Greetings NENSA community,

We are just under two months shy of the first Eastern Cup of the season…59 days to be exact. With winter planning in full swing, we take a moment this week to reflect upon and honor last year’s exceptional achievements by Ava Thurston of Mansfield Nordic Club and Fin Bailey of Stratton Mountain School, winners of the 2022 Gallagher Cup. Congratulations, Ava and Fin! You raise the bar in New England not only on the race course, but through your work ethic, teamwork, and leadership.

In those remaining 59 days until the Eastern Cup opener, we are hosting the final two events of our rollerski series with formats that span the spectrum from an agility course sprint at the Maine Event to a distance hill climb on Mt. Greylock. We are also finalizing a robust Popular Racing calendar that includes at least 25 festive events including series for Zak, Marathon, and Club Cups. In preparation for all of this, NENSA is hosting a Technical Delegate and Event Organizer conference in early December. Stay tuned for announcements as plans are finalized in the coming weeks, and join us in preparation at Pineland Farms this weekend or on Mt. Greylock on November 6th!

In this week’s edition of KickZone

• Gallagher Award Announcement
• The Maine Event
• NENSA Nutrition and Resources for Skiers
• Mt. Greylock Hill Climb: Concluding 2022 Rollerski Series and Allagash Masters Cup
• NENSA membership
• Fall scenes from the New England community
• Nordic Team Solutions complimentary video for NENSA: Back to basics V2
• Salomon: Factory Tour by Kevin Bolger
• Toko: Fluorine Free Wax Development podcast
• Concept2 SkiErg World Sprints

In the news

• U.S. Ski & Snowboard

1. 2022-23 U.S. Cross Country Team Announced
2. How to watch 2022-23 World Cup Events

I hope you have been enjoying the truly beautiful autumn weather we’ve had this year in your neck of the woods, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

All my best,

Heidi

Heidi Lange

Executive Director

New England Nordic Ski Association

heidi@nensa.net

www.NENSA.net

Thank you!

Memberships directly support all of our year-round programming,

backing us in our mission to nurture and sustain an active cross country ski

community for all ages and levels throughout the East. 

Thank you for taking a minute to join or renew your NENSA membership,

and for the important support that it provides!

Please join me in thanking and supporting our wonderful NENSA Sponsors 

for their generous contributions and the ongoing impact that they have on NENSA programming and cross country skiing in New England!

Four days left to register for The Maine Event. We’re stoked looking at the weather forecast for one of best days yet!

Enjoy some of our favorite pictures from @flyingpoint

Even if you're not competing you should stop by and try out some features OR just watch and enjoy the atmosphere of #skilikeanamerican 

Cross Country Skiing / Rollerskiing has never been so fun!

If sprinting isn’t your thing… we’ve got you covered on November 6th, with the Mt. Greylock Hill Climb.

Come out and celebrate the end of Rollerski Season with us!!

Want to learn more about supporting your child’s physical, mental, and emotional well being through nutrition and nurturing a positive relationship with food? Check out the updated nutrition chapter in our Bill Koch Youth Ski League Manual HERE  

Much of this information is also helpful and relevant to juniors and adults. Be sure to take a peak at the section on hydration as well as the additional resources at the end of the chapter.

We’re excited to celebrate the end of our rollerski season by climbing to the highest point in Massachusetts! There are 8 mile and 3 mile options — masters can choose their technique!

Speaking of masters - we will be honoring our Alagash Brewery Series Champions from the three hill climbs AND hit off the presses, Pastimes will once again be providing $100 prize money for the top male and female masters skiers on the day!

Registration is open and all details can be found HERE. Grab your friends and join us on Sunday, November 6th!

Reporting Misconduct and New QR Code for Reporting

Whether you are a coach, parent, volunteer, or athlete, we all play a role in providing a safe environment for the sports that we love. U.S. Ski & Snowboard  Athlete Safety policies, the SafeSport Code, and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard MAAPP help us support that culture of safety.  

• If you witness or are aware of inappropriate behavior or misconduct - REPORT IT!
• Reports may be made anonymously!
• Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse – Report to law enforcement or child protective services in your jurisdiction immediately.
• Reports to the Center - SafeSport hotline at 833-5US-SAFE (587-7233) or CLICK HERE to complete an online reporting form.
• Reports to U.S. Ski & Snowboard - CLICK HERE

You may see QR codes posted at events this season. The QR codes open a page on www.usskiandsnowboard.org for quick links to reporting from your smartphone.

Thank you for your diligence in maintaining sport safety and protecting our athletes. 

It is time to renew NENSA memberships. NENSA membership is required for attendance at the BKL Festival, Eastern Cup, U16 and EHS Championship events, as well as for Junior National, Zak, and Club Cup rankings. NENSA members receive discounted entry fees to many of our events as well as exclusive offers from our sponsors that are constantly added and updated HERE. Membership directly supports our year-round programming, backing us in our mission to nurture and sustain an active cross country ski community for all ages and levels throughout the East. Thank you for taking a minute to tend to your renewal, and for the important support your membership provides!

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS:

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

Nordic Team Solutions will be sharing free monthly video content with NENSA members right here in Kickzone. We start this month with a V2 skills video from Andy Newell. This is part of a comprehensive, searchable drill catalog and

resource library available to Nordic Team Solutions subscribers. 

Thank you, Nordic Team Solutions, for supporting our community and for sharing a selection of your thoughtful, well produced, and highly relevant content.

FACTORY TOUR: “MAKIN BACON BURGERS”

by Kevin Bolger, U.S. Ski Team

Maja and I got to visit the Salomon Headquarters last weekend in Annecy, France, which was one of the coolest experiences of my life. We got a whole tour of the factory from The History of Salomon, where they started in a tiny home in Annecy to now having a State of the art facility that allows Salomon to make the best and fastest gear in the world. We got to walk through the decades of Salomon where they began, and really got to see the progression, which was really cool. We then went into the ski room and from start to finish made a pair of skis or as Roddy said "we were making the best Bacon Burger." It was amazing to see what the process of making a ski looks like, I’ve skied on hundreds of skis, but never have really understood the process until now, the layers of the ski, and how precise each step is, how the machine works when pressing the ski into shape, then how you manipulate the machine to get different flexes. Then you move to a precision grinder to get the ski cleaned up from the press, grind it down to get the base flat and even, and the final process dissecting the ski, really looking at the numbers to see how the ski will perform, and what conditions it will excel in. We met the design team who created the boots, and hand sewed. Yes, they HAND sews most boots...which really made me feel bad with a size (47) or US 14. That's a lot of sewing....yikes. We were able to 3d image our feet so that we can best fit our boots...I mean it goes on and on. Afterwards, I told myself I'm never allowed to complain about a bad pair of skis, or boots that hurt my feet, because I now know and understand what goes on before all these products come to me and I get on snow, the research the hundreds of hours the hard work- it is truly incredible, and I feel so lucky to be part of the Salomon Family, and was humbled by this experience.

Check out Kevin and Maja trip to France out on their new Vlog post

See their Factory Visit to make “Bacon Burge skis here

Interview with Toko Chemist Stefan Jung on the development of fluorine free race waxes

September 30, 2022 | by Ian Harvey

This is an interview with Toko Chemist Stefan Jung about the development of fluorine free race waxes. Stefan relates some of the stories and challenges that he has faced as well as talks a bit about what he expects in the future.

Team Night Program

We are continuing with our popular team night program. The purpose of this program is to facilitate team orders from team members through Toko dealers. We offer this program using two order forms: one for gloves and bags and the other for waxes and tools. Please get together as a team and decide as a team that you will make a team order. The coach or a volunteer distributes the forms to the team members and assigns a deadline date by which all order forms have to be filled out and returned. That person then contacts a local ski shop (hopefully a Toko dealer) and sends them the orders. The shop would then place a special order to us (at a special price). We would send the product to the ski shop. Team members would then go to the local ski shop and pick up and pay for the items that they ordered. We have pretty much everything in stock now so the turnaround would be quick.

2022-23 U.S. Cross Country Team Announced

October 17, 2022 | by Tom Horrocks

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is proud to name 22 athletes to the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team for the 2022-23 season. The 2022-23 team includes those active athletes who qualified based on the published selection criteria in the prior season.

“Over the course of the year, the coaching staff has been continually impressed by the dedication, professionalism, and preparedness of this amazing group of athletes, and we’re so excited to see what they can do this season,” said U.S. Cross Country Team Directory Chris Grover. Click HERE for the full story and the team roster.

How To Watch 2022-23 World Cup Events

October 16, 2022 | by Leann Bentley

The season is coming and ski and snowboard fans worldwide are excited to cheer on their favorite athletes as they compete in the 2022-23 season. But between all ski and snowboard sports, there are dozens of World Cup races, and watching on television or streaming is a little complicated. We’re here to simplify the process so all you have to do is cheer.

There are three main ways to watch U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes compete all over the world; through Outside+, NBC/Peacock and through skiandsnowboard.live. Click HERE to learn more.

THANK YOU TO OUR NENSA OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS:

Designed by NENSA's very own Youth & Introductory Program Director. Cost is $25 per hat (includes shipping and handling). All proceeds go to supporting NENSA's community-based programming and events.