Archive | BKL Jackrabbits

RANGE UPDATES 12/2/24

By Adam Terko on 2 December, 2024 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog, Uncategorized

Mansfield Nordic
Range Update and Practice Locations
December 2, 2024

Last week the National Guard announced to Mansfield Nordic Club, Ethan Allen Biathlon Club and local High School coaches that there would be no one allowed to ski at the range in 2025. They later updated this announcement further to inform all groups no outside groups were going to be allowed at the facility after December 9th. This was quite a surprise, because as of August we thought the situation going forward was clear and not impacting our programs.

The Walker Building is scheduled for deconstruction starting December 9th. There is also site work and trail widening that will happen this winter. These projects are part of a larger plan that includes some new buildings and trail upgrades. While we are excited to benefit from infrastructure improvements in the future, it is disappointing to learn of this exclusion from the National Guard right before many groups and teams begin their winter seasons.

MNC’s head coaches and Board of Directors are working together with Ethan Allen Biathlon Club to advocate for use of the Range starting in January 2025.

These immediate changes are challenging for MNC because many members are involved with more than one of our groups: BKL, Juniors, and Masters. We understand that these changes in our program location will be tricky for some MNC skiers.

We have made alternate practice location plans for December and will be reassessing options for January based on any new agreement we are able to make with the National Guard.

December Tuesday/Thursday Practice

BKL – Practice will be in the Jericho/Underhill area. Mills Riverside Park/ Tomasi Meadow

Juniors – Tuesday and Thursday practices will be at Sleepy Hollow. Practices on other days of the week will be at Sleepy Hollow or other locations depending on snow conditions.

Masters – Afternoon Master coaches will hold practice at the same location as BKL practice. Afternoon masters have an option to swap to evening masters, and vice versa. Evening masters will be at Sleepy Hollow.

Masters will be responsible for paying for their own skiing at Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow has offered a discounted pass at $100 for a two day week option here (also see button below). Pass holders can use this pass for Tuesday and Thursday sessions, or for another day that week if they cannot make a scheduled practice, for up to 2x days total per week. This is not a reciprocal pass, and will not be able to be redeemed at other ski areas. If Masters skiers already have a regular Sleepy Hollow Pass, there is no need for this additional pass.

MNC Masters: Sleepy Hollow 2x/Wk Pass

Range Access Pass Holders– There will not be a Range Access option in December 2024, and we are not sure if there will be a Range Access Pass option in January 2025.

Refunds for Programs and Range Access will be considered after January 1, 2025. More info will be posted once available on the MNC website and in the weekly e blast.

Communicating with the National Guard

While there may be a lot of understandable frustration about this situation, particularly the lack of communication from the National Guard at Camp Johnson (where all facilities and resource access is managed), please hold your calls and emails until we reach any potential agreements for January 2025 onward.

There is certainly a deep well of community support and input that groups like MNC, EABC, MMU Nordic, and other can compile in sharing our frustrations with Guard leadership. But for the time being we are looking to approach this with an eye toward pragmatism and collaboration.

We hope to know more in advance of the new year.

Ski and Gear Swap 2024 was great!

By Adam Terko on 14 October, 2024 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

Thanks for an awesome swap! This event continues to grow…we had a ton of great gear to sell, which says a lot in two different ways:

MNC and community members were eager and happy to contribute their Nordic ski stuff to the event and pass it onto others
Folks got access to lots of great Nordic ski gear at great prices, and kept these items cycling through our own community

We had a great bake sale and lemonade stand, more boots than ever, and lots of skis from touring boards all the way to World Cup stock race skis. For the first time in swap history, we had a line gathered from the front door, over around the corner of the building. People were pumped to be a part of this event!

The calm before the storm…swap setup on Saturday night

The swap was a great way to connect with many friends and members. People were enjoying the company of fellow skiers, new athletes were learning about the sport, and everyone from BKL kids to high school racers were picking up equipment and clothing that will be important in the coming year.

A few notes, now that the 2024 swap is over:

We have BKL skate skis, poles and boots to lease, in addition to our classic gear. Thanks to Fischer and Skirack for this new addition to our offerings! Click below to find out about lease gear.

BKL Equipment 101

Other swaps are coming up! This weekend (Oct 18/19) is the Skirack Swap
November 4/5 is the Cochrans Swap
Did you pick up some skis at the MNC swap that need a stonegrind? Head to Skirack for a MNC swap special where you can get a discount on a new grind to refresh those swap skis! Just $55 per pair!

Sweet new BKL skate lease skis!

FreeFall Fun in BTV

By Adam Terko on 24 September, 2024 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

MNC and NENSA held the first edition (or at least “new version”) of the FreeFall on Sunday. This was billed Burlington’s Rollerski Festival and we hope that with a successful and fun proof-of-concept this year we can grow things in years to come!

The hub was an awesome location: the back parking lot of the Burton factory store in the south end of the city. The trees were turning bright colors, the sun was out, and a fast and flowy course was laid for some sprint racing.

The course looped around two separate lots, with a few slaloms and lots of curves and high speed. As close to an F1 street track as you can get for rollerskiing! After a qualifying round, skiers raced in heats of three. Because we used a court-style format, everyone got to race three rounds: win your heat and move up, finish in the middle and retain your bracket position, finish 3rd and jump down to the next heat.

Fall rollerskiing at its finest

While there may have only been 15 competitors, those were some speedy and capable skiers! The day ended with awards from MNC, NENSA and Skirack, some pizza and cookies, and good vibes.

But a festival isn’t just for racing! Not long after the competition portion ended, the games and toys were brought out! Lots of young rollerskiers got to try their skills and learn about the sport with NENSA’s Swenor fleet, and the parking lot was taken-over in a totally different way.

While the kids were skiing around, playing games, getting facepaint, and enjoying the company of a rollerskiing cow (thanks Hanna!) the Masters group ski also took off for a trip down the bike path. The sun was still shining, and the path was abuzz with bikers and runners all enjoying the cool recreation opportunity Burlington offers.

This event wasn’t as large as we’d hoped it would be this year, but the seed has been planted. Thanks so much to our volunteers, NENSA, Skirack, Burton, and Burlington itself for a really fun time!

FreeFall Event Photos: BKL/Masters

FreeFall Event Photos: Sprint Race

FreeFall Sprint Results

4th of July Parade

By Adam Terko on 8 July, 2024 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Uncategorized

Big crowds!

For years now we have rollerskied in the Williston parade for Independence Day, complete with “snow” (leftover ice rink snow gathered in the morning from Gutterson and Cairns hockey arenas) and candy to appease the excited crowd. This year was no different, and with bright sunny skies and a road full of onlookers it was great to display our club to the masses.

I do have to say, it was a little underwhelming to have only 7 Juniors and 1 BKL participant. We have so many great and enthusiastic club members, and we hope that in the future more will come out to this event! It is a great way to represent the club, grow awareness of skiing in general, and have a good time. As alluded-to in the Eblast and other postings, skiing isn’t even required…we’re happy to have walkers or bike riders!

Maybe we need to rethink our communication channels, especially in the summer when skiing isn’t front-of-mind. A lot goes into this event, from organizing the float/vehicle system to an early morning of snow shoveling, so a signup form and a minimum participation number may be in our future.

Again, this is a really cool thing that we are able to do, and it’s an easy date to remember for next year 🙂

Bella with a sampling of snow!

Off and rolling

Skiing straight to creemees after!

MNCC Comes Together

By Adam Terko on 16 June, 2024 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog, Uncategorized

I didn’t get a ton of sleep last week.

Turns out that it is pretty motivating to have a building renovation underway. There’s a reason that entire television networks are based around before-and-after stories of dilapidated houses getting turned into beautiful homes: the sense of “what if” can’t be ignored.

Having the MNCC project underway is like being a paleontologist discovering the fossilized remains of a gigantic new dinosaur. You know that the skeleton isn’t going anywhere, but every time you’re at the dig site you can’t help but dust off one more bone, or take one more measurement…and before you know it, it’s 10:30pm one night, or 12:40am the morning after you started some project.

It’s not just me. Club members and leaders have been getting involved along the way. After joining us for a painting session one afternoon, I got a text from Board member Mike Millar that outed him as having eaten dinner, put his baby to bed, and returned to paint the ceiling late into the night.

There wasn’t much asking around at training one morning until I found a willing volunteer to help me pick up some lumber. With a few canoe straps, Pat Frazier and I tied down several pieces of particle board (that would eventually form the missing back wall of the MNCC) to his Subaru’s roof rack. I paid Pat his wages for the ordeal (one bagel with cream cheese from the shop next door) and after evening training and biathlon, we unloaded the boards at the MNCC so that work could continue.

Throughout the week as I was working inside the building, my car was conspicuously parked outside right on Route 2. Several times I heard a car honk as it went past, and would run over to a window to see an MNC junior or collegiate skier speeding off in the distance. They knew I was getting things ready, and were giving a salute on their drive past.

Sometimes a guest would even stop by, such as the time Rye walked in to see what was happening and found himself with a rag in hand applying floor polish mere minutes later. On several occasions, MNC University coach Brandon and I have finished practice and driven straight down to the MNCC to paint trim, piece together gym flooring, or assemble squat racks.

Brandon assembling the floor of the “gym” area!

It feels really good to have a project like this, and it feels like exactly what both me and the club needed this summer. It was time for a change, and for a new branch of growth. The possibilities for this space grow with every new conversation as we transform this space.

I even went into the Richmond Library to dig up a little information on the building’s history. I’m an admitted fan of local history, and others may have the same kind of interest. So what did I find?

The building we are in is, unsurprisingly, connected to all of the other industrial-style buildings in the the immediate vicinity, including several barn structures across the road. This was all the Plant and Griffith Lumber Company, the principle industry in Jonesville.

The building we are in was constructed in 1925, making next year the centennial! The location of the railway right onsite made shipping lumber extremely smooth, and I was let in on another cool tidbit from the property manager Dave…just west of the collection of buildings we’re in is a small one-story ranch home still occupied today. The Plant and Griffith Company made a lot of it’s money in manufactured/fabricated homes from their lumber, and that ranch house is the model display home!

I plan to get copies made of these (and other) historical documents, and have them framed to go into the lower level of the MNCC! I think it’s really important to recognize the history and significance of local buildings that have been around for so long, and were integral to the community. I hope that MNC can now use this space to create our own lasting legacy!

And so, of course it is time for the “before and after” photos…but something tells me we’ll never quite be done putting finishing touches onto this space here and there! If you’re interested in contributing, check out our Amazon Gift Registry below, and thanks to all those who have already chipped-in! Almost everything you see in these photos came from kind donors.

MNCC Gift Registry!

The original photo of the space