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Due to an extremely cold forecast for Friday and Saturday the Race Committee has made changes to the 2023 Roy Varney Eastern Cup schedule and event distances.  Both mass start competitions will take place on Sunday with Classic in the morning and Freestyle in the afternoon.

Race Order Sunday: Classic Mass Start 5k U16, 7.5k Open — Freestyle Mass Start: 5k U16, 7.5k Open

The venue will be open on Friday, but there will be no official training or indoor space — please use extreme caution as windchill factors will be severe.

Official Training will be Saturday from 3-5pm.  The start area and a single track will be available for Classic inspection — the rest of the course will allow for Freestyle inspection.

Courses will remain open during competition for bibbed athletes and coaches — please do not overtake competitors.  Also note there will be ample wax testing and warmup opportunities, noted on Course Maps as “Wax Testing Area.”

REGISTRATION PAGE
**Registration will remain open until Friday at noon**
(please email [email protected] with any changes/questions)

FULL EVENT DETAILS

One of NENSA’s newest sponsors is Nordic Team Solutions.  As a result of their support we are excited to offer a free Nordic Team Solutions 1 year membership to one high school coach from each New England State! This is Andy Newell’s coaches’ educational programming, which is run in collaboration with many other sport experts.  Popular educational topics at Nordic Team Solutions include: Training Planning & Execution, Race Preparation & Mental Training, and Team Building. For more  information on their offerings please check out their website.

This year’s winners were selected from a pool of nominees by popular vote among each state’s high school coaches associations.  The goal of this year’s program is to promote professional development for newer coaches who take a highly active part in our skiing community.  And the deserving winners are:

 

Massachusetts: Ryan Touponce of Waconah High School

Vermont: Caitlin Smith of Bellows Free Academy-Fairfax

New Hampshire: Erin Waters of Concord High School

Maine: (tie) Emmy Held of Mt. Blue High School & Ben Geissinger of Spruce Mountain High School

 

Congratulations to the year’s winners.  We look forward to seeing you in action on the trails this season!

The student led Race for Snow illustrates the resiliency of the community of skiers that live on the Atlantic Ocean in Boston, Massachusetts.  It also portends the danger that climate change brings to our sport as we sit in the third season of La Nina.  Despite the ominous tones, the Race for Snow and the Eastern Mass Cross Country club have created a setting for snow sport to thrive in one of the most unlikely places.  The numbers, determination and skillful leadership of EMXC continue to produce and support exceptional skiers and human beings — they exemplify the mission that, “empowers lifelong learning, development and community-building through the sport of cross country skiing.”

 

Like many popular races that include all aged-skiers, the Race for Snow began with the Lollipoppers — some completely adept on theirs skis — and some perhaps having their first skinny ski experience.  Their short out and back loop included two small climbs, but never left the line of sight of spectators.  If you’ve never experienced a Bill Koch event, or it’s been a while since you have, stay up to date on the NENSA Calendar and warm your heart by attending one this winter!

Seven years ago, Tyler Lee, a then CSU skier, now Dartmouth ski team alum and Ford Sayre coach, had the vision to create the Race for Snow.  He saw it as a way to motivate his community to support their passion of skiing and climate advocacy at the same time.  Proceeds from the race have always been donated to 350.org or POW (Protect Our Winters).  Lee is inspired by the legacy of the event, and stoked to see, “each generation of CSU (EMXC) skiers taking it on.”  From rabid volunteerism, to animated pajama costumes, each generation of skiers has boosted the impact of the original mission.  In the past few years, the 2023 Race for Snow now includes an online auction — which is open until the 29th and typically raises more money than registrations.

Back to the Race.  During the third event of the evening a quick — a “hisp” happened — it was the first, of eight snow guns to be fired up  on the night.  While a concern of the student-led-organizing-committee — veteran DNC employees held their own course — “we have to make snow when we can.”  Indeed, Weston was one of the first to employ artificial snow to make winter happen in the 80’s.  And so even on on 500 meter loop, in Boston, you can enjoy seasonal snow changes in a single session.  Perfect.

Despite the precipitous snowfall hitting most of the Northeast, Boston continues to flirt with frozen vs. liquid precipitation over the ten-day forecast.  NENSA sends the biggest kudos to EMXC and the DNCR.

 

If you are interested in making an additional donation to support 350 Mass and the Race for Snow, our donation page is here: https://donate.protectourwinters.org/RaceForSnow2023. Many thanks!

Race for Snow Website

RESULTS
NENSA IG Video

Under bluebird skies and across fresh tracks, the first event of the 2023 New England Marathon series took place on Saturday in Jackson, NH.  Nearly 150 novice and Olympic skiers alike, BKL to high school, collegiate, and very experienced masters, snaked across a village meadow, up the Yodel trail, onto the Eagle fields and around Jackson XC’s homologated trails for this year’s edition of the Freeman Frost White Mountain Classic.  The newly fallen snow was picturesque, and also allowed for the traditional start for this race in the heart of Jackson village.

This year the post-event banquet returned for the first time since the pandemic began, much to the joy of all the participants!  A warm lunch was prepared and served by students and staff of the Jackson Grammar School at the Whitney Community Center.  Overall and age-group winners were recognized and awarded puzzles from White Mountain Puzzles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This running of the White Mountain Classic marked year two of the Northeast State Championships, where each state vies for bragging rights.  How does this work?  Each age group is scored, with 1 point going to 1st, 2 points to 2nd, and so on.  The best 7 finishers from each state across the age groups of both genders comprise the final score, with no limit on total team size.  Age groups are: U23, SR, M1-M12.  This year Vermont took seven first places to make a perfect score of seven, with Massachusetts a close second with nine points.

Northeast State Championship scores

Results

Rankings

NENSA Photos

Overall Winners:

Mark Young – Colby

Alison Crocker – Ford Sayre

 

Masters Age Group Winners – Women:

U20 – Eva Calcutt – Dublin XC

SR – Annavitte Rand – SDXC

M1 – Katie Halloran

M2 – Jess Marion – Dirigo

M3 – Liz Hollenbach – NWVE

M4 – Jessica Bolduc – NWVE

M5 – Sarah Pribram – NWVE

M6 – Sarah Dolcino – Black Water Nordic Ski Club

M7 – Donna Smyth – Cambridge Sports Union

M8 – Mary Heller Osgood – Putney Ski Club

M10 – Trina Hosmer – Stowe Nordic Club

M12 – Sara Mae Berman – Cambridge Sports Union

Age Group Winners – Men:

U18 – Simon Phipps – Ford Sayre

U23 – Clem Taylor-Roth – Juneau, AK

SR – Morgan Perlman – SDXC

M1 – Chris Burnham – NWVE

M2 – Ari Ofsevit – Cambridge Sports Union

M3 – Chase Rosenberg – Mansfield Nordic Club

M4 – Eric Darling – NWVE

M5 – Rob Riley – Gunstock Nordic Association

M6 – David Herr

M7 – Kirk Siegel – Bethel Outing Club

M8 – Rob Burnham – Eastern Mass Nordic, inc (EMXC)

M9 – Gordon Scannell – Schussverein-Drifter XC (SDXC)

M10 – Everett Ingalls – Portland Nordic

M11 – Bob Gray – Putney Ski Club

M12 – Larry Berman – Cambridge Sports Union

Updated Club Cup Rankings are published and the cumulative scores for the 22km and 14km races show these leaders on the day and very tight competition between perennial leader CSU and local favorite SDXC for the 2nd highest team score:

1. NWVE – 642 points
2. Cambridge Sports Union – 528 points
3. Schussverein-Drifter XC – 518 points

Congratulations to all racers – especially several who joined us for their first race – we hope you’ll be back next year!

 

 

 

 

 

The New England Nordic Ski Association invites you and your friends to try for a spot at NENSA Eastern U16 Championships and Eastern High School Championships.  This year’s Eastern High School Championship weekend will be held at the Rikert Outdoor Center in Ripton, Vermont on March 10-12th, 2023 and the U16 Championship weekend will be held at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center in Fort Kent, Maine on March 17-19th, 2023. Top junior racers from our Northeastern region and beyond participate in this event, vying for team bragging rights. All athletes must compete in their respective state’s qualification events to be eligible to participate in these two Championship events, this includes Para and non-Para athletes. Each state has a quota of 24 boys and 24 girls, plus Para athletes. See the links below to learn about each state’s qualifying process.

Maine Qualifying Information
Massachusetts Qualifying Information
New Hampshire Qualifying Information
New York Qualifying Information
Vermont Qualifying Information
Out of Region skiers or coaches please email [email protected]

Further details can be found on our U16 Championship Event Page and our Eastern High School Championship Page.

These Championship events provide excellent opportunities for our skiing community to come together, celebrate, push ourselves, cheer each other on, and make new friends. We hope that the festive atmosphere of these events form warm memories for years to come.  

 On Sunday, 98 skiers from Pre-K to eighth grade traveled from throughout Vermont to attend the Mad River Scramble, a cross country ski race at the Blueberry Lake Cross Country Ski Center.  Fifteen clubs were represented in an event that embodied the fun spirit of the Bill Koch Ski League (BKL) and fell fortuitously just after a beautiful snowfall.  The event was organized by Mad River Nordic with the support of the Green Mountain Valley School nordic team and inspired grooming by George Robinson and Jason Fowler.  

  Although there were smiles on over 300 faces throughout the day, George perhaps had the biggest, as he reflected on how happy his father, Leonard would have been to, “see all the kids skiing.”  Not only was there soft and fast snow – having hardly a wisp of wind made the open field start/finish area ideal for spectating.  Lollipop racers through fourth grade stayed within sight of the spectators in a three-fingered loop, many parents were zig-zagging between the trails cheering and supporting their skiers around the cour.  

  The 5/6 and 7/8 grade races ventured out on loops 2 and 3, where they were greeted by undulating terrain and some sporty bridge crossings.  Although the Bill Koch philosophy is based on having fun on skis, Vermont is arguably the home of the strongest development program in the United States.  While the Scramble was an inclusive event that included several first-time skiers – a high level of skill and ability to glide on skinny skis was on full display.

  Skiers started in waves by school year, between Cabot Cheese start blocks and finished between two Swix flags.  Several clubs brought tents and lawn furniture and two fire pits allowed for warming hands and roasting marshmallows.  Awards consisted of ribbons for the top-ten in each category and bags that included homemade chocolate cookies and M&M’s.  The Lollipop skiers (Pre-K/kindergarten) of course received lollipops as they crossed the line.

  Full results are available on the New England Nordic Ski Association website under the results tab.  Twenty-one Valley kids who are a part of Mad River BKL took part in the Scramble, many after a morning skiing the slopes of Mad River Glen and Sugarbush.  A Valley kid can ski it all and it was so nice to share our terrain with many skiers who had never visited the Blueberry Lake trails.

The 22nd Women’s XC Ski Day was picture perfect and our largest one yet! We are so grateful to JacksonXC and their dedicated staff and volunteers for hosting us. Jackson was a winter wonderland and they did a fabulous job with the grooming.

Here’s a little background for those of you who may not be familiar with the event. Women’s XC Ski Day was started in 2002 by Olympian Trina Hosmer of Stowe, VT. Trina was inspired by her “Sisters in Skiing” in Anchorage, Alaska, who started the Alaska Ski for Women in 1997. Like the Alaskans’ original event, Women’s XC Ski Day chooses a non-profit women’s organization to benefit, and gathers as many participants as it can for a day of cross country skiing which includes lunch and a raffle. The highlight of the day is learn-to-ski clinics with women instructors; the emphasis being on relaxed, fun learning in a supportive and encouraging environment. All ability, skill, and experience levels are welcome.

This year’s event kicked off Saturday evening with a social hosted at JacksonXC featuring tasty cheese from Cabot Creamery and delicious beer from Allagash. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and catch up with old friends over snacks and drinks.

Clinics got underway Sunday morning with this year’s event offering 7 clinic options ranging from Introductory Classic to Skate Uphill/Downhill and everything in between. There were also guided classic and skate ski tours lead by local women skiers. We are eternally grateful to the many women instructors who share their expertise, enthusiasm, and love of skiing with the participants year-after-year.

After the morning clinics, everyone enjoyed a bagged lunch and listened to 3x Olympian Dorcas DenHartog talk about the journey that led to the creation of the book “Trail to Gold: The Journey of 53 Women Skiers.” The presentation was followed by a panel discussion and book signing with the five women Olympians in attendance–Trina Hosmer, Caitlin Patterson, Leslie Bancroft Krichko, Dorcas DenHartog, and Kait Miller. Proceeds from book sales are donated to the “Trail to Gold Fellowship” which is a collaboration between the National Nordic Foundation and the Women Ski Coaches Association that is sending 5 women coaches to the World Cup for a two-week immersive internship with the US Ski Team. You can read more about the fellowship HERE and books can be purchased HERE. The lunch time ski break also featured our NENSA sponsor raffle! And wow, were there some good items on that table…

Following the afternoon ski clinics where women fine-tuned skills they learned that morning or challenged themselves to something new, the event wrapped up with the fundraising raffle, a waxing clinic, and some more snacks from Cabot Creamery. This year we were honored to raise over $1500 for our benefit organization, Starting Point, which is non-profit organization in Conway, NH dedicated to ensuring quality services are provided to victims of relationship violence and sexual abuse, preventing future relationship violence, promoting social change, and encouraging accountability and education for perpetrators and stalkers.

Before we wrap up this recap, we’d like to express our gratitude to our associate level sponsors – L.L.Bean, Swix, Salomon, and Fischer. And make special shoutout to the folks from Fischer, Salomon, Rossignol, Skida, Paradis Sport, Cross Country Skier Magazine, and Sidas who attended the event in-person with product for participants to try and buy.

And last, but not least, thank you to everyone who attended this year’s event and we hope to see you out on the trails! You can relive the day by checking out this awesome photo album HERE from Midge Eliassen and the video recap below.

We keep using the word miracle to describe many of the events we are having despite a challenging start to winter for the East Coast.  Perhaps what stood out the most about the 2023 Bogburn was a robust, indoor awards in the Rikert Outdoor Center’s Barn.  Over one hundred BKL skiers and their families gathered in a way we haven’t seen in quite some time — to honor both participation and outstanding performances — with a rustic podium background humbly displaying Olympic bibs from past Middlebury skiers.

The Bogburn is a beloved event and the life’s work of Bob Haydock — however this year, and perhaps into the future, Rikert jumped at the offer to host as there was no considerable snow in Pomfret.  Rikert’s new manager did some research and helped retain the character of a simple track passing through the woods.  Despite the stark difference of racing on manmade snow — the course had beautiful undulations and several opportunities for two-way traffic.  The balance of new and old school was struck perfectly.

As many know, the day is designed to accommodate skiers of all ages, starting with BKL skiers: 1-4, 5-6 and then 7-8.  After the “big” kids went, it was Lollipop time!  Despite no registration or expectations, quite a festive clump of children amassed at the start area like clockwork — and many of the parents shared proud smiles as they acknowledged the experience of raising the next generation on trails that they used to compete and train on themselves.  Haydock then took his bullhorn into the barn to acknowledge every skier, including medals for the top three in each age group and a coveted Skida hat for the winners.

Like any good event the show kept rolling outside with juniors and masters out trying the track and their first true klister race of the year.  At 12:30pm the action kicked up with over a hundred skiers tackling four laps of a demanding, yet playful two kilometer loop.  Athletes were seeded as so the fastest skiers could clear the track before the majority of the masters field was on course.  Savvy skiers erred on the side of kick versus glide, allowing for effortless climbing with good grip — it also provided a unique and sometimes humorous experience for much of the field as they navigated a tight 180 degree turn at the lap lane.

A huge thanks to the Haydock Family and the staff of Rikert for pulling together an outstanding event and having the vision to carry this New England gem into the future.

Historic Bogburn  Winners:

Jamie Doucett Photos
Bogburn Page

The 2023 Women’s XC Ski Day event is full! This year’s event has been quite popular, we have already expanded our registration cap, and our waitlist is long. If you signed up for our waitlist, you can check your position HERE. Please note that we are moving people off the waitlist in the order they registered from both the NENSA member and nonmember lists. We will reach out to you before moving you off the list to make sure you can still make it. If you are registered for the event and cannot make it, please email [email protected] by January 20th so we can fill your spot prior to event day. There is no day-of registration this year and we will not be accepting day of substitutions for folks who are no shows. Thanks for understanding!

Full event information HERE.