NENSA News

December greetings Eastern Cup racers ~

Craftsbury is excited to be hosting our Eastern Cup Opener in two weeks ~ the weekend of December 17th & 18th.  Although Mother Nature has not fully cooperated thus far with cold snowy weather in the NEK, please know that Craftsbury will be making snow, and are currently crafting the very best awesome race course for us that weekend.  The next 10 day forecast is showing cold temps, and it looks as if some real snow will fall between now and then too!  To be ready to race, be sure to get our NENSA and USSA memberships renewed now, and then go to SkiReg.org to register for the weekend.  Updates will be posted very soon on the VTCM page for the weekend schedule, so check back often.  Get psyched to race, and think snow!

To celebrate winter’s arrival, we’re offering our team lodging rates to all current (Winter ‘16-17) NENSA members – the entire NENSA team! From Sunday, November 27, until December 16, you’re invited to come enjoy early-season snow and training opportunities at Craftsbury starting at $75/person/nt double occupancy, $81/person/nt single occupancy in our dorm-style accommodations.

These reduced rates still include three healthy, ample meals daily from our Dining Hall, plus skiing – as well as our other amenities, like our Activity Center, sauna, and wifi.

What if the weather changes? We’ll waive our standard cancellation policy until December 16th. We’re skiers too, and understand you’d rather not be locked in to lodging contracts if the weather goes south. If we can’t provide you with at least a kilometer of skiable snow in time for your stay, we’ll give you your money back.

Celebrate the new season with Craftsbury! Follow our conditions and current news via our snow report, Facebook and Twitter streams, then call us at 802-586-7767 and reserve your spot today.

Dear Nordic Coaches,

We would like to invite you and your athletes to our Nordic Team Night at L.L. Bean Bike, Boat and Ski Store on Thursday, December 1st. This is going to be a blast, so please RSVP by the end of day on Tuesday, November 29^th. Coaches, this is the most current list we had, so please pass this invite along to other coaches in your district if they were not included.  Parents are welcome to join.

L.L. Bean Nordic Team Night

Here is what we have planned for you!

4pm-5:30pm– Dryland Training with Lilly Naimie. Please see her Bio below.

• Snacks- veggies, energy bars and drinks will be provided after your workout

5:30pm- 6:30pm- Clinics

• Strength and Conditioning with Coach Joel Hinshaw from Freeport High School & Employee Wellness at L.L. Bean
• Waxing with Bruce Diehl from Swix, Toko & Salomon

6:30pm- 7:30pm- Get Sized Up- Factory Reps will help you select boots, skis, bindings and poles

• Sales reps will be here from Salomon, Rossignol, Fischer, Craft & L.L. Bean
• Special pricing will be available for the racers from our ski vendors on this night only! Orders will be placed immediately with the reps after you have been sized.
• Special deals will also be offered by Craft on select base layers.
• Coaches this is the time to get your wax order in for the season! Special team night pricing will be available from Swix & Toko.

We will hand out the 20% off L.L. Bean Nordic Ski Team Cards to all attendees so you can get your free hot box and take advantage of the discount all season long.

There will be several door prizes and raffles. You could even win signed gear from the US Ski Team!!

 ———————

Lilly Naimie- NCAA Colby Ski Racer

Lilly is a native of New Hampshire, who considers the Jackson XC Ski Touring Center to be her home trail network, Lilly Naimie learned to ski at an early age.  She spent her Bill Koch League (BKL) days with the Blackwater Nordic Club in Hopkinton, NH and her high school years skiing for Bow High School, one of the largest public high school teams in New Hampshire.  While at Bow, she led her team to three state championships.  In the individual standings she finished on the podium in 7 of 8 state championship races over her career, including being crowned state champion in her senior year.  She skied at the Eastern High School Championships all four of her high school years, improving her overall place each season.  She was the top female recruit from NH in the graduating class of 2015.  Last year, as a freshman at Colby College, Lilly represented the Mules in all but two EISA Carnivals, including the NCAA Eastern Regionals.  Over the past summer, Lilly was a BKL coach at the 4 day NH Development Camp in Dublin, NH.  Her goals for the upcoming season are to be one of the top four skiers on the Colby women’s team and to qualify for Junior Nationals.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you!

Jennifer Elgaaen
Store Manager
L.L. Bean Bike, Boat and Ski
57 Main St
Freeport, Maine 04069

The NENSA Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Amie Smith will be taking the reins as Executive Director as we head into the 2016-17 ski season.  After serving as NENSA’s High Performance Director for the past 18 months, Amie is also now taking on staff management and organizational oversight, and will also continue to run NENSA’s competitive racing programs.

Peter Graves, who had filled the Director position on an interim basis, is stepping down as his freelance broadcasting role is becoming increasingly busy and he was unable to continue the job on a part-time basis. We thank Peter for his dedicated efforts for NENSA over the past few months. We are especially appreciative that he was willing to pitch in and help NENSA at a challenging time of transition.

Board President Carol Van Dyke commented that Amie is a powerhouse worker and enthusiastically communicates with staff and the general public on behalf of NENSA’s mission. Before Amie’s role as High Performance Director, she coached and volunteered for Cambridge Sports Union, an affiliated NENSA club, and volunteered as NENSA’s JN Trip Leader. In addition she has experienced the range of NENSA programming as her daughters came up through the NENSA system and Amie has participated in a number of Masters races herself.

Amie will lead NENSA’s strong staff team, which includes Amber Freeman, who is our Community Program Director, and Laura Creagan who is our IT Business Systems & Membership Manager.

A shout out and huge thank you to Julia Kern (CSU grad, Dartmouth/USST D team member) for working with the NENSA staff, and putting this together for us!  Peter Graves summed it up well….”When I think of NENSA, I think of the family that is New England skiing. It’s truly a way of life”  Enjoy!!