Archive | Junior Blog

There are articles all over the place discussing the proper “procedure” for the first day on snow. Lots of no-pole skiing…make sure to not get carried away and go to fast…incorporate drills for technique…BORING!

Our first day of skiing this year took place at the base of Stowe. Snowmaking crews had managed to put together a nice patch at the base area, with a ribbon of white a ways up one of the trails. With skate skis on it was myself, Mia, Astrid, James, and Jorgen who did a little slogging about 10 minutes up the climb. We looked back to see that the other two skiers that day, Jonah and Lorenzo, hadn’t made it past the first chairlift post: they had immediately pulled out an avalanche shovel and begun construction of a jump.

There they stayed, hard at work creating a booter to give them the first 360s of the season. And we didn’t linger on the uphill much longer either. Our first day on skis was primarily spent catching air, flinging snow, and sliding around on stomachs.

It was a lot of fun. As Jonah put it, “This is probably one of the best ways to get used to skis again. Lots of movement, challenging terrain, and skill development.” (or something like that).

I think it’s great that we can embrace snow for what it is sometimes, such as a few hundred meters of lumpy, crusty, icy crud. We are happy to let loose a bit and eschew the traditional dull, ritualistic grind of skiing kilometers in a line without our poles under coach scrutiny. And we just may be better, more fulfilled skiers for it!

Everybody’s favorite part about ski racing is most definitely the acquisition and renewal of memberships, right? It’s always a joy to stay on top of which organization to register with, what options to select for racing, and the fees associated!

Hopefully this quick primer will make it easier for our Junior racers (new and returning) to get a handle on what to sign up for, and where to find it.

Note that these registrations apply primarily to those athletes competing in Eastern Cup races, particularly athletes looking to compete in multiple EC races/weekends throughout the season. Some memberships are mandatory to even register for these races, while other membership tiers are only needed if you would like to be seeded/ranked from race-to-race and in the final year-end lists (JN qualification).

NENSA

NENSA is the regional governing body of our sport. All Eastern Cup races are put on by NENSA. The Eastern High School Championships, U16 Festival, BKL Festival, and Junior Nationals are all NENSA series’ or trips.

To compete in an Eastern Cup, you must have a NENSA license. You can find the NENSA membership page here.

Mansfield Nordic Club should be listed under the clubs you can select from the dropdown list. Please select MNC for your club!

US Ski and Snowboard

There are often frequent changes to the US Ski and Snowboard website. The direct membership website is my.usskiandsnowboard.com and this is where racers will need to obtain/maintain an account.

To enter an Eastern Cup race, you will need at minimum a “General” US Ski and Snowboard license. However, to score points and have your results and ranking carry-over to subsequent races, you’ll need the more expensive “Competitor” license. If you are planning to race in multiple Eastern Cups, would like to be included on the JN ranking list, and are considering skiing beyond high school, you should be obtaining and renewing a Competitor license.

Your US Ski and Snowboard account is where your NRL (National Ranking List) points profile will live. All of the NENSA Eastern Cup races are scored to the NRL, but other higher-level races in our area and beyond will also have points that score to this points profile. These NRL points impact your seeding in any NRL-sanctioned race (Eastern Cup or otherwise).

While registering you should be able to select Mansfield Nordic Club as an organization. Please do so…thanks!

Special note if you are a 2nd-year U18 or older, you will be promoted to complete Safesport training in addition to just registering for your license. Please note that this can be a multi-hour process the first time you go through it, and is absolutely mandatory to receive your license. Do NOT leave this until the last minute, as leaving this incomplete could keep your membership in “pending” status and prevent you from competing.

FIS

FIS (Federation Internationale de Ski) is the world governing body of our sport. A FIS license is primarily only required for competitors racing internationally, such as qualifiers for the U18 Scando Cup or Junior World Championships. Some races in the East are FIS-sancitoned, but a FIS license is not required for competition.

Skiers who are Juniors or Seniors in high school may consider acquiring and maintaining a FIS license if they are pursuing a collegiate ski career, particularly on larger D1 schools that often recruit international skiers as this provides as direct a comparison point as you can get in a sport like this.

If you are curious if a FIS license is right for you, reach out to Coach Adam for more information. Most of our MNC skiers do not need to worry about this license.

It was a spooky weekend down in Massachusetts for the Mt Greylock rollerski race. This is an annual event that is a few years old, but we’ve never given it a try until now. It was a fun trip and something we’d do again, for sure!

The drive down Rt 7 was scenic and the weather was pretty balmy…right on par for this fall, it seems. 3.5 hours is a long journey, but we had an AirBnB rental so the Junior squad for this trip made a weekend of it.

The only problem with our house? There were some serious signs it was haunted.

You see, we try to keep things relatively cheap for trips like this. Nordic skiing is an expensive sport, so when you get the opportunity to stay in a large house for a small amount of money, why not take it? Who cares if this rental was a former homeless shelter? Who cares if there are holes in the back of the closets that lead to torn-apart sections of the building, disconnected showers, and lit up hallways despite no occupancy…

It was all pretty fitting, though, given Halloween was only a few days prior. And it had been some years since I’d cooked any “room pasta” which is a throwback to when we would bring a hotplate and make Eastern Cup dinners on the hotel bathroom countertop (this former homeless shelter did not have a traditional kitchen, as you might guess from such an establishment).

Out for a Saturday run in the Pittsfield State Forest

So, we certainly had some interesting accommodations. Other than that, the weekend was very standard for a ski race trip. We looked up some nearby trails to do a pre-race run at, and woke up early to oatmeal and eggs for an uphill classic race. There were many NENSA teams and friends in attendance, and frost at the top of the mountain. Many were in their winter race suits, which gave a good preview of the season ahead.

Astrid took the win in the short course women’s race, with Jorgen in 2nd place for the men. Liam also completed the short course even with a bit of sleep-deprivation, having gotten up at 4:30AM to make the start. In the long course, Jonah and Lorenzo duked it out in waves with many familiar skiers from EMXC, GMVS, SMS, and more. Seven had an epic race, chasing down skiers and battling through racers one after another.

We had some Masters in attendance, too! Peter Vile and Michael Dillon both raced, with Michael taking a Masters podium in 2nd!

Women’s podium ft. Astrid

Best of all, you don’t have to rely on just photos and stories…Seven made an excellent vlog of the trip 🙂