NENSA News

While there is no regional Eastern High School or U16 Championship event this year, it is still a special honor to qualify for your state team and today we want to acknowledge and celebrate the top athletes in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire who trained hard, raced fast, and earned a spot on their state’s 2021 Easter High School or U16 team. A big thank you to all the state coaches and race organizers who made the state-based events happen during these challenging times.

To recap a little… Massachusetts kicked things off on February 13th with an under-the-lights 6k individual start skate race at the Leo J Martin Ski Track. Next up was Maine with a two day event taking place on February 27th and 28th. The Maine event featured boys on Saturday and girls on Sunday (split by region) and all skiers competed in a 5k individual start skate race followed by an XCX event. Vermont and New Hampshire wrapped things up this past weekend. Like Maine, New Hampshire’s event also offered two races with a classic individual start race shortly followed up by an XCX event. Vermont stuck to the single race format with boys on Saturday and girls on Sunday but they got creative and integrated some XCX features into their 5k individual start skate race.

View the links below for results and named teams. Please note that the qualification criteria was expanded this year (28 skiers per gender per team), teams are listed in alphabetical order, and all U16s are named to their state’s U16 Team even if they also qualified for their state’s Eastern High School Team. Congratulations to all! We wish those of you who are graduating high school the best of luck in your future endeavors and we hope to see you all ripping it up out there next winter.

2021 State Teams

Race Results:  MA | ME | NH | VT

Videos: NH XCX | VT Girls | VT Boys 

Photo Galleries: ME | VT Girls | VT Boys

 

Last Saturday New Hampshire hosted its Eastern State Champs event with a jam packed schedule featuring a total of 6 races! Each racer competed in two events: a 5k classic individual start distance race and a skate XCX race. A huge thank you to the Dublin School Nordic Center for hosting this fun day of racing. Also a big shoutout to all the volunteers and coaches that made this event possible. And last, but not least, congrats to all the racers! Below are links to results, video coverage, and the NH state teams.

Results:
U16 Women Classic  | U16 Women XCX | U16 Men Classic | U16 Men XCX
U18/20 Women Classic | U18/20 Women XCX | U18/20 Men Classic  | U18/20 Men XCX

Video Coverage:
U16 Women | U16 Men | U18/U20 Women | U18/U20 Men | XCX Races

State Teams:
U16 Women | U16 Men | EHS Women | EHS Men

 

This past weekend, Vermont hosted it’s NENSA Eastern State Champs event at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. This 5k individual skate race, featuring some exciting XCX features, also doubled as Vermont’s Open Junior Championships. Congrats to all the racers and a big thank you to the staff, volunteers, and coaches that organized and supported this event. Below are the top-10 overall results and links to the official Vermont state teams.

1. Finn Sweet, Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club
2. Jack Young, Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club
3. Fin Bailey, SMS
4. Jack Lange, SMS
5. Mathias Boudreau-Golfman, SMS
6. Aidan Burt, GMVS
7. Tabor Greenberg, GMVS
8. Wyatt Teaford, SMS
9. David Shycon, SMS
10. Luke Rizio, Twin Valley Nordic

Boys’ Full Results | Boys’ Livestream | Boys U16 Team | Boys EHS Team

1. Ava Thurston, Mansfield Nordic Club
2. Rose Clayton, Mansfield Nordic Club
3. Camille Bolduc, Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club
4. Hattie Barker, Mansfield Nordic Club
5. Nina Seemann, Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club
6. Emma Strack, GMVS
7. Rebecca Cunningham, Mansfield Nordic Club
8. Charlotte Brown, GMVS
9. Emma Crum, Champlain Valley Union High School
10. Isabelle Serrano, Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club

Girls’ Full Results | Girls’ Livestream | Girls U16 Team | Girls EHS Team

73,755.75.  The number of kilometers New England skiers have logged in competition (whether virtual or in-person) this season is a clear sign that skiing DID in fact happen this winter!  Races have been smaller and organizers have been creative with formats and schedules allowing for skiers of all abilities to gather safely — but the skiers and their energy have remained constant.  As we start to see our first serious meltdown ski areas are open and the racing continues!

Many clubs are energized by A Hall Mark of Excellence – a season long competition that ranks the top overall 20 male and female finishers in every event that has been listed on our “Eastern Cup” and Popular Race schedules.  The intention of the award, which pays out $5000 – 1st, $3000 – 2nd, and $1000 – 3rd, was to encourage participation and performance across all of our adult competitions.  While the larger clubs do have a distinct advantage for the top spots, the generosity of Kathy and Marty Hall has created a club based ranking system that captures the majority of our competitive winter programming.  Tune into the Rankings Page to see how the last few races sugar out — currently Craftsbury has a nine point lead over Mansfield Nordic for the top honors.  Ford Sayre, Stratton Mountain School and Eastern Mass Nordic (CSU) are also in a tight race for third place.

NENSA will be scoring five more events to this awesome competition: the Rangeley Loppet & Burt Kettle Classic that happened last weekend in Maine, the Long Hall Loppet at Jackson, NH this weekend, the Craftsbury S’Ender on the 21st and to wrap it all up Mansfield Nordic will be providing a Virtual opportunity for all clubs to join in the New England Club Relay Championships.  There really is something for everyone – so get out there and have some fun!

The strength of the cross country ski community was exemplified through action last weekend with hundreds of young skiers participating in locally organized Mini-Fests whether with their club, a few clubs, their whole district, or their entire state! Many young skiers found the smaller event size and more relaxed atmosphere a comfortable environment in which to try racing for the first time. While not every Mini-Fest had a race opportunity, all the Mini-Fests had fun and engaging non-competitive activities. A big shoutout to the clubs and leaders that brought their enthusiasm and put in the work to make this all happen! Read on to learn a little about each unique event (in alphabetical order) and to view the BKL graduation slideshow.

Central VT Mini-Fest (Woodstock): Ford Sayre, Woodstock Nordic Runners, and Mt. Top BKL teams came together on Saturday, March 6th to celebrate the end of a very different nordic season. Even with predicted cold temps, the sun came out to warm the 64 participants as they raced, played games and went off jumps in the Terrain Park. The day concluded with an 8th grade graduation ceremony. The graduates skied through a vintage ski arch which symbolized their passage to the next level of their ski careers! We are grateful for the generosity of the Woodstock Inn Nordic Center, all the parents, coaches and volunteers for their help and of course for our youth skiers for keeping nordic skiing alive and thriving this season. Reporting from Gretchen Czaja.

 

Dublin BKL Mini-Fest (Dublin): The Dublin Fest featured a scavenger hunt and paintball biathlon, and wrapped up with hot cocoa and a raffle!

 

Eastern MA Mini-Fest (Leo J Martin Ski Track): The Eastern MA BKL club put together a really fun mini-festival for their kids this past weekend.  Sunny blue skies and perfect corduroy greeted the two mornings of fun & games, including chariot pulls, a scavenger hunt, bean-bag biathlon, a downhill slalom run and a dance party complete with DJ!  On Sunday, they did a really nice graduation for their graduating 7th and 8th graders – having them ski down the hill, flanked by the rest of the club, all their coaches, and greeted with giant lollipops by the athletes of CSU juniors, welcoming them into their club, and the next level of skiing. Reporting from Amie Smith.

 

Ford Sayre Mini-Fest: Friday night was the torch light ski, which is always a hit! Saturday we woke up to beautiful blue skies and a groomed out course!! Racers strapped on their skate skis and donned their sparkle for a couple of fast KMs.  Afterwards groups participated in the NH scavenger hunt with NENSA NH native images, it was a HUGE hit!! Then there was noodle tag and an obstacle course!! Reporting from Kate Newick.

 

Great Glen BKL Mini-Fest: This fun club event featured a lollipop race, mixed medley relay, obstacle course, and ski to the Cabin for hot chocolate!

 

Holderness and Concord BKL Mini-Fest (Waterville Valley): This Mini-Fest had 88 skiers registered which was also a festival record. They used “Bob’s Lookout” on the Osceola Campground for their stadium and Waterville Valley was awesome in grooming around all of the picnic tables so that families could spread out during the day. They also hauled up a ton of firewood for S’mores and lunch use. There were the four individual start races with a fun double figure 8 agility run around all of the picnic tables at the beginning.

 

Maine Mini-Fest (Quarry Road Trails): The Maine BK Festival had the most participants from Maine at a Festival ever with 122 kids enjoying the outdoors, 71 on Day 1 and 51 on Day 2. The weather was fantastic, full sun, no wind and in the mid thirties.  The races went smoothly and the Nordic Adventures were FUN.  We look forward to all the states coming to Quarry Road Trails in 2022! Reporting from Caroline Mathes.

 

Northeast VT Mini-Fest (Craftsbury): Eighty kids participated from Stowe, Onion River, and Craftsbury BKL which is a record for a festival! This event featured a race, jump, scavenger hunt, and costume contest. Costumes ranged from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Baby Yoda. The kids’ music selections throughout the day included Black Sabbath, three versions of the Stars Wars theme song, and Justin Timberlake.

 

Northwest VT Mini-Fest (Sleepy Hollow): Sleepy Hollow Nordic Center hosted an awesome Mini-Fest with 115 participants from Frost Mountain Nordic, Mansfield Nordic, Mad River BKL, and Sleepy Hollow BKL. The socially distanced event spread out the fun through the entire morning with new faces and skiers continually showing up.  In good Vermont fashion, the race courses were challenging with a big hill that led into rollers, a jump, and a sharp corner into the finishing stretch where volunteers were waiting to hand out handmade wooden medals (woodals) to all.  Besides the races there was also a Mini-Marathon, that included UnTapped waffles at the high point, and an “unnatural” trail where skiers could search for anything from stuffed animals to bright colored leaves to pints of Ben and Jerry’s.  And it wouldn’t be a festival without costumes and flair so there were butterfly wings, tutus, capes, and more making appearances throughout the day.  A big thank you to Sleepy Hollow and all the wonderful volunteers for making this event such a success! Reporting from Ida Sargent who is currently interning with NENSA and helping with the Mini-Fests. Thank you Ida!

 

NYSEF Mini-Fest (Mt. Van Hoevenberg): This event was open to all New York BKLers and welcomed 78 participants. Event activities included a race and orienteering, and all lollipoppers received a chocolate bear.