Winter Greetings NENSA Community!

January is in full swing here at NENSA. Both Gunstock Nordic and Stowe Nordic Ski Clubs held Zak Cup races last Sunday - see the awesome full report from both events in the box below.

This weekend brings our Eastern Cup weekend #2 at the Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton VT on Saturday 1/13 and Sunday 1/14. On-line registration closes at 5pm TODAY. See box below re DOR information. On Monday 1/15 our NENSA Zak Cup race series continues with the 45th Annual Geschmossel Classic Ski Race in Bretton Woods, NH.

US Sr. Nationals wrapped up in Anchorage Alaska yesterday, and I would be remiss if I did not let you all know of Caitlin Patterson's (Craftsbury GRP) incredible 4 National Championship titles she won this past week! A HUGE congrats to Caitlin, the queen of US Nationals this year! Fingers crossed she gets a golden ticket to the Olympics in PyeongChang! See who has hopefully made the team so far, in the box below, including 5 NENSA Elite Team members!

As always, thank you in advance to taking the time to renew your NENSA membership for the upcoming season. It's easy and simple to do ~ see the box at the bottom of this newsletter for some renewal incentives, and click on the link to renew!  George Voigt is in our Pineland office - always supporting the team, and there to help you with any of your membership questions.

Check out the full calendar listing at the bottom of this newsletter, to see all the Eastern Cup, SuperTour, Zak Cup, Marathon, citizen racing and other great events happening all over New England this winter - so many great events coming up!

I hope to see you out on a snowy race trail soon - I am currently "in training" (I use that term very lightly - more like visualization from my desk) for both the White Mountain Classic and the Craftsbury Marathon 32k, both coming up later this month!

#30daystoPyeongChang

Best,
Amie


Amie W. Smith
Executive Director
New England Nordic Ski Association

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NENSA News from the Field
Highlights and Notes from NENSA and the Nordic World
Cross Country Olympic Team Update
(so far, selection period runs through Jan. 15)
#30daystoPyeongChang
Erik Bjornsen (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) ^
Sadie Bjornsen (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Rosie Brennan (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) ^
Sophie Caldwell (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Jessie Diggins (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Simi Hamilton (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
Andy Newell (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
Kikkan Randall (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint, distance) ^
Ida Sargent (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
Liz Stephen (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance) ^

^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria as of rankings on Jan. 6 (rankings subject to change through Jan. 15)
RED = NENSA elite team members! #goNewEngland #fingerscrossed
THE RIKERT EASTERN CUP WEEKEND #2 IS THIS WEEKEND ~
January 13 & 14
Frost Mountain Nordic and NENSA are getting ready for more great Eastern Cup racing this weekend! EC weekend #2 is at the Rikert Nordic Center at Breadloaf in Ripton Vermont, and it will be an FIS sanctioned race weekend. Register before 5pm TODAY on SkiReg.com. G et all the details on the weekend, including the full schedule at our VTCM page on NENSA.net On-line registration closes at 5pm TODAY, but there is DOR - see VTCM page for full details.
And they're off!! 5km skate races have started at Eastern High School Championships kicking off the championship weekend. Check back for results and pictures throughout the weekend. #llbean #swix #nensaehsc
BIG WEEKEND FOR ZAK AND CLUB CUP RACING
One hundred and fifty-eight citizen racers participated in two Zak Cup races this past Sunday in Vermont and New Hampshire. Cold temperatures and deep snowpack greeted New England skiers at both events — creating wintery smiles and enthusiasm for a successful season. The weekend marked the real kickoff of Zak and Club Cup competition for 2018, with perennial athletes and clubs attending both races hungry to score points!

Watch Jessie Diggins' historic podium Hill Climb in the 7th stage of the Tour de Ski this past weekend ~

Scroll down the US Ski & Snowboard homepage to the first video on the top left side of the page to view.
NENSA Receives Grant from the National Winter Sports Education Foundation (NWSEF)
NENSA is honored and thrilled to be awarded this grant for our Nordic Rocks Youth Programing this season!!
Upcoming Events
A Look Ahead at the NENSA Calendar
Upcoming Events:
January 21 EMBK Sprint Races
January 26 & 28 US Ski & Snowboard SuperTour Craftsbury VT
January 27 Craftsbury Marathon Craftsbury VT
February 24 The Bogburn Classic
February 25 Stowe Derby
Link to full month by month NENSA.net Calendar Listing HERE
Renew your NENSA Membership today, and THANK YOU!
Take pride in joining the New England Nordic community with your NENSA membership in knowing your dues are coming right back to you in the form of NENSA programming and our ongoing support of venues, clubs, athletes and coaches across the region. 

NEW this fall ~ "upgrade" your membership to either a Contributing Member ($100) or a Lifetime Member ($500 single/$750 couple) and or partner sponsor Out There Nordic will send you either a $20 or a $75 gift certificate for your increased membership support to NENSA! It's a win-win, for you and for NENSA!

There are more reasons than ever to re-new your NENSA Membership! In the past few weeks we have added 4 new NENSA Members Only Benefits & Offers to our website ~ and the list is growing every week! Check back often as we will be adding a few more from our wonderful sponsors next week! Go to our "NENSA Members Only Benefits and Offers" tab, under Membership, on NENSA.net to see the latest offers!

Questions?? Email [email protected] or call ( 207-688-6503) George in our NENSA office - he is there to help you! 

New England Nordic Ski Association | 49 Pineland Drive, Suite 301-A, New Gloucester, ME 04260
Call: 207.688.6503 | www.nensa.net