weekend — turns out time flies when there are great conditions!  If you are looking to score some final Zak points for yourself or help gain a few more spots for your club don’t delay – sign up today!

Saturday – Craftsbury Spring Fling (Zak & Club)

Sunday – New England Club Relay Championships 4 x 5km (Club)

There are also a few more options this weekend if your looking for a low key citizen race closer to your home valley:

Sunday – Valley Cup at Ole’s – Warren, VT or Breadloaf Citizens Race – Ripton, VT

If you haven’t been following the ranking of our masters skiers this winter you should check out some of the hotly contested age group competition here: Men Age Group and Women Age Group.  With 21 race opportunities to score points this season we have 150 male and 50 females in the hunt.  As a reminder only NENSA members are scored for Zak points – and these impressive numbers are just a fraction of the skiers that have been out enjoying spectacular events at touring centers throughout New England!  Our hats are off to the venues that are making XC thrive.

Club scoring has been fun to watch too and there are currently 36 clubs making their push to the finish.  NWVE has continued to show that it is the most active club in New England with a lead of almost 500 points over CSU in second.  Over the final weekend there will be a dual for the third position between Mansfield Nordic Club and Craftsbury – especially as races this weekend are hosted by the two clubs… at Craftsbury!

And finally the Lake Placid Nordic Festival (including the Lake Placid Loppet / final marathon race of the Marathon Series) is going to be one to remember with fantastic conditions at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg trails at the Olympic Sports Complex.

Stay tuned for more updates and the potential of an end of year awards celebration.

The 2019 Eastern Cup season will go down as one of the best in recent history and our two New Hampshire venues this past weekend put on a show – with exciting events for competitors and spectators alike.  On Saturday many competitors took to the Dublin School trails for the first time for an exciting two race freestyle format, dubbed the Dublin Double.  Sunday, the Holderness School hosted the perennial Cheri Walsh classic race, complete with live music and an optional terrain feature in the course.  With Junior National qualification on the line teams showed up ready to race!

During development of the Eastern Cup schedule for 2019 we received a bid from the Dublin School to utilize their John Morton designed trails, which were developed in 2014 and recently met International Ski Federation (FIS) homologation standards.  Dublin ski coach and Head of School Brad Bates, describes the the course as a balance of the, “artistry of John Morton and the technical aspects required by the FIS.”  The challenging climbs and twisting descents, which sit above 1500 feet in elevation lent themselves to fast paced interval start racing of both a 3km prologue and a 1.5km sprint.  Racers were treated to two separate courses as they contested two of the distances that are raced at Junior Nationals (3km relay, 1.5km sprint qualification).  The courses were described by many as “super challenging” and “wicked fun” – with little rest and technical corners racers were forced to put forth maximum effort during their entire time on course.  Bullitt Timing added a nice twist to the event by offering a speed trap on the final descent of the 3km – giving athletes an added challenge to see who could post the top speed of the day.  At the end of the day it was Charlotte Ogden of SMS (40.65 km) and Brian Bushey (44 km) of GMVS who posted the fastest km per hour.  Fantastic photos from the event.

Sunday racers were greeted by a snowy landscape for the final Eastern Cup of the year at the Holderness School.  Classic specialists look forward to the Cheri Walsh Memorial every year as it’s undulating terrain and narrow trails lend themselves to traditional technique and skiers who are able to work transitions.  Mr. Patrick Casey, the Holderness Nordic Coach, embraced the movement towards fun or skills based learning and created a terrain feature that competitors had the option of navigating during the race.  This feature along with several other bumps, jumps and obstacles were also used in the  Bill Koch race later in the afternoon.  While skiers and coaches were focussed on top performances in tricky waxing conditions – the terrain features and lively atmosphere of the stadium kept everyone entertained and lighthearted.  Following the races skiers entered the Gymnasium for a raffle, awards and the naming of the 2019 Junior Nationals team.

Here is a video created by Emily Magnus that captures the energy at Holderness.

NENSA would like to acknowledge the incredible job that these two venues did to showcase our sport and to provide high level competition to New England athletes.  There are so many people who work tirelessly to put on these events, including: the organizing committees, race officials, volunteers, timers, parents and coaches to name a few – but when you attend the events you know why we all keep coming back!  Our hats are off to all of you and we wish you the best of luck in your end of season events!!

Complete results from the weekend.