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Arctic Foxes or Racers?

By on 30 October, 2020 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, BKL Training Schedule

So your child is in 5 -8th grade and you can choose between Arctic Foxes and Racers. How do you decide? Here are some things to think about: 

  1. Ask your child’s friends who also ski with us which program they are signing up for. Kids like to ski with their friends!  Also ask your child which program they want to do.
  2. Do Arctic Foxes- if your child just wants to ski recreationally, if they have never skied before, if they like to ski along and chat or if their friends are doing it.
  3. Do Racers- if your child wants to go fast, if they want to do races on the weekends, or if they are thinking of racing in high school or if their friends are doing it!

Bottom Line- Both programs play games, teach technique and go touring. Your child will learn to ski better and have fun in either program!  Racers takes the technique a little further and also teaches racing tactics. In addition, Racers includes a third day on the weekends of either a practice or a race. This third day is wonderful for the Racers because they get more time on skis, get a little more individualized coaching, get the benefit of having a coach at their races and they get to know each other better. Usually most of the racers do the BKL Festival which this year, will be a District-wide Festival at one of our local VT touring centers.

If you still have questions, email Coach Rosemary: sheacobb19@gmail.com

Juniors Registration is Open

By on 29 October, 2020 in Junior Blog, Uncategorized

Bolton Valley Pass Update

We are looking toward the start of the season (December 1st) and are excited to be opening Junior registration.  This season our Juniors will train at both Bolton and Sleepy Hollow. Tues/Thurs training will be at Bolton unless snow conditions dictate otherwise. Training on Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun will depend on conditions, races, individual schedules, and more. Flexibility is key.

Recognizing that MNC has been central to enabling early season skiing and lighted trails,  Bolton Valley has agreed to provide discounted season pass rates for our program participants.  To take advantage of these rates, MNC will be collecting the ski pass fees through our program sign up forms.

  •     Weekday Only    $85 + taxes & fees (recommended for Juniors)
  •      Full Week          $149 + taxes & fees

Passes for Sleepy Hollow should be purchased directly through them. Juniors training and racing with a high school team that practices at Sleepy Hollow may already purchase a season pass through that program. A pass at Sleepy Hollow is $75 for athletes under 21.

Registration

Registration is open! Click the link below to sign-up.

Juniors Register Here

Junior Update: More Answers About Races

By on 29 October, 2020 in Junior Blog

Things continue to change rapidly in the Junior world. Many of us are now aware of Vermont’s updated travel guidelines: travel for out-of-state sports competition requires quarantine, and travel into VT for sporting events is severely restricted. In essence, Vermont is “on its own” this year for ski racing.

We couldn’t live in a better state for this.

At an Eastern Cup, even in other states like Maine and New Hampshire, you may have noticed the makeup of the race field is nearly 75% Vermonters. Our state has the most competitive and deep fields in the country at these races, not to mention a very competitive high school scene. With racing limited to individual states only three come to mind as having the infrastructure, leadership, field depth, quality programming, venues, and race organization to make a season feel “real”.

These states are Vermont, Alaska, and Minnesota.

So what does this mean for all that FIS license/USSA license/Points races/Eastern Cup races, and the like?

Craftsbury FIS/Open Weekends

The original structure of the Craftsbury weekends will remain, with Saturday and Sunday events. However, there had been some confusion over which event would be the best competitive option for Juniors, especially with the stated requirement of a FIS license needed for Saturday. Race director Ollie Burruss summed up the new plan best in a recent email:

“Saturday [will] be elite development days, with FIS race formats on homologated trails, and then Sundays are just open interval starts, probably a bit longer (still would have a U16 category, but then more like 10-20k for open). The Saturday events would be open to anyone with an NRL [USSA] license, with everyone scoring NRL [USSA] points and FIS license holders scoring FIS points. This way kids who are on the edge and don’t need FIS licenses for points and all that but would benefit from racing FIS fields on occasion can race with those fields. And the junior clubs, college kids, and senior athletes all can come on just one day.”

That means that we will look to Saturdays as the best competitive option for Juniors. These are the races to expect elite teams, ski academies, and college racers in attendance. Sundays racing will cater to more to an experienced adult or Masters crowd, based on formats and distances.

Eastern Cup Weekends

The plan in the works is to reschedule and reorganize the Eastern Cup weekends. Instead of 4 weekends across New England, Vermont will host 4 weekends across the state at great venues, with strong organization and a structure that still involves USSA points and the National Ranking List/system. This is where my earlier paragraphs come into play…Vermont is one of the ONLY states capable of doing this, and I’m incredibly proud to say I think we will have some of the best racing of any year, with incredibly strong competition AND the benefit of way less travel and no overnight hotel stays! That savings of $ will be great for the club and families alike.

In Summary

Things change day-by-day, so thank you for continuing to stay updated on news from both the State and from MNC/NENSA/USSA.

We still await some news on High School sports and the HS ski season, for which a meeting will take place Nov. 4th. Keep visiting the MNC pages, and STAY POSITIVE!

-Adam

Masters Registration and “Training Pods”

By on 26 October, 2020 in Masters Blog

Introducing Training Pods

Looking toward the start of the season (December 1st), it is in the club’s interest to have a safe, fun, and fast season! To accomplish these goals, the Masters program will adopt a new “Training Pod” coaching structure.

Training Pods will consist of groups of skiers with similar training goals. If you are a returning skier and know skiers you would like to train with, please reach out to fellow skiers to start forming a pod.

What happens if I am a new skier or don’t know who I would like to train with?

Do not worry! Just show up on December 1st, and our coaches will begin to assess and help direct you to a training pod that is in line with your training goals.

As we approach the start of the season, we will ask each Training Pod to designate a Pod Leader. The coaches will publish a training plan each week that will be available on the MNC website. Coaches will be available for questions and support. Early in the season, we anticipate our coaching resources will be most directed to assist those newer and the less experienced Pods.

The Pod Leader’s responsibility is to gather your pod, execute the training plan, and be an ambassador for those new to MNC and/or the sport of Nordic skiing. We expect skiers to arrive by 4PM/6PM for a warm-up and then find their Pod members to begin the days training by 4:15PM/6:15PM.

We hope the new Training Pod structure will minimize interaction yet still provide an opportunity to train, socialize, and have fun this season!

Registration

Registration is open! Click the link below to sign-up.

Register Here (opens 11/1)

Bolton Pass Update

For the Early Session option,  MNC will be collecting Bolton Valley pass fees as parts of our registration process. Recognizing that MNC has been central to enabling early season skiing and lighted trails,  Bolton Valley has agreed to provide discounted season pass rates for our members.

  •     Weekday Only    $85 + taxes & fees
  •      Full Week          $149 + taxes & fees

 

Lost Nation Roll 2020

By on 26 October, 2020 in Junior Blog

Sunday was a great day for a rollerski race! Safety protocols were followed and NENSA and Craftsbury put on an incredibly cool event. With timing chips, real bibs (including coach bibs), a rollerski loop course, Bullitt Timing and a wand at the start, and all the fencing and spectacle you’d see at an Eastern Cup, it really made for a real race that got the winter excitement bubbling.

Oh, and don’t discount the fact that Jessie Diggins, Susan Dunklee, and others were all racing too! What an opportunity. I have to say I am a bit bummed that more of our crew didn’t jump at the chance to get this race in…it was as ski-specific as you can get, a fun challenge, and we really don’t know how many races we’ll get to do this winter. I got the question of “where are the MNC Juniors?” from multiple parents and fellow coaches alike.

That’s not to discredit the great racing by our contingent of Brady, Taylor, Farmer, Isabelle, plus Masters skier Michael G and UVM Club skier and friend-of-the-Pugs Sam Holt. Despite not having the Range at our disposal, these skiers handled the roller track like nobody’s business and got to share the loop with some big names.

You can find some results here, a gallery of photos from John Lazenby here, and a video recap video below!

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