Author Archive | Adam Terko

Racing licenses/Registrations

By Adam Terko on 8 December, 2021 in Junior Blog

Juniors (and parents),

Please read below for lots of information regarding race registrations, racing licenses, and more. This is a confusing and headache-inducing part of the sport, but it is necessary for our racing each season.

USSS (US Ski and Snowboard)

A US Ski and Snowboard license is required for all Eastern Cup competitions. You can get this license from the official website here:

My USSA | my.usskiandsnowboard.org

If you want to be ranked and scored for Eastern Cup races, you will need the more expensive Competitor’s License. Without this license you will not receive points, will not be ranked or eligible for Junior Nationals qualification, and you will start every race (individual or mass start) from the back of the field. College teams and coaches view points as valuable recruiting tools, so regardless of JN qualification, without points you will be at a disadvantage if interested in skiing in college.

If you are not at all interested in Junior Nationals or having a points profile, you can still register for a General Membership from US Ski and Snowboard and compete in Eastern Cup races.

Here are some FAQ pages from US Ski and Snowboard:

2021-22 XC U.S. Ski & Snowboard membership FAQ

Cross Country Memberships

Note: for U20 athletes (18 and older) there are several other requirements such as a background screening and Safesport training. If you have not already done so, please acquire your membership ASAP to finalize and meet these requirements.

NENSA (New England Nordic Ski Association)

NENSA is the regional governing body for our sport. NENSA is the organization that puts on Eastern Cup races, and as such you will need a NENSA membership to compete in these events. You can sign up for a NENSA membership below, and remember to select Mansfield Nordic Club as your club!

NENSA Membership Page

Note that if you have never had a NENSA membership before, your first year of membership is FREE!

SkiReg (Race Registration)

SkiReg.com is the site that NENSA (and many other hosts) use for race registration. You can make an account at SkiReg, or you can check-out as a guest for each event.

Please pay close attention to the registration closing dates and times for events, listed at the top of each event page, which indicates when registration is NO LONGER AVAILABLE. Most all competitive Nordic races have a deadline and do NOT accept day-of-race entries, so making this deadline is extremely important.

Signing up for races

MNC does not register racers or teams in bulk. For NENSA events, each athlete must individually register themselves for the race(s).

When signing up on SkiReg, either as a guest or with an account, please list your club as “Mansfield Nordic Club” (all spelled out, capitalized). This is more a matter of consistency in results and final scoring documents: it is a clean and efficient way to find and view your results, rather than a hodgepodge of “Mansfield Nordic” or “MNC” or “Mansfield NC” etc.

Masters Training cancelled 12/7 (and likely 12/9)

By Adam Terko on 6 December, 2021 in Masters Blog

Conditions at the Range have been described this morning (Monday) as a few hundred meters of icy snow to ski out-and-back on. Given the rain and warmth throughout the day, those conditions have only worsened. This doesn’t allow us the ability to host group training in a safe or functional manner, and so we will need to continue postponing our first official Masters training and skiing until either:

a) More natural snow or

b) More cold days/nights to continue snowmaking operations

While we wait for snow in one form or another, you can check out a few updates on ski-related content and engagement on this blog post below.

Masters: Snowless Content

A few other reminders about Masters programming:

You can find the Masters Training Doc at this link. This is the hub for technique and session details.
You can find the Range Snow Report on Twitter here, or on the upper right of the MNC homepage
Registering for MNC programs can be done at this link.

Storm Tracker Blog: What's the best weather for melting snow? | Grand Forks Herald

Masters: Snowless Content

By Adam Terko on 6 December, 2021 in Masters Blog

While the snow may be lacking and our programs are off to a slow start due to the weather, it doesn’t mean we can’t still focus on skiing! In this post, I’ll share some recent content, links, and thoughts that can keep the stoke alive for our sport. It is a well-known concept that the more you think about skiing, watch skiing, and read about skiing, the more snow will fall when the storms eventually happen.

Watching the World Cup

It has been a great star to the World Cup season, especially if you’re a fan of American skiers. We are now two weekends in, with a three-race series in Ruka, Finland followed by a recent three-race series in Lillehammer, Norway.

You can watch the races live and after-the-fact with a subscription to Peacock streaming, but another great resource is the Youtube Channel SKIDLANDSLAGET. Races are often posted here shortly after conclusion, with Scandinavian commentary.

Nordic Ski Podcasts

Like most sports nowadays, skiing has a few podcasts to keep the conversation going! Whether you’re at work or driving in your car, you can follow-along with some interesting commentary, analysis, and even insightful ski reflections.

Check out the Fasterskier series of podcast feeds here, and note that these podcasts are all available on Spotify as well.

Workouts without snow

When the trails are icy, the weather is rainy, and the skiing just can’t happen, there doesn’t have to be a pause in training. During the deep quarantine period of COVID, we put together several workout videos for use right in the living room or basement. These don’t have to just be for quarantine! You can check out a video library of useful links below:

Juniors: what races Dec 11/12?

By Adam Terko on 5 December, 2021 in Junior Blog

There are some races coming up the weekend of December 11th/12th at Craftsbury. The season is really getting underway and there are now enough competitions on the high school/VPA schedule to necessitate a little planning on which races make sense to attend versus which are better sat out. Below I’ll try to provide my suggestions for different athletes based on their school race schedule, yearly goals, team flexibility, and ability level!

First off, you can find links to the Craftsbury races here:

Saturday December 11th: Rodrigues Sprints

Skate sprint race where EVERYONE makes heats. You will do the course 4 times: once solo for a qualifier, and then three more times head-to-head against others. This makes for a long and tiring day with lots of planning/extra clothing/snacks and meals necessary.

Sunday December 12th: Kendall Classic

Classic mass start distance races. 5km for U16 and 10km for U18+. This is a very standard format and schedule, but with the added bonus that we did not get to do any mass start races last season!

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If you are trying to pick which race(s) to attend, here are some of the key factors:

Are you racing midweek during this upcoming week, either a timetrial or true race?
Are you competing in the biathlon events at Craftsbury over this same weekend?
Do you have a race on Wednesday, December 15th?
Are you competing in Eastern Cup #1 in Maine the weekend of December 18/19?

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The ideal situation is for MNC racers to enter Eastern Cup #1 (Dec 18/19) having completed two races in the 10 days leading up to the Eastern Cup. Ideally, one classic and one freestyle race.

We want to have races under our belts before the Eastern Cup, but it is also early in the season and we don’t want to put our bodies through a ton of hard races at the expense of general consistent skiing and fitness. Based on all those factors, here are Adam’s recommendations…

If you are racing a high school competition on Wednesday, December 8th and/0r Wednesday, December 15th, it is best to choose one weekend Craftsbury race. My suggestion would be the Kendall Classic, as for most it will be the first real classic race of the season. This also means Saturday can be a day for longer, continuous skiing (up to 90 min).
If you are competing in the biathlon race events at Craftsbury, and/or you are competing in high school competitions, the Kendall Classic is the best option (see above).
If you are NOT racing any high school events, my suggestion would be to do both the Rodrigues Sprints and the Kendall Classic, as this perfectly simulates the upcoming Eastern Cup weekend of skate sprint followed by classic distance. This is perfect preparation!