In many an ol’ New England home, there’s a aphorism repeated throughout the winter that a person who splits their own firewood warms themselves twice.
At NENSA, we look at what you do when you leave the woodstove to venture out with a similar spirit. The skier who skis in community, builds it twice. Once by showing up: sharing a smile, a laugh, a competition – a ski – with others who love the sport the same. Once again, by all the connections formed out in the woods for future trips done together.
Last year, over 8,500 skiers took to that active step of community through the NENSA Community Events. From our BKLers wearing costumes and going over the lumps and bumps of the New England woods, to our Master’s who well…often were doing the same thing! As we start out on another winter, we’re thankful to present a full calendar of places, with people who love skiing, to connect to. Whether you’re a racer, a tourer, or a volunteer, we hope we’ll see you out there to open the flue on the warmth that skiers together send on out to the world!
Series Hub + Schedules
Your winter begins here! NENSA’s Community Events hub gives you everything you need to map our where the joy on snow each week throughout the winter! Plan your season out with our season poster and calendar, Zak, Marathon and Club Cup descriptions, and weekly race series to make the most out of a New England winter!
Membership
NENSA Membership is the fuel which allows the New England ski community to burn bright! NENSA Membership is your stake in helping our community put on programs to build our community!
Joining NENSA also provides you a discount registration price at every NENSA community event, access to scoring across the winter (incl. the Zak Cup), and a shared community of people who love skiing, just like you.
Membership Checklist
Membership Resources
PLEASE log into your NENSA Membership portal and make sure you are active and your information is current. NENSA Memberships did not auto-renew from 24-25.
You must manually renew your membership this season!
Community Events Basics
What, where, and whens of NENSA Community Events
- NENSA Community Events are well, Popular! These encompass the grassroots, all-ages, races, tours, and clinics that skiers flock to on snow throughout the winter.
- NENSA Community Events includes the following Series:
- Zak Cup – Community racing for all-ages, scored season-long in Age Groups.
- Marathon Series – New England’s 25k and above races. Complete 3 to become a Challenger.
- Club Cup – Scoring of clubs in season-long construct.
- Community Events – BKL, Intro. Tours and Clinics, NENSA Women’s Day, and whatever else our community can dream up!
- In 2024-25, over 8,000 skiers of all ages participated in NENSA Community Events. In 2025-26, we want to you to be part!
- NENSA Community Events includes the following Series:
- Find your Event! – NENSA maintains 3 communication channels:
- Community Events Page – Season poster and spreadsheet – HERE
- NENSA Calendar – Your up-to-date view on what’s going on: HERE
- BKL Calendar – *NEW* is now integrated into our full calendar. BKL events are designated on the full calendar so you can filter for them under “Event Category” and “BKL.” Or click HERE.
The NENSA Community Event Page is your starting point for winter
NENSA Week-to-Week this Winter:
Where to go and where to register to do your next NENSA event
Ski season comes, goes, and is packed. NENSA maintains a rhythm to help you make your ski plans stress-free:
- NENSA Calendar Page – The NENSA Calendar is updated for the winter. We add new events during the winter, so be sure to check!
- SkiReg – The vast majority of NENSA races use SkiReg for registration. Have an account and check out their Nordic page HERE.
- Tuesdays – NENSA posts recaps from the weekend, including unofficial Zak rankings from the weekend. These are fond on our newsfeed.
- Wednesdays – KickZone! Subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly outlook on races.
- Fridays – Official Zak rankings are posted here.
Results and Rankings
Zak, Marathon, and Club results and rankings are updated throughout the winter on our Results and Rankings Pages
*NEW in 2025-26* NENSA’s Zak, Marathon, and Club Cup scoring systems have been updated (see below)
Zak, Marathon and Club Cup Scoring for 2025-26
Our *new* system updates will allow us to post week-to-week tracking of Zak and Marathon Series rankings. Racers can track their season with their age group and overall competitors in real time.
To make this possible, Zak racers and Marathon Challengers need to complete a couple key steps:
- NENSA Membership – Must be current NENSA Members at time of scoring! There is no retroactive scoring, so renew now!
- Update NENSA profile. Key lines of input across the season:
- Age Group – Your Zak Cup Age Group is your USSS-defined Age Group. Determined by your age on 12/31/25.
- Club – The club listed in your NENSA profile is who you score for in the Club Cup. There is no retroactive scoring for races you did not have your club listed. If you switch clubs, you will only score points for that club in subsequent races.
- Update NENSA profile. Key lines of input across the season:
- Unofficial Rankings Updated every Tuesday.
- Protest Period until 7am Thursday. Protests lodged with Ben Theyerl, ben@nensa.net AND Steve Bruner, steve@nensa.net.
- Final rankings posted Thursday.
- Once final rankings are posted, no updating of rankings will occur!
- Rankings posted here.
NENSA Community Events – Season Preview for 2025-26
The East is where nordic skiing is at this winter!
Early November snow has got us skiing. World Cup Finals has us looking forward to March. In between, NENSA is here to gather you and your community around the joy of skiing!
NENSA Community Highlights!
- Women’s Day @ Holderness Nordic Center, Sunday, January 25th, 2026 – The annual NENSA Women’s Day is slated to return to Holderness in 2026! Registration is near its limit, so sign up now!
- L.L.Bean Bill Koch League (BKL) Youth Festival @ JacksonXC, Saturday-Sunday Feb. 28th-Mar. 1st – The BKL season reaches its costumed peak in the White Mountains!
- Club Relay Championships @ Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Saturday, March 28th – The NENSA Club Relay Championships return in conjunction with US Spring Nationals at Craftsbury!
- FIS World Cup Finals @ Lake Placid, March 19th-22nd – Show the NENSA Community to World at the conclusion of a big Olympic year in Lake Placid. Tickets on sale now, with community programming plans to follow!
What’s New? – Zak, Marathon & Community
Dedicated members of the NENSA have worked throughout the offseason to help us head into the winter with improved services for community racers, along with a few new and renewed events to help get skiers of all ages and abilities active this winter.
- Zak Cup and Marathon Series Rankings – An overhaul of our Zak ranking systems will allow for a more capricious and real-time experience for Zak Cup racers this winter. By keeping and maintaining a current NENSA member profile, racers will be able to track their progress with their age group and overall competitors in real-time. NENSA owes a thank you to our Master Committee and in particular, community member Chris Naimie, for their work in overhauling and modernizing these systems!
- Zak and Marathon races are designated on NENSA calendar. They are also identified on our season spreadsheet, linked from our Community Race Page, or available here.
- Weekly Race Series Listings – A number of NENSA clubs offer ongoing race opportunities throughout the season. Often as grassroots (but snow covered) as it gets, these are excellent opportunities to explore the true shared community joy of racing, and now they’re listed in one place on our landing page HERE.
- Return of NENSA Club Relay Championships – The American ski calendar will wind up at Craftsbury for US Spring Nationals, including the national club relay championship on Saturday, March 28th. In conjunction, NENSA is reviving our regional club championships, and awarding our season-long Zak Cup awards, at Craftsbury on March 28th!
- A Full Calendar from December – April – We are once again thankful to have a dedicated community of all skiing stripes putting on events throughout the full extent of the New England winter. Wherever you look this winter, you’ll find fun on skinny skis, and continue to check back on our NENSA Calendar for more!
Help us Capture the Winter Fun!
One of the joys of the ski community is that it’s like any good gathering: full of every type of person.
Do you have a creative talent? – Photography or writing? Share it with us!
NENSA is always grateful to share the voices and vision of community members in our recaps and coverage. Send your photos and experiences to Ben Theyerl, ben@nensa.net, and we’d love to include you in our storytelling of a BIG winter this season!
And Finally….
Thank a Volunteer This Winter!
Remember, it takes a village to gather a village who loves ski racing. Thank you to everyone who will hand out refreshments, organize bibs, and do whatever it takes to bring the joy of winter to our community this winter!
