On Saturday, with mid-winter conditions, Craftsbury hosted a rare occurrence this winter: a FIS race! This was the Kendall Cup, named after the late Tom Kendall, father of Bart Timing. Additionally, Bill Henchey’s memory shone brightly throughout the weekend.

Racing was fast and furious in the freestyle technique. In order to satisfy State COVID requirements, there were several different “cohorts” of fewer than 25 athletes were created, with start times spaced 45 minutes apart. Men raced 15k, while women raced 10k, and U16’s of both genders 5k. Racing took place on the challenging North 5k course.

An exciting twist on most Nordic racing in the US: there was prize money! This money was courtesy of Marty and Kathy Hall’s Hall Mark of Excellence campaign, for the FIS cohorts. There was $300 for 1st, $200 for 2nd, and $150 for 3rd.

Another fun twist on racing this year: remembering your rented NENSA bib and chip. How’s that for needing to be organized on a race day where you need to get changed in your car? These are just a few more of the rigors and extra measures that NENSA and Craftsbury staff, as well as participants, have been dealing with in order to race during a pandemic.

Women’s 10k skate

12. Camille Bolduc (1st U18)

17. Isabelle Serrano (2nd U18)

19. Quincy Massey-Bierman (3rd U18)

20. Maggie McGee (4th U18)

27. Ayla Bodach-Turner (9th U18)

Men 15k skate

12. Jack Young (3rd U20)

17. Cormac Leahy (4th U18)

18. Aiden Casey (5th U18)

19. Tzevi Schwartz (6th U18)

23. Samuel Clark (7th U18)

29. Makail Tipton (5th U20)

32. Leo Circosta (4th U16)

26. Orion Cenkl (11th U20)

27. Linden Stelma-Leonard (12th U20)

U16 girls 5k

3. Amelia Circosta (1st U14)

4. Anika Leahy (2nd U14)

5. Ruth Krebs (3rd U14)

6. Anna Isselhardt (3rd U16)

9. Gabrielle Schaffer (6th U16)

11. Phoenix Masten (8th U16)

U16 Boys 5k

2. Charlie Krebs (2nd U16)

3. Charles Kehler (1st U14)

On Sunday, the COC held our first BKL race of the year! It was classic skiing and featured some awesome “off-roading sections! as well as some more traditional classic tracks! All participants received individually wrapped cookies at the end of the race, courtesy of the COC café. We don’t have results to share, but please smile at the photo below.

A BKL’er sports all the jungle COVID themed fashion! (Photo: Kaitlynn Miller).

There were 25 Craftsbury BKL’ers who donned a bib! Here they are:

Ada Allen

Ava Stratman

Bizzy Searles

Colin Kurtz

Eli Davis

Gigi Graves

Hazel Morton-Lynch

Hollis Allen

Isaac Nadzam

James Kehler

Jin Ramsay

Kate Mackenzie

Lila Mackenzie

Max Demaine

Miles Brooks

Miriam Serota-Winston

Nolan KurtzNora Demaine

Phoebe Bakeman

Ruthie Podolin

Scarlett Podolin

Soren Stelma-Leonard

Sylas Weaver

Thomas Kehler

Zeb Whitlock

See full results from Saturday here. Junior and Masters racing continues this weekend in Woodstock with races on both Saturday and Sunday.

Updated: BKL and Juniors at the Kendall Cup