Archive | Masters Blog

By Katie Hill

CLUB CUP UPDATE – MNC MOVES INTO FIRST PLACE!

After the huge MNC turnout at this past weekend’s races (MNC Skiathlon and Stowe Derby), MNC has officially moved into first place in the Club Cup standings!  We won’t be able to get an exact point tally until the Stowe Derby results are broken down to match the NENSA age group classes, but a conservative estimate of the current team point totals is as follows:

1st – Mansfield Nordic – 1251 points

2nd – NWVE – 1158 points

3rd – CSU – 1067 points

Thank you to all the MNC skiers who jumped in races this past weekend to help us make this big leap up in the standings.  Special mention goes to Emily Stitt for raking in 30 points by winning her age group in THREE races over the weekend:  the skiathlon, the Stowe Derby long course skate race, and then back up the mountain for the Stowe Derby classic race too, wow!  Karen Alence, Ellie Bouffard, and Andres Torizzo also did back-to-back races at the skiathlon and derby to bring in at least 44 points for their combined effort.

We had several new faces who raced for MNC for the first time this year in the skiathlon “Try It” race:   Karina Dailey, Maria Nolan, Allison Holm, Bill Dailey, and Marc Anderson.  All finished either 1st or 2nd in their age group, to add another 49 points to the team effort.   

So far this season we’ve had 65(!) different MNC skiers contribute to the team’s Club Cup points, covering all age groups from U16 to M8, and ranging from novices to experienced racers.  Special thanks to our top ten Club Cup point earners for their extra effort in getting out to the races:

Mike Millar – 75 points

Karen Alence – 74

Emily Stitt – 60

JoAnn Hanowski – 60

David Johnston – 60

Ellie Bouffard – 51

Nate Laber – 49

Adam Terko – 49

Katie Hill – 44

Michael Gaughan – 37

It’s not just coincidence that this list is nearly identical to the list of MNC skiers who have completed five or more Club Cup races – the Club Cup definitely favors the team that sends the most skiers to the races and not necessarily the team with the fastest skiers.  So get out there and help the club effort because NWVE and CSU are not going to just stand by and let us run away with this!

There are only six more Club Cup races remaining, with the races in bold suitable for skiers of all levels:

SUN 3/1 – TRAPPS RACE TO THE CABIN (5k classic hill climb)

Sat 3/7 – Mount Washington Cup (10k skate) – Bretton Woods, NH

Sun 3/8 – Ski to the Clouds (very challenging 10k skate hill climb) – Mt Washington, NH

Sat 3/14 – Long Hall Loppet (25k skate) – Jackson, NH

Sat 3/21 – Craftsbury Spring Fling (15k & 30k skate)

SUN 3/22 – NEW ENGLAND CLUB RELAYS (4x5k, 2 legs classic, 2 legs skate) – Craftsbury

We’re going to need a very strong MNC turnout at the Race to the Cabin and the Relays in order to hold onto our lead, as NWVE is likely to outnumber us by a lot at the four longer races.  So hop on SkiReg.com and get registered for the Race to the Cabin!

Thanks for all that turned out for a great ski this past weekend.  Despite the frigid early temps roughly 30 MNC Masters turned out the event.   After the initial photo, the group split of into multiple groups and routes that led them on a 20-30K point to point ski back to the touring center.  If you missed out, don’t worry there is talk of this being an annual event!

Thanks for all the photographers, there are a few below, but for a full recount see the flicker album.

(courtesy J. Fredricks)

(courtesy. K. Longenbach)

(courtesy E. Bouffard)

From Katie Hill:

MASTERS – MNC NEEDS YOU FOR THE CLUB CUP!

(First-time racers & casual racers – this means you too!) 

As you’ve probably heard several times by now, the Club Cup race is very tight this year.  For the first time ever, MNC stands a real chance of upsetting perennial powerhouses NWVE and CSU to claim bragging rights as THE BEST NORDIC SKI CLUB IN NEW ENGLAND, but we need everyone’s help to do this.  That includes getting some of you first-time racers and more “casual” racers to the starting line to earn Club Cup points too (yes – we mean you there, hiding in the back-of-the-pack).  Please consider entering a Club Cup race to help the team effort!

What is the Club Cup?

The Club Cup is the ranking of all the NENSA ski clubs in New England, based on age group race results of club skiers 15 and older in designated Club Cup races.  MNC is currently in 2nd place out of 55 teams, and closing in on 1st.

Who is eligible to earn Club Cup points?

Any MNC member who is 15 years of age or older; individual NENSA membership is not required.  IMPORTANT:  SKIERS MUST IDENTIFY THEMSELVES WITH MANSFIELD NORDIC CLUB AT RACE REGISTRATION TO EARN POINTS.  

Which races count for the Club Cup?

Each year NENSA designates a series of masters-friendly races that are used for both the Club Cup (team rankings) and Zak Cup (individual rankings).  This year there are 23 Zak/Club Cup races across New England, culminating with the New England Club Relay Championships at the end of March. You can see the full list of Zak/Club Cup races here.  At each race, one distance is designated for Zak points but all distances are scored for Club Cup points. (See below for Club Cup races that are most suitable for novice/casual racers.)

How do the points work?

Club Cup points are awarded based on age-group finish place for each gender and for each race distance.  10 points are awarded for 1st, 9 for 2nd, 8 for 3rd, and so on down to 1 point for 10th; all skiers 11th and beyond also earn 1 point.  Age groups are U16, U18, U20, U23, SR (23 to 29), and masters by five-year increments: M1 (30-34), M2 (35-40), etc. Scoring is by displacement (i.e., non-club skiers are included in the results when assigning points).

Why do you want a slow-poke like me to enter a Club Cup race?

Because EVERYONE who finishes the race scores points!  With so many age groups, there are typically only a handful of skiers in each age group (the Craftsbury marathons are the exception).  That means even the slowest person in the age group still often earns 5 or more points. Two slower skiers can typically match the 10 points of an age-group winner.  Women tend to earn more points than men simply because there are fewer women in the races. 

Most teams average about 6 to 7 points per skier.  NWVE, with the fastest roster of masters skiers in New England, is only doing slightly better at 8 points average per racer.  With such a small point differential for speed, the best strategy is to send more people to the races rather than focus on just the fastest skiers.  

A few more bodies can make all the difference in the point totals at the end of the season.  Last year MNC finished 2nd, just 23 points ahead of 3rd place CSU. This year, MNC has been within 20 points of NWVE (last year’s winner) for most of the season.  It only takes about four more skiers – of any speed – to cover a 20 point spread so literally every skier makes a difference!

What upcoming Club Cup races do your recommend for novice/casual racers?

• MNC Skiathlon  (this weekend, 2/22) – If you aren’t up for the full 14k skiathlon (7k classic + 7k skate), then enter the 5k “What the Heck, I’ll Try it” race, with your choice of technique.  MNC Skiathlon info.
• Trapp’s Race to the Cabin (3/1) – 5k classic hill climb with fire, food, and drink at the end.  Race to Cabin info.
• New England Club Relay Championships (3/22) – Join an MNC team for this 4x5k relay (2 legs skate, 2 legs classic).  This is a great starter race, suitable for skiers of all levels. Club Relays info.