Kris Freeman racing in 2009 US Nationals

TD Bank Eastern Cup Series
The TD Bank Eastern Cup Series offers competitions for BKL, Junior, Senior and Master skiers. An overall Eastern Cup champion in the mens and womens divisions will be crowned at seasons end.  All eight races within the Series also double as "JOQ's," or Junior Olympic Qualifiers.  New England Junior skiers can qualify for the New England Junior Olympic Team through participation in these events. (see http://www.nensa.net/points/ for qualifying rules). Licensed USSA members can also earn National Ranking List points in all eight races of the Eastern Cup Series, to establish a position on the National Ranking List (NRL). This NRL list is used for seeding at major events like US Nationals and Junior Olympics and for potential selection to other major events and teams such as European Continental and OPA Cup races.  

This winter the series kicks off with a venue new to the Eastern Cup circuit but certainly not new to exciting races. Craftsbury Outdoor Center is home to the long running Craftsbury Marathon and more recently, home to New England's newest pro Nordic team, the Green Racing Project Team.  

From Northern Vermont, skiers will head to the Boston area where the CSU hosts will  be eagerly awaiting their arrival. This one day event will feature a unique format for the Eastern Cup Tour- that of a double race day! Racers will get to ski fast for the Prologue in the morning, then race head to head in a mass start that afternoon. Each of the races will offer an opportunity to earn Eastern Cup, NENSA, JOQ and NRL points.

After racing on the famous Weston Ski Track, the next stop on the circuit will be the beautiful Trapp Family Lodge Nordic Center in Central Vermont. Skiers will race on the newly homologated, challenging trails designed to test an athlete's skills and fitness.

The final stop on the Eastern Cup trail will be the familiar sites of Hanover and Holderness, NH. These two races have become a tradition within the New England community. The Ford Sayre Ski Club in Hanover and the Holderness Ski Club are well known for presenting top-quality events; both venues always attract a large crowd of skiers.

2010 Junior Olympics, Presque Isle, ME. Team New England on the podium.

TD Bank Citizen Series
The TD Bank Citizen Series brings together NENSA's traditional Zak age group and Club Series into a single series of events featuring some of New England's finest citizen races. All events that are part of a Citizen Series are scored for Club points with all participants earning at least one point for their club. Only one distance on each day is scored for the Zak cup to ensure appropriate head-to-head competition within age groups. For more details on these series, go to http://www.nensa.net/calendar/series.html.

Each of the races within the TD Bank Citizens Series offers up its own unique flavor for their event. Skiers will find a mix of old and new venues and courses (Augusta, Maine will make its debut as part of the series!), with all of them providing a fun backdrop for the highly contested Club and Zak Points!
 
For athletes looking to give these events a try or for those not having a coach or club present, NENSA will continue to offer on-site race support at Eastern Cups, U.S. Nationals and the SuperTour. Look for more information about this at www.nensa.net, or contact Janice Sibilia at janice@nensa.net.

The complete calendar of winter events including the TD Bank Marathon Series, New England Women's Ski Day, TD Bank Bill Koch Festival, and other youth oriented events is available at www.nensa.net/calendar. The website schedule includes complete event details, including race distances and formats, and is continually updated and revised throughout the season. 

Following on the heels of a very strong summer of training camps and travel opportunities for New England Athletes, this regional schedule will help prepare skiers for a strong 2010-2011 racing season. For those wishing to broaden their horizons, the NENSA Travels opportunities to West Yellowstone and US Nationals offer a recreational component for all ages, and a racing component for those wishing to compete in out of region SuperTours or National level competitions.

New England Nordic Ski Association
2010-2011 Winter Schedule

TD Bank Eastern Cups

December 18 & 19
TD Bank Season Opener Eastern Cup w/ Junior Olympic Qualifiers
Both Days: Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Craftsbury, VT (NRL/FIS)

January 2-8th
U.S. Cross Country National Championships
Hosted by Chisholm Ski Club, at Black Mountain, Rumford, Maine (NRL/FIS)   

January 14 & 15
Lake placid Combined SLU carnival and SuperTour 
Hosted by SLU College and NYSEF, Lake Placid, NY (NRL/FIS)

January 30th
TD Bank Eastern Cup w/Junior Olympic Qualifiers (NRL)
Weston Ski Track, Weston, MA.
Double Race day format with morning and afternoon races each scored separately.
Hosted by Cambridge Sports Union and Weston Ski Track.

February 5 & 6
TD Bank Eastern Cup w/ Junior Olympic qualifiers  (NRL both days-FIS Sat).
Both days: Trapp Family Lodge Nordic Center. Hosted by Stowe Nordic Outing Club/University of Vermont/Trapp Family Lodge.

February 19 & 20
TD Bank Eastern Cup w/ Junior Olympic qualifiers,
Day 1: Silver Fox Trot hosted by Ford Sayre Ski Club at Hanover, NH (NRL)
Day 2: Cheri Walsh Memorial hosted by Holderness, School, Holderness, NH (NRL)

2010-2011 TD Bank Championship Events

March 11- 13
TD Bank Eastern J2 National Invitational Championships
Hosted by Gunstock Nordic, Gilford, NH

March 18- 20
TD Bank Eastern High School Championships
Black Mountain of Maine, Rumford, Maine.
Hosted by Chisholm Ski Club

2010-2011 NENSA Travels
November 21-27
NENSA Travels Masters Camp in West Yellowstone, MT

November 20- 28
NENSA Travels Junior - Senior Development Team Camp in West Yellowstone, MT

Please contact NENSA Competitive Programs Director Janice Sibilia with questions about any of these events, at Janice@nensa.net.

 

  The event was honored to have James Upham from Lake Placid,  NY attend and assist in running the event.  James was the Olympic Biathlon coach at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy and is currently the paralympic and youth development coach for the US Biathlon Association.  We were also visited by Patrick Casey.  He was Development Coach for the US Nordic Ski Team and has recently joined the Holderness School Faculty as Head Nordic Coach.

Winners of the various classes were Joel Hinshaw in the Match Class; Benjamin Jackson, Beginner Class: Webster Malcom, Novice Class; Tom Trevithick in the Walk Class; Noah Meltzer, Age 13-14 Class: Samm Corbett, Age 12 and Under Class and Geoff Krill in the Adaptive Class.

The next summer biathlon at the club will be held on Saturday, September 18 with a Mountain Bike biathlon planned for Sunday, October 3rd.   Several winter biathlon events wherein one cross county skis or snowshoes will be announced later this year.  All biathlon events are open to the public and newcomers are welcome.

The club is located at 295 Beede Road in Holderness, NH.  Additional information on biathlon and many other events offered by the club may be found on the club web site, www.pemi.org or by contacting match director Fred Allen at 603-968-9944.

Press Release from UMPI:

University of Maine Presque Isle's Paul Stone elected President of NCAA's collegiate ski coaches association

 Stone respected by peers for his vision and strong leadership

PRESQUE ISLE - Paul Stone, who was just named the head ski coach at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, has added another title to his resume this week. He was elected by National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA] ski coaches nationwide to be president of the United States Collegiate Skiing Coaches Association [USCSCA].

The USCSCA is responsible for the professional development of ski coaches in the U.S. and for advocacy on behalf of collegiate skiing within the NCAA. Stone was elected by the head coaches of the 26 NCAA ski programs nationwide. Maine, with its four NCAA Ski Teams - UMPI and Colby, Bates and Bowdoin colleges - has more programs than any other state in the country.

"Within a group of highly motivated, highly competitive people, Paul has gained the respect of his coaching peers for his easy manner and thoughtful leadership style," said Bud Fisher, Head Coach of the Williams College Ski Team for 27 years. "I look forward to Paul bringing that leadership to the USCSCA." 

"I am humbled to be recognized by my peers in this way," Stone said. "The USCSCA has an important role to play in the growth of NCAA skiing and I am looking forward to working with the coaches across the country to make that happen."

In his move to UMPI, Stone takes over the NCAA's newest ski team and the only NCAA ski program in the University of Maine System. With tuition, room and board at less than half the cost of most NCAA ski schools, the world-class Nordic Heritage Center nearby, early snow, and with so many of the nation's top cross country skiers coming out of New England, Stone and the University of Maine Presque Isle staff are excited for the future of the program.

But, a festival takes more than just snow.  There are logistics like parking, making space for the "more-than-just-racing" events that have become such and important part of the weekend's festivities.  And once it was announced that the event was a "go" there was no way we want to cancel with so many families traveling from all corners of New England, staying in hotels, and making such a big commitment to the event.

Could Fryeburg handle that part of it? Would it be possible for an organizing committee to manage an event that was not at their local venue?

The Weston Family had been known to NENSA primarily by their son John.  John is the long-time coach at Fryeburg Academy, a NENSA technical delegate, and almost always the Chief of Course for big events at nearby Jackson, New Hampshire. This challenge, however, was too big for just John and it took the entire family chipping in to make their trails at Starks Hill ready for the Festival.  

To capture the dire situation (and please remember that these were some of the best conditions in all of New England at that time,) here is an excerpt from an email from John to the Organizing Committee just the day before the event, when a night of hard rain put additional strain on an already nearly impossible situation.

I have just returned from Starks.  I snowshoed both of tomorrow’s courses and they held up well.  They are slowly draining and with the temp slowly falling hopefully I should be able to start to groom with the snowmobile by 3:00am or so.  I’m hoping.
 
That’s the good news.  Here are the issues.  We did get a lot of rain last night and the temp has been above 40 all day.  There is a lot of water around especially the parking area/trailhead.  It is a mess.  I have had a loader out there today trying to clean things up but there is just so much that can be done.  I am going to take out hay to spread around.  Hopefully it will freeze in and improve the situation.

As you can see from the above, this was an extremely challenging situation.  What did the Weston family do that merited this award?  First, John's service to NENSA runs over many seasons as an athlete, coach, technical delegate, and course chief.  He has always shown a great mind for the sport, a solutions-oriented demeanor, and the ability to balance the needs of the athletes with the needs of the venue.  We trusted John and knew that he would do whatever it would take to make the venue accessible and safe for the athletes.  In this case, the challenge was huge.  The organizers worked around the clock communicating with the Westons and with the families hoping to come to the Festival.  The Westons, in turn, as you can read above, worked around the clock with shovels and loaders and hay to both intelligently and through sheer willpower make the venue skiable for the Festival.  As with the man that this award is named after, they went far above and far beyond a typical level of service to the sport.  Despite many deserving volunteers across the region, they stood out as THE choice for the John Caldwell award for 2010. 

So, what happened?  It got a little colder, and we got just a tiny dusting of snow.   It was a bit of a long drive from the hotels in Freeport, Maine to Fryeburg and the parking area amidst a car repair lot made me feel a bit nervous upon arrival.  The dirt road toward the venue made for some wet walking, but as the parking area ended, a layer of hay covered the path, absorbing the water.  And at the end of this hay-covered path was a large overhad sign saying, "Welcome to Starks Hill". 

As I walked under the sign, I looked ahead to a winter wonderland.  Sure, there might have been a wet spot here and there, but I saw everything that I want to see at a Festival.  There was snow and good skiing conditions.  There were tents and jumps and food and music.  Skiers in multi-colored racing suits and fun costumes glided across the snow in the carefully choreographed chaos that almost defines the Festival.  And, most importantly, I felt that spirit of positive enthusiasm from volunteers, parents, and kids that every year reminds us of how wonderful it is to introduce as many families as possible enjoy cross-country skiing. 

And, perhaps enjoying this the most were John Weston and Family.  And, I am not sure if they heard it or not, but I heard at least 100 people that day say something like... "Wow, I never knew about this place," or "How'd they pull this off?" or "Wow, thank you Westons for making this happen." And I am sure there were many more who talked about it on their drives home and will forever remember the Festival that almost didn't happen but was saved by a generous family in Fryeburg, Maine.

Thank you to the Weston Family and it is a great honor to present you with the 2010 John Caldwell Award.

Sincerely, 

Patrick Cote, NENSA Executive Director

Check out postings from each day of camp on the Stratton blog here. 

Check out more photos on NENSA's Flickr page here.

Team Sweden showing saftey first even when riding in the van (was this a relfection on my driving skills?)

Atop Stratton Mountain after 1/3 hike, 1/3 hard trail run, and then 1/3 hike to the top! Way to go ladies!

Agility drills.

Warm-up grapevine.

Learning correct body position and weight shift with SMS skier Heather Mooney.

World Cup sprint starts against Andy Newell!

Last day of camp!

Lillian starts the "dizzy kick" relay.

Ladies sporting their new camp tshirts and their new friend Andy!