NENSA News
TD Seminar and Event Organizer Training Weekend
Do you have interest in becoming a Technical Delegate (TD) or learning more about how competitive cross country ski events are run? Maybe you are an event organizer gearing up for the season — either way come join us for an interactive weekend with presentations by leaders in their fields at Craftsbury on December 2nd and 3rd. If you are interested in attending either day, or both, please send an email to [email protected] and look at the calendar listing for discounted lodging. This event is free of charge and all are welcome! (Don’t forget to bring your skis — the CB snow maestros are busy making winter.)
Saturday December 2, 2017
9 AM: Meet at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center
Introductions (15 mins)
Jury work: How to use your Jury (30 mins) Bill Henchey
New Rules (ICR’s) (ex. turning zones / classic zones / pole height) (30 mins) Allan Serrano
Use of Decision Tree for sanction decisions (use videos available online) (60 mins) Justin Easter
Coach’s Perspective (warm up/course closures/access, wax testing, delays, etc.) (15 mins) Justin Beckwith
12 noon: Lunch in dining hall: (Lunch tickets available for folks joining for the day or staying on Saturday night only, please call the main office (802.586.7767) 24 hours in advance to request, $11.50+tax)
2 -3:30 PM: Event Organizers discussion – VTCM’s and overall communication – best practices
Amie Smith and Justin Beckwith
3:30-4:30 PM: Timing Discussion – (requirements/EC expectations/sprints – lucky loser vs. timed heats) Amie Smith, Justin Beckwith, Timers
5:30 PM: Dinner together in the Craftsbury dining hall ($18+tax, 24 hour notice as lunch)
7:30-9PM: Social and round table after dinner (Topic: what drives a Jury to make certain decisions – a discussion – what is the best decision for the athletes. What is a good and/or bad experience you have had with a TD?)
Sunday December 3, 2017
9AM: Meet at Craftsbury for site inspection and discussion of Start/Finish areas, turning zones, classic zones, spectator flow, athlete access, and snowmaking, with Lucas Schulz
11AM: Discussion of site inspection procedures – Interactive piece – “Thinking outside of the box” – Allan Serranno
*For those lodging at Craftsbury, Breakfast (7:30-9:30) and Lunch (12-2)
Eastern Cup Primer for 2019 – Are you ready?
We are nearly two months away from the beginning of the NENSA Eastern Cup Series. The first races of the season will be held at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center on the weekend of December 22-23. You can learn more about the Eastern Cup schedule here — and please read our updated EC Primer below for important information regarding race details, seeding, scoring and Junior National Qualification.
Registration for all Eastern Cup races will open November 1st on SkiReg.com — before you register make sure your NENSA and US Ski and Snowboard memberships are current and you update your team/club affiliations in your NENSA profile.
We look forward to an awesome winter and seeing you on the trails soon!!
- All Eastern Cup race registrations will be done on SkiReg.com, and registration will open on November 1st
- All racers must have valid NENSA and US Ski & Snowboard membership to race – please note a $10 daily NENSA membership is available.
- To renew or get your NENSA membership, go to NENSA.net
- To renew or get your US Ski and Snowboard membership, go to USSA.org
- Regarding US Ski & Snowboard memberships: All EC racers will be listed in the overall race results, regardless of your membership levels ($15 general membership or $95 competitor membership). But, if you want to be listed on the US Ski & Snowboard NRL (National Ranking List), and be ranked for New England Junior National team qualification (best of 3 for U16, or best of 4 for U18/U20) you MUST buy the US Ski & Snowboard competitors membership. So, if you have any thoughts, plans, dreams or desires to try to make the JN team, buy the competitors membership now.
- You can upgrade to a US Ski & Snowboard competitors license later in the season, (points may not retroactively apply to previous races). If you want to be listed on the NRL and ranked for JNQ – buy the competitor license, not the general membership before the start of the race season.
- Buy both your NENSA & US Ski and Snowboard memberships early. Do not wait until the day you register on SkiReg.com. Your correct data needs to be in our systems (NENSA & US Ski and Snowboard) at least a few days before you register on SkiReg.
- Each Eastern Cup race Virtual Team Captain’s Meeting (VTCM) will be hosted on NENSA.net. Please check our website VTCM race information page for frequent updates, especially as the race weekend approaches. This page will provide you with venue updates, times changes, important racer and coach information.
- Registration will close at 5pm on the Wednesday before each Eastern Cup weekend.
- Seed lists will be posted on Thursday (using points from the most current lists).
- Start lists will be posted by 8pm on Friday for Saturday and Sunday races.
- Eastern Cup race results link will be provided from the Timer and a link will be posted on NENSA.net. All racers who competed in the Eastern Cup race will be listed in this results link.
- Each Eastern Cup race will be scored by US Ski and Snowboard, and updated to the NRL.
- NRL and FIS listing dates can be found on page 16 of the 18 Nordic Competition Guide.
- SEEDING: All racers will be seeded by their best of either, US Ski and Snowboard or FIS points. If you do not yet have current US Ski and Snowboard point profile (bought a competitor’s license but have not raced a race yet to be listed on the current US Ski and Snowboard list in use), or, if you are a general member, you will be listed as 990 and seeded randomly behind the seeded group. Once you have a US Ski and Snowboard point profile, you will be seeded according to that number. If you are just a general member, you will always be seeded as a 990 behind the seeded group.
- For U18/U20 JN qualifying, NENSA will rank Best of 4 EC and/or OOR races, and this will be posted on NENSA.net for current NENSA & US Ski and Snowboard competitor members. Races will be posted for ranking once they are officially scored by US Ski and Snowboard. Racers without a competitive US Ski and Snowboard license will NOT be included in the rankings.
- Sprint Scoring: The heat results of the two EC sprint races will be scored. NENSA will re-score the final heat results with US Ski and Snowboard distance points. This change was adopted by the ADC effective October 2017 to seek parity in points between sprint and distance races.
- For U16 JN qualifying, NENSA will score the Best of 3 EC races, and no OOR races. This will be done using US Ski and Snowboard Super Tour Scoring (see below). NENSA shall use the following tie-breaking mechanisms in order (selection races are the 8 U16 races at NENSA Eastern Cups; for sprints, the final results for the top 12 come from the heats/finals, and from the qualifying for places 13 and higher):
~Best single finish in a selection race
~Second best single finish in a selection race
~Third best single finish in a selection race
~Fourth best single finish in a selection race
US Ski and Snowboard SuperTour Scoring:
The US Ski and Snowboard SuperTour scoring system awards points to the top 20 competitors in each event. | |
Place | Points |
1 | 30 |
2 | 25 |
3 | 21 |
4 | 18 |
5 | 16 |
6 | 15 |
7 | 14 |
8 | 13 |
9 | 12 |
10 | 11 |
11 | 10 |
12 | 9 |
13 | 8 |
14 | 7 |
15 | 6 |
16 | 5 |
17 | 4 |
18 | 3 |
19 | 2 |
20 | 1 |
Out-of-Region Races for 2018-19 Season (U18/U20’s only):
US National Championships – Craftsbury Outdoor Center – Craftsbury, VT
Thursday, January 3: Classic Individual Start 10km/15km
Friday, January 4: Classic Sprint
Sunday, January 6: Skate Mass Start 5km/10km
*Please note the Freestyle Sprint on January 8, will not be scored to the NENSA JNQ Ranking Lists.
THERE IS NO OOR RACES for U16’s
US Nationals races will be scored to the NENSA JNQ Ranking Lists using U.S. Ski and Snowboard points for U18 & U20’s. An athlete must be a US Ski and Snowboard competitor member to compete at the US National Championships.
RESULTS — Invitational Roller Ski Race at Trapp Family Lodge
Today was a great day for cross country skiing in New England — with two celebrations — one in New Hampshire for the Caldwell Family and another to push forward the legacy of the sport in Vermont.
55 skiers, ages U16 through Masters, toed the line in an Invitational Race hosted by the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe,Vermont. The expert field of athletes, including three Olympians, navigated a grueling 10 kilometer course that finished at the Trapp Outdoor Center.
Ida Sargent of the US Ski Team/ Craftsbury Green Team took top honors in the women’ s race covering the course in 31 minutes and 34 seconds. Liz Stephen, Elizabeth Stephen, aka OMA, was hot on her heels taking second place, representing the US Ski Team and Burke Mountain Academy (32:09). Sun Valley XC Gold Team member, Kelsey Phinney, took the third position (32:38).
Adam Martin from the Craftsbury Green Team fought his way to victory in the men’s field, covering the course in 28 minutes flat. He was followed by Caldwell Sport’s, Kris Freeman, a mere 8 seconds behind. Ben Ogden, a junior sensation from the Stratton Mountain School, rounded out the podium 22 seconds behind Freeman.
Alex Lawson of Middlebury College took top honors for the junior women with a time of 35:25. Rena Schwartz from the Green Mountain Valley School took second place (36:01), followed by Lillian Fisher from the Stratton Mountain School (36:21).
Albeit Mr. Ogden placed in the Open Field, Karl Schulz, skiing for the University of Vermont, took the victory for the junior men with a time of 29 minutes and 17 seconds. Greg Burt, of the Green Mountain Valley School, followed in second place at 29:41, and Finn O’Connell of the University of Vermont crossed the line in third (29:54).
The NENSA Elite Invitational brought together a broad age range of the top skiers in New England and US Skiing, showcasing the talent of our cross country athletes. The event was made possible by the support of the Trapp Family Lodge and the Town of Stowe. Event sponsors included: Cabot Cheese, Sunrise Orchards, Ploughgate Creamery, Gallagher Brothers Honey and von Trapp Cheese. Kathy and Marty Hall graciously donated prize money to the winners of the overall field.
After the race our community gathered to celebrate at the von Trapp Bierhall, with awards and a Winter Kickoff Party, which supported the National Nordic Foundation (NNF), and NENSA.
Bill Koch League Workshop in Woodstock Vermont
The NENSA Bill Koch League Vermont Parent/Leader Workshop was held in Woodstock, Vermont at the Woodstock Elementary School this past Sunday October 22nd. Parents and coaches from all over New England participated in the workshop which was filled with thought provoking discussions and ideas for practices.
The morning started with a presentation by Amber Freeman, NENSA’s Youth Program Director on Bill Koch Youth Ski League basics. She covered the philosophy of the BKL, including the BKL way of teaching, and competition principles which have been the same for many years. She introduced new research from Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and other development models such as the American Development Model embraced by the United States Olympic Committee, and Canada’s Sport for Life and the Long Term Athlete Development Model which all support the Bill Koch League philosophy.
Jamie Hannon, a Professor of Adventure Education at Plymouth State University presented on creating a positive team culture in a Bill Koch League.
Jamie lead everyone through the mousetrap exercise, where pairs lead each other (some barefoot!) through a maze of set mouse traps. This was a demonstration on how risk can factor into a league practice, and that fear of these risks can undermine learning and optimal performance.
Stratton Mountain School’s Nordic Ski Coach Poppet Boswell presented on agility, balance and coordination, demonstrating many ways to create drills for practices.
Here are participants trying out different speed ladder drills.
Poppet brought bands that can be used for “chariots” at practice where skiers can tow a friend. This fun tool can emphasize the need to have high hips and bent ankles and allow exploration of a forward lean. She also showed how to incorporate cones, slalom courses, and obstacle courses into practices. Here is Poppet’s Handout on the ABC’s.
Mary Anne Levins presented on how to run Bill Koch League events. Mary Anne has been the race secretary at many races including the Bill Koch League Festival for 17 years, and the former chair of NENSA’s BKL Committee for just as long. She shared her advice and experiences with running races, and gave some funny and insightful stories of how she “learned the hard way.”
Mary Anne set up a finish line demonstration at the end, showing how a timing crew can be set up. She also expressed how important it is for parents to volunteer at races so they can learn how they function and how its a great way for them to be involved in the club, and that many hands make light work!
If you are interested in hosting a race at your club, but need to purchase BKL ribbons, want to borrow BKL bibs or have questions on how to run a race, please reach out to Amber Freeman ([email protected]) for more info and resources.
Thank you to the presenters for sharing your knowledge, and the parents and coaches who participated and who work with our Bill Koch Leagues and youth in New England. You are the ones on the ground building a brighter future and creating an outdoor sport oriented community! Thank you to Chris Henderson and Gretchen Czaja from the Woodstock Ski Runners for helping organize the event.
The next coaching clinic is coming up November 11th in Sudbury, MA, click here for details. Following that there will be an event on Thursday November 30th for Middle & High School aged skiers and their parents and coaches at the L.L. Bean Bike Board and Ski Store in Freeport, Maine. Click here for details!