Competition has a deep, intertwined history with the sport of nordic skiing in New England. What began with strapping on wooden boards at college winter carnivals and crowning “skimeisters” a century ago has grown, evolved, and led to a total competitive ecosystem dedicated to fostering individual competitive athlete development to each skier’s total potential.
NENSA was initially formed in 1995 to steward this competitive community by a generation of deeply passionate and critically thinking ski coaches and leaders. Using their values as a guide, New England has become a national leader in athlete development. One way to think of it: the way that skiers like Bill Koch developed in New England a half century ago – to Olympic and World Cup medals – is now the development potential for every kid who joins in on the Bill Koch League today.
The secret to a thriving competitive community; remaining true to our roots. At the heart of NENSA’s philosophy is that each individual skier forms an individual relationship with skiing, and each individual skier forms a relationship with competition. When that singular relationship is empowered through our regional community, our skiers can quite literally, take on the world.
Simply, we ski better, together.
Each year, there are over 1,500 skiers who take part in at least one Competitive NENSA Program. At the Junior level, New England has won the Alaska Cup, awarded to the top division at the US Cross Country Ski National Championships 16 out of the last 20 years.
All of this builds a incredibly strong base for our athletes to be the best in the country, and in the world: 50% of US Olympians in nordic skiing over the last two cycles have a connection with New England, and 30% grew up in NENSA junior programs.
Our Competitive Programs – Highlights of our competitive ecosystem include the Eastern Cup, which serves as both the country’s largest Junior National Qualifying (JNQ) circuit and a unique competitive tradition in its own right. The Eastern Cup is bolstered by the Bill Koch League Festival (BKL), which serves as the Youth Introduction to a regional competitive environment for youth ages 7-14. In addition, NENSA also develops and supports Eastern High School and Eastern U16 Championships, which extend the number of junior athletes with Championship opportunities. Junior Development programming includes Regional Camps such as NENSA-run Regional Elite Group (REG) and Regional Development Camp (RDG), and NENSA support for developed club program camps which engage juniors throughout the year. In addition, a robust culture of rollerski racing and programming helps to allow skiers to invest in their development as skiers all year long.
Our junior-focused programming has a goal beyond just allowing every skier to be the best they can be as ski racers. It forms the basis for a lifelong engagement with competitive skiing as racers, coaches, and community leaders. To support skiing as being a central part of one’s continued communal life, NENSA is proud to help structure a Popular Series of races each year which create continued engagement on individual, club, and community levels across the region. NENSA also partners with the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) and United States Collegiate Ski Association (USCSA) to support collegiate skiing as an avenue for continued engagement with the sport and a unique part of New England’s ski culture.
