NENSA News

NENSA is thrilled to be offering TWO versions of XC Ski Bingo for the 2022-23 season! This will be the third year of Youth XC Ski Bingo  for anyone UNDER 14 years of age, and new this year is Junior & Adult Bingo  for people 14 and OLDER! The goal of this virtual game is to help inspire people of all ages and skill levels to get outside, enjoy the winter world on skis, engage with others who also like to ski, and explore new places.

Every player who completes Bingo gets a rainbow NENSA sticker and each Bingo line completed gets players a raffle entry. At the end of  every month we will raffle off some fun items from our sponsors! Read on for more info and get playing!

Youth XC Ski Bingo

For skiers UNDER 14 years of age! Download and print your own Youth XC Ski Bingo Card HERE and be sure to fill out the BINGO ENTRY FORM when you finish. Activity descriptions included in the Bingo card download.

Rules of the Game:

1. Must be under 14 years of age to play. Game runs from December 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.
2. Get “Bingo” by completing the activities and skiing in the states in a full row, column, or diagonal.
3. Mark your Bingo card as you complete squares. Remember to take at least one activity photo or a picture of you where you skied!
4. Fill out the XC Ski Bingo entry form HERE! You’ll include your activity or ski location photo and a picture of your marked Bingo card.
5. Get outside and HAVE FUN!!!
6. Direct any questions to [email protected].

Junior & Adult XC Ski Bingo

For skiers 14 and OLDER! Download and print your own Junior & Adult 2022-23 Bingo Card HERE and be sure to fill out the BINGO ENTRY FORM when you finish. Activity descriptions included in the Bingo card download.

Rules of the Game:

1. Must be 14 years of age or older to play. Game runs from December 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.
2. Get “Bingo” by completing the activities and skiing in the states in a full row, column, or diagonal.
3. Mark your Bingo card as you complete squares. Remember to take at least one activity photo or a picture of you where you skied!
4. Fill out the XC Ski Bingo entry form HERE! You’ll include your activity or ski location photo and a picture of your marked Bingo card.
5. Get outside and HAVE FUN!!!
6. Direct any questions to [email protected].

NENSA’s annual Winter Auction is LIVE and features over 170 items. Check out all of the wonderful offerings…art and handcrafted items, vacation rentals, special experiences, delicious treats, ski gear, clothing, and accessories…and watch for new arrivals. There is something special for everyone!

We will be highlighting individual items along the way, but would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to all of our sponsors and supporters for their generous contributions. All proceeds directly support our year-round programming and keep membership and entry fees low.

Thank you for supporting NENSA!

NENSA is proud to present the 2022-2023 Eastern Cup Series, a set of eight U.S. Ski & Snowboard sanctioned  competitions.  Each year, venues bid and are elected to host these prestigious events, balancing regional locations and collaboration with collegiate and SuperTour competitions.  We are extremely fortunate in the East to have many robust venues with incredible physical and human infrastructure.  Eastern Cups are open to all U.S. Ski & Snowboard and NENSA members (NENSA 1-Day memberships are available on all registrations.  Athletes under 20 years of age are scored to the Junior Ranking List (JRL), which is the basis for qualification for the New England Junior National Team.

Each year NENSA committees review our competition guidelines — athletes, coaches and parents should be familiar with the Race Rules document.

This year features some major changes, the most notable that all events feature equal distance for male and female competitors.  All NENSA races remain fluoro-free, and testing could occur at any event.

NENSA is also introducing two new TEAM Oriented Competitions this year for all to be involved in! Whether you are a junior racer new to the Eastern Cup, or come from one of the more established clubs in the East there is something for everyone to get on board with:
1) Club Cup – Season Long Club Points Tally
2) Eastern Cup Club Score – For Juniors for each Eastern Cup Competition

We are poised for a successful season, starting in just over three weeks, with many areas already seeing natural snow — and temperatures that have allowed venues to get a strong start snowmaking.  Eastern Cup’s are built to be spectator friendly events, with inspired action and a festival atmosphere — we so look forward to seeing the Eastern skiing community soon!

The first stop on the tour is the Rikert Nordic Grand Prix – Eastern Cup Opener on December 17th & 18th in Ripton, Vermont. The Rikert Outdoor Center is a storied race venue with iconic mountain views and winding wooded trails.  The historic Bread Loaf Inn is available for housing for the first time, offering trailside lodging with meal package options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  You can find out more about these options on the registration page under Merchandise Options — book early as these rooms will likely fill quickly and all reservations must be made by December 6th.

Rikert Nordic Grand Prix Registration Page

On January 14th & 15th, we travel to Black Mountain of Maine for the Chisholm Ski Club Eastern Cup and Bates Carnival in Rumford.  This unique event overlaps with an EISA Carnival this season on Saturday — which will likely be one of the largest and most competitive races in the East this winter.  Registration will open shortly.

After several years of hosting the Opener, the Roy Varney Memorial Quarry Road Eastern Cup will be hosted on February 4th & 5th in Waterville, Maine.  Quarry Road Trails puts on a beautiful event and continually invests in the Quarry Road Recreation Area, which is owned and operated by the City of Waterville Department of Parks & Recreation.  Registration will open shortly.

For the second year we will conclude the Eastern Cup season with the Dublin Double Eastern Cup,
February 18th & 19th in Dublin, New Hampshire.  The Dublin Nordic Center and its undulating trail network provide a fantastic weekend of fast paced racing, with the collaboration of the Dublin School and the Dublin XC Club.  Of note the New England Team is named at the conclusion of the races Sunday. Registration will open shortly.

NENSA also promotes and supports a diverse set of Popular Races.

 NENSA is thrilled to be collaborating with WinterKids on their Welcome to Winter event on December 29th at Lost Valley Ski Area in Auburn, ME! WinterKids helps children develop healthy lifelong habits through education and fun, outdoor winter activity by creating opportunities for children to be active, vibrant and healthy in the outdoors. Their Welcome to Winter event is an annual celebration of fun ways to stay active in winter. Originally created to welcome new Mainers to winter, the event has expanded to allow all members of the community to come and try out healthy ways to remain active outdoors during the winter months. This free event offers a chance to try snowshoeing, cross country and downhill skiing, snowboarding, tubing, snow sculpting, and more while enjoying hot chocolate and s’mores. 

NENSA will be heading up the cross-country ski station so be sure to stop by, say hi, and giving skiing a try! Learn more HERE.

We’ve been extremely fortunate with the weather for Mt. Greylock Hill Climb rollerski race for two years in a row.  The event is possible because of the partnership of Massachusetts Department Conservation and Recreation and the volunteers of the Berkshire Nordic Club.  The Climb ascends eight miles to the highest point in the Bay State, winding through undulating terrain in boreal forest, making it an ideal venue for cross country skiers.  This year saw the largest participation to date and with 114 finishers it was our largest rollerski race of 2022.

Results
NENSA Event Video
Mt. Greylock Nordic Ski Team 360 Video

Greylock offers both long and short course options, with masters having the ability to choose between classic or freestyle skiing.  The short course is seven kilometers and skiers ages U14 through M10 took to the course at :30 second intervals from the Jone’s Nose gate.  The long course is twelve kilometers, starting at the Visitors Center, where skiers started in waves of five.  Mixed gender skiers were seeded by U.S. Ski & Snowboard points making for some fun and exciting starts with 90 skiers departing the base in ten minutes!  The top ten skiers of each gender used matched Swenor Alutech skis and over half the field was on the same brand and wheel speed.

How fitting to be introducing the 2022-2023 NENSA Popular Race Series on the first snow of the year!  There are 25 events on the calendar, which include 17 Zak Cups and seven marathons — all 25 events (and the eight Eastern Cup races) will be scored to season-long Club Cup standings.  Popular races are intended to be inclusive events, with options for all skiers from the most competitive to those who might be just exploring the sport.  NENSA is working with event organizers to make your experience the best it can be, from registration and promotion, to course prep, results and awards.  As we continue to emerge from a pandemic climate venues are encouraged to bring back some of the festive touches that make a race experience — including music, food and robust award ceremonies.

NENSA is pleased to announce that we will have more automated scoring of both Zak and Club Cup throughout the winter and that NENSA members will receive discounted entry at many of the events.  We hope individuals will consider renewing memberships early and that clubs will check in ([email protected]) and make sure their NENSA Club Membership is current.  Both of these steps insure that event timers and NENSA staff will have the best data possible, which allows us to provide the best product.

Zak Cup scoring is a way for senior and master skiers to have friendly rivalries across the race series, with both age group and overall classification.  At the end of the season, the top three competitors of each age group will receive a coveted NENSA mug.  In the winter of 2021 the scope of Club Cup scoring was expanded to include not only Popular Races, but also the four Eastern Cup weekends in an effort to reflect the broadest club participation across all competitive events.  Through the Masters and the Athletic Development Committee’s we have adopted a new point structure for this season — where the point base for any given category is 60 points for a win, then decreasing by 1 point per place.  Up to three skiers per category score points for their club.

All races will score the following age groups:
U16 ages 14-15, U18 ages 16-17, U20 ages 18-19
SR ages 20-29, M1 ages 30-34, M2 ages 35-39, M3 ages 40-44
M4 ages 45-49, M5 ages 50-54, M6 ages 55-59, M7 ages 60-64
M8 ages 65-69, M9 ages 70-74, M10 ages 75-79, M11 ages 80-84
M12 ages 85-89, M13 ages 90-94, M14 ages 95-99, M15 ages 100+

We also track participation across the Marathon Races with a Challenge for skiers to complete more than half of the events.  This year skiers who complete four or more of the seven marathons will receive a co-branded NENSA / LL Bean hat.  We are excited to to have a range of “marathon” distances, some that are 20+ km all the way up to 50km, with a balance of both classic and freestyle.

Recent cold temperatures have allowed venues to fire up snow guns across the region and we are only 18 days from the first race of the season, the Quarry Road Opener in Waterville, Maine.  That event will also be held in conjunction with our annual TD and Event Organizer Training — any event organizers are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Whether you are a seasoned veteran, a recreational skier or a junior looking for a local race there really is something for everyone on the calendar.  We look forward to a long winter, and the return of the Club Relay Championships & End-of-Season Celebration at Craftsbury on March 25th.  This event will be held at the end of Super Tour Finals where skiers from across North American will be present.  NENSA will recognize season-long Zak, and Club awards as well as other NENSA Awards at this joyous occasion.

Think snow and reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

REGISTER

Women’s XC Ski Day registration is open!!! We are excited to share that this year’s event will be held at JacksonXC in Jackson, NH. They hosted back in 2016 and we are looking forward to being back on their mountainside beautiful trails.

New England Women’s XC Ski Day was started in 2002 by former Olympian Trina Hosmer of Stowe, VT. Trina was inspired by her “Sisters in Skiing” in Anchorage, Alaska, who started the Alaska Ski for Women in 1997. Like the Alaskans’ original event, Women’s XC Ski Day chooses a non-profit women’s organization to benefit, and gathers as many participants as it can for a day of cross country skiing which includes lunch and a raffle. The highlight of the day is learn-to-ski clinics with women instructors; the emphasis being on relaxed, fun learning in a supportive and encouraging environment. All ability, skill, and experience levels are welcome. In addition to this event being open to all women, we also encourage and support the participation of nonbinary people who are comfortable in a space that centers the experience of women. NENSA hopes that Women’s XC Ski Day helps bring more folx together to enjoy this wonderful sport.

Registration includes cross-country ski clinics, wax demonstrations, a fantastic prize drawing, a tasty bagged lunch, and a donation to our benefit organization (see below).

This year’s event is raising money for Starting Point which is a non-profit organization in Conway, NH dedicated to ensuring quality services are provided to victims of relationship violence and sexual abuse, preventing future relationship violence, promoting social change, and encouraging accountability and education for perpetrators and stalkers. If you would like to make an additional donation to the organization, you can do so through registration.  If you would like to make a donation to the organization, you can do so through registration. You can also pre-order this year’s official Women’s Day Skida hat!

Please click HERE for the Women’s XC Ski Day Page on the NENSA website for full details on lodging, rentals, and clinic information.

Get the feel for Women’s XC Ski Day by watching last year’s video recap!

As we close out the rollerski season and start our snow dances, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our fall Learn-to-Rollerski gatherings and share some photos and videos with you all. This fall we were grateful to connect with a whole variety of wonderful people across the East and share the joy of rollerskiing and being outside.

Our first rollerski clinic of the fall was a unique opportunity to collaborate with an organization outside the ski industry. NENSA worked with See Change Sessions to provide rollerski opportunities for attendees of their in-person session at HULA Lakeside in Burlington. This two-day event brought people together from around the world and across industries to learn from one another and start addressing some of the world’s biggest problems.

Our next event brought us to Mt Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid for a BKL/Youth rollerski skills session following the Keys to the Castle Event. We really enjoyed collaborating with our New York Ski Education Foundation (NYSEF) and Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) friends on this fun clinic and were impressed with the improvement we witnessed amongst the young people who showed up to roll. They practiced the ramp bumps, went under the limbo arches, and slalomed around cones. A few brave and more experienced young people even took a tour of the whole sprint course loop!

While it was not the primary focus of the 2022 Bill Koch Youth Ski League Coaches Education training, this educational offering hosted at Dublin School in Dublin, NH wrapped up with an optional Learn-to-Rollerski opportunity for all attendees and almost all the participants gave it a try. In addition to rollerskiing, this event also included a presentation on BKL Philosophy & Long Term Athlete Development, a group discussion, and a grass skiing session in which we covered some basic drills and exercises for building general comfort on skis and played a variety of games to further develop those skills. While rollerskiing is a fun way to engage with skiing in the no-snow months, it is just one part of being a well balanced athlete and it’s important to stay in touch with other activities and fun ways of being active hence the multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary nature of this educational offering.

Next up we road tripped to Boston for the second annual Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Rollerski Clinic where we shared a sunny morning of fun and games on rollerskis with YES and Eastern Mass Cross Country. The goal of this clinic was to introduce young people in the Boston area to the summer version cross country skiing, build stoke for the winter season, and provide an opportunity for YES participants to get acquainted with the EMXC athletes who assist with coaching YES’s winter ski program. Peep the fun recap vid below! Working with YES and EMXC is always such a pleasure and in addition to NENSA’s dedicated sponsors and grantors, this event would not be possible without the support of our generous donors, the Weston Ski Track who provided boots and poles for the clinic, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation for the use of their Tenean Beach parking lot.

And last, but certainly not least, we visited the 2022 NENSA Club of the Year – Ford Sayre – for an agility-based rollerski skills session. It’s inspiring to see how this club works towards their vision of fostering a lifelong passion for being active outdoors and gliding over snow and we so enjoyed getting to roll with their young athletes.

While that’s a wrap on the NENSA rollerski season, we will be back at it next summer! If you would like to schedule a rollerski clinic for your club or camp for next season, check our info page HERE for more details and then reach out to [email protected] and [email protected]. We do our best to fit in as many clinics as we can.

We will close out by saying a big thank you to our NENSA associate sponsors who make all this programming possible – Salomon, LL Bean, Swix, and Fischer – as well as our contributing and supporting sponsors, and our official suppliers for their dedicated and ongoing support of NENSA. We are also grateful to Enjoy Winter and Swenor Rollerskis for supplying use with an awesome fleet of rollerskis so all our clinic attendees can learn to rollerski on top-of-the-line equipment.

Next up, skiing!

START LIST

Map of Greylock — Rule #1
All support vehicles (passes available at bib-pickup) must depart the start area before 9:50am and park at or above Jones Nose (marked above “you are here”).

Wow – are we in for a special day!

We have over 130 skiers on tomorrow’s startlist.

START LIST

Please check in at the NENSA trailer for bib pickup, by parking in the second lot (same as trailer).  This will also be the awards spot.

Uphill warmup for the long course is permissible from Rt. 7 to the Vistors Center stricly single file with HIVIS.  All other long course warmup must be on foot or the marked loop accessed from the lower parking lot.

Short course warmup must occur in the marked area above the short course start (at Jones Nose). 

Starts for both courses start at 10:00 AM.

Long Course starts in seeded waves of 5 at :30 second intervals.  The top ten seeded male and female skiers can select matched skis at bib pickup.

Our number one goal is to have a safe and festive event.  

Skiers must always stay to the right of the yellow line.  We are restricting traffic on the course but you must always leave the left lane open for event and other traffic.

No traffic will go down the road until announced that the course is clear of all competitors.

Please stay for AWARDS (and bib draw raffle) which will be held as close to :45 minutes after the last finisher at the Visitors Center.

Awards include Open, Junior, Masters Long Course. Juniors and Masters Short Course.
Year end NENSA Awards, Allagash Masters, College Cup.