NENSA News

Despite the downright frigid temperatures hovering over New England skiers of all ages enjoyed excellent conditions over the holiday period.  This weekend our Zak Cup races resume with two events on Sunday the 7th, the Stowe Nordic Crosscut 10km and the Gunstock January Thaw 12km/8km (moved from Saturday due to predicted cold temps).  You can find out more about those races, including registration, by searching our Calendar of Events and learn more about the entire series by looking at the Zak Cup page.  Registration for all events are done through SkiReg.com

Read a fun article about “Why Master Skiers Need to Stay in the Game,” by Damian Bolduc of Northwest Vermont Endurance.

NENSA is excited to work with amazing venues throughout the region to put on this robust series of citizen races.  The Zak Cup was designed to promote masters skiing and highlight the top skiers in all age groups (Master 1 – Master 12) for their season long efforts.  Skiers (current NENSA members) who place in the top fifteen of their respective age groups earn points which accumulate throughout the season.  Scoring will be updated to our Rankings Page in a timely fashion so skiers can see how they stack up against their competition.  Detailed information about Zak Scoring can be found here.

NENSA also scores all Zak Cup races for Club Cup scoring.  Club Cup scoring was designed to promote participation and any skier who designates themselves with their active NENSA club at registration will score points for their club, regardless if they are NENSA members or not.  Club Cup scoring includes all age groups from U16 through Masters 12 with a premium for being in the top-10, with all skiers 11 and on earning one point.  Further clarification is available here.

There are two unique Club events within the Zak Cup Series, the 1 Day Club Championships (1DCC) held in Jackson, New Hampshire (15th year) and a relatively new race, the New England Club Relay Championships (2nd year) which is held at Craftsbury, Vermont.  The 1DCC is an individual race that was designed designed to award age-adjusted skiing excellence across age categories.  The sum of the top 4 men and top 3 women placements in separate age categories determine the 1DCC winning club.  Skiers in this event are also scored to Zak and Club Cup points individually.  The New England Club Relay allows clubs six different options to compose a relay team by combining a broad range of ages into single sex, or mixed teams.  Each team will accumulate World Cup points for their club which are combined to crown the top club of the day.  This race will also be scored for Club Cup points for those teams that are designated as current NENSA clubs at registration.  More information about the scoring of both of these events is found here.

If you are interested in being a part of all this Zak Cup excitement please make sure your NENSA memberships are current before registering for any races.  If you want your club to be represented please make sure your club is active for the 2018 season.  When registering on SkiReg for races, make sure your NENSA number is entered and select your club from the dropdown menu.  With those two steps you are well on your way to a great season of scored racing!

Please direct any membership questions to [email protected] and any scoring questions to [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you out on the track!!

Competitors for the Eastern Cup mass start classic events were greeted with railroad-track-like conditions on Fort Kent’s serpentine 5km course.  Temperatures were in the low single digits and the firm tracks rewarded those who had ample kick.

The U16 boy’s opened the day racing with a field of 27 competitors.  Finn Sweet of Craftsbury rose to the challenge and skied to a commanding 22 second victory (15:25) over Felix-Olivier Moreau of Club Nordique MSA who covered the course in 15:47.  Aidan Burt of Mansfield Nordic held off a hard charging Brian Bushey of GMVS to take the last step on the podium with a time of 15:53.

The U16 girl’s field was one larger than the boys with 28 competitors.  Quincy Massey-Beirman of Craftsbury/Mansfield skied a stellar performance to take her first Eastern Cup win with a time of 17:51.  Nina Seeman of Stratton was hot on her heels with a time of 17:55.  Liliane Gagnon of Skibec Nordique showed the depth of the Canadian contingent taking the third place position with a time of 18:08.

The open women’s field skied a separate 5km mass start with 65 athletes toeing the line.  Leah Brams spent the entire race with the lead pack and pulled away in the later kilometers for a fifteen second victory in 16:59.  Rena Schwartz of GMVS continues to be a threat in any distance race placing second with a time of 17:14.  Catherine Reed-Metayer, again of Skibec Nordique, skied to third place in 17:20.

Stratton’s Ben Ogden was out for revenge after finishing third in Saturday’s heats.  He strided to an impressive victory in the men’s 1okm.  After skiing a tactical race with the lead pack he surged ahead and saluted the crowd with a “bow and arrow” gesture with his poles as he crossed the finish with a time of 29:20.  Felix Longpre of Club Nordique MSA showed impressive classic form and moved up from his 11th place finish in the sprint to nab second place in 29:25.  Peter Holmes of the University of New Hampshire climbed onto the last step of the podium with a time of 29:29.

The open stadium of the Fort Kent Outdoor Center and mid winter conditions set up a beautiful arena for each of the mass starts.  The courses were meticulously groomed, offering fair racing for all on challenging terrain.  Spectators and athletes alike forgot about the significant distance they had traveled because the experience provided by the venue and its staff was bar none.

New England U18/U20 rankings for will be updated in PDF form to the Rankings Page tomorrow as we are updating our database to provide improved functionality to the site.

Stowe Nordic Seeking Youth Program Coach

Stowe Nordic, Stowe Vermont’s premier nordic ski club for over 20 years, is seeking a ski coach for the 2017-18 season to lead our youth program (BKL age group, 5-14).  The coach will be responsible for all aspects of Stowe Nordic’s youth program (weekly communication, lesson plans, and on snow instruction).  Program dates and times are: Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-5:00 pm beginning in December and ending in mid March.  Salary and other ski pass benefits available for the right candidate.  Please contact Neal Graves at [email protected] for more information or submit a resume and cover letter to:  [email protected]

Registration is now open for the 2018 New England Bill Koch League (BKL) Festival. The New England BKL Festival is the marquee event of the New England Nordic Ski Association’s Bill Koch Youth Ski League. This holiday season, give your child and family the gift of an unforgettable experience by signing up now for this year’s festival hosted by the Eastern Massachusetts Bill Koch League at the Leo J Martin Ski Track in Weston, MA on February 17-18, 2018.

“Snowdance” is the theme to the annual cross-country ski festival that brings together young skiers from across New England to celebrate their love for the sport. Register now for the Competitive Events, which include a 2 person freestyle relay on Saturday morning and an afternoon freestyle sprint, highlighting the spectator friendly, and lighted courses, and then an individual classic event on Sunday. The competitive participants can race in one or all events and enjoy the Nordic Adventure events as well. The youngest skiers (grade 2 and younger) can sign up as Lollipop Participants, enjoying the Lollipop race and the Nordic Adventure events.

The Nordic Adventure events will include the Parade, Ski-Orienteering, Nordic Playground: Snowdance Celebration, Snow Sculptures, Tandem Skiing, Face Painting, Ski Biathlon (with beanbags!), and other activities to be announced.

Also available on the registration page are SKIDA festival hats, headbands and neckwarmers to purchase, and tickets to the Saturday night buffet dinner at the Embassy Suites.

Co-sponsored by Eastern Massachusetts Bill Koch League and Cambridge Sports Union, Boston’s thriving cross country ski community is excited to welcome families from across New England for the festival.  Sign up here: https://www.skireg.com/new-england-bill-koch-league-festival0 for this fantastic event and give your family a fun weekend they will not forget! For more information check out the festival website: www.bklfestival2018.com

Over two hundred skiers competed today in a sprint competition at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center on a beautiful 1.4km track.  The temperature hovered in the single digits, and bright sunshine made for enjoyable environment for racers and spectators.

Ben Ogden of the Stratton Mountain School posted the fastest qualification of the day with a time of 2:58.25.  Local skier, Daniel Streinz, who now competes for Northern Michigan University posted the second fastest time at 3:02.45 and Nicolas Beaulieu of Orford placed third in 3:05.14.  Stratton’s Anna Lehmann set the pace for the women’s field with a time of 3:44.25.  She was followed by Catherine Reed-Metayer of Skibec in 3:48.43 and Abigail Streinz of the Outdoor Sports Institute in 3:49.17.

The afternoon was filled with dynamic heat races for open, U18/U20 and U16 heats.  It was Daniel Streinz who prevailed as the overall winner of the Men’s A Final, besting Tyler Smith of the University of New Hampshire and Ben Ogden in second and third respectively.  Craftsbury’s, Callie Young, topped the women’s field in an exciting photo finish with University of New Hampshire’s Silje Wilson and Leah Brams of Dartmouth College.

Although the majority of the open field consisted of junior racers, separate U18/U20 heats were held for the next twelve skiers outside the top-30.  Mainer, Marcus Wentworth, bested the junior field with an impressive final.  He edged out Brian Beyerbach of HURT Nordic and Cal Schrupp of Gunstock Nordic.  Madeline Kitch of CSU sprinted her way to victory just ahead of teammates, Olivia Cuneo and Emily Nottonson from the Green Mountain Valley School.

Four U16 skiers displayed strong early season form by making the open rounds.  Felix-Olivier of Club Nordique posted the 13th fastest qualification time and skied to 17th overall in the open rounds.  Stratton’s Will Koch qualified 21st and ended the day in 30th overall, after not starting his quarter.  For the girls, Liliane Gagnon of Skibec qualified 19th overall and skied her way up to 17th in the rounds.  Nina Seemann of Stratton posted the 15th qualifying time and finished the day in 21st.

Carl Kellogg of GMVS had a breakout performance and took the win in the U16 Final.  Aidan Burt of Mansfield Nordic and Finn Sweet of Craftsbury placed second and third.  Quincy Massey-Bierman of Craftsbury/Mansfield Nordic separated herself from the field in the girl’s final.  Ali Priganc of Mansfield finished second just ahead of CSU’s Shea Brams.

Complete results are available on the Results Page.

Tomorrow the action continues with Mass Start Classic races.  Start Lists are posted on the VTCM.

A huge thanks to the staff of the Fort Kent Outdoor Center and their volunteers for running a top notch event.  Stay tuned to Facebook and Instagram for updated event pictures and find live timing on Bart Timing.