Jumping News

We are sorry to announce that Ford Sayre has been forced to cancel the SFT as a result of the lack of snow. We are still waiting to hear from Strafford if they will be able to hold their Relays on Sunday. We are also talking with other clubs about holding an informal, last minute race at another location if Strafford does not have races. We will let you know as we know! Ashley and PeterContinue reading →

Hello All,

It’s time to look ahead to the Bill Koch League Festival that will take place in two weekends, March 5 & 6! We have not heard anything about cancellation, so it seems that as of now, the event is on.

THE EVENT: 

As many of you know, every year the season ends with an enormous festival consisting of two days of races and fun events for lollipoppers (2nd grade or younger) through 8th graders. This year, the festival will take place at Great Glenn Trails in Gorham, NH, which is about 2 1/2 hrs from Hanover. For information about the festival, go to NENSA’s festival page here.  On Saturday, kids will participate in classic relay races (teams are decided by districts/coaches, not families), and on Sunday the kids will compete in individual skate races. Alternatively, skiers can participate as a “Nordic Adventurer” if they do not want to race at all. Over the course of the weekend there will also be games on skis, an enchanted ski tour, radar runs and other fun events while children are not participating in the races.

The theme for this year is “White Mountain Magic” (think wizards and witches and Harry Potter). If one of you has a good, simple costume idea that we could use for our club (pieces of fabric for capes, conical hats kids could make…), and would like to take on the organization of it, let me know.

REGISTRATION:

Please register your child ASAP. Online registration closes this weekend, Saturday, Feb 27.  Go here to register. The dinner Saturday night is one that many of us attend, but it is up to each family to sign up as part of registration.

GET ORGANIZED WITH US:

To help with our own club’s organization, if you plan to attend, please add your contact information to this google doc. Also, please sign up for a volunteer job to help us get the FS tasks done. Go to our Coaching and Volunteer document here. It was such a great team effort last year! Looking forward to another good one.

LODGING:

FS families typically spend Friday and Saturday nights at a hotel. Many Ford Sayre families will be staying at the Royalty Inn in Gorham, NH. The official race “headquarters” are at Town and Country Inn and Resort in Gorham. Go here for more lodging options.

BREAKFAST:

The Royalty Inn does not provide a buffet breakfast. We have arranged a group buffet from 6am – 8am at a local restaurant called Welch’s. The cost is $9.75/person. Don’t expect gourmet, but it should do the job! It is within walking distance of our hotel. They have asked for an approximate number of attendees for Saturday morning and Sunday. Please check the columns on the contact information google doc linked above to let us know if you will eat there.

QUESTIONS:

Please feel free to email us with any questions you might have. We are here to help!  bkl@fordsayre.org or call us at (802) 649-2159.

Cheers,

Ashley and Peter

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INFORMATION FOR THE 2&3 DAY PROGRAM:

Location:	Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT
Time:	3:45-4:45
Technique:	Ice skating!
Wax Recommendation:	NA
Upcoming Event/Race:	We will announce tomorrow our decision on the Silver Fox Trot and if we can pull it off somewhere else. Stay tuned. Strafford thinks they might manage to hold their Relays on Sunday if they get snow Wednesday and Thursday. We will keep you posted.

NOTES: 

Man! This is just a tough winter. There’s no denying it. BUT, it doesn’t mean we can’t have FUN!

PLAN:

Our plan is to have an ice skating practice at Lake Morey in Fairlee. Jamie Hess of The Nordic Skater has kindly offered to let us use his nordic skates for FREE tomorrow. We will bring a carload of them and sign them out to kids (and parents if we have enough). The skates work on NNN bindings and are a ton of fun on long stretches of ice. If you would prefer to wear your own hockey or figure skates, that’s fine, too.

After arriving (see below) kids should meet their coaches in grade level groups on the ice in front of the resort at 3:45.

SIGN UP PLEASE!

It would be helpful if you would let us know if you/your child will be joining us tomorrow both so we know how many to expect and so we know how many pairs of skates to bring. Please sign up here.

SAFETY:

Helmets are required to join practice.

We have been told to keep an eye out for streams that bring water into the lake on the west shore (to the left as you face the lake from the resort). The ice in these areas can be unsafe for 50 – 100 feet out from shore. Please remind your children to be aware and not go anywhere near open water. We will remind them as well. 

GETTING THERE:

The Almighty Google tells me it takes 24 minutes to drive to the resort from Richmond Middle School or Marion Cross. Directions to the Lake Morey Resort are here. We have been told to park “across the road at the clubhouse” and then walk to the resort and follow the signs for the skate trail. Drive past the resort and the clubhouse will be on the left. Please remind your children that we are guests and that they should behave respectfully on the ice. We ask that kids stay out of the resort buildings.

GEAR:

Wear layers, bring your ski boots and then find me, Ashley, in the clubhouse parking lot to sign out skates. Again, you must bring a helmet!

Parents, join us! If you’d like to skate and have NNN boots (not Salomon), put your name on the google list with a note you are a parent and we will see if we can accommodate you with skates, too.

Cheers to finding ways to be active outside!

Ashley and Peter

 

 

 

 

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INFORMATION FOR THE 1 DAY BKL PROGRAM:

Location:	Garipay Fields (9 Reservoir Road, Hanover)
Time:	3:30-4:30
Technique:	Dryland
Forecast:	Low 30s

It is starting to look a LOT like spring, and Garipay Fields are clear of snow. While we really wish that we had snow, we are excited to get outside and enjoy the fresh air with your children. If your child is up for running around in the fields and playing games, please send them to practice in their running shoes.  As always, all of our practices are optional — please drop me a note if your child doesn’t plan to come. 

 

Bill Koch League Festival, March 5-6: 

The New England Bill Koch League (BKL) Festival is the culminating event of the New England Nordic Ski Association’s Bill Koch Youth Ski League. This year it will be held at the Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center in Pinkham Notch, NH on  Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6. The theme for the Festival is White Mountain Magic! Activities include games, races, obstacle course, radar runs, and more! (And, Great Glen has snow-making abilities!). Click here for more information, and here to register.  The online registration deadline is Saturday, February 27th at 5:00 PM EST.

Note: The BKL festival is very fun and works hard to include kids with a variety of skiing interests. Children can register to participate in timed races (grades 1-8), in the non-timed Lollipop race (2nd grade and younger), or in the Nordic Adventurers category (kids of all ages can be part of the fun without racing). 

 

Ford Sayre – End of Year Banquet, Friday, March 11: 

Our celebratory End-of-the-Year Banquet is Friday, March 11, from 6:00-7:30 at the Black Center in Hanover. We hope as many of you as possible will be able to attend!  More details to come. If you have pictures from the season, please share them with me! If we have enough, we will try to create an end-of-year slideshow: )

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All,

The Silver Fox Trot BKL and Citizens race is currently on hold due to marginal snow conditions. Registration has been closed until further notice. We plan to replace our normal “home” race with a more informal fun event on the same day, February 27, if at all possible. We will be monitoring local conditions and setting a location and description of the event on February 23. Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed!

While the event won’t be as formal as it has been in the past, if you have volunteered to help with this event, please keep the date open as we will most likely need your help in some way in order to pull it off.

More to come.

Ashley and Peter

 

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