Jumping News

Dear Ford Sayre Families,‬‭ As we gear up for the exciting 2024-2025 season, we want to share some important news regarding adjustments to‬‭ our program fees. We recognize that fee changes can raise questions, and we want to be transparent about the‬‭ reasons behind these decisions.‬‭

Click here to read our letter to the Ford Sayre community.

This past week marked the end of summer programming for the Ford Sayre Nordic chapter. Starting in June, 27 JNT and high school athletes and 12 middle school athletes took part in a variety of training opportunities around the Upper Valley and beyond. Solid summer training is a cornerstone to having success in the winter, and the coaches are very proud of the progress they saw over the past couple of months and can’t wait to see how it translates on snow this coming winter. In the meantime we’ll be cheering on the athletes as they compete in fall sports for their high schools, and we’ll also soon be starting up again with fall programming for both the JNT and BKL programs.   

BKL

BKL summer programming consisted of a rollerski practice on Mondays, an on-foot practice on Thursdays, and an additional rollerski practice combined with JNT on Wednesdays for rising eighth grade athletes. These practices were led by Head Coach Hilary McNamee, current JNT Assistant Coach Izzy Seay, former JNT Assistant Coach Andy Rightmire, and BKL alum Zach Edson.  

A highlight of the program was a visit from NENSA during which the athletes got to have fun skiing through their new youth rollerski agility kit. The course included a variety of obstacles such as a slalom to weave through, arches to tuck under, 360s to navigate, and a bean bag toss. It was a particularly hot day, so they even had to watch out for coaches waiting at the ready with fully loaded squirt guns. Check out NENSA’s reel from the practice!

The program concluded with an extra fun practice in which the athletes exercised their creativity to make a music video. Although practices always included a lot of laughs, it’s safe to say this one had an above average amount. 

Outside of Ford Sayre programming, several BKL athletes also jumped at the opportunity to attend camps at GMVS and SMS where they were able to get to know some of their peers from around the region and learn from other coaches. 

JNT and High School

JNT and high school programming consisted of rollerski or on-foot practices on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and some weekends, strength sessions twice a week, and two multi-day camps. These practices were led primarily by Head Coach Hilary McNamee and current JNT Assistant Coach Izzy Seay with occasional help from former JNT Assistant Coach Andy Rightmire. 

Home Camp

Summer programming for this group of athletes kicked off with Home Camp in late June. Camp started off on a Thursday evening with an ice cream social before three full days of training and classroom sessions around the Upper Valley. The overarching goal of the camp was to provide athletes with a focused start to their summer training while also giving them the space to bond with each other and learn about important aspects of skiing beyond the physical training.

On Friday morning,  athletes met at the Dartmouth Skiway where they completed an uphill run test starting at the AT and going south to finish at Holt’s Ledge. They started on 15 second intervals and took around 15 to 20 minutes to complete the 1.25 mile climb with just over 1,000 feet of climbing. All the athletes put in great efforts, and several came away with personal records, which was great to see!

After lunch, the athletes sat through the first of three classroom sessions of camp in which Hilary presented on “Physiology 101”. They learned about training fundamentals and how training causes the body to adapt to become a better skier. The classroom session was followed by strength training at Thetford Academy.  

On Saturday morning, the athletes met at Barrett Hall in South Strafford where they started the day by watching videos of professional skiers to examine their double pole technique. With their observations in mind, they then headed out for a long distance classic rollerski with an emphasis on double poling. After finishing the two plus hour session, they returned to Barrett Hall to examine videos of themselves that the coaches took during the workout.  

Saturday afternoon started with the second classroom session in which Izzy presented on recovery and explained the importance of recovery in order to adapt to training and gave examples of what proper recovery looks like. Following the classroom session, the athletes went on a short trail run before doing a teambuilding activity and playing a game of handball.   

On the final day of Home Camp, the athletes met in Woodstock for a point-to-point over distance run on the AT. Ten miles later, the team returned to the Howe Library for the third and final classroom session in which they got to do a Zoom call with current professional skier Erin Bianco. Erin spoke candidly to the athletes on her unconventional path to becoming a professional skier, gave them great advice on how to approach training and racing as a high schooler, and even told a story about being in an elevator with Klaebo. 

Mountain Camp

At the end of July, fifteen athletes made their way to Maine for Mountain Camp. The focus of the camp was on getting in lots of training hours and quality time together. On Thursday, after arriving at Carrabassett Valley Academy (CVA), which is ideally located at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain, the athletes went for a run before enjoying a summer cookout around the campfire for dinner. 

Friday morning started with mobility and breakfast before driving to Long Falls Dam Road for a point-to-point classic rollerski. Double pole technique has been a central focus this summer, and the long gradual uphill provided a great opportunity for the athletes to practice what they’ve been working on. After lunch and some downtime, the team headed out from CVA for a run on the nordic ski trails at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center followed by a game of volleyball. Let’s just say there’s a reason these kids ski and don’t play volleyball!

On Saturday morning, the athletes did a continuous threshold ski walking session on the access road to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain. From the top, they were able to look out and see the Bigelow Range on which they would run the next day. After making their way back down the mountain, the team enjoyed a refreshing swim in the river. For the afternoon session, the team did a skate rollerski with some specific technique drills from CVA through the neighborhoods at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain. 

Safir and Caleb ski walking up the access road (left). The team at the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain after finishing a threshold ski walking session up the access road (middle). Izzy, Maya, and Annie cooling off in the river after the session (right). 

Mountain Camp wrapped up on Sunday with a big over distance run in the Bigelow Range. The older athletes did a 14 mile loop with over 4,500 feet of climbing in which they got to summit Mount Bigelow and Mount Avery and experience some fantastic views. The younger athletes did a slightly shorter loop, also with some great views, and got to spend some time at Horns Pond.  

In between training sessions, the athletes enjoyed spending quality time together at CVA. Between the game room, puzzles, watching the Olympics, and a great outdoor space, there was not a shortage of fun activities. Overall, the team could not have asked for a better weekend! 

Running in the Presidential Range and Rollins Roll

The final week of summer programming included two particularly exciting days. On Wednesday, the team left bright and early to spend the day running in the Presidential Range. Older athletes completed the entire Presidential Traverse, a well-known almost 20 mile route with over 8,500 feet of climbing that runs north to south to span the Presidential Range and summits some of the highest peaks in the White Mountains, including Mount Washington. Younger athletes stayed with the group until Mount Washington, where they then backtracked to descend off of Mount Jefferson to complete a slightly shorter route. Clear weather provided some spectacular views, and everyone was still smiling after the eight hour day!     

The team completing the Presidential Traverse (left). John, Olin, and Ollie with Mount Washington in the background (right). 

On Sunday, some of the athletes headed to Mount Kearsarge to compete in the Rollins Roll. The uphill classic rollerski race starts at the base of Rollins State Park and climbs 1,500 feet over the course of 3.5 miles to the summit of Mount Kearsarge. Ford Sayre athletes successfully strided their way through the clouds that were encompassing the mountain. Lea Perrard was the overall winner of the women’s race with a time of 30:30. Annie Hanna followed closely behind and finished third overall with a time of 31:27. Izzy Cellini and Ingrid Groff also put in strong efforts to finish in eighth and eleventh overall, respectively. On the men’s side, Noah Branchflower finished in a time of 27:30 to claim third overall and second junior. Isaac Novosad and Tomas Masterson followed in ninth and tenth overall, respectively. After a strong start, James Underwood unfortunately experienced an equipment malfunction but still managed to make it to the summit on one rollerski with a smile on his face.    

Isaac striding his way up Mount Kearsarge (left). Noah crossing the finish line to finish in third overall and second junior (middle). Lea and Annie being recognized for their first and third place overall finishes (right).

Fundraising Dinner in the Flower Field

Outside of training, the team hosted the second annual Fundraising Dinner in the Flower Field. For the event, the athletes worked together to cook and serve guests a locally sourced, family-style meal in the flower fields of Cloca Mora Floral. 29 tickets were sold and $2,500 was raised for the JNT Athlete Travel Fund, which offsets qualification-based championship race trip expenses for members of the team. Thanks to all who played a part in making the event a success!   

Scenes from a successful Fundraising Dinner in the Flower Flower field at Cloca Mora Floral. 

The 2024 Cross Country Junior Nationals took place in Lake Placid, March 11-16. Five Ford Sayre athletes qualified to represent Team New England: Caleb Zuckerman (U20), James Underwood (U18), Sarah Glueck (U18), Annelies Hanna (U18), and Lea Perreard (U16). Also of note, in February, Caleb Zuckerman was honored to represent Ford Sayre and the USA for the third time at the Junior Nordic World Ski Championships in Planicia, Slovenia. In the U20 Nordic Combined men’s individual competition, Caleb fought hard in the talented international field and placed 20th overall and 1st American. It was so exciting to have Caleb represent the Ford Sayre Ski Club on the World Stage again, we are so proud of his accomplishments!

Andy Rightmire, the Ford Sayre JNT Assistant Coach joined as a U20 Coach for Team New England.

Ford Sayre BKL graduate, Jack Lange (U20, Dartmouth College) also represented NE at the races. 

Monday: 5K freestyle nordic ski 

Recap can be found here

Wednesday: Classic Sprint 

Wednesday was a spring day at Mt. Van Ho with both rain and sunshine, soft snow and icy spots. It was a long hard day for competing athletes in the 1.3km sprints with the U20s and U18s events in the morning, and U16s events wrapping up just before 6pm. Lea (3rd U16), Annie (4th U18), Sarah (18th U18) and Caleb (21st U20) ranked in the top 30 in the qualifiers and advanced to heats. James just missed the heats coming in 33rd, with less than 1 second separating 28th-34th place! Lea won her quarter-final heat moving on to semifinals. She ended up in a fast semi-heat where her 3rd place time of 3:52 bested all other times earning her lucky loser status to move on to the finals. Despite a fall, Lea gritted out her finish and came in 4th place on the day, earning another All-American distinction. Similar to Lea, Sarah and Annie found themselves in very fast quarter-final heats. Sarah placed 4th in her heat with a time of 3:21, faster than all of the times in heats 1 and 3 and just missing lucky loser status. Annie came in 3rd in her heat with a time of 3:16, besting all other times, earning her lucky loser status. She moved into a 5th place finish during semi-finals, good enough to qualify her for the B final. Annie ended the day in 10th place overall, earning All-American distinction, a welcome relief after missing the races on Monday due to a respiratory cold. Caleb had a phenomenal sprint day. He competed in the quarter-finals after an impressive 21st in qualifiers in a field packed with college level racers. He ended the day in 29th place after getting tangled up with one of his New England teammates in the quarter finals despite having a blazing fast start in the heat. Jack Lange advanced to heats, placed 2nd in the quarter-finals, 5th in semis and after some brilliant tactical moves came in 1st in the B finals, finishing the day in 7th overall.

Friday: Classic Mass Start

Friday morning saw deteriorating snow conditions, as overnight rain and salting of the course made for slick snow on Van Ho’s unforgiving hills. The day started with the U16 girls, then boys racing 2 laps for a total of 5km in the tricky conditions. Spectators winced at the many tumbles and broken pieces of equipment. Lea ended her race in 10th position, first for team New England. Racing was paused after the conclusion of the U16 boys race as a thick fog rolled in and the course was deemed unsafe. At 1pm, the U18 women’s 10km event took place on a rerouted course, but the intense downhill ending in a hairpin left turn remained, with skiers making their way around the 5km loop twice. At the 3.75km split, Annie was in good position (6th) with the lead pack, but the fall of a NE teammate just in front of her on the notorious downhill resulted in Annie crashing and breaking a pole. After losing all speed going into the uphill and changing poles twice, Annie fought her way back to an 11th place overall finish! Sarah avoided crashing in the precarious snow and steadily worked her way up from 28th position at the 3.75km split to finish in 21st overall! The U18 boys saw James fighting for top 10 ranking- he was 2nd at the 5km mark,with the fastest split of the day! – and ended with an incredible sprint effort to the finish, catching the racer in front of him and placing 11th after prevailing in the photo-finish review. The U20 15km event took place late in the day, with a 4:30 pm start. Jack Lange won the race arriving at the finish line in an impressive 43:09.2. Following Sarah’s tactics, Caleb worked his way up as the race progressed moving from 34th to a final position of 28th with an overall time of 50:23.6! All of the spectating parents and coach Andy were relieved to have the day of harrowing conditions finished with only minor bumps and bruises for those who crashed. 

Annie bib 207 chasing down the leader (photos by Phillip Belena)

Annie and James, lucky 11s (L) Annie’s battle wounds (R ) 

Saturday: Freestyle Relay

Saturday’s relays were nothing short of thrilling! 

The NE1 U20 relay team (Mirra Payson, Jack Lange, Greta Kilburn and Finnegan Bailey) finished in 1st. Caleb’s U20 relay team ended in 16th with member Amelia Circosta on classic skis! New England entered 5 teams into the U18 competition with their second ranked team (NE2) made up of 75% Ford Sayre athletes: Annie, James and Sarah paired with Oliver Swabey (Prospect Mountain) as anchor. Annie skied the scramble leg in a smoking fast 8:07.5 (2nd fastest time of all the girls–and 27 seconds ahead of NE1!) tagging off to James in 2nd place. James skied the 3km course in an impressive 7:07.2 maintaining their position (clocking 3rd fastest for all boys!) and tagged Sarah who skied her heart out. Sarah had an early fall, but regained her composure and absolutely powered up the enormous hills finishing in 8:42.9, good for a 3rd place tag off and keeping NE2 in striking distance of 2nd place and well ahead of NE1 who currently sat in 4th. Ollie went for it in the final leg of the race, moving the team back into 2nd position at the crest of the final hill, but the fast skis of the Intermountain division skier proved too much on the final descent into the stadium. Ollie crossed the line in 3rd place and the underdog NE2 relay team celebrated their much-deserved podium position! 

The day concluded with the U16 relays. The NE1 team, of Lea Perreard, Matthew MacIntosh, Mary Harrington and Matias Citerella were led out in fast fashion! Lea, skiing the scramble leg, quickly moved into 1st position and extended her lead on the large uphill. A crash on the notorious downhill took away a few seconds, but luckily all equipment was intact and Lea crushed the final ups and tagged off first with a time of 9:00.3 (3rd fastest girls time of the day). Matthew was next out on course and maintained first place position tagging off to Mary. The anchor legs saw a battle between Matias and Ian Carmack (Intermountain Div.). In the end Matias couldn’t match Carmack’s sprint to the finish, but NE1 was thrilled to be on the podium in 2nd place!

Celebrations!

Site: https://mtvanhoevenberg.com/event/xc2024lakeplacid/

Official photos by Phillip Belena: https://phillipbelena.client-gallery.com/gallery/jr-nationals-xc-2024

Photos by Samuel Geissinger: https://zone5photo.com/galleries

Results: https://www.bullitttiming.com/events/USSA-JN-2024

James, Sarah, Annie, Lea, Caleb:

In February, Caleb Zuckerman (U20) of Norwich Vermont, attended his 3rd FIS Nordic Junior World Championships for Nordic Combined in Planica Slovenia (5-11 February, 2024), proudly representing Ford Sayre and Team USA. 

 Having won all of his domestic qualifiers and placing first in the US Cup series this season, Caleb is currently ranked as the top JuniorNordic Combined athlete in the US. 

The week in Planica started with the mixed team event, where Caleb and his teammates Skyler Amy (Alaska), Alexa Brabec (Steamboat) and Kai McKinnon (NYSEF), came in 7th place after skiing past Italy and Slovenia during the cross country portion of the event.  Next came the Individual event on the HS 102 meter jump.  In high winds and rain, Caleb jumped to 28th place in a deep field of competitors.  

The real excitement came in the 10K cross country portion of the event where Caleb had a great race, skiing up to 20th place overall, his best finish so far at Junior Worlds and the top American. It was so exciting to hear them announce the Ford Sayre Ski Club on the World Stage!

In all, it was a successful season of Nordic Combined skiing for Caleb who has been splitting his time skiing with his JNT team and competing in Nordic Combined events. Of note, in March, Caleb competed for Team New England at the 2024 Cross Country Junior Nationals that took place in Lake Placid (March 11-16).

Eastern High School Championships took place March 15-17 at Holderness School in New Hampshire. The event takes the top high school skiers from five states – NH, VT, ME, MA and NY – including up to 24 girls and 24 boys for each state team. Ford Sayre athletes represented both VT and NH: Vermont skiers Quinn Uva, Izzy Cellini and Joey Sluka; and New Hampshire skiers Ollie Hanna, Millie Larrick, Noah Branchflower, and Isaac Novosad. Of note, Ford Sayre BKL alums Heidi Davis, Nicholas Van Citters and Wyethe Murray also raced for NH.

Friday’s 5K freestyle took place after a day of rain, leading to unpredictable snow. Ford Sayre skiers persevered, with Ollie taking 2nd in the race. Millie placed 32nd and Izzy 34th. The boys raced next, with Quinn taking 3rd and Noah 9th. Joey finished close behind at 12th and Isaac 29th. 

The sun came out on Saturday, and with temperatures in the 40’s, skiers pushed (and especially double-poled) through slow snow during a 7.5K classic race. For the girls, Ollie stayed ahead of the pack and placed 3rd. Izzy and Millie finished 64th and 68th, respectively. When the boys took their turn, Quinn had a huge race and finished first! Joey stayed in the top 10 as the 8th finisher, and Noah and Isaac both raced fast and finished 20th and 27th, respectively. 

The “fun” sprint later on Saturday saw big finishes from Ford Sayre athletes: Ollie first in girls and Quinn 10th and Isaac 11th in boys. Millie finished 27th, Izzy 37th, Joey 23rd and Noah 34th.

Sunday’s relay proved exciting with Ollie’s strong first leg giving her NH2 team the early lead. They ended the day in second place, only behind NH1 team. Quinn Uva’s VT1 team placed 6th. 

What did this all add up to? A WIN for NH! Team New Hampshire placed first in the overall competition (the last time this happened was in 1995!!), with Vermont following second. And in individual results, Ollie finished first among all female athletes! A huge win for this freshman! And speaking of huge wins, Quinn placed 2nd overall, and the rest of the FS boys finished in the top 20: Joey 13th, Noah 17th and Isaac 18th. Well done, Teams NH and VT, and well done Ford Sayre athletes! Such an awesome way to end the season. 

That’s a wrap on the 23/24 season!