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A spectacular community came out for the 2017 App Gap Challenge to watch fifty-six competitors kick, glide and skate up the east side of Appalachian Gap.  Cool weather and a fantastic volunteer crew made an enjoyable experience for all — not to mention the awesome food prepared by the staff of Mad River Glen!

The performance of the day went to Kamran Husain (SMS/Dartmouth) who broke David Sinclair’s historical record from 2010 by six seconds with a time of 30:28 and won the Open Men.  Lia Van Dyke took the victory for the Open Women with a time of 30:01.

Elliot Ketchel (GMVS/Bowdoin) and Alexandra Lawson (Craftsbury/Middlebury College) took top junior honors with the 4th (31:18) and 2nd (26:58) fastest historical times respectively.  Olympian, Dorcas Wonsavage, was the top woman Master with a time of 29:08.  Eli Enman from Sleepy Hollow Nordic Center showed is Mastery of the mens field with a time of 32:59.  Perhaps the most inspired showing of the day was that of King Milne, who at 74 years young,  propelled himself up the mountain with smiles and grace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A big thanks to all our sponsors and supporters who made this great event possible: EventSet, LL Bean, Swix, Toko, Nokian Tires, Swenor, Start, Bliz, Salomon, Rossignol, Fischer, Trapp Family Lodge, SKIDA and Nifhlheim Nordic.

We look forward to seeing an even bigger event next year!

RESULTS with top four historical times: App Gap 2017 Results

Some great shots from Dave Priganc.

The Eastern Mass Bill Koch League will be hosting the 2018 New England Bill Koch Youth Ski League Festival on February 17-18th at the Leo J. Martin Ski Track in Weston, Massachusetts. This date was chosen based on historical snowfall data to ensure the best chance at having enough snow for the event.  EMBKL did a fantastic job hosting the event back in 2013, and we look forward to another great weekend at Weston in 2018!

Click here for more info on booking a room at the Embassy Suites under the BKL group rate

NENSA is pleased to announce Adam Terko from Mansfield Nordic Club as the 2017 Coach of the Year.

Adam has done a superb job of transforming the Mansfield Nordic into one of the strongest Club Programs in the East since he took over as the Executive Director and Head Coach in 2015.  Although his passion is to create fast ski racers, the scope of his work has created a productive environment for skiers of all abilities to develop and enjoy cross-country skiing at a high level.  His efforts make Mansfield not only a resource for skiers from North West Vermont, but for skiers from throughout Vermont and New England.

Adam started his coaching career as the Assistant Coach at St. Lawrence University from 2012-2014.  Before helping his alma mater, the native Vermonter skied for CVU High School, were he captained the team and competed for New England at Junior Nationals.  During his time at St. Lawrence he helped coach and served as a wax tech for the Mid Atlantic Division at Junior Nationals.  When he returned to Vermont he continued to hone his skills working with Vermont’s EHS Team and the New England JN Team.  Adam is an enthusiastic member of our coaching community and a regular presence at Coaches Education and NENSA gatherings.

Kort Longenbach, the MNC President, is grateful for Adam’s energy and willingness to work with all levels of skiers, “our club has grown in many dimensions during his tenure.  In terms of excellence, he does a tremendous job of setting high training and self-reliance expectations for his athletes, while balancing it with an approachable and playful manner.  Over time I have seen his skiers positively respond to more aggressive training programs, while also growing a fun team atmosphere that has attracted members from all over.”

Just this week Adam illustrated this creative approach to coaching at the Eastern Regional Camp held in Waitsfield, Vermont, when he showed up for the skate agility test with a slip-n-slide and tiki torches.  The agility test is a serious competition that is part of the US Ski Team’s Development Program and a piece of qualification for further National Training Programs, however adding a innovative finish to the test allowed athletes to balance their competition with a fun factor and gave them a reward for putting forth their best effort.

Amie Smith, NENSA’s Executive Director says, “I was so pleased with the choice of Adam Terko as NENSA Coach of the Year.  Adam is a team player, and has been an awesome member of our JN Staff the past two years, first year as a member of our wax tech team, and this past March, as the U16 boys coach.  Adam is always willing to pitch in and do whatever is needed.  He is active in our NENSA community, having just joined the Athlete Development Committee in May, and wants what is best for our athletes, at every age.”

Coach Terko has found a nice fit living the MNC credo, “coaching, training and playing in the shadow of Mt. Mansfield.” “There’s an incredible support system within our club that makes it easy for me to put as much energy as I can into coaching…parents, Board members, coaches alongside myself, and of course the athletes themselves. You also can’t overlook the culture and engagement with the sport in New England. To be recognized for my coaching is really also a testament to all of those other factors and people as well. Thanks so much…and go Pugs!

We applaud Adam Terko for all he is doing for his Club – and the sport of cross-country skiing!

(Written by Justin Beckwith, Competitive Program Director)

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!

NENSA is excited to announce the 2017-2018 Eastern Cup Schedule. These four race weekends are NENSA’s signature race series, bringing together Junior, Senior, and Master skiers. They also serve as qualifying races for the New England Junior National Team. We would like to extend our thanks to the many venues that bid for this year’s events and we look forward to a competitive and snowy winter.

NENSA Eastern Cup “OPENER” WEEKEND #1
Fort Kent, Maine
Hosted by the Fort Kent Outdoor Center
December 16-17, 2017

Saturday December 16 – Skate Sprint

Sunday December 17 – Classic Mass Start (5km / 10km)

NENSA Eastern Cup WEEKEND # 2
Ripton, Vermont
Hosted by the Rikert Touring Center
January 13-14, 2018

Saturday January 13 – Classic Sprint

Sunday January 14 – Skate Interval Start (5km U16 / 10km Women and Men)

NENSA Eastern Cup WEEKEND #3
Stowe, Vermont
Hosted by the Trapp Family Lodge
February 3-4, 2018 **Saturday race combined with EISA / UVM Carnival

Saturday February 3 – Classic Interval Start (5km U16 and Women / 10km Men)

Sunday February 4 – Skate Mass Start (5km U16 / 10km Women / 15km Men)

NENSA Eastern Cup Weekend #4
DAY ONE – Hanover, New Hampshire
Hosted by the Dartmouth XC Ski Center at Oak Hill (Ford Sayre/Dartmouth College)
February 10-11, 2018 **Saturday race combined with EISA / Dartmouth Carnival

Saturday February 10, 2018 – Skate Interval Start (5km U16 and Women / 10km Men)

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DAY TWO – Plymouth, New Hampshire
Hosted by the Holderness School Nordic Club

Sunday February 11, 2018 – Classic Interval Start (5km U16 / 10km Women / 15km Men)