Archive | Masters Blog

Club Cup Update

By Adam Terko on 15 February, 2021 in Masters Blog

MNC has officially pulled into second place in the NENSA Club Cup rankings! The Club Cup is worth some serious cash this year – $5000/$3000/$1000 to the top three teams – and it’s shaping up to be a three-way battle between Craftsbury, MNC, and Stratton Mountain.

MNC has one big advantage that these other powerhouse teams lack: a large and enthusiastic masters racing contingent. So masters of all ability levels, it’s time to rally to the cause!

We’ve got some great opportunities in the next two weeks for masters to earn Club Cup points:

Virtual Race for Snow (3k/5k/10k) – ends 2/20
VT Cup Finals in Craftsbury (separate masters division) – 2/20 for women (15k FS), 2/21 for men (20k FS)
Virtual Craftsbury Marathon – ends 2/28
Hard’ack Challenge 8k FS in St Albans – 2/28 (See SkiReg.com <https://www.skireg.com/hardack-challenge> for details and registration)

Club Cup FAQ and Standings

By Adam Terko on 1 February, 2021 in Masters Blog

from Katie Hill

CLUB CUP UPDATE – $5000 / $3000 / $1000

The Club Cup race is in full swing and defending champion MNC is back in the running after a slow start. This year there is some serious prize money available in addition to the usual bragging rights: thanks to a generous gift to NENSA from Kathy and Marty Hall, prizes of $5000 / $3000 / $1000 will be given to the top three teams. Just imagine what MNC could do with an extra $5000! If you are U16 or older, please help our team effort by adding a Club Cup race or two to your winter calendar. If races are chosen with care, skiers of all ability levels should be able to earn Club Cup points.

What is the Club Cup?

The Club Cup is awarded at the end of the ski season to recognize the best NENSA club in New England based on the overall performance of club skiers in designated Club Cup races. In past years the focus has been on citizen races with the masters earning most of the Club Cup points. This year juniors and masters are expected to have about equal impact on the overall team score due a new point system and a significant expansion to the number of junior races included in Club Cup scoring.

Who can earn Club Cup points?

All U16 and older skiers who are members of MNC are eligible to earn Club Cup points – individual NENSA membership is not required. The only thing you need to do to collect those points is to remember to list Mansfield Nordic as your team when you register for a race; if it doesn’t say “Mansfield Nordic” next to your name in the results, we don’t get the points! For those of you who ski for two teams – such as MNC and a high school team – you can list both teams but NENSA will award the points to the first team listed.

Junior Races Added to the Club Cup Line-up

As in previous years, NENSA published a master list of official Zak Cup/Club Cup races here on their website, which has been distilled below into the most suitable races for VT residents. The Zak/Club races on this list are citizen‘s races that welcome masters skiers of all abilities, from first-time racers to seasoned veterans (the Zak Cup is a separate ranking for individual masters, but the same races are used for both Club Cup and Zak Cup scoring). New this year, Eastern Cup/Vermont Cup races and the 2020 roller ski races are also being scored for Club Cup points. About half of all available Club Cup points will be awarded for the Eastern Cup/Vermont Cup/rollerski races (where juniors will collect most of the points) and the other half will be awarded for citizen‘s races (where masters will earn most of the points).

New Scoring System

The scoring system has also had a significant overhaul. In previous years, Club Cup points were awarded to the top ten finishers in each age group (10 – 9 – 8 – etc – 3 – 2 – 1), plus one additional point for each finisher. That scoring scheme favored participation with only a modest point advantage to faster skiers in most cases. The new scoring system puts a lot more emphasis on speed, with points given to the top 20 OVERALL finishers (30 – 25 – 21 – 18 – 16 – 15 – 14 – 13 – etc – 3 – 2 – 1) and 0 points for everyone else. Points are awarded in the men‘s and women‘s divisions for each timed race distance, including separate U16 races. With 230 points available for each distance/gender combination, Club Cup scores are going to be much higher than last year – in the thousands rather than the hundreds. And with half of those 230 points going to just the top five overall finishers, masters will need to choose their races with care if they want to score big points.

Club Cup Opportunities for Masters

Information on masters races for Vermont residents can be found here along with outlook for Club Cup points – keep checking back for updates as details change daily.

The best way for masters to earn Club Cup points is with a big MNC turnout at the masters-only races and at the smaller citizen races that don’t attract a lot of speedy juniors. Upcoming races to target for Club Cup points include:

· 2/7 – potential masters division at the Woodstock Vermont Cup (25 person limit for men, 25 for women)

· 2/7-2/20 – virtual Race for Snow (5k and 10k, your choice of technique; not sure yet if 3k counts for points)

· 2/28 – Trapp’s Race to the Cabin (5k classic hill climb)

Finally, there are a lot fewer women than men in masters races, with most women’s fields well below 20 entrants. That makes it a lot easier for women to earn points than men. So MNC ladies, we need you! You don’t need to be a speed demon to earn Club Cup points, but you can’t earn them without entering the race. Trust me on this – so far this year I’ve earned 25 points in two races (the equivalent of a 2nd place finish) by finishing last and third-from-last in small fields. Not to mention that it would be fun to have more MNC women skiing in the races!

Race Suit Rentals Still Available

By Rosemary Shea-Cobb on 28 January, 2021 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

If you want to look slick racing and missed ordering an MNC suit, you still might be able to rent one!

As of this post, I have available: 1 XS, 1S, 2M & 1 XL Adult Unisex suits left. For kid’s suits I have 2 each of S, M & L. If you want to rent a suit, email me: Coach Rosemary , to reserve your size and then you will need to register & pay for it here: Race Suit Rental Form

Masters Training Start-Up

By Kort Longenbach on 28 December, 2020 in Masters Blog, Uncategorized

Given the latest guidance from the State of Vermont we are planning to start MNC Masters programming Jan. 5th with multiple changes in order to keep our members safe and also comply with State and local venue requirements.

Please read below to get an overview of Masters training this season.

Training Groups

There will be six evening Sleepy Hollow (S1 thru S6) groups and two afternoon Bolton (B1 & B2) groups based on skier input collected at registration. Each group will be targeted to have fewer than 10 Masters and will be provided with recommended works outs as well as designated meet up times and locations for each session.

Training Sessions

Each training session will consist a 15 min warm up, 15 min group instruction period followed by a 45 min – 1hr individual workout. MNC coaches will be available for 1:1 guidance and questions during the individual workout time.

Training Plans

Training plans will have a common theme and focus across groups, but will provide four training level options. These options allow MNC coaches and athletes to adjust workouts based on an individual athlete’s focus, fitness level and experience.

Black / Blue workouts are designed for our more performance oriented and/or experienced athletes. Black being the most challenging option in terms of intensity and duration.

White / Green workouts are designed for athletes looking to focus more on building ski specific fitness, skills and experience. The White plan will be the more challenging of these two options.

Meet Up Times and Locations

Due to COVID restrictions, it is important that athletes and coaches plan to abide by the outlined schedules and locations. All skiers should plan to be ready and on snow by session start times of 4:00PM and 6:00PM. After a 15 minute warm-up Odd numbered training groups (e.g. S1, S3, S5 & B1) should assemble at their designated start locations to meet with their coaches while Even numbered groups continue to ski and warm-up.

At 4:30 PM and 6:30PM, the Odd groups will begin their individual workouts while the Even groups will meet with their coaches at their designated start locations.

Meet-Up Schedule & Locations

COVID Protocols

Pre-Session: Prior to attending each session Masters will be required to fill out the Health Screening forms. In addition, Sleepy Hollow will requires contact tracing information which can be done on line or in person.

Training Sessions:

Please try to follow an “arrive, participate, and leave” mentality; do not gather at trailheads, access areas or other outdoor facilities before or after recreation and fitness activities.
Anyone participating in outdoor recreation and fitness activities must wear a cloth face covering. We understand that skiing at a harder pace requires heavy breathing and it may be more difficult to maintain a face covering: please be respectful of fellow skiers, and if you must pull your mask down to breathe please move as far away as reasonably possible from others.
All participants are expected to consistently maintain at least six feet of physical distance from anyone outside their immediate household.
Masters program protocols have been informed by the VT State Work Safe Section 4.1 (Outdoor Activities) and Section 8.1 (Close Contact Businesses).

What is next?

Prior to January 5th, each registered Master will receive an email designating their training group along with finalized Meeting Times and Locations. We will also begin publishing a weekly Masters Blast with important information and links to detailed training plans.

Craftsbury Group Size

By Adam Terko on 21 December, 2020 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

A note from Ollie at Craftsbury yesterday:

“[please] remind the MNC skiers that they have to ski in groups of 2 individuals from different households.”

It’s difficult to do this. We’ve all been apart for a very long time, and a snowmaking loop is a great place to see friends whether you planned to or not. But please, lets all try our hardest to respect rules and regulations that are in place for the safety of ourselves and those around us. Ski areas are working very hard to let us do what we love, and we’re indebted to them for operating at all this winter. Even moreso those ski areas up north where the natural snow hasn’t fallen.

It has been a tough year for all our age groups. It is made harder by seeing ski programs in neighboring states hold practices and timetrials where guidelines are very different only a border away. It is made much harder by seeing programs within Vermont travelling in vans together, training in groups together, in some cases holding training camps outside our state together, and seemingly treating winter like business-as-usual at times.

But our club is committed to following guidance and this is a responsibility shared by all of us. We cannot control what other programs do: we can only control our own behaviors and, as I’ve told many (and our Juniors most frequently) we will all appreciate the team we have and the time we have together much more once the world is back to normal.

Please stay vigilant.

-Adam