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BKL Info Jan 8-14 – Updated

By on 8 January, 2024 in BKL Race Blog, BKL Training Schedule

It looks like some unpredictable weather and wind this week, please check back before heading out for practice. We’ll post any changes by 2pm on practice day.

Thursday 1/11 update: Practice is on, we’ll be skate skiing today at the Range.

Tuesday 1/9 update: Practice is on, come a few minutes early if you can and all BKL groups are going to finish at 5pm today.

BKL Sub-Groups | Parent Volunteer signup sheet | BKL Season Long Schedule

Meeting up with ski groups – Please help your child get their equipment on if needed and make sure they know their group meeting spot.
Penguins- in front of the Walker Building
Jack Rabbits- at the Penalty Loop
Arctic Foxes- in the Stadium across from the penalty loop
Racers- in the Stadium in front of the timing building

Bring a Water Bottle! As we start to ski more at practice we thought it would be a good time to mention that lots of kids are working hard and getting thirsty at practice. If you have some type of little waist pack, water bottle holder or camel back at home it would be a great way to carry water while skiing. These don’t have to be fancy, just secure around the waist and hold a bottle. You can also bring a full water bottle or little thermos and leave it at the edge of the trail near the metal fence below the Walker Building.

MNC BKL T-Shirts- Thanks to some friends of the program we have new t-shirts for everyone in the program. We have lots of Penguin shirts to hand out this week and if your child doesn’t have a shirt yet or needs to swap size please check in with us in the Walker Building at the end of practice on Tuesday. We have some youth medium, youth large and an adult small for swapping.

Tuesday: Penguins, Jack Rabbits, Arctic Foxes & Racers
Location: The Range
Details: Classic for all groups, Devos check out the Junior training doc

Practice Waxing Info: Temps around 30 and new snow. Toko red and yellow range. If you have waxable classic skis you can wax at home or meet at the wax bench outside the Walker Building 10 minutes before practice..  If you raced this weekend or have wax from skiing last week we can put the wax of the day right on top of that wax.

Thursday: Jack Rabbits, Arctic Foxes, Racers & Devos
Location: The Range
Details:  Skate

Saturday– *The race is on! Race organizers report that, ” we have excellent skiing in the Valley. Really psyched for it!” *

This weekend is the Mad River Ramble BKL Race and Fun! It was originally scheduled for Sunday 1/14, but they have moved it to Saturday 1/13 in the afternoon. Families can sign up racers, then pay by cash or check at the race. Online registration closes Friday 1/12 at 9pm. Day of race registration is available and closes 1 hour before each race start.

All BKL skiers that want to race are invited to come. Feel free to reach out to Coach Liz with any questions.

Depending on the weather we’re hoping to bring a fire pit and have families bring s’mores ingredients (more info later this week).

Mad River BKL Race Info and Reg

Let us know you are planning to race: MNC Racer sign-up list

MNC University: America’s top ski team??

By on 8 January, 2024 in Junior Blog

We gathered at our collegiate training camp this summer in Bethel and laughed a bit about MNC University being the strongest collection of college skiers in the country. The dream was shared to one day start a pro team, with this group as the genesis once they finish their NCAA skiing and think about the next stage…

Turns out, this group may be stronger than anyone realized. Instead of just the best collegiate team in the country, this past week’s US National Championships stamped the MNC U skiers as arguably the strongest collective in the entire country.

Skiers training under the tutelage of Coach Brandon Herhusky this summer and racing at Nats include US NATIONAL CHAMPION Haley Brewster, as well as top-10 skiers Shea Brams and Ava Thurston. Oh, and top-15 skier Keelan Durham, not to mention top Junior/U23 skiers Hattie Barker, Annie McColgan, Amelia Tucker, and Libby Tuttle. Throw Devin Wong and Emma Page and Rose Clayton, and Aidan Burt in there, and the field with MNC connections at this year’s US Nationals was shockingly strong.

McColgan (UVM), Brewster (UVM), and Durham (WIL). Haley Brewster is NATIONAL CHAMP…not age group champ, or junior champ…the actual United States National Champion..!

What does the future hold for this group of National- and International-caliber athletes? When discussing the potential of a pro team, a lot of great points came up regarding the stress and isolation of living the life of a pro skier. Training hard all year, travelling around the country to race events and balancing qualifications and championship events with expenses and burnout can be tough.

Several among the MNC U group are connected enough to know/see athletes that have “gone pro” and struggled with the lifestyle. What’s different about MNC? Our location in Burlington could be a great home for skiers, keeping energy levels high and balancing the “grind” of ski training with other passions and engagements. In addition, the self-awareness of this group, their camaraderie, and their shared vision could form a different kind of model than current pro ski teams; one that is sustainable and motivational.

Shea and Haley skiing in the lead pack of the mass start, in 3rd and 4th position at this point. Haley, Shea, and Ava would go on to finish 1st, 7th, and 9th.

It’s a great time to be an American skier right now, with our nation hitting highs and showing depth we used to only imagine. As a club, MNC provides support for BKL, Juniors, and Masters athletes, but MNC U is currently our only offering for college-age (and beyond) athletes.

What could it be like to have an MNC Pro team, with athletes striving toward national and international goals like we’ve never experienced? What could that show the ski community about having fun and working hard? It would be really cool to find out!

 

BKL Bogburn Race Report 2024

By on 7 January, 2024 in BKL Race Blog, BKL Training Schedule

Photos | Results

Mia cruising out of the start!

After several major meltdowns and unseasonably warm weather in the past few weeks skiers from around New England gathered for the Bogburn on January 6th. Miraculously the Rikert Nordic Center put together a 1.5km snow making loop that included open fields and woods. And it was a great spectator course, BKL racers were cheered on throughout the course by family and teammates.

This year was the biggest in the Bogburn’s 35 year history. There were 263 total racers for BKL, Juniors and Open racers.

The traditional slate of BKL in the morning followed by Open and Junior races in the afternoon created a fun race day for the whole club! MNC had racers in every category. Masters and Junior racers were just arriving to wax skis and warmup as the BKL Awards were happening. And some BKL skiers stayed on to cheer for the afternoon races.

Coaches cheering for Silas up the last hill.

We had sixteen BKL racers from lollipop to Grade 7/8. The morning started with Grade 1/2 and Grade 3/4 all racing together on 1 lap of the race course. The 15 second individual starts created a long lineup of kids at the start line on the far side of the stadium. Grade 5/6 were next and raced 2 laps of the 1.5k course and in quick succession the Grade 7/8 skiers were underway for 3 laps on course. There was lots of lapping and passing on the double tracked course due to the short start interval and number of racers. Skiers had to dodge a big snow making ice flow on the second downhill that crossed much of the trail and we heard about several close calls.

The last BKL race of the day was possibly the most anticipated. A dozen lollipop skiers kicked and gilded their way to a gummy bear treat at the finish line.

Mazzy striding through the open field.

Course conditions were expected to be klister for the snow making loop and the coaches were glad to have some last minute intel from the MNC Juniors that had races at Rikert the day before for the Tour de Chad high school race. The kick wax report came in that it was hard wax conditions! Everyone was able to find a wax they liked for the race.

Congratulations to Mansfield Nordic Club skiers Claire Dolbec (lollipop), Daisy Tremble (lollipop), Margo Dillon (1/2), Rory Dolbec (1/2), Ollie Laber (1/2), Bella Altadonna (3/4), Rory Dillon (3/4), Mazzy Merritt (3/4), Oliver Tremble (3/4), Finn Laber (5/6), Kaisa Weaver (5/6), Isaiah Bowen (7/8), Mia Gorman (7/8), Ansel Sprague (7/8), Silas Weaver (7/8) and Liam Vile (7/8).

Thanks to all the parents and everyone that helped with waxing, course previews and getting kids to the start line! It was fun to watch everyone race at the Bogburn! Nice work MNC BKL!

Kaisa at the finish line!

Bogburn Wax Tip Update! and Course Maps

By on 5 January, 2024 in BKL Race Blog, BKL Training Schedule, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

We just got some new intel from people who raced at Rikert today that hardwax is working well. But, you definitely need a binder.  See the previous post for a gide recommendation.

For BKL: Regular hardwax binder like TOKO Base green or other cold binder. Rough up the kickzone with 150 grit sandpaper. Rub on the binder and iron in. Wax of the day can be applied on site.

For Masters & Juniors: Rough up the kickzone with 150 grit sandpaper. Then iron in either  1) a thin layer of klister binder (Toko base green, swix green, chola) or 2) a good layer of Toko base green or other cold hardwax binder. Cork smooth after ironing, let cool.  Then rub on 1 or 2 more layers of base binder, corking smooth after each one. If your skis are very soft, you may want to go with the thin klister binder and less layers. If your skis are stiffer, go with they layered hardwax binder.

If all this sounds like Greek to you, don’t worry! We will have some spray binders, an iron, lots of hardwax, wax benches and coaches to help you get skis that work! See you at Rikert!

Also, course map:

Bogburn Wax Tip

By on 5 January, 2024 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

The Bogburn is ON! Rikert has worked hard to create a manmade loop of 1.5k for racing, and some cold nights will keep things in good shape.

Prep glide zones by brushing with a metal brush and (if you have some) using a dedicated glide cleaner. Lots of these manmade loops, especially Sleepy Hollow due to the walk up from the parking lot, can be a bit dirty.

For a paraffin layer, I would suggest a neutral blue or mid-range option such as Swix 7 or Toko Red. BKL skiers racing earlier might choose Toko Blue or Swix 6.

For kickwax, expect abrasive snow. When the morning temps are cooler, it might be possible to race on a klister/hardwax mix such as Oslo Blue, or a spray klister binder with a hardwax application.

For later races, klister might provide the durability and kick needed to hold up over race distance in transformed snow…corners may get icy and bermed-up, and climbs might get sugary. Starting with a purple ice klister and adding in warmer universal options (like Rode Multigrade, Swix Universal, Guru 39) could be worth a try as the races go on throughout the day.

One option that seems “safe” would be to start with Swix KN33 Nero in the morning, and add/bump up to Swix KN44 Nero as the temps rise and the course begins to change.

Happy racing!

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