Training week of 12/30

EVERYONE:

  1. Attendance form do this every week!

  2. Communication with coaches: we’re launching into the time of year when coaches scatter across the continent to support athletes at races, which means your odds of reaching any one coach could be limited. Juniors/U14s and adults should email jrskiing@craftsbury.com with questions; BKLers should reach out to BKL@craftsbury.com; biathletes should reach out to biathlon@craftsbury.com.

JUNIORS:

  1. Funky schedule this week due to the break - be sure to eyeball it.

  2. Waxing: you are expected to have your own waxboxes. There’s a list of suggestions here. There are also helpful videos linked at the bottom of that document. As junior program participants you can access 20% off wax in the Touring Center. We will start posting kickwax suggestions in Slack the night before classic practices.

  3. Chores: you all have clubhouse chores. The list is posted in orange next to the whiteboard.

  4. Future Eastern Cup travel: we need to get a sense of how many of you want to travel to Eastern Cups. We do have capacity limits based on seats in the vans and number of hotel rooms. Please fill out this brief form to let us know how much you’re thinking of traveling. We don’t have price info assigned to every weekend yet, because depending on numbers of racers, that will influence how many bodies are squished into hotel rooms, numbers of vans, etc., and that all gets factored into trip cost. Most EC weekends last year were ~$200-$250, though that does NOT include race entry fees, NENSA/USS&S licensing costs (more info below), or wax fees for those who aren’t full-time.

  5. More about Eastern Cups: Here are all the other details that exist so far re: the Eastern Cup schedule & Craftsbury’s team travel plans.

U14s:

  1. Funky schedule this week due to the break - be sure to eyeball it.

  2. Racing: we are sending a coach to the Bogburn Classic BKL race at Rikert Outdoor Center this Saturday to support any one of you interested in doing the 7th/8th grade race! Info/registration here; let us know you plan to attend in the attendance form. Coach Mike is leading the charge on site to help with waxing; you figure out transport with your parents. Details to follow. If any of you parents are coming and want to help lead course previews for the various age groups, let us know: jrskiing@craftsbury.com.

  3. Waxing: you are expected to have your own waxboxes. There’s a list of suggestions here. There are also helpful videos linked at the bottom of that document. As junior program participants you can access 20% off wax in the Touring Center. We will start posting kickwax suggestions in Slack the night before classic practices.

BKL:

  1. Reminder to email BKL@craftsbury.com with questions. That hits more coaches, which means your odds of getting a response are better than if you just email a single coach.

  2. This Saturday! Bogburn Classic at Rikert Outdoor Center: coach Mike is headed to the Bogburn Classic BKL race at Rikert Outdoor Center this Saturday to support any one of you interested in doing a BKL race! Info/registration here; let us know you plan to attend in the attendance form. Coach Mike is there to help with waxing; you figure out transport with your parents. Details to follow. If any of you parents are coming and want to help lead course previews for the various age groups, let us know.

  3. More racing for your calendars: These are OPTIONAL! More details to come as the relevant dates approach. If you’re interested in other races around New England, check out the complete NENSA list.

    • Jan. 4 (Saturday): Bogburn Classic at Rikert in Ripton, Vt.

    • Jan. 12 (Sunday): MNC Skiathlon (classic + skate) at Sleepy Hollow in Huntington, Vt.

    • Feb. 1 (Saturday): Silver Fox Trot (skate) at Oak Hill in Hanover, NH

    • Feb. 23 (Sunday): Stowe Derby (skate) in Stowe, VT. TBD on this one…

    • March 1-2 (Sat-Sun): BKL Fest at Quarry Rd. in Waterville, ME (families figure out lodging - lot more info to come on this one later in the season)

BIATHLETES:

  1. JRs/U14s- La Patrie Races Jan 11/12: Invitation here. If you are coming, get yourself some housing, register, and let us know you are coming by filling out this google doc. We will be in touch about rifle transport plans, etc. Last we heard it sounded like U15s can shoot 0.22s instead of air rifles.

  2. BKL Families- We need you to do the USBA Basic Rifle Safety Course: It takes 20 minutes online. Please try to complete this online portion by Jan 1 and email the certificate to susand@craftsbury.com. (Use the U13 version if your child is 12 or under.) We’ll then do the in person portion as part of practice in January.

  3. Always: Bring hat, dry gloves (mittens don’t work for shooting a rifle), poles, dry shirt (U14s and up- plan to ALWAYS change into dry stuff after ski practice).

  4. Other helpful info: Biathlon race opportunities 2024-25. and Club Kick Off Meeting Notes.

ADULTS/MASTERS:

  1. The intermediate and beginner groups can check their start dates here - those groups get rolling in just over a week!

  2. Fun race opportunities: these are also listed above for BKLers, but they’re citizens races that are open to everyone! TBD whether we’ll have masters coach support at any of them, but let us know if you’re interested in going:

Is there such a thing as too many ski poles? Yes, yes there is.

Anna Schulz