Mackenzie Rizio

“Junior Nationals represented an awesome opportunity for New England athletes to show what they do best, sometimes in crazy snow conditions that may have deterred other regions from even putting skis on. From prank wars to podiums, it was a week filled with fast skiing, supportive teammates, and the occasional surprise lobster-in-a-bathtub..!” – Adam Terko, Mansfield Nordic Club

The US Ski and Snowboard Junior Nationals is one of our annual highlights here at NENSA, and this year’s event was no different. Our Junior athletes have worked incredibly hard to qualify and be named to the New England Junior National team to represent our division in the week-long, four race series. The 2024 edition of the event was special, and not just because we increased our Alaska Cup winning streak to sixteen out of the last twenty years of competition. Racing returned to an Eastern venue for the first time since 2017 meaning that not one skier named to the trip this year has ever been able to showcase their skills in front of a home crowd like this at this event before in their careers. Because the event was only driving distance, many parents, coaches, family members and New England skiing fans flocked to Lake Placid to cheer the athletes on.

Collectively, New England athletes claimed 68 All-American finishes, 27 podium finishes, and 12 National Championship titles. New England defended the Alaska Cup with a total of 1,212 points, a 315 point lead over the runners up, the Intermountain division. These statistics are impressive, but the real magic was in all of the special moments sprinkled throughout the week. Numerous personal bests, long-term goals achieved, the perseverance of every New England athlete through some quintessential March weather, a 1-4th place podium sweep with some of your best friends and long-time training partners are just a few examples. But don’t take it from me, hear directly from our fabulous volunteer staff about their experience below:

“I was so impressed with our skiers’ ability to handle whatever the week threw at them with grace and resilience. Outside of our incredible wax techs, the U18 girls experienced the most race-day whiplash of anyone on the day the organizers delayed the mass start classic indefinitely due to icy conditions. But here they are, having finally raced, wanting to stay at the venue even longer to cheer on their friends in the U20 women’s event.” – Audrey Mangan, Craftsbury

“Championship weeks are about performing under pressure. It was awesome to watch the age group coaches working with their athletes to help each of them get ready to do just that. I saw lots of great coaching and I know it helped so many skiers to bring their best. I was grateful to have a chance to put some of my experience to work in support of New England and NENSA, which have been such huge part of my athletic and professional career in skiing. And above all, it was really fun!” – Chris City

“We are so lucky in New England to have such a collaborative and welcoming team environment!” – Alex Jospe, Stratton Mountain School

“My role as an Age Group Coach consisted of a variety of athlete focused duties. Each day I would support the 11 athletes within my cohort by doing everything from driving the group to the venue, meeting individually to plan race strategy, leading group meetings, building team culture, and providing assistance and encouragement on course during races. An additional part of the trip all coaches help extensively with is ski preparation. Our eight person wax staff tests wax pairings round the clock to work to make skis function optimally at each moment of the day and in all conditions – ultimately this means that there are over 1000 pairs of skis to wax over the course of the week!” -Evan Kendall, Dublin School

Some of our wax staff hard at work throughout the week and some outside of the box thinking on how to reheat pizza. (Ruth Krebs and NENSA photos)

“It was an honor to be a member of the coaching staff for JNs this season. A big highlight for me was watching the dominant performance from the New England U20 boys in the 15k classic mass start going 1,2,3,4 in a warm and grueling race.” – Andy Rightmire, Ford Sayre

“First, I would like to thank NENSA for the opportunity to coach at JNs this year as the U20 women’s coach.  It was an incredible honor to work with such an amazing group of young, talented skiers.  Day after day, they fought through ever-changing conditions on one of the most challenging courses out there.  All the while, they brought the passion and dedication needed to excel in one of the toughest sports in the world.  Once again, these champions achieved greatness, and did it with style and while having fun!” – Rob Rothe

“Thinking back to JNs, I have a few moments that stand out to me as my time as an age group coach. The U16 girls gave it their all over the four races, throughout challenging conditions, and had many exciting finishes and podiums. Beyond the racing component of the week, it was incredibly rewarding to watch them come together as a team to support each other. Some highlights include rainbow loom bracelet making, a pancake cook-off with the U16 boys, and skiing their cool-downs as a group on training days and for their post-race cool-down.” -Mia Shifrin, Gould Academy

There are so many amazing photos from the event, relive the excitement by checking them out:

• Charles Swabey photos
• Mark Tarmy Photos
• Phil Belena Photos

Bullitt Timing Results

Junior Nationals Event Video by Ruth Krebs

Big thanks to all of our NENSA sponsors that help us support this group of athletes each year- especially Salomon, Fischer, Nordic Skater, LLBean, and Swix, who helped us with a one-year-only special edition race suit for the event!