Archive | BKL Race Blog

We celebrated the end of the ski season with two really fun days at practice.

MNC BKL Olympics Day was Thursday, March 6th. The warm weather and deep snow on the Tomasi trails made for a fun day with some tricky conditions for the Olympic Events.

Teams included a couple skiers from each of our groups (JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers). Countries represented this year included Austria, Finland, France, Germany Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

Team Sweden and Team Norway

Teams competed in Dual Slalom, Ski Volleyball, Cone Shuttle Relay and Tennis Ball Biathlon.

Ski Volleyball was a new event this year and it’s fun, but tricky.

The Dual Slalom is always one of the favorite BKL Olympics events!

With very warm temps in the forecast the End of Season Celebration and Awards Day was moved up a couple days to Tuesday, March 11th. Skiers arrived at Tomasi to find t-shirt skiing weather and quickly shed gloves and hats as groups took off for some skiing and games ahead of awards.

The Penguins group with Coaches Nancy and Isabel and Scott.

At the end of practice coaches and skiers gathered in small groups to hand out paper plate awards, our new BKL sticker and gingerbread edible medals. It was a fun atmosphere with skiers, parents and coaches all celebrating together.

Thanks to all the BKL Coaches for making great paper plate awards for all the skiers!

Congratulations to our 8th Graders that have graduated from BKL – Adrianna Bibeau, Greta Carroll, Logan Cichanowski, Emma Connell, Linnea Daily, Fiona Repp and Ansel Sprague. We also had a couple 8th graders that were old enough to practice with the MNC Juniors this winter and joined us at the end of the season to participate at the New England BKL Festival – Sylas Weaver and Liam Vile.

We celebrated the end of the season with edible medals and new stickers!

A huge thanks Catherine McIntyre for designing our cool BKL sticker and Sarah and Greta Carroll (Better Baked Vermont) for making gingerbread edible medals for everyone.

We love edible medals. Thanks to Sarah and Greta Carroll for making one for each skier!!

Thanks to everyone that rented race suits and ski equipment from MNC this season. It’s hard to believe that the season is almost over.

Race Suit Rental Return:

If you are done racing for the season, please return your washed suit to Coach Liz at any of the next few practices. Please put it in a bag and write your name on the outside so we know who returned the suit.

If you are hoping to race some late season races, please keep your suit and return by March 30th. Email Coach Liz for drop-off details – bkl@mansfieldnordic.org

Ski Equipment Rental Return:

If you are done skiing for the season please return your skis at the last day of practice. If you can’t make it to practice or want to try and ski a few more times this season please try to return skis by March 30. Email Coach Liz for drop-off details – bkl@mansfieldnordic.org

The Mini Marathon is one of our favorite days of the season! It’s a fun affair where kids are in charge. They choose who they ski with and how many laps of the course they ski. There are no warmup games or technique sessions, it’s just skiing!

This year we had to postpone one week (due to a school snow day), which landed us just days after the biggest snowstorms of the season (of the last couple seasons for that matter). Groomer and coach Peter Davis did a tremendous job whipping the windblown snow into shape and setting a beautiful double classic track around the whole course.  A double track is the perfect way to visit with friends while gliding along side by side.

Skiers had the choice of skiing a short lap and a long lap.  At the end of each lap volunteers at the tally sheets recorded the laps skied.

The snack table is another highlight of the Mini Marathon. After everyone skis a few laps the snack table opens and skiers are treated to a snack at the end of each lap.

This year the MNC BKL skied 255KM! That’s from Montpelier, the Capitol of Vermont to, Albany, the Capitol of New York.

Thanks to our skiers, coaches and parent volunteers for helping make this a really fun ski event.

Photos

It’s almost February vacation week and if you are sticking around Vermont we have a couple fun BKL ski options this week. (We don’t have regular Tues/Thurs BKL during February Vacation, but practice resumes Tuesday, March 4th.)

Please RSVP and let coaches know that you are coming (There is a tab for each of these events on the spreadsheet)

Sunday, February 23th 11:30am-1pm- Ski Games Day with the UVM Ski Team at Sleepy Hollow

Everyone is invited. We’ll play games on skis and have fun with the UVM Ski Team.

Meeting Time: 11:30am at Molly’s Meadow Sleepy Hollow. Eat a big snack before you come and bring a water bottle. If you arrive late get your skis on and meet us up in Molly’s Meadow (this is where the Skiathlon start and finish were a couple weeks ago). Sleepy Hollow Website

Ending Time: We’ll ski until about 12:30pm, then gather for hot chocolate and snacks with our UVM skier friends.

Technique: We’ll skate ski.  Penguins and anyone else that’s more comfortable can classic ski.

Tickets: Everyone needs a Sleepy Hollow ticket or season pass. We’ve organized $5 Sleepy Hollow tickets for this event. Please purchase your ticket inside the lodge when you arrive.

We had a ton of fun playing games at Craftsbury last year!

Wednesday, February 26th 10am- Craftsbury Ski Day
Join us for our traditional MNC BKL ski adventure day at Craftsbury.

This is a family event! Parents are encouraged to ski with us. We’ll have all different abilities and speeds and only a few coaches.  If you have never been to Craftsbury, you are in for a treat! There is tons of snow and beautiful trails and it’s very affordable.  Craftsbury Outdoor Center Website

Getting There:  In google maps or your map app, enter: Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Craftsbury Common, VT

Meeting Time: 10:00am in the upper field, just outside the Nordic Center Lodge (bring a water bottle and holder)

Ending Time: It’s a little fluid. We will ski from 10 to about 11:30, have lunch and then play some games and do some relays, probably ending about 2. You are welcome to stay as long as you want!

Technique: We will skate ski. Penguins classic. And any parents that want to join, but don’t skate ski, can classic too.

Lunch: Bring lunch! There is also a food option in the Nordic Center. Front Seat Coffee (of Hardwick) has an outpost at Craftsbury and they serve m-f 10-4 with sandwiches, baked goods, drinks and coffee.

Tickets: Everyone who skis needs a day pass or membership. It’s $5 for kids, $10 for adults, Free for 6 & under and you can get tickets in the lodge when you arrive.

Conditions: Craftsbury Trail Conditions