Mansfield Nordic Club
Ski coaching, training and playing in the shadow of Mt Mansfield for all ages and abilities
The MNC Skiathlon is coming up on February 11th! This is our club’s big BKL race each season, and it also features citizen racing too! We hope you’ll join us as a racer, volunteer, or even just a spectator. You can find some initial information below, with more details closer to the event date.
Interested in volunteering? Email christine.massey@uvm.edu
7th/8th grade girls heading out on course
Liam V skis through the lap lane at the Rikert Bogburn.
BKL kids have been handed a lot of lemons lately- no snow to ski on, warm temps, cancelled races, Range closed. They have been doing a great job of making the best of things and turning it all into Lemonade!
Last Tuesday, BKL kids did a day at MetroRocks Climbing gym. Lots of fun was had by all- Penguins through Racers. We did the self-belays, the bouldering walls and some kids found the Foozball too. Everyone went home with smiling faces and tired arms! (Photos below).
Thursday had us back at Mill River Park for some dryland adventures. These gung-ho kids had fun doing a muddy run, some speedball and soccer and lots of agility in waning light and dark.
As the week went on, ski conditions just seemed to get worse. I promised the Racers that we would definitely ski on Saturday, so when Saturday’s BKL race at Sleepy Hollow was cancelled, we quickly changed plans and everyone signed up for the Bogburn which had been moved from its traditional location in Pomfret to Rikert Touring Center in Ripton. We had a very strong showing with 13 kids from MNC racing. Were conditions great? No! Kind of like a ribbon of icy snow with a very well set track. The people at Rikert did a great job preparing a ski course that held up to the 200 or so racers. Even the tricky downhill that seemed icy at first softened up as it was skied in and wasn’t bad at all. MNC skiers did very well- most of them finishing in the top ten of their age groups! We have a very strong team! Congratulations to Daisy Tremble who skied the Lollipop, Oliver Tremble, Finn and Ollie Laber and Izabella Altodonna who all skied the Gr. 1-4 race, Ansel Sprague, Oakley Crawford and Liam Vile who skied the 5/6 race, and to James Langan, Isobel Calfee, Kate Carlson, Brooke Greenberg and Astrid Longtreth who all skied the 7/8 race. We also had one U16 ski (Niko Cuneo) and 7 Masters skiers. A few photos below.
MetroRocks:
Catherine gives us an intro session before we climbed. We had about 30 kids climbing!
Arctic Fox friends!
Rory on a self-belay route.
Even the Penguins got in on the action!
Our 7/8 girls swept the podium at Bogburn!
The racing season is underway! The Silver Fox Trot on Saturday brought together our Masters, Juniors, and BKL skiers for a big snowy day at Craftsbury.
Incredible how just days earlier, there was no snow to be had. These two photos were taken on Tuesday and Saturday, respectively:
Bounding under the lights with St Mikes on Tuesday evening
Gathering for a quick photo after the 7th/8th grade race on Saturday
Thanks for pulling off the incredible once again, Craftsbury! It was a busy day with the first “real” races, not considering the Thanksgiving timetrial. With a packed field and 2km loop the skiers were blasting by in packs, and the MNC group was looking great. Some were starting off their senior or post-grad year with close races against college competition, and others were just starting their first race on snow with MNC (or even the first DAY on snow this year!).
Emma on the podium with some UVM women. Those blue jackets really pop!
We had many masters out on course, and everyone was loving some bright some and wintry temps. Another highlight was sticking around after the citizen’s race to watch the younger athletes…our Junior squad cheered on their siblings and other younger racers alike, and it was pretty cool to have MNC be a presence throughout the day.
Juniors showing their support for the tutu-clad legend Bella!
The following day, we returned to Craftsbury for a classic timetrial, and we can now safely say we’re fully ready to take on the Eastern Cup in Lake Placid this coming weekend!
Lollipop: 11:30
Grades 1/2: 12:00, 1 km
Grades 3/4: 12:15, 2 km
Grades. 5/6: 1:00, 3km
Grades 7/8: 1:30, 4 km
Mid Range: Toko Red parafin or Liquid, Swix PS 7 (purple) or equivalent liquid.
Reminder: NENSA BKL WAX POLICY
-Basically, keep to your non-fluro base performance waxes & liquids, no topcoats.
-If you don’t have time for waxing? It’s ok. It’s going to be very fast tomorrow no matter what you have on!
We received a really nice note from Coach Rick, who asked if we’d share his words with the club. Many of our members and Masters skiers put together a scrapbook and notes to Rick in honor of his many years with MNC. Luckily, Rick has only moved a few towns away…we’ve already “borrowed” him from Craftsbury to coach at our Thanksgiving Camp, and we’ll be able to still have fun with Rick out on the trails!
From Rick:
The Mansfield Nordic Community Center (MNCC) is our club’s resource for strength training, events, meetings, and more! But how do you get there, and where do you park? Read More about “Parking at the MNCC”…
Join us on Sunday, December 15th at Craftsbury for our Masters Mini Camp. We’ll work on both skate and classic, gather for lunch, and review video and talk technique! Read More about “Masters Mini Camp @ Craftsbury”…
Masters athletes…are you looking to build strength and train with friends and teammates? Join us at the Mansfield Nordic Community Center on Wednesday nights! Read More about “Masters Strength @ The MNCC”…