- NENSA recap of the Race for Snow, Silver Fox Trot, and the Craftsbury Scramble, all held on Sunday January 16th
- U16 Championships has moved to Jackson NH this coming March
- A great article on Dartmouth head women’s XC ski coach Cami Thompson Graves
- Popular/Citizen race offerings for this weekend as well as a preview of our next two Eastern Cup/Supertour Race weekends in Lake Placid NY and Craftsbury VT the following two weekends.
- Registration is open for the 2022 BKL Festival
- NENSA’s BKL BINGO
- From our Partners & In the News: From U.S. Ski & Snowboard ~ article on Olympic Champion Diggins at Centre of Strong American Cross-Country Team: And Jessie will grace the next cover of Outside Magazine(!); From SWIX Responsible Waxing Project and virtual learning center: From Salomon: article on the Popularity of Biathlon in France by Jake Brown
NENSA News
January 16th — A Day For Popular Racing
Last weekend was a welcome storm of cross country skiing activity. Cold temperatures and low snow consolidated a four-race-three-day-weekend into one-three-race-Sunday. Nearly 700 skiers took part in NENSA Popular Racing events at the Weston Track, the Rikert Nordic Center and the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. There is a real thrill to these community gatherings where we gather to celebrating skiing and exercise friendly rivalries. Amid these tumultuous times it’s so nice to cheer on skiers while connecting with friends new and old. While we might still be masked at times you can see the smiles in peoples eyes. Keep up the good work and we’ll keep having safe events!
Race For Snow
On a chilly bluebird morning, skiers descended on the Leo J. Martin Ski Track for some communal fun. All the races were mass start, with Bill Koch aged skiers racing first on a 1km loop, doing either one, two, or three laps. Then came the lollipop skiers and their parents, making their way around the horseshoe shaped course followed by treats of the traditional post race lollipops. Next went the women’s 5km, then the men’s 5km racing around a 4 lap course. The final race of the morning was the mixed gender 10km, with 77 starters. All totaled 248 skiers competed in the event. While there were some fast juniors and masters pushing the pace at the front of each race, most of the competitors were happy to be racing and skiing for a good cause, some were even wearing party hats. Many of the skiers took turns cheering each other on as many of their families and friends competed throughout the morning. The event served as a fundraiser for 350.org, a climate action group based in Massachusetts. Kudos go out to the next generation of high school skiers who organized the well run event! This was the 6th edition of the event originally created by Tyler Lee who now skis for Dartmouth College.
Photography by Jamie Douchett
Silver Fox Trot
Originally hosted in Hanover, NH in honor of Al Merrill, the “Silver Fox” moved to the Rikert Nordic Center several years ago because of a reliable snowmaking system. It was a particularly fun to be a part of this years event because it was the first one Rikert was able to host since the Middlebury Carnival in 2020. Ford Sayre has figured out a perfect recipe for hosting a citizens race so to include lolly-poppers, nationally ranked skiers and masters in one day of non-stop action. Oh, and a complement of inflatable dinosaurs and chickens. Like the Race for Snow, club skiers past and present helped support the event throughout the day while getting to put on a bib when their time came.
The day started with waves Bill Koch skiers and culminated with a mass start with 94 adult skiers of all ages and abilities. The front of the race was fast and furious with juniors and some spry young masters jockeying for position on Rikert’s serpentine race course. While there was some excitement early on all the skiers navigated the course safely, many with smiles despite the hard effort. A recent bounty of snowmaking allowed for a fun button-hook finish straight and a lap lane that allowed spectators to line the trail — a welcome sight after a year of restrictions.
Craftsbury Scramble
Over 150 racers toed the line on Sunday for the inaugural Craftsbury Scramble, a team sprint full of bumps, twists, and turns. The chilly temps were no match for the abundant sunshine, grinning faces, and heat radiating off the many, many waffle irons that threatened to short-circuit the entire Craftsbury campus. Races were mass started by group, which meant sending 30 racers at a time straight into a downhill, followed by a tight corner, slalom, and bumps. In the open men’s and women’s races, Craftsbury juniors showed their prowess in navigating the obstacles of Mount Craftsbury, taking home top honors. In the mixed division, however, recent biathlon retirees Alex Howe and Emily Dreissigacker proved that moving on to a life of farming doesn’t mean you can’t still ski fast. Most notably, the many couples who raced together as teams still appeared to like each other at the end of the races. In the BKL races, teams from around New England threw down, with many kids racing for their first time ever.
Highlights of the day included a post-race DIY waffle station with no fewer than 27 topping options, cookies for everyone, a prize raffle, sequined outfits, and some of the best cheering we’ve seen in years. An estimated 70 lbs of waffle batter were consumed in addition to at least 2 gallons of maple syrup.
Full results (by team name only!) can be found on the Craftsbury webscorer site.
Eastern U16 Championships moved to New Hampshire
NENSA is pleased to announce that this year’s Eastern U16 Championships will be held at JacksonXC in Jackson, New Hampshire on March 12th & 13th, 2022. We are excited to partner with JacksonXC to host this race weekend! In addition to being one of the largest cross country ski centers in the East, Jackson is an experienced race host. They regularly host the University of New Hampshire Carnival, have hosted NCAA Championships in 2007, 2017 & 2021 as well as Junior Nationals in 2000. The NENSA EasternU16 Championships were last hosted by Jackson in 2010. According to Ellen Chandler, the executive director of JacksonXC, “we love hosting races and are thrilled to put on this event!”
Other Event Updates: Due to COVID concerns both of this year’s Eastern U16 & High School Championships have been modified, including relocating U16s to central New England. Both events have been shortened and will be held on Saturday and Sunday only. At both events, Saturday will feature a distance race in the afternoon, while on Sunday there will be a sprint in the morning and a relay in the early afternoon. Both venues are working on plans to offer a meal Saturday night for athletes and coaches, but it will not be the traditional mass gathering. Awards will take place outside at the end of each day’s events. Please note that NENSA is requiring proof of vaccination for all participants and coaches at these events. NENSA recently updated its COVID Guidelines and to be considered fully vaccinated you now must have a booster if eligible.
You can find more information about qualifying for these championship events by clicking the links below:
Maine | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | New York | Vermont
Please visit NENSA’s U16 and EHSC pages for further details, including recommended housing options.
Read all the latest news in the week’s KickZone ~ 1/12/22 Edition
Check out all the latest news in this week’s KickZone ~ enjoy!
- NENSA recap of US Nationals, Qualifications & Junior National Staff Update
- Updates for 2022 Women’s XC Ski Day to be held Sunday 1/23
- Popular/Citizen race offerings for the next two weekends
- NBC News piece on the Ogden siblings ~ Ben and Katharine ~ the Vermont siblings have sights set on competing in Beijing
- Registration is open for the 2022 BKL Festival
- NENSA’s BKL BINGO
- From our Partners & In the News: From U.S. Ski & Snowboard ~ article on Jessie Diggins – Baseline Happiness and Rebounding; Les Rousses WC canceled for 1/14-16; Brennan, Schoonmaker, Patterson Siblings Dominate L.L. Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships; From SWIX responsible waxing project and virtual learning center: From Toko interview with Chris Magerl with lots of great TOKO wax tips!; and the latest must-read book Trail to Gold
2022 Women’s XC Ski Day Benefit Organization & Raffle
Every year our Women’s XC Ski Day event chooses a benefit organization to support and this year we’re fundraising for Stride, an organization whose mission is to remove barriers to entry and get girls in the game and on the trails by providing mentorship, gear, and learning opportunities to young female athletes in Vermont. A portion of every participant’s registration fee goes to Stride and you can make an additional donation to the organization through our registration page HERE (scroll to the bottom). We still have some spots open for registration so get signed up today!
There will also be a fundraising raffle on event day ($5/ticket) for a framed photo of the Bower Ski Trail from Vermont photographer Anne Majusiak. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to Stride. Take a sneak peak of the photo below and check out Anne’s website or follow Anne on Instagram to see more of her beautiful work. Thank you Anne for your generous donation! Raffle tickets will be available for sale on event day.
We also want to bring your attention to our COVID Guidelines HERE (updated January 7th, 2022). Please note that lunch will be bagged so you want eat in your car or picnic-style outside. Sue Wemyss’s presentation will take place after lunch in the Barn with masks. We will keep the Barn doors open so you will also have the option of bringing a chair outside and listening in. Please note that Rikert requires anyone utilizing indoor space be vaccinated!