NENSA News From the Field

NENSA Congratulates Emily Cartwright, 2024 NENSA Coach of the Year

The NENSA Coach of the Year award is given annually to honor a NENSA coach for their achievements and contributions in working with athletes in support of NENSA’s mission to sustain a vibrant and active cross country skiing community in New England. We are thrilled to share that Emily Cartwright of Nonstop Nordic is the 2024 NENSA Coach of the Year!

Emily’s impact on the Southern Maine ski community cannot be understated. Nonstop Nordic began in 2020, and has grown to include youth, juniors, and masters skiing opportunities, a full events calendar, and a team of fantastic coaching staff in just 4 short years. Club growth is no small feat, and it does not happen by chance, but rather through the dedication and vision of the local nordic community and leadership. Not only has Emily taken on the role of club founder and coach, but has also stepped into event management as well with both summer and winter event offerings. In addition to serving her own club, she has volunteered over many years to help lead Team Maine at Eastern High Schools and U16 Championships. With Emily’s leadership, Nonstop Nordic skiers can be found at all of our NENSA events, from popular races to Eastern Cups to our summer rollerski series.

NENSA Announces 2024 Rollerski Season Events

In the heat of summer, you’ll often find skiers day-dreaming about a transformed landscape. It’ll be a pass by a cut in the woods or a breeze over an open field that makes you imagine what it’ll be like when the weather gets cold, the snow comes, and it all becomes utterly skiable.

To cool those thoughts (literally) this time of year, NENSA and our ski community have paired those daydreams of winter with another thought; instead of waiting on mother nature to bring us skiing to the landscapes we love, why not find a way to ski them in the summer? With rollerskis in hand then, and our 2024 rollerski calendar, skiers from across the East will get to go there. From the top of Whiteface Mountain to the shores of Lake Champlain, with some of the most classic features of New England in between, we’re going to go skiing, and we’re going to go together.

Our 2024 Rollerski Season includes 7 unique events designed to engage skiers in skiing wherever they are this Summer and Fall. We’re proud to have at least one event in every Eastern skiing state, bringing the opportunity for our local ski communities to gather before the winter, and to bring us all together for competition too. 

We’re also excited to continue in the spirit that our rollerski series has had since its inception – using the offseason to experiment, to grow, and to take on new challenges in competition formats. Outside of the competition season, there’s a chance to work on skiing that is truly cross-country, with turns, jumps, skating, striding, and more. From hill climbs to NENSA’s world-famous agility ramps, now is the time to find new ways to appreciate the joy of moving with skis underfoot.

2024 Sleepy Hollow Camp

Last week, NENSA joined Sleepy Hollow’s BKL Camp for a rollerski session in Hinesburg, VT at a local high school for some technique, an agility course, pool noodle tag and a few rounds of rollerski hockey. It was awesome to see the great improvement the campers found in their balance and agility skills over the course of the morning, and everyone having fun with the agility course. We finished the session with hockey and pool-noodle tag! 

Kait Miller as well as a full film crew from USOPC were in attendance to highlight Kait’s recognition by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and Team USA Partner, Comcast, as a 2023 Team USA Community Champion!

The award honors athletes who embody the Olympic values of Excellence, Respect and Friendship and the Paralympic values of Determination, Inspiration, Equality and Courage, as well as charitable organizations whose missions focus on youth sport, physical activity, or health and well-being. We are so grateful to have our organization highlighted, and we thank Kait for all of the contributions they brought to NENSA!

THANK YOU TO OUR GOLD SPONSORS

NONH/ME BKL Rollerski Clinic | August 10

NENSA offers a number of “Learn-to-Rollerski” clinics which are sessions aimed at those new to rollerskiing. Clinics are often held in conjunction with camps and all attendees have access to NENSA’s rollerski fleet. These clinics focus on teaching the fundamentals of skiing, including stopping, turning, basic techniques, agility skills, and engaging games.

August 10, 2024 in Fryeburg, ME

• 9-11 AM: BKL/Youth Clinic (including parents, caregivers, and coaches)
• 11 AM - 1 PM: Junior+ Clinic (Age 14+ including adults)

Central location for all NONH and Maine BKL Clubs - other districts and skiers also welcome!

Climb to the Castle 2024 | August 11

17th Annual Climb to the Castle, Whiteface Mountain, NY

The oldest rollerski race in the East is back! A signature hill climb to the top of the High Peaks, promising a competitive field, and a challenge that all can be proud of completing, and the kind of summit view that will have you dreaming of miracles (which is to say, you get a great view Lake Placid).

Rollins Roll Classic Hill Climb | August 18

Rollins Roll Classic Hill Climb, Mt. Kearsarge, New Hampshire

A fast-growing staple of the NENSA rollerski calendar, featuring a reunion of New Hampshire skiers from across the Granite State, and farther afield too! A great day out with a fun uphill challenge too!

NENSA Fall Symposium | October 5

Save the Date!

Saturday October 5th at the Dublin School in Dublin, New Hampshire, NENSA's Annual Coaches, TD, and Event Organizer Symposium is back!

NENSA is again proud to produce a full Fall symposium with the goal of providing an excellent, organized structure for coaches, officials, and event organizers from across the region to engage in professional and community development together.

The schedule for this year’s coach symposium is in progress, but will likely contain similar offerings to last year’s symposia.

Andy Newell Interview - From 4-Time Olympic Sprinter to Ultra Trail Runner

"In this interview I sit down with local legend Andy Newell of Shaftsbury, Vermont, to talk about his transition from 16 years on the US Ski Team, and four Olympics to coaching and ultra-distance trail racing. We cover many topics related to training, injury, goal setting and more."

 -Tim Van Orden, NENSA masters skier, community member, coach, and public speaker

Enjoy - and thank you to Tim for sharing this with the NENSA community!

Eastern Cup Schedule

2024-25

Job Openings

Head Nordic Ski Coach

Mt. Blue High School

Farmington, Maine

Nordic Program Director and Head Coach

Sugar Bowl Ski Team & Academy

NENSA and USSS Membership Renewals

Our membership year began May 1 and now is an excellent time for sign ups and renewals. Membership revenue sustains our organization, directly supports year-round offerings, and subsidizes low and no-cost programming that make our New England ski community vibrant and inclusive.

Your NENSA membership provides...

• Access to Eastern Cup, Bill Koch Festival, and U16 and Eastern High School Championship events
• Education at Eastern Coaches Conferences and TD/Event Organizer Seminars
• Eligibility for the NENSA Development and Elite Teams and the New England Junior National Team
• Discounted entry to NENSA events
• Scoring and ranking in our Eastern Cup, Popular, and Rollerski series
• NENSA Kickzone and Trail Tales youth newsletter subscriptions
• Exclusive discounts and special offers from NENSA sponsors, continually updated on the Member Benefits page
• Access to the NENSA Gear Swap

While you're at it, US Ski and Snowboard memberships renew on Juy 1 and are required for all nationally sanctioned events including REG Camp, Eastern Cup Races, US Nationals, and Junior Nationals. PLEASE NOTE that if you did or will turn 18 between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, you will need to complete Safesport training and a background check to maintain eligibility and points.

Club Liability Insurance 2024-25

General Liability coverage is back and available to all clubs under the NENSA Master policy.

A Master policy aggregates coverage for the community, offers better coverage than what clubs may find individually, and saves our clubs the costs of these separate policies. It is a member benefit that we are proud to offer and that supports our community through the local savings it offers to clubs.

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