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
