Mother Nature was good to us at the BKL Festival this weekend at Rikert Touring Center in Ripton, VT this weekend. Temperatures hovered around 30 degrees Farenheight on both days and although this did make the classic waxing a bit tricky, it was a great temperature for ski racing, spectating, and spending the day outside.
The BKL Pugs were there in full force: 20 of them plus 5 MMU middle school skiers who joined us for the weekend. Rikert & Frost Mountain Nordic Club did a great job hosting this huge event and making it fun. Nearly 500 skiers participated! The opening parade with kids dressed in animal hats and costumes, the LLBean Boot Mobile, the Taco Truck, the Glitter Zone and world class announcer Peter Graves all added to the Festival atmosphere.
The opening parade with Ryley, Kate, Pippa, Tessa & Julia.
Saturday was the Classic Relay. Coaches Adam, Sara & Rick all came down to help with the waxing. With all these coaches we were able to test waxes, keep on top of changing conditions, and get each skier waxed with good kick. Meanwhile, our regular BKL coaches were able to help kids learn the course, warm up and get to the starting line on time. Thanks to all the coaches for a great job!
MNC skiers looked great today and even more importantly, they all had fun! Liam Vile skied the 1/2 relay and remained cool and flexible when he had to change relay partners at the last minute. Kate Carlson and Ryley Morigeau skied away with the win in the girls 3/4 race with Astrid Longstreth and Frost Mountain’s Violet Anderson not far behind in 4th and Tessa Diller and Julia Cisz right behind in 5th. Pippa Diller and Ella Cisz teamed up and skied well in the girls 5/6 relay. In the boys 5/6 relay, Niko Cuneo teamed up with FMN’s Matt Macintosh and landed a 4th place. Zander Lubkowitz teamed up with a couple of FMN boys and Dylan Torrizo and Matteo Dezon-Gaillard partnered for the quick 2 km race. We had eight 7/8 girls and their relay was very exciting to watch. Greta Kilburn, Virginia Cobb, Rachel Porth and Finley Barker all started together for the first leg. Greta tagged off to Esther Cuneo who put the hammer down and passed about four speedy skiers to finish in second place. Rachel tagged off to Carly Trapeni who finished in 8th and Finley tagged off to Julia Thurston who came in close behind in 10th place, while Virginia tagged off to Mia Diller. In the boys 7/8 race, we had Adrian Dezon-Gaillard teaming up with Baxter Harrington from FMN and Carl Priganc teaming up with Taylor Carlson, who passed an impressive seven skiers on his finishing lap!
But races were not all that was happening that day: paintball biathlon, ski jumping, and the glitter zone where enjoyed throughout the day. After the races, we put away the wax tools and everyone who was up for it- kids, parents & coaches- put on their skis for the mini-marathon! Usually there is a destination and food involved and this year was no exception. We skied to Borgen Cabin where Sunrise Orchard owners Barny and Chris Hodges were serving hot cider and donuts! Yum!
Sunday dawned with beautiful sunshine and a couple of inches of fresh snow. We set up camp under our MNC tent once again for the Individual Freestyle races. The freestyle day is always a little easier for coaches so we were all able to get out and see a little more of the races and spend a little more time with the skiers. Today also featured the Eighth Grade Graduation and the Lollipop races, aka, the cutest thing on skis!
Oliver Tremble skiing the Lollipop.
Speedy Liam Vile takes the 1-2 race by storm!
Dylan Torrizo just learned to skate ski this year and just look at that great form!
Astrid smiling her way to the finish!
All our skiers skied really well once again and pulled out some impressive results. It was really great to see what these young skiers can do and to watch them put all the things we’ve been working on this year into practice. Those that have been racing for years keep steadily improving and those that have just started racing have made huge leaps and bounds. Seeing smiles at the finish line and hearing “that was so much fun!” keep me inspired and let me know that we are doing something right in our program. I think all these kids will be back for more and because of them, so will I!
Thanks to Dave Priganc for all the wonderful pictures. Be sure to check them out: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davepriganc/albums/with/72157676959413047
Full Results at: http://data.bullitttiming.com/events/2019/BKLFestival/index.html
Man, THIS is the kind of thing that makes New England skiing so great! Actually, you can say that about so many aspects of our skiing world, from this youngest level all the way up to the Masters racing scene. I often get to see all the fun our BKL skiers are having at the Range, but seldom do I get to watch them race other than the Skiathlon or a few other overlapping events. It was a ton of fun to see such strong efforts, and there was a real vibe of fun and joy even during the races themselves.
