Mackenzie Rizio

Junior athletes named to the NENSA Elite/Devo teams will receive the first invitations to the Eastern Regional Camp (REG) to be held June 29th-July 3rd at the University of Vermont. NENSA is also working on Regional Development Group Camp (RDG) invitations that will go out on Thursday, May 2nd after the REG camp attendees are finalized. This year, we will also be naming 20 alternates for REG (10 Men and 10 Women) in the case that invited athletes decline their spots.

Our NENSA Summer Camps are a great stepping stone for coach development. Any US Ski and Snowboard certified coaches who have interest in supporting either REG or RDG please fill out this short application. Reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

REG Invitees (Mid-Atlantic nominations to come)

This year, athletes that are initially invited are asked to accept or decline their REG camp nominations by Thursday, April 25th. At that time, alternates will be contacted in the order they appear by NENSA staff and will be allowed to accept or decline the invitation to REG on Wednesday, May 1st.

In order to accept or decline your REG camp nomination, please fill out THIS registration form.

“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!

This year’s BKL Festival was an event to remember. In spite of a winter of low-snow all throughout New England and beyond, 730 young skiers made their way to Ripton, Vermont to join Frost Mountain Nordic and the Rikert Outdoor Center for two spectacular days celebrating New England youth cross country skiing.

This youth cross country ski festival is the marquee event of the New England Nordic Ski Association’s Bill Koch Youth Ski League whose mission is to introduce young people to the lifelong sport of cross-country skiing, and the many associated health, fitness, and social benefits, in a fun, inclusive, and safe environment.  The 2024 Festival featured racing, as well as a wide range of fun winter activities, for skiers of all ability levels from kindergarten up to 8th grade.

There was an activity for everyone including the Press Forward Mini-marathon ski, Gnome and Fairy home building, a Story Book Ski, the UnTapped Terrain Park, Laser Biathlon with USBA, Vermont Fish and Widlife Tent, Glitter Station, Mural Painting, Bump Jump, a speed trap, a limbo station and of course the welcoming parade, which featured a moment of noise in honor of John Ogden, organized by his daughter, Katharine. Gnome hats, yetis, and costumes of all kinds could be found in every corner of the stadium and at each activity.

We were also thrilled to have Bill Koch himself at the event cheering on athletes, shaking hands, signing autographs, and sharing his love of the sport with all the young skiers.  We are so grateful that he is still so involved with youth skiing and actively working to ensure that having fun remains at the core of skiing for racers and recreational skiers alike.

Our Frost Mountain Nordic Club organizers also did a great job on the racing side of the weekend. Saturday featured a classic relay race and Sunday’s event was a freestyle paired and individual start race. After the 5/6 and 7/8 groups raced in the morning on Sunday, the 8th Grade Graduation Ceremony took place in the stadium followed by the Lollipop races, led off by one of our special guests of the weekend, a unicorn! 8th graders waited as our youngest skiers navigated their way through the stadium, around a sea of blow-up penguins and across the finish line. This year, our 8th grade graduates received a special buff and ski ties, and also received graduation certificates.

The level of excitement and joy were high the entire weekend. Check out the photo library linked below and our NENSA recap video to see more action from the weekend. We are very grateful to Frost Mountain Nordic Ski Club and the Rikert Outdoor Center for hosting the 2024 edition of this event.

The Bethel Outing Club, Gould Academy, and Nonstop Nordic teamed up last weekend to put on the 33rd edition of the Flying Moose Classic, which took place at Inland Woods + Trails’ Bethel trails. The weather conditions leading into the event were tricky, and klister could be found on every wax table. By the time the 12.5km/25km race had started, there was very little cloud cover and made for some classic Spring Skiing conditions. The decision was made shortly before race start that a section of the course would be removed due to snow conditions and wet trails. Brian Beyerbach, the Winner of the Men’s 25km, took advantage of the cut-out uphill section and doubled-poled the entire course, racing in short sleeves and shorts. Over 100 racers came out to participate, making for an exciting mass start, including a large group of youth and middle school aged racers, who participated in the 1Km and 3Km options. Following the conclusion of the racing action, there was a very fun post-event gathering at Carter’s XC Ski Center for all who had participated. Results and photo libraries from the event can be found below.

Sun Journal Article

Darryn Slover Photos

3Km/Middle School Results

12.5Km Results

25Km Results

Carter’s XC Ski Center hosted the second edition of their Moonlight Ski and Snowshoe guided tour for the season. Taking place 4 weeks after the first event allowed for this event to be on snow this time around. This event was part of NENSA’s Community Tours and Events series. The February event had some in common with the January edition, as we learned about the Carter family’s connection with the land, which is home to their ski trails. We skied out to a yurt in the forest, and took some fun trails back, which became more challenging with the sun setting, to a warm bonfire at the lodge.

The next stop in the Community Tours and Events Series is a satellite Women’s Day opportunity at Black Mountain of Maine on March 9th.