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Castle Conquest > Blink Festival?

By Adam Terko on 26 September, 2023 in Junior Blog, Uncategorized

We had a really great weekend in Lake Placid for the annual Castle Conquest event! This involves a skate rollerski sprint race on Saturday, and the famous Climb to the Castle uphill rollerski race on Sunday.

The weather was wonderful, the leaves were just starting to turn, and the racing was of the highest quality in terms of organization, timing, courses, facilities, and competition. I will recap our own club’s participation in a separate post, but here is where I’d like to get on my soapbox and work up the courage to publicly criticize the collegiate teams who did NOT attend.

Rollerski racing is huge in Norway and Sweden…on a recent podcast it was stated that more Norwegians tuned into the Blink Festival rollerski races than the Tour De France. And those races featured some sprint competitions as well as an uphill rollerski climb…exactly what was happening this past weekend.

The Keys to the Castle race on Friday took place on a very new rollerski loop, with TDs present and world-class timing from Bullitt Timing systems. Sunday’s races were on a safe closed road with full skier access. Again Bullitt Timing was present, even though the start and finish were 5 miles apart up a mountain. That is a serious logistical commitment.

Competitors had access to matched skis to equalize racing, exactly as it happens in the Blink Fest and other rollerski races in Scandinavia and beyond.

So, if the Norwegian rollerski festival is not any more well organized, and as a country we are trying to grow, develop, and become more competitive at ski racing, where were the teams and participants from the 4 EISA college teams within a 90 minute drive from this event? I’m referring to SLU, UVM, St. Mikes, and Middlebury.

The top U23 male skier in the world, Ben Ogden, was present. Recent World Championship medalist Julia Kern was present. There was certainly quick competition to be had, and amazing experiences to be gained. If cost was an issue, I’d make the argument that the race entries for this weekend would be worth dipping into a college team’s wax, stonegrinding, apparel, tools, or travel budgets for. This would’ve been an excellent fall testing opportunity, critical sport-specific racing experience, and even a relevant recruiting opportunity given the number of Junior racers.

Some college teams aren’t permitted group/coached training yet due to NCAA regulations, but the fact that Saturday’s race began at 10:00AM left plenty of time for at least a day-trip for some sprinting action. The “royal court” format also meant that everyone raced the qualifier and 3 separate heats, far more racing for your money than just speeding through a qualifier and having that be the end of your day.

In conclusion to my mini rant here, I’d just like to say that it was disheartening to have such high-level racing taking place in a location literally surrounded by strong, fun, engaged, competitive skiers/teams and see almost no collegiate athletes in attendance, save for local school Paul Smiths who had an awesome presence!

Fall Stonegrinding through Caldwell Sport

By Adam Terko on 25 September, 2023 in Junior Blog, Masters Blog, Uncategorized

The fall is right around the corner, and no matter what the race season will look like, it’s time to start thinking about getting our skis in tip-top shape!

MNC delivers skis to Caldwell Sport in Putney for stonegrinding.

What is stonegrinding? Put simply, stonegrinding removes an incredibly thin top layer of your ski base while also applying a new pattern. This is all done with an incredibly-expensive, finely-tuned machine using special stones, depths, speeds, and pressures. If it sounds complicated, that’s because it is! But you only need to know the outcome, which is that a freshly stoneground ski will:

-Be much much easier to wax because the base will be flat and even. This means it will be faster

-Hold wax better due to this even distribution of material and opened “pores” that were previously damaged by heat from irons or corks

-Repel moisture better with a new pattern and structure

Most skiers only assume that stonegrinding “gets the scratches out” and while this is true for very minor dings and blemishes, stonegrinding won’t necessarily make a base look perfectly new. And more often than not, it isn’t the scratches that are slowing your ski down: it’s all those passes with an iron, all that dirt that you can’t see in the base, and all the uneven rises and falls at a minuscule level from repeated use and abuse.

With the transition to non-fluoro racing, flat bases and fast bases have never been more critical. That’s why our club is transitioning back to Caldwell Sport after a bit of an absence. Although these grinds are slightly more expensive, one stonegrind costs less than a block of pure fluorocarbon wax and will make MUCH more of a difference.

Last year our Junior team alone was the largest it has ever been, and our wax team was also larger than ever. There were many different hands and eyes “on the bench” and one thing was clear: a lot of us need some fresh grinds on those bases! Here is a simple rule:

If your skis have not been stoneground and you have raced on them for two years in a row, they need to get ground before this season. Even if they do not have scratches, they are most likely not flat and are difficult to work with. This is ESPECIALLY true for race skis, which have likely seen a lot of action from hot irons and roto-implements used in racing.

Our coaches have some detailed knowledge of Junior skis from the past race season, so if you are a Junior and are interested to know if you’d benefit from some stonegrinding please reach out. Masters, don’t hesitate to reach out either!

So, how does this all work?

1) Fill out the form below to indicate # of pairs, grind options, and personal info by SEPTEMBER 30th

2) Deliver skis to Adam sometime before SEPTEMBER 30th

3) Adam will drive skis down to Caldwell Sport, and they will be completed in time for Thanksgiving on-snow training or earlier.

4) Individuals will be billed by the club and can submit payment via all our usual means (online form, or check made out to MNC)

5) Stonegrind cost includes rate for grinding, plus transport of skis to/from Putney. Expect around $70-80 per pair. Skis will be returned to owners upon receiving payment

Need some suggestions for grinds? Zach helped lay out his best options for various numbers of skis and I have utilized that info on the form. If you only have one skate or classic pair, for example, chose the “Universal” option. Most of us, if we have a 2nd pair of either skate or classic, are utilizing a specific “warm” pair which is also an option to select.

Stonegrind Form 2023

Looking for used skis, or looking to part with skis or gear? Mark your calendars for the MNC Ski and Gear Swap. The 2nd annual swap takes place on the weekend of October 28/29!

MNC’s 2022 batch…can we beat these numbers this year?

MNC Winter Apparel: Ordering is OPEN

By Adam Terko on 25 September, 2023 in Uncategorized

Note: this info can be permanently found on the “apparel” page under the “resources” tab on our homepage!

MNC Winter apparel can now be ordered for the 2023/2024 season! This includes race suits, warmup jackets, warmup pants, hats, a hooded sweatshirt, AND our popular compression shorts if you’d like to get a head-start on spring and summer 2024.

This is round 1 of winter ordering for the year, with the intent to have these items arrive before Thanksgiving.

Round 1 orders are due by midnight on Tuesday, October 17

You can then look for round 2 of ordering, with the intent for those items to arrive before the first races in mid-December.

MNC Winter ’23/’24 Round 1

Password: mnc

Again, this is round 1 with orders due by October 17th.

Skirack’s Junior Lease Fit Night: Tuesday 9/26

By Adam Terko on 22 September, 2023 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Uncategorized

Skiers and parents,

The lease program offered by Skirack is a very popular option for skiers to get set up with gear for the season ahead. Since the leases sell out frequently, Skirack is introducing a booking system to get outfitted. Space is limited! Use this reservation system to ensure you get lease equipment ahead of the traditional walk-ins taking place in mid-October.

This lease fit night is Tuesday, September 26th from 6-8pm.

To reserve your spot, please follow the link below!

Skirack Lease Fit Night

Junior Lease Fit Night at Skirack: Sept 26 - 6-8PM

MNC Parkas ’23/’24

By Adam Terko on 19 September, 2023 in Uncategorized

Our main MNC apparel ordering is done through Podiumwear, but each year we try and seek out a cost-effective parka for our members to keep warm in!

The process for these parkas goes as follows:

If you’re interested, use the link below to order this parka in Light Blue or Black.
Bring your parka to Coach Adam by October 17th!
Parkas will go to the embroiderer to receive an MNC shield logo on the front, and “Mansfield Nordic Club” across the back
Screenprinting will amount to $15-20 per jacket
You can also order your jacket now for a second round of drop-offs: bring your jackets to the MNC Ski and Gear Swap and we’ll take it from there!

Note: the jacket we had in 2022/2023 is discontinued, though we have worked to find the closest relative in this year’s model, with a similar cost of $65!