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new england
NORDIC NEWS
WINTER 2005
Thoughts as We Move into the Ski
Season
VOL. 10, NO. 2
CONTENTS
by John Upton, NENSA Board President
The Fall meeting of the Board of Directors marked several
important milestones. The meeting was held at the
beautiful Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe Vermont. This was
the Board’s chance to welcome officially Trapp as our
newest Associate Sponsor. The Trapp facilities made for a
very productive meeting. Trapp joins an impressive list of
major sponsors of NENSA: Banknorth, Buderus, LL Bean,
and now Trapp. The Board discussed at some length the
importance that all of us express our appreciation by
taking advantage of the many excellent services and
products offered by our sponsors. Your support of our
sponsors will help assure that nordic skiing has a healthy
future in New England. Please also let them know you
appreciate their support!
Moving into the Ski Season
From the Editors
BKYSLNews
More BKYSL, more photos
Clubs News
Traveling
Sports Medicine Page
NENSA Pages
1
2
3
4
5-6
8
9
10-11
Another important marker for our fall meeting was the
official welcoming of Max Cobb as our Executive Director.
The meeting gave Max a chance to meet in person all of
the Directors and more importantly lay out his plan for
the coming year. Max brings experience and creative drive
that will no doubt build handsomely on the foundation
established by Fred Griffin. Max joins an extraordinarily
talented group of professionals; Pat Cote, Dorcas
Wonsavage, and now Christie Beveridge, our office
administrator. One immediate change important to our
members is a division among staff of committee liaison
responsibilities. Max has reported elsewhere the specifics
of this division. We as members needing to be in touch
with our staff should remember that contacting the right
person on our staff will get our questions answered
efficiently for our staff and us.
Lastly, I want to congratulate our staff and fellow Director
Bob Haydock for the super job done updating an
improving the NENSA website: www.nensa.net. You will
find the site is full of new resources such as a changing
collection of action shots and a marvelous map Bob
created of New England, not only showing the location of
nordic centers and clubs, but providing internet links to
them as well. NENSA will be increasing our usage of the
web page and Internet communications as the best
means of real time contact with our members. Have a
great winter, and stay connected.
NEW ENGLAND NORDIC NEWS
PO BOX 402
Here’s a familiar face, on familiar turf -- Norwegian and world
skiing hero Thomas Alsgaard, sponsored by Alpina, was a
NENSA guest for training sessions at Pineland Farms and in
Hanover, NH in late November on his way to West Yellowstone
(see article on page 5). (Dorcas Wonsavage photo)
MERIDEN, NH 03770
PAGE 2
About NENN
Co-Editors
Anne Donaghy
[email protected]
603-448-4133
Mary Hamel
[email protected]
413-527-0164
NEW ENGLAND NORDIC NEWS
NENN is published six times a year as a
membership benefit of the New England Nordic
Ski Association. If you are not yet a NENSA
member, please join — support nordic skiing in
New England!
To request a NENSA membership application,
contact the NENSA Administrative Office. For
fastest processing, send your membership fee in
with your request for the membership form — as of
4/25/99, it’s $30 for the first member of the family
($40 if not affiliated with a club), and $20 for each
additional family member ($30 if not clubaffiliated), payable to NENSA. When you return the
signed membership form, you’ll receive the NENSA
competition guide and other membership benefits.
For information about life membership in
NENSA, contact the Administrative Office.
DEADLINES
Articles and pictures submitted for publication in
NENN must be in the editors’ hands not later than:
Midwinter (January) issue: November 25
Late Winter (March) issue: January 25
Spring (May) issue: March 25
Summer (July) issue: May 25
Early Fall (September) issue: July 25
Late Fall (November) issue: September 25
Photos and graphics are always welcome. If related
to an article, photos or graphics should be
submitted with the text.
ADVERTISING
For complete particulars on advertising in NENN
and/or the NENSA Competition Guide, contact the
Administrative Office.
CONTACTING NENSA
NENSA Office - Christie Beveridge
P.O.Box 99
Westford VT 05494
802-654-7498/fax 802-654-7830
[email protected]
Executive Director Max Cobb
[email protected]
NENSA Programs and Operations
Pat Cote
96 First Rangeway
Waterville, ME 04901
(207) 873-0498
email: [email protected]
NENSA Media and Publications
Dorcas Wonsavage
102 Blueberry Hill Drive
Hanover, NH 03755
P/F: 603/643-3367
E: [email protected]
For the complete winter schedule, updates and
bulletins:
Web: http://www.nensa.net
NEW ENGLAND NORDIC NEWS
FROM THE EDITORS
In last NENN, we met our new executive director, Max
Cobb. As he has been out and about meeting folks, like
the Bill Koch district chairs at their annual fall meeting, his
easy going manner and attentiveness to members’ ideas
reassure us that change can bring new energy that builds
on the past. This issue introduces us to Christie Beveridge,
our new office administrator. Along with Dorcas and Pat,
Max and Christie complete a staff committed to serving
our membership.
Some of this issue reports about what has been
happening in New England over the last few months. John
Upton, President of our board of directors, speaks about
the excitement of welcoming another major sponsor and
meeting the new staff members on Page 1. Dorcas
Wonsavage shares the Ford Sayre club interview with
Thomas Alsgaard as he continued a series of visits to local
clubs for some dryland training.
Looking forward to a new season is always an exciting
time. Clubs all over are buttoning up their calendars,
planning events of their own and targeting races to travel
to. Included in this issue is a schedule of events from the
Maine Winter Sports Center and Rob Bradlee’s clubs report
that will give you some choices to mull over. Dorcas
Wonsavage has put together a great Bill Koch page
challenging all of us to make sure we don’t lose sight of
why we ski in the first place—FUN! She also introduces us
to NENSA’s first open invitation to the general public. The
Ski for K’s program adds a great winter challenge for
individuals and families.
And Dr. Don Christie gives us another timely challenge just
as we come off the holiday season. As a follow-up to his
article in the Early Winter 2004 issue of NENN, the seven
nutrition principles could be the perfect New Year’s
resolution spark for many of us.
Happy Winter,
Mary Hamel
Anne Donaghy
Thanks to our contributors to this issue! John
Upton, Dorcas Wonsavage, Pat Cote, Max Cobb,
Rob Bradlee, John Farra, Don Christie; photos
from Dorcas, Scottie Eliassen and Ian Harvey.
And to our readers.
readers... please send in letters and
email, especially if it’s related to what your ski
club has been up to. We are always looking for
clubs news and photos - best of all about ski trips
and other fun training activities that others might
be interested in trying!
WINTER 2005
PAGE 3
BILL KOCH YOUTH SKI LEAGUE
Snow-play Dates: Introducing Ages 3 to
6 or 7, or 67, to the Bill Koch League
Have you forgotten how to play? Most of us have. Most of
us are unimaginative parents who remember only our
varsity high school, college and professional sports
experiences. So we have structured our kids’ sport
programs just like them, with structured drills, training
plans, goals, and we measure ourselves by the win/loss/
tie. Kids would rather play without us – we’re dead weight
as far as they’re concerned. How can we bring play back
into our kids’ lives, if we can’t remember ourselves?
Lucky for us, NENSA has some grown-up kids
who remember how to play: Ed Hamel, Phil
Savignano, Donna and Morgan Smyth, Bob
Fitzpatrick, and Fred Griffin, to name a few.
The best of their games on skis are in the NE BKL Parent/
Leader’s Manual. Inside the BKL Manual you will find a
comforting mix of step-by-step, how-to organizational
guides to starting a Club, holding introductory meetings,
meeting plans, how to teach technique, as well as a full
chapter of Games that kids will love to play over and over
again, no matter what their/our age. I encourage every
parent/leader to get a Manual before the season starts.
Read it, get your dose of black and white, and then put on
your Groucho Marx eyeglasses and go out and play. This
may help, too . . .
As you start the season, remember how fun it is to fall
down and get snow on your face, what it’s like to work
together to build a snowman, how good it felt to come
inside with your snow pants sopping wet and sip that
steaming mug of hot cocoa tasted after building a snow
tunnel all afternoon. The skis are almost incidental
in the first years of BKL – they’re an excuse to
get together on snow, and when they work,
when they glide, they’re a blast! Rest assured,
you’ve accomplished much as a parent /leader by just
getting the kids together, dressed, and outside!
The Bill Koch League meetings can be easily
and perhaps better run by parents who know
little about skiing and everything about play
dates. Almost everything a kid (at heart) does for play
can be done on skis — build a snowman, make snow
angels, play soccer, badminton, keep away, tag, put on a
play with costumes, go on a scavenger hunt. Is it too cold
outside? Then go inside and make cocoa, read a story
about snow, winter, and trolls, make a skier picture with
Popsicle sticks, draw snowflakes in the frost on the
windows.
At this point for kids ages 3-6 or 7 (or 17, 27, 67…) it’s all
about 1) Playing outside and having a good time. 2)
You wouldn’t believe all the fun things there are to do at the Bill
Koch Festival.... (Dorcas Wonsavage photo)
Enjoying snow and winter 3) Making friends. And
inadvertently (Ssssssh! Don’t tell the kids!) they are
developing body awareness, balance, coordination, feel for
the snow, strengthening muscles and joints, developing
heart and lungs and capillaries for endurance, becoming
confident in social situations where someone might be
better than them, and being supportive of others,
becoming a part of a “team”.
This year NENSA’s Dorcas Wonsavage and
Patrick Cote have begun offering any club that
asks the chance to schedule a BKL parent/
leader Clinic. The clinics can be done anywhere, any
time of year. NENSA wants every parent/leader to feel
are offering a safe, fun, learning experience to their kids.
Interested parent/leaders can email either Dorcas
([email protected] – for VT, NH, MA clubs) or Pat
([email protected]– for ME clubs).
PAGE 4
NEW ENGLAND NORDIC NEWS
BILL KOCH YOUTH SKI LEAGUE
NENSA Opens The Ski-for-K’s Program
to the Skiing Public
Just in time for your first tracks of the year, NENSA has
opened their new Ski-for-K’s program to the general
public. Ski For K’s is a fun program designed to encourage
kids AND adults to ski. Ski-For-K’s is your individual, online training log, where you can go and record how many
kilometers and hours you have skied each day. The NENSA
website will keep a running tally of your accumulated Ks
and hours and you can compare yourself to other skiers in
your age group, and to your last year’s totals.
Start by logging on to www.nensa.net and clicking on
either the Training or the Kids page, and then going to Ski
for K’s. Sign up, and then join the fun! Recognition patches
will be given to those under age 15 who reach certain Kmarkers AND are NENSA members.
Ski-For-Ks is meant to encourage everyone, of all ages, to
spend the winter outside on their skis, exploring new
trails, finding animal tracks, listening to chickadees,
building jumps with friends, going on a picnic with the
family, all the while developing health, fitness, and love of
this life-time sport.
For more information, either go to www.nensa.net, or
contact NENSA Program Director, Patrick Cote,
[email protected].
All right, this is NOT at the top of the list of fun things at the Bill
Koch Festival... don’t you hate it when your binding won’t shut
and they’re calling your number? But it’s okay, just momentary....
(Dorcas Wonsavage photo)
Make sure this is posted at your home!
2005 Bill Koch Festival - Feb. 26-27
at Notchview, in the Berkshire Hills
A parade and play, exploring the troll trail,
races, tours, a mini-marathon, pasta supper,
J3 graduation ceremony, and more!
Here’s another fun thing you can do at the Bill Koch Festival -hula hoop without the hoop, in your ski boots, without the
snow! (Dorcas Wonsavage photo)
Be sure to bookmark the Notchview link from
the Bill Koch (under “Kids”) link of the
nensa.net website!
WINTER 2005
PAGE 5
CLUBS
Clubs Looking Forward to Race Series
by Rob Bradlee ([email protected])
Clubs all over New England are gearing up for another
exciting Club Series this winter. Last year’s winner, CSU,
celebrated their win by purchasing a big tent to make a
visible presence at races this year. Rumor has it that other
clubs are training extra hard this year in hopes of catching
them.
The series opens with the Mt. Hor Hop on January 2nd.
Situated in one of the snowiest regions of New England
this race provides a flavor of old-style, low-key racing. On
January 15th, the theme of simple, down-home racing
continues with the Bogburn in central Vermont. The only
race held at a private home, this race has a single loop of
exciting downhills, difficult climbs, and the kind of narrow,
twisting trail that we old-timers remember from our youth.
After warming up with two smaller races, the series moves
on to one of the largest with the 25 and 50 km Craftsbury
Marathon on January 29th. This epic point-to-point
challenge has many hard climbs, ice-cream headache
inducing descents, and a big prize raffle. Frequent series
winner, Putney Ski Club, plays host on February 6th for their
second annual duathlon (continuous pursuit). Judging by
last year’s non-stop fun it will be an event not to be
missed.
Holderness Ski Club and the Holderness School have the
next event with their biannual Cheri Walsh Memorial on
February 20th. A favorite race among Nordic aficionados,
this race is centrally-located right off the interstate, has an
exciting but manageable course, and hot showers
available for tired competitors. They even hold their
awards in a spacious auditorium with comfortable seats. (I
knew I was getting old when that became important). [Ed.
Note: see the Masters news on the next page...]
The biggest points weekend of the series arrives March 5th
and 6th with the Rangeley Marathon on Saturday and the
Great Glen to Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure on Sunday.
The first race is a well-organized event on an easy course
with a raffle so deep that last year they ran out of
competitors before they ran out of prizes. Sunday’s event
is a true adventure with an improved trail this year (much
less rail-trail with the snowmobiles) that takes you over
the shoulder of Mt Washington to the highest point of any
race on the schedule. A race that finishes with a five-mile
downhill has to rate as a good idea. With another tight
battle no doubt underway, the series wraps up with the
Eastern Championships in Rumford on March 12. With an
Olympic quality staff and a brand-new lodge this should
be a glorious, sunshine-flooded finale to a great series.
See you all out there on the trails.
Thomas Alsgaard autographs a NENSA poster for Ford Sayre’s
Sam Marshall. (Scottie Eliassen photo)
Ford Sayre’s Junior XC Skiers Interview
Norway’s Thomas Alsgaard
by Dorcas Wonsavage
Thomas Alsgaard, who led the Norwegian cross-country ski
team for the past ten years and earned 11 Olympic and
World Championship gold medals during his career,
trained last Friday with the Ford Sayre junior cross-country
ski team, and later spoke at the Black Community Center,
in Hanover, NH. On tour with his sponsor, Alpina/Madshus
(based in Lebanon, NH), Alsgaard had already visited at
Pineland Farms, in New Gloucester, ME, and after his
Hanover visit, was bound for Glens Falls, NY and then W.
Yellowstone, MT.
With so many questions to ask their hero, the Ford Sayre
team members wrote down a list of questions for Alsgaard
to answer later, so they could just watch and absorb the
fact that they were ski bounding and striding around Oak
Hill with a Norwegian icon - one who still smiled like a kid,
loved being outside, even in the cold dusk of November,
and kindly gave suggestions and advice to anyone who
dared speak up and ask.
If they weren’t convinced after their workout, by the end of
Alsgaard’ presentation of his life and the “salmon social”
that followed at the Community Center Center, the starstruck teens, parents, coaches, and master skiers were
finally grasping the hard facts: there is no magic key to
skiing fast, no scientific combination of heart rate
monitoring, no ideal anaerobic to aerobic ratio of training,
no “one-size-fits-all” regimen. Instead, Alsgaard kept
pointing out, answering kindly both the simple and the
Skiers Interview cont’d on pg. 6.
PAGE 6
NEW ENGLAND NORDIC NEWS
CLUBS
Skiers Interview cont’d from pg. 5.
complex questions: “Hard work is Rule No.1” and “Keep it
simple, enjoy it .. . . It’s important to have fun.”
Young Alsgaard grew up in a village outside of Oslo, where
he remembers spending every day outside, and every
snowy day on skis, skiing the trail behind his house. At age
three he screamed and yelled so hard the organizers of a
youth race allowed little Thomas to race against the five
year olds. He won the race and kept on going. Along the
way he found his teammates to be very important to the
support and the fun that kept him focused 110% on racing
for 30 years. He also pointed out that it was his focus,
constant desire to improve, and the enjoyment he had in
training and racing, that strengthened his resolve to
continue through illness, his father’s death, and two back
surgeries. “There were many downs,” he said. “I turned
those downs into ups”.
Alsgaard retired last year, when he found it was not
motivating to race anymore. Anyone who meets him
would say that he has motivated them.
At age 14, when he changed coaches - from his mom to
his dad - his dad told him these four precepts, which
Alsgaard has followed ever since:
a.. Honesty - with yourself. You always be able to know
when something is not working for you and change it.
b.. Patience - there are times when your results are not
there, or you’re injured, be patient; if you are a junior skier,
put the time in and be patient that the results will come
when you are a senior.
c.. Evaluation - constantly. Always, every day, ask, “What
can I do now to become a better skier?”
what is the most important aspect of your summer
training? Get a good base.
what is the best alternative to rollerskiing? Running,
bicycling.
what kind of training did you do as a teenager/junior
racer? Mostly ski, rollerski, running. Then strength,
bicycling, kayaking.
COMPETITION
if there was one idea or word that describes your mental
preparation for a race, what would that be? Calmness.
talk about race strategy... approach to tight races (relay
legs) Always one strategy - NO STRATEGY.
describe your race warm-up routine. Testing skis. slow
skiing. some sprints.
what did you eat/drink on race day? Normal food.
Whatever served.
how do stay healthy during the winter? Don’t think about
it.
what do you do while you’re traveling to eat well, stay
healthy, etc? Bring a sandwich. Drink a lot of water.
when you were a teenager/junior racer, what kind of goals
did you set for yourself and how did you go about
achieving them? To be better. Focus.
how did you stay motivated during hours and hours of
training? I loved training.
tell a story about getting lost while skiing... Lost???
what is your heart rate at lactate threshold? I’m not sure or more correctly - I don’t care!
d.. Well-being - always look for and be sure you are
motivated by the joy of your sport. Make sure that you are
happy, healthy.
Questions for Thomas Alsgaard from the Ford Sayre/
Dartmouth Ski Team members:
TRAINING
when did you start skiing? 3 years old
did you play other sports while you were growing up?
Swimming, track and field, bicycling, soccer, etc.
when did you shift your focus to only skiing? Never !!!
how many hours did you train annually (daily) - as a
junior? 1-7 days/week, 300-500 hours/year.
- as a pro? 700-800 hours a year.
how often do you take rest/off days? Totally off vs. easy?
When I felt for it.
what kind of training do you do post -season in the spring?
Same.
what would you say is your most valuable workout?
Favorite workout? all!! skiing in new snow.
Spencer Hardy gets a keepsake magic marker (Scottie Eliassen
photo).
WINTER 2005
PAGE 7
PAGE 8
NEW ENGLAND NORDIC NEWS
What’s Happening at the Maine Winter
Sports Center this Winter
by John Farra
Toko masters out in West Yellowstone just before Thanksgiving.
Lto R: Rob Bradlee, Sean Scholl, Dave Ford, Jim Levins. (Ian
Harvey photo)
NENSA masters racer and coach Rob Bradlee, and NENSA
board member and masters racer Jim Levins headed out
once again to the Yellowstone Ski Festival, the
Thanksgiving event that yearly attracts hundreds of skiers
from all around the country. Rob and Jim were out on the
Toko wax team as well as representing NENSA. Masters
racer Mary Lou Lowrie was also out there and wrote a
great article about it, which is on the NENSA website.
In its 3rd season, the Aroostook Cup in Northern Maine
expands to 13 events across THE COUNTY! From an 80km
Classic to 1km sprints, the low-key and super friendly
Aroostook Cup series has become a great way to get local
skiers and clubs involved and active throughout the
season. Each participant gets one point for each race
entered, and extra points for age group and overall wins.
The emphasis is definitely on participation, which gets Ski
Clubs rallying their members to participate to score a point
for the Ski Club. The 10th Mtn Ski Club in Fort Kent has
been crowned the Aroostook Cup Winners in the first two
seasons, but the overall race is expected to be VERY close
this year with other clubs increasing their club
membership numbers.
In addition to the Aroostook Cup getting more adults out
to participate in cross-country skiing, each Aroostook Cup
has youth events ranging from distance events, to obstacle
courses, and other great FUN events for kids. On March 5th
the kids of Aroostook will experience their first ever
Aroostook Youth Ski Festival with an emphasis on
celebrating all the OTHER ways kids can MOVE on XC skis.
With competitions such as Super Short Sprints, Big Air,
What’s Happening cont’d on pg. 11.
More Europeans
heat with
Buderus
than any
other equipment
Find out why
1-800-BUDERUS
www.buderus.net
A Subsidiar y of BOSCH
WINTER 2005
PAGE 9
SPORTS MEDICINE
Nutrition Principles to Live By (For
Serious Skiers and Other Active People)
“Will this ‘refueling’ positively contribute to my training
and performance goals?”
By Donald Christie Jr., MD;
Chair, NENSA Sports Medicine Committee
Principle #6: Obtain most of your fuel from real food ––
“Mother’s groceries””– fresh, whole, and mostly
unprocessed foods. Take the time to prepare what you
need and bring it with you to the workout site or racing
venue. Don’t bet that a local convenience store or snack
bar will always have on hand what you need. Commercial
snack and meal replacements and’“recovery” drinks (e.g.,
Balance Bars, Met-Rx, Slim-Fast, Endurox-R4) are
convenient substitutes for real food, but on the whole
may lack important micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) as
well as antioxidants and phytochemicals that are found in
a balanced diet of real food.
Why do we invest so much time and money in preparing
for this wonderful ski season – training just right and
selecting clothing and equipment to suit our needs – yet
fail to devote much time, and perhaps even less thought,
to adequately nourishing ourselves? (Would a
championship race car driver spend untold time and
money in training and in preparing the vehicle, yet just
say “Fill“‘er up!” with just any old fuel at any old time?!)
Reviewing nutrition principles to live by helps truly
interested skiers focus their attention on this important
component of successful training and racing. (Readers are
also referred to “Fueling Winter Workouts and Races,” that
appeared in the winter 2003 NENN, and “Eating (and
Drinking) Right for Training and Competition,” in the
winter 2004 NENN, both articles available for pdf
download from the NENSA website.)
Principle #1: Food=Fuel… fuel for training and racing,
fuel for restoring and building.
Principle #2: Refuel often, basically every 2-3 hours while
awake, from breakfast to bedtime snack. (NEVER wait
until the tank is almost empty. Instead, “top off the tank”
every 2-3 hours.) This adds up to 6 or 7 meals and snacks
each day! Time your refueling to match planned training
and racing schedules, and remember to have at least a
high carb/moderate protein snack (if not a regular meal)
within 20-30 minutes of ending a workout or race. This
allows the fastest recovery from the muscle overload and
muscle fuel consumption brought about by prolonged or
intense exercise.
Principle #3: Have a good idea of your fuel needs – and
make up a fuel budget to accommodate those needs,
chiefly energy (calorie) and food content (assuring
adequate protein – generously, a daily total of 1 gram of
protein per pound of lean body mass – even though most
calories will come from carbohydrates and fats).
Principle #4: Know what’s in your food, that is, where
protein, carbohydrate, fat (oils), and important vitamins
and minerals are found. You can’t put Principle #3 into
practice without knowing what to look for, where! Study
“Nutrition Facts” labels to learn about what you already
eat. Ask the school librarian to help you find food tables
in nutrition texts or on the ‘net.
Principle #5: Be honest with yourself. To make sure
you’re on the right track, look at whatever you are about
to eat or drink and ask, “Will this help me with my
program?”
Principle #7: Replenish water and salts (chiefly, sodium
and potassium). Much of this will be accomplished while
consuming all the fresh fruit and vegetables mentioned
above. Further replenishment is found in the 4 or 5 lowfat dairy product servings needed every day, to supply the
calcium and some of the high-quality protein you need for
growth and repair and for strong bones. (Lactoseintolerant skiers, talk with the doctor.) During exercise
lasting more than 30-40 minutes, consume a sports drink
(commercial brand, or your own homemade version, halfstrength OJ with a pinch of table salt added per 8 ounces
of drink) to keep up with sweat losses. This drink can be
consumed at other times, too, although plain water,
regular juice, and skimmed milk are better fluid choices
when we are at rest. (Growing boys and girls and hardtraining senior athletes usually don’t worry about taking in
too many calories. On the contrary, they need to work
hard to consume enough food!)
Keep these nutrition principles in mind. Take as much
care with your refueling as you do with training and
equipping yourself for the wonderful season on snow.
Your body and your performance will show the results.
When he isn’t practicing sports medicine in Lewiston, Maine, Dr.
Christie usually brings his own black coffee, as well as his own
snacks, to NENSA races throughout the Northeast. He can be
reached at [email protected].
NENN Online
On the NENSA website, click on “NENN Online,”
which will take you to back issues of this
newsletter which you can download as pdf files.
We’re still working on getting the very earliest
issues online... they were in formats that none of
us can open on our present computers! But we’ll
have them there in the next few months.
Remember that great training article you wanted
to go back to but couldn’t find? Now you have it!
PAGE 10
NEW ENGLAND NORDIC NEWS
NENSA
New England Junior Olympic XC Ski
Team Coaching Staff Announced
Matt Whitcomb (Burke Mountain Academy/Worthington,
MA), the Head Coach who led last year’s New England
Junior Olympic XC Ski Team to a sweeping victory over
Alaska, returns to lead another strong coaching staff to the
2005 JOs in Truckee, California, March 7-12th.
Last year New England JO Head Coach Whitcomb and
Team Leader, Jeff Hixon (Northeast Nordic Club/Salisbury,
MA ), were honored by the U.S. Ski Association as
Ambassadors of Excellence for their “Leadership and
Sportsmanship.”USSA Nordic Director, Luke Bodensteiner,
noted their outstanding leadership, saying “For your team
to perform as well as it did shows that there is not only a
considerable amount of athletic talent coming into the
pipeline from your region, but also a high level of
coaching, planning, and dedication to top-level athletic
performance.”
This year’s Trip Leader will be Maine Winter Sport Center’s
Director of Community Programs and County Team Coach,
Will Sweetser, who is looking to make the most of the
momentum and morale of last year’s win by nearly twice
the points over perennial District favorite, Alaska.
Whitcomb and Sweetser will oversee a coaching team
that includes some of the strongest coaches in the U.S.:
Kat Bennet - Maine Coast Jr. Team, Portland, ME. Bennet
was selected as the recipient of NENSA’s Women’s
Coaching Internship.
Matt Boobar – Holderness School, Holderness, NH
Nick Brown – Putney Ski Club, Putney, VT
Amy Caldwell – Stratton Mountain School, Windham, VT
Zach Caldwell - Putney Ski Club/ Caldwell Sports
Specialties, Windham, VT
Tracey Cote - Colby College, Waterville, ME
Jeff Hixon - Northeast Nordic Ski Club, MA
Scottie Eliassen - Ford Sayre Ski Council, Lyme, NH
Alexei Sotskov - Vermont Academy, VT
Sarah Torkelson - Dartmouth Outing Club, Hanover, NH
Dennis Donahue - Ford Sayre Ski Club, Hanover, NH
Sverre Caldwell - Stratton Mountain School, Stratton, VT
“What a fantastic coaching staff!” notes
Whitcomb.“Coupling the energy of the coaches on this
new team with the momentum generated by our athletes
last year will undoubtedly give us another great year.”
Adds NENSA Program Director, Patrick Cote, who oversaw
the resumes submitted by coaches: “It was incredible to
have so many of New England’s most talented coaches
apply to lead this trip. We had to make some very difficult
decisions.”
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Visit our web site at
www.catamounttrail.org or call
us at 802-864-5794 to learn
about membership benefits,
free guided ski tours, inn-to-inn
skiing, and much more.
Updated NENSA website!
If you haven’t yet checked it out, go there right
now. It is no longer just the place where you check
on what events are up ahead; it has become a true
resource. Just click on some of the links on the
left side of the main page - “Recreation” will head
you into a map of New England cross-country ski
areas and NENSA clubs, and you can get detailed
information for any one of them just by clicking on
the individual link. The “Kids” link takes you to the
Bill Koch League directory and full schedule of
upcoming events as well as to ski games and the
Ski for K’s program. The “Training” link includes an
equipment page (where you can even get directions
on how to build a roller board!), dryland drills,
Fred Griffin’s famous stretching program. And
there’s much more!
Thanks to Program Director Pat Cote for his work
on the website, and to NENSA board member and
committee member, masters racer and computer
guru Bob Haydock for his work, especially the map
with links to ski centers and ski clubs throughout
New England.
WINTER 2005
PAGE 11
NENSA
From NENSA Executive Director Max Cobb
What’s Happening cont’d from pg. 9.
Winter is upon us and how glad we are to be once again
out skiing the hills of New England. As a new returnee to
Nordic skiing in New England, I can say that it is very
impressive to see all the growth in skiing here over the
years. NENSA has grown into a vast network of clubs and
race organizers that span the region and offer programs
and competitions for all ability levels. This year over
10,000 people will start in NENSA’s premier races and
championships and thousands more in NENSA club
events. Skiers from New England will travel to California
for the Junior Olympics and to Russia for another
exchange. Top New England racers will attend the World
Junior Championships in Finland too.
Come experience Aroostook Cup events or come check out
of other unique events planned for this season. When you
visit you can expect real winter conditions and a friendly
welcome. For more info visit: www.mainewsc.org.
If you are looking for a new ski center to try or a club near
you to join, check out Bob Haydock’s new map at
www.nensa.net. It’s a great resource. I hope that you will
have time to participate in these many offering and that
you’ll bring your friends and family along too - crosscountry skiing is for everyone.
NENSA is lucky to have so many dedicated sponsors to
support the programs we all enjoy. Please remember to
support them too when you have a chance.
Banknorth - Buderus - L.L. Bean - Trapp Family Lodge
World-renowned Trapp Family Lodge to
Sponsor the New England Nordic Ski
Association
The Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont has begun a
three year sponsorship of NENSA.The deal makes the
Lodge the Official Premier Resort of NENSA and places the
Lodge among NENSA’s impressive list of sponsors:
Banknorth, L.L.Bean, and Buderus Heating Systems.
In October the NENSA Board of Directors kicked of the
sponsorship by meeting at the Trapp Family Lodge and
enjoyed the inspiring atmosphere and spectacular new
meeting rooms. “The partnership is a natural” said NENSA
Executive Director, Max Cobb. “The Trapp Family Lodge
founded the modern ski touring center in 1968 when they
opened their now world-famous trail network. Together
with the Lodge there is just no better place to enjoy a
cross country ski holiday.”
Charlie Yerrick, Nordic Director of the Trapp Family Touring
Center, saw this partnership as a natural fit given the
Lodge’s history and commitment to providing world-class
cross-country ski experiences and NENSA’s commitment
to providing programs and competitions for skiers of every
age and ability.
NENSA looks forward to hosting events at the Trapp
Family Lodge and Touring Center and members will be
eligible for special offers when they visit the Lodge. Check
www.nensa.net for more information or visit the Trapp
Family Lodge at www.trappfamilylodge.com.
Speed Skiing, Power Ski Drag, Vertical Jumps, XC Jump
Turn, XC Slalom, Double Poling for Distance, Tandem Skiing
Relays, Laser Rifle Demos, and skiing Games, this one day
festival is sure to be a model Festival for other parts of the
country to emulate.
December
29 TAMC/NENSA Nordic Heritage Sprints - Classic Race –
Presque Isle
30 TAMC/NENSA Nordic Heritage Sprints - Freestyle Sprint
Race – Presque Isle
January
1 New Years Race – 5K FS – Northern Skiers Club Caribou HS Trails
9 10th Mtn Ski Club Citizen Race – 5K & 40K FS – 10th Mtn
Ski Center, Fort Kent
16 Split Cedar Classic – 16K CL–– Van Buren
22 Nordic Heritage Ski Club Skiathlon & Family Ski Fest –
Presque Isle
23 New Sweden Ski Dag – 8K CL event – New Sweden
30 Big Rock Nordic Dash, 5K FS, Mars Hill
February
3-6 Biathlon Junior World Trials – Nordic Heritage Ski
Center, Presque Isle
12 Sam Ouellett Ski Marathon – 8K Junior, 40K, 80K CL Ashland
13 Karen Sprague Memorial Relay–– CL Sprint Relays –
Stockholm
18-19 Caribou Rotary Centennial Ski-A-Thon 24 hour Ski
Event – Fri pm-Sat pm - Caribou HS
20 C-Me-Ski Race–– 21K CL – Limestone
27 Henry Anderson Ski – 8K CL – Caribou Country Club
March
5 Aroostook Youth Skiing Festival – 10th Mtn Ski Center,
Fort Kent
6 Madawaska Valley Ski Sprints – 5K FS – Madawaska
9-21 Paralympic Nordic World Championships, 10th Mtn Ski
Center, FK
12 Himie Towle Memorial Race – Sprints & 7.5K FS, Nordic
Heritage Ski Center, PQI
12-13 Big Rock Telemark & Blues Festival, Mars Hill
19-20 Arooski 24 hour Ski Tour – 100km CL & FS County Wide
new england
NORDIC NEWS
PO Box 402
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THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ENGLAND NORDIC SKI ASSOCIATION
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NEW ENGLAND NORDIC NEWS