Kait Miller

2017 NENSA Club of the Year: The Bethel Outing Club

Kait Miller · June 20, 2017 · 1 Comment

On community collaboration efforts and the NENSA events held in Bethel, The Bethel Outing Club (BOC) is awarded NENSA’s 2017 Club of the Year. The Bethel Outing Club provides affordable access for all to cross-country skiing and people powered sports such as hiking, bicycling, running, paddling, swimming and roller skiing. This club in Bethel is made up of warm-hearted, community minded people from a beautiful area in Western Maine. The club has a Bill Koch League, year round programming, and annual events like the Flying Moose.

This past year alone, the club had volunteers at NENSA’s New England Women’s XC Ski Day in January, ran their annual Flying Moose race and hosted the New England Bill Koch League Festival (NEBKL Festival). All of these events rely on volunteers to organize and staff the events in sometimes varying snow and weather conditions like the very cold NEBKL Festival. Wade Kavanaugh, Bethel Outing Club Coach and 2017 NEBKL Festival Co-Chair, says that “the BOC has a tremendously committed corps of volunteers. Bethel is a town of 2,000 people, most of whom seem to volunteer most of their weekends to keep all of the events in town rolling. The Bill Koch Festival was a great example of people coming together to make an event happen in challenging and changing conditions. When I ask our volunteers what motivates them to keep coming out, I often hear that people just love seeing kids on skis!”

In December, the Bethel Outing Club also started a collaboration effort with Mahoosuc Pathways to create the Bethel Village Trails. Both of these non-profits worked together to keep the Nordic Center open at the Bethel Inn & Resort, maintain and groom the trails and provide programming, lessons and clinics. This effort took a lot of volunteer hours for club members over the winter. “The Bethel Outing Club is made of regular folks who are passionate about Nordic skiing and they will do whatever it takes to get more people on skis. This winter was so full of opportunities for the club, from jumping into a new collaborative to run a Nordic ski center to hosting the BKL Festival. Not once did I hear anyone say “we can’t, it was always “what needs to be done”. I love working with people who follow their passion to make things happen, it is very inspiring. The members of the BOC are so deserving of this NENSA award,” said Suzanne Pierce, Bethel Outing Club Coach and Central/Western Maine Bill Koch League District Chair.

“The winter of 2016-2017 was by far the busiest in the history of the Bethel Outing Club. From taking over the Bethel Village Trails operation along with Mahoosuc Pathways, the Bethel Inn and Gould Academy at Thanksgiving, to producing or helping to produce the NENSA Women’s Day, the Telstar Relays, the Veterans No Boundaries program, the Flying Moose, and last but not least, the Bill Koch Festival, our members were extremely busy from before the first snowflake to after the last. As a testament to our community, the volunteer spirit actually grew stronger as the season progressed, not weaker. We learned from each event to make the next even better. We drew strength from the adversity, and redoubled our efforts, something that came in handy when we had to move the venue for the BKF at the last minute due to the weather. Our club is growing and enthusiastic, and now that we see what we can actually accomplish, we are even more excited to host local, regional and NENSA events in the future.

We are very honored to receive the 2017 NENSA Club of the Year award. I’m happy to accept it on behalf of all of the Bethel Outing Club members, past and present. Having been in existence over 35 years, many, many people have contributed to the capacity of our organization. We truly stand on the shoulders of giants, and we are pleased to be able to represent them well.” said Norm Greenberg, BOC President.

NENSA is excited to work with the Bethel Village Trails and the Bethel Outing Club in 2019 when they will be hosting the NENSA U16 Championships!

2017 Bill Koch League Leadership Award

Kait Miller · June 8, 2017 · 1 Comment

Tracy Walsh is best known in the Bill Koch Youth Ski League for her role as New England Bill Koch Festival “relay wrangler.” Tracy has taken on this role while serving as District Chair for Central Vermont (CEVT) and as a coach and parent with the Ford Sayre Club. Tracy embodies the nature of the Bill Koch League, which is one of volunteerism, a deep love of the sport, and a lifelong commitment to the nordic community. That is why NENSA is pleased to announce that Tracy is this year’s recipient of NENSA’s Bill Koch League Leadership Award.

“Tracy has been a constant advocate for all children in NEBKL for many years. As District Chair of CEVT and representing one of the largest BKL clubs in New England, Tracy’s insight has been invaluable to our NEBKL Committee and Community. Specifically, Tracy gets it! Her first thought is always ‘what is best for the children’. Her vision is clear and her actions reflect that. NEBKL’s mission is to foster a love of nordic skiing in our youth with a healthy respect for each child’s emotional, physical and social needs and growth. Many nod their heads and say ‘of course’ to this, but Tracy takes it a step further and effortlessly radiates this mission in all that she does for NEBKL. Her actions are often behind the scenes, but they are always thoughtful and purposeful,” said Mary Anne Levins, the former Bill Koch League Committee Chair and longtime Bill Koch Festival Race Secretary. “Thank you, Tracy, for being so dedicated to the children of NEBKL and congratulations!”

District Chairs bring together ideas and concerns from the region they represent in New England to form the New England Bill Koch League Committee. Tracy has been a valuable District Chair, and constantly brings the conversations back to the true purpose of the league. She always puts the best interests of young skiers at the forefront of her decisions and has been a strong voice on the committee. “Tracy is someone who I can count on at every meeting, and every Festival. She is a dedicated volunteer and leader in our New England Community. She is someone who has a lot of experience and I rely on her for sound advice,” says Amber Freeman, the NENSA staff liaison to the Bill Koch League Committee.

Tracy’s role as “relay wrangler” at the annual Bill Koch Festival brings out the “all business” side of her personality. For many skiers, the Festival relay is the first time they have experienced a relay race. The chaos of the relay causes concern for safety of the skiers. Whether its tagging off to another skier who they may have just met, keeping kids warm, or finding their partner, Tracy is there to help things go smoothly. Years ago, Tracy took on this role of being the calm at the center of the storm.

“Tracy has a heart of gold, a voice like a megaphone, and presence of grace under pressure. She knows why she is there and what is important and doesn’t forget that along the way. We’ve worked alongside each other for longer than I care to confess in the relay zone and somehow when I walk into the start corral I feel better when I see Tracy,” said Ann Celi, co-relay wrangler at the Bill Koch Festival, and Eastern Massachusetts Bill Koch League parent and coach. “Congratulations to Tracy on this much deserved honor!”

Tracy has been a volunteer in the Ford Sayre Club and on the Ford Sayre Council. Arrica van Citters, who is also a Ford Sayre Coach said that “Tracy is a longtime volunteer for the Ford Sayre program, and has taken on many roles within the organization. She is currently the Chair for the Ford Sayre Council – where she helps to oversee the full spectrum of nordic, alpine, and jumping programs. Within the Ford Sayre BKL program, Tracy is the co-lead coach for the Kindergarten-2nd grade program, which teaches xc-skiing to over 100 children a year. Tracy excels at harnessing the raw energy of young children to create confident and capable skiers.”

From all of the staff at NENSA, we would like to say a huge congratulations to Tracy on a well deserved honor and thank you for all you have done for the New England nordic ski community over the years!

NENSA Championship Event Sites Announced for 2018 & 2019

Kait Miller · May 31, 2017 · Leave a Comment

NENSA is pleased to announce the sites for the 2018 & 2019 U16 Championships and Eastern High School Championships. The bidding this year was for both years, and in the spring of 2018, the bidding will be open for the 2020 Championship events.

The 2018 U16 Championships from March 9-11, 2018 will be hosted by HURT Nordic Club at the Gore Nordic Center in North Creek, New York. This will be the first time a NENSA Championship race will be held at this venue, which will use their full and modern high capacity snow making system on their homologated race loops.

In 2018, Eastern High School Championships held March 16-18, 2018 at Black Mountain Ski Resort in Rumford, Maine. The host club Chisholm Ski Club has a long history of running high level events.

The U16 Championships March 8-10, 2019 will be held on the Bethel Village Trails, in Bethel, Maine. The Bethel Village Trails and the Bethel Outing Club have recently hosted New England Women’s XC Ski Day, and the New England Bill Koch Festival this past year, and they are excited to host a Championship event.

Eastern High School Championships March 15-17, 2019 will be held in Fort Kent, Maine, at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center. The host club, the 10th Mountain Ski Club is known for hosting Championship events in the past, as well as Biathlon World Cups.

UVM Seeks Assistant Nordic Coach

Kait Miller · May 19, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Please go to the following link for job details and application instructions:

https://www.uvmjobs.com/postings/24858

For all other questions please contact Patrick Weaver at:

patrick.weaver@uvm.edu

Skiing with Family in Norway

Kait Miller · April 12, 2017 · 3 Comments

“Meet us in Norway! You will love it,” Heidi said when my husband Kris Freeman and I were planning our spring vacation. Kris’s brother Justin, his wife Heidi and their two girls, Iris and Sage, live in the Netherlands and love going on ski vacations during the winter. While we were planning our trip, my parents, Jim and Michele Dodge, and Kris’s parents, Donavon and Barbara Freeman also decided to come ski in Norway to see Justin and his family during their spring break trip.

Right now we are in Nordseter, Norway for two weeks, enjoying the spring skiing, warm temperatures and endless kilometers of free, groomed trails. The trails from Nordseter run all the way to Lillehammer and connect with the Olympic tracks at the Birkebeiner Ski Stadium. In Norway, Nordic skiing is the favorite pastime and and part of their history and culture. The government maintains the trails and grooming and thousands of families are out enjoying the mild temperatures and great skiing this week.

Kris and I both grew up skiing with our families. I started skiing with my parents in their backyard and trails winding through 70 acres of woods. My Dad would pack a lunch and we would spend the day skiing as a family. We would also go to ski races all over New England, and take ski vacations during school breaks. Kris grew up skiing with his parents and his brother, going on trips at a young age that included skiing the Canadian ski marathon.

Norwegians are on Easter break while we are here, and I am amazed and intrigued by the culture of skiing that I have seen here on the trails in Nordseter and Sjusjoen. I keep seeing families heading out on the trails with backpacks filled with food, shovels, small sleds, and cameras, with sleeping pads rolled up on the top. Out on the trails families pull small children in a pulken (pull sled), and children that look about 4-6 years old are tethered and skiing behind a parent or grandparent. All ages, and all family members, including the family dog, are on the trails together. They stop and create benches made out of snow, some with a small fire, where they spend time playing and eating a snack.

Today we skied on part of the Birkebeiner trail out to a small hut. At the hut there was a table with soda, coffee, hot chocolate and 3 waffle makers powered by a generator. Families were sitting outside on stumps, enjoying waffles, while the young children played in the snow, and the adults soaked in the midday sun.

The atmosphere reminds me of my upbringing and the one my husband has described to me. I feel lucky that I grew up skiing with my family, and continue to ski as a family. Heidi was right-I do love it here! I love experiencing a culture where skiing is a family pastime, with children being taught to ski by parents who were taught to ski by their parents.

The Bill Koch Youth Ski League in New England has this culture through family involvement. USSA competencies say that kids less than 12 years old should be skiing 80% undirected. When I was growing up, many parents in our Bill Koch League were coaches, volunteers, and learned to wax; and most skied with their children and went on ski trips with families from our club. Everyone was involved in some way which created in a community that grew into one of the biggest Bill Koch Leagues at the time. Our league consisted of families who all understood that skiing and recreating year round, as a family, was important to keep their children involved in sport at a young age. This community resulted in continued friendships, and skiers working in the sport as coaches, some in the highest levels of the sport. Hopefully, it will also result in another generation of parents taking their kids skiing, and kids skiing with their parents.