Learn How to Glide Wax your Skis!
MNC Skiathlon results (and photos!)
Thanks to everyone who came to the event!
2023 MNC Skiathlon BKL Results
2023 MNC Skiathlon Open Results
Link to photo album from Adam Popkin
Link to photo album from Ellie Bouffard
Photo from Ellie Bouffard
Hey BKLers- Are you going to the Festival?
This year’s New England BKL Festival is taking place in our own back yard at Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Craftsbury, Vt on March 4 & 5th. It’s not that far away this year, so even if your child doesn’t want to race, you should consider going because there is a Nordic Adventure category where they get to do all these fun activities on skis.
Here is how the Festival Works:
This is a ski festival for kids and it’s a lot of fun for everyone. It’s big- there will be over 400 kids participating from all over New England. There are races both days- a skate relay on Saturday and an Individual Classic race for all age groups on Sunday. But there is lots more going on besides the races. There is a whole schedule of Nordic Adventure activities like a parade, a mini-marathon, terrain park, laser biathlon with US Biathletes, maple sugaring demos, draft horse logging demos, an autograph session with Bill Koch, and more. All the Nordic Adventure activities are included with a racer registration but your child could also sign up for just the Nordic Adventure activities if they are not interested in racing.
For MNC, we will have a big contingent of racers and Nordic Adventure skiers going. We will set up a team tent which will be our home base and hang-out spot, put together a pot-luck lunch for both days, have coaches on hand to wax kids’ skis and help them preview courses and get ready for the races. For the relay day, Coach Rosemary works hard the week before to set everyone up with a relay partner. Sometimes kids get paired with someone from another club and have the opportunity to make a new ski friend.
The races are going on all day long and so are the Nordic Adventure activities. So, your child might have their race in the morning and then they will probably spend the rest of the day on their skis, going between our tent (for snacks) and all the different Nordic Adventure activities.
Read more about the Festival and Register on Ski Reg: https://www.skireg.com/nebklfestival
BKL Practice Week of 2/13/23
Tuesday, 2/13: Penguins Classic & All others Skate
Penguins: Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt!
Jack Rabbits, Arctic Foxes & Racers: Valentine’s Day Mini-Marathon
It’s time for our annual mini-marathon! How many laps (or Km’s) can you ski in one hour? We will do a little warm-up and start all together at 4 pm. Kids will ski as much as they can on the designated loops, stopping to fuel up at the snack table and record their laps.
Parents: 1) Every kid should bring a filled water bottle labeled with their name. Kids will get thirsty. They can leave water by the snack table. (Remember that Range water is non-potable).
2) We need parents to bring some healthy snacks for the snack table. Valentine’s treats are OK too.
3) We need 2-3 parents to help with the snack table and to help the kids mark down their laps. If you can help, email Coach Rosemary: sheacobb19@gmail.com
Thursday, 2/16: Skate At Tomasi’s & Funky Hat Day. Practice will be 4-5:15pm. Check before you go for last minute changes.
Update Wed. 2/15, 2PM: The Range is closed for the rest of this week, but the skating should be OK at Tomasi’s Field and way better than the last time we skied there on frozen grass!
Parking: We will plan to park & drop off at the Casey’s Hill parking lot on Mountain Road and meet kids there.
Weekend Racers: Off
It’s Middle School Championships, Coach Rosemary will be at the Dublin Eastern Cup and some kids are recovering from illnesses. Get some needed rest or ski with the family this weekend.
Skiathlon Wax Rec
It’s looking like some transformed snow for the Skiathlon. There will be a chance of snow Friday night, but it will likely get groomed right into the more transformed base (on account of warmth and rain Thurs/Fri and a lack of recent snowfall).
For glide, having a neutral but mostly colder glide wax would be advised. Toko Blue or Swix PS6/PS7 would be great starting points. MNC will have wax support consisting of some liquid or wool non-fluoro topcoats, and these are best applied over a well scraped/brushed ski with a recent coat of traditional wax!
For kick, a klister binder would suit the conditions best. It’s possible we will use hardwax, but a klister binder will help the wax stay durable and handle the aggressive, transformed snow that forms the main base of the trails. You can see a clip of some klister binder waxing at the bottom of this page.
We will be testing kickwaxes on the day of the race, and can provide recommendations or even just some wax itself. For klister application, we will have our wax roller to help apply klister quickly and easily. Check in with coaches to get the latest!
