Updated Feb. 17, 2010

9th Annual New England Women's Ski Day

Our ninth annual New England Women’s XC Ski Day was held at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire on Jan. 31.  Rain of the preceding week nearly wiped out the snow there but the Waterville Nordic Center crew, headed by Mike Seeger, did a fabulous job of pulling snow together for us and arranging buses for most of our groups to get a couple of miles out and up to trails that had better snowcover.  We are so grateful to Mike and his crew for their work that meant we could hold our event despite the fickle weather!

Working on uphill & downhill skills.

The other key ingredient to putting on a great event is the support of the local ski community.  This year the White Mountain Wheel Women stepped forward in great numbers (nearly forty of them!) to help organize and then to do everything from running the registration table, to parking lot duty, to raffle prize collection and sorting, to message running -- all jobs necessary to making the day flow smoothly for our two hundred participants.  We are so grateful to these women for all that they did for Women’s Ski Day!

Learn-to-ski clinics for all levels of skiers are the heart of our event.  We keep our instructor to student ratio low so that everyone gets individual attention.   All of our instructors love to teach skiing, and it shows!  Abby Weissman, the NENSA Intro. and Youth Programs director, headed up the teenage group.  Donna Smyth brought music and props to her beginner skate group.  Mary Heller Osgood once again headed up the beginner classic technique group.  The beginner groups were our biggest groups this year because of the number of women who wanted instruction from these fabulous instructors who are able to demonstrate skiing so well, as well as make it such fun.

Learning how to get up!

Trina Hosmer has been the driving force behind our clinics for nine years now, with her commitment to teaching women the joys of cross-country skiing.  Trina took time out from coaching her growing group of women skiers in the Stowe area to head up the twenty instructors for Women’s Ski Day -- a number of them, like Trina, Olympians.  We are so grateful to these women who gave most of the weekend so that they could teach other women the joy of skiing well!

Trina leads classic drills. 

Thanks also to the staff of our benefit organization, the Circle Program. who spent the day with us selling raffle tickets and telling women about their mission and two-year program to provide socially and economically disadvantaged girls in New Hampshire with the skills, courage and confidence they need to handle challenges in their lives.

This event couldn’t happen without the support of the staff of our umbrella organization, the New England Nordic Ski Association -- particularly Abby Weissman, who was with us as an instructor this year, and masterminded the registration process.  Thanks Abby!

Abby & Linnea's teenager group.

Thanks to our main sponsor TD Bank.  Thanks to our Silver Sponsors L.L. Bean, Designer Gold of Hanover NH, Toko, Concept2, Rossignol, Isis, and Vermont Bicycle Vacations.  Thanks to our Bronze Sponsors Doctors Helfman, Lasky and Associates of Nashua NH.  Thanks to our Friends of Women’s Ski Day the Rockywold-Deephaven Camps, Inc. of Holderness NH.  And thanks to all who provided the fabulous prizes for our luncheon raffle drawing!

Bondi Band Fashion Show! Look at all the different ways to wear it! 

Check back for more photos on our Flickr page soon!  

 

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