Nordic News

Today, Sunday, March 3, 2013, on the stadium at Oak Hill, there will be a Ski-athon to raise money for people in the Dominican Republic! BKL skier Juliette Dietz traveled there this summer, to a tiny farming town in the mountains called La Jagua. The people there got running water for the first time last summer. Now, we want to bring them a computer – a valuable resource and portal to a better education and a better life.

Juliette is currently gathering sponsors for the Ski-athon this Sunday! Come help us keep skiers on the snow for four hours straight by participating in the Ski-athon for any length of time! It will be from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm, and there will be FREE DONUTS AND HOT CHOCOLATE PROVIDED.

Anyone who is planning to get out and ski on Sunday, please come by the stadium at Oak Hill! You can ski just a few laps and then go head off on the pond loop or another ski trail.Anyone and everyone is invited – just bring your nordic skis! It’ll be lots of fun, the more people that can make it, the less time we’ll have to ski!

Thanks so much for your help, and support of the Dominican Republic!

We hope to see you there.

Today, Sunday, March 3, 2013, on the stadium at Oak Hill, there will be a Ski-athon to raise money for people in the Dominican Republic! BKL skier Juliette Dietz traveled there this summer, to a tiny farming town in the mountains called La Jagua. The people there got running water for the first time last summer. Now, we want to bring them a computer – a valuable resource and portal to a better education and a better life.

Juliette is currently gathering sponsors for the Ski-athon this Sunday! Come help us keep skiers on the snow for four hours straight by participating in the Ski-athon for any length of time! It will be from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm, and there will be FREE DONUTS AND HOT CHOCOLATE PROVIDED.

Anyone who is planning to get out and ski on Sunday, please come by the stadium at Oak Hill! You can ski just a few laps and then go head off on the pond loop or another ski trail.Anyone and everyone is invited – just bring your nordic skis! It’ll be lots of fun, the more people that can make it, the less time we’ll have to ski!

Thanks so much for your help, and support of the Dominican Republic!

We hope to see you there.

Dear Ford Sayre Family,

So many of you, and your children, participated in the past weekend’s Silver Fox Trot as parents, volunteers, and even participants in the Citizens Race!

So, THANK YOU, for all of your help. We had over 235 kids, and adults, race – which is a new record for the “kids’” Fox Trot. The Strafford Nordic Center was very gracious in letting us return there for another year. The many volunteers created the festive atmosphere, which continues to bring families back to the Fox Trot year after year.

Enjoy the rest of this ski season; celebrate the historic results of the US Nordic and Biathlon Ski Teams; and continue to be great role models for our next generation of skiers.

Thanks again,

David Lindahl and Dennis Donahue
Silver Fox Trot Race Directors

Stafford, VT. — The Ford Sayre Ski Council welcomed 235 racers, both kids and adults, to its annual Silver Fox Trot race on February 23rd. The race, held for the second year at the Stafford Nordic Center, was a freestyle event over a beautiful and challenging course.

The girls first- and second-grade race was won by Esther Cuneo of Mansfield Nordic in 5:51, with Ford Sayre’s Sarah Glueck (6:47) and Eastern Mass’ Clara Lake (6:52) battling for the next two spots. Putney Ski Club skiers took the next three spots with Caroline Tarmy (7:10), Katerine Normandeau, and Sadie Bell (7:47) coming across the line. Craftsbury Nordic’s Alan Moody (5:37) and Cormac Leahy (5:44) lead the field in the boys race, followed by Frost Mountain’s Zachary Wilkerson (6:02) and West River’s Wyatt Teaford (6:18).

The boys third- and fourth-grade 2km race was extremely close with Putney skiers Darius Parker (8:53) and Mathias Boudreau Golfman (8:58) finishing just ahead of Lyme’s Evan Nichols (9:07) and Craftbury Nordic’s Cormac Leahy (9:08). Quincy Massey-Bierman of Mansfield Nordic won the girls race in 9:03 followed by Liza Bell (Putney, 9:13), She Brams (Eastern Mass, 9:22), Phoebe Hussey (Frost Mt., 9:37) and Lyme’s Elsa Bolinger (10:24).

As snow started to fall, the girls fifth- and sixth- grade 3km race was won by Norwich’s Ingrid Miller (12:25) with second going to Madeline Kitch (Eastern Mass, 12:42). Hanover’s Lucy Glueck (12:47) finished a very strong third and Lyme racers Casey Nichols (13:34), Greta Bolinger (13:45) and Kennedy Lange (14:12) finished in the top ten. The boys race had some fantastic times with Cooper Hartmann of Eastern Mass finishing first in 11:32 ahead of Mansfield Nordic’s Kai Richter (11:44) and West River’s Will Koch (11:55). Andy Rightmire (12:48) of Hanover was the top local finisher in sixth place with Norwich’s Daniel Bandler (13:14, 8th) and Patrick Osborn (14:22, 10th) finishing in the top ten.

Adam Glueck of Hanover surged in the final lap to win the boys seventh- and eight-grade 4km race in 13:14 ahead of Stratton Mountain’s Russell Boswell (13:33). Ben Ogden of West River (14:11, 3rd) and James Kitch of Eastern Mass (14:13, 4th) were close behind. Kristen Miller of Norwich, dominated the girls seventh- and eight-grade race winning in a time of 14:17. Mansfield Nordic’s Olivia Cuneo (15:26) and West River’s Mae Chalmers (16:14) took second and third. Three of the next four finishers were Ford Sayre racers as Alexandra Schaffner (16:31), Ann Osborn (17:08), and Sara Spencer (17:46) were joined by Eastern Mass’ Gabrielle Vandendries (17:27).

Ben Hegman of Mansfield Nordic won the inaugural men’s Citizen Race in 23:09 followed by Jack Hegman from the UVM ski team. Hanover’s Oscar Freedman (24:26, 3rd) and Lief Johnson (5th, 25:22) finished in the top five along with Ben Taska from Portland, ME (4th, 24:44). Carly Wynn of Queensbury, NY won the women’s Citizen Race race in 24:24 with Maddy Pfeifer (24:52) of Andover, NH and Haley Piske (24:57) of Steamboat Springs, CO finishing just ahead of Hanover’s Natalie Flowers (25:03, 5th) and Paige Elliot (25:04, 6th).

For more photos of the event, go to: http://losborn.smugmug.com/share/FordSayre

Weston, MA. — The Eastern Mass BKL club survived blizzard Nemo and hosted an inspired, if compressed, one day nordic ski festival for teams from New England and New York on February 10th. The race, hosted at the Weston Ski Track, featured freestyle sprints in the morning and classic races in the afternoon. The skiers, organized by their region, marched into the site to the music of fife and drum and a musket volley by the Minutemen. Upper Valley resident Peter Graves gave the proceedings a very Olympic tone as he announced commentary for the races and Norwich’s Mike Holland, an Olympic ski jumper in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, introduced many young nordic athletes to ski jumping over the course of the day.

The morning freestyle sprint races started with the third- and fourth-grade sprints over a 400m course and Ford Sayre skiers Evan Nichols (3rd, 1:35.2), Erik Blix, Spencer May, Jack Lange and Matt Walsh all skied well. In the girls race Elsa Bolinger came in a strong sixth at 1:45.9 with Katie Davis and Eloise Silver-Vanmeter also racing. The fifth- and sixth-grade sprint was 750m and Hanover’s Andy Rightmire had a very speedy top ten finish (9th; 2:46.3). Daniel Bandler and Peter Burnham also had strong races. The girls race was a scorcher with Norwich’s Ingrid Miller placing second in 2:49.5, one tenth of a second behind the winner. Greta Bolinger, Cassandra Nichols, Lucy Glueck, Kennedy Lange, Grace Dietz, Margot Davis, Hannah Chipman, Liz Rightmire and Shannon Walsh also competed. Norwich’s Kirsten Miller won the girls seventh- and eighth-grade sprint covering the 750m in 2:13.2; Sarah Spencer of Ascutney finished 16th at 2:43.7. Hanover’s Adam Glueck finished fifth in 2:10.9 in the boys seventh- and eighth-grade sprint with Stefan Cole, Jack Burnham, Arturo Johnson, Adam Mendelsohn and Malcolm Silver-Vanmeter had strong finishes

The afternoon classic races started with the first- and second-grade girls who skied 1 km with Ford Sayre skier Ann Rightmire finishing second. Sara Glueck (5th) and Imogen Dietz (17th) of Hanover also had top finishes. In the girls third- fourth-grade race over 2 km, Elsa Bolinger of Lyme finished 4th in a time of 9:52.2. Eloise Silver-Vanmeter (Thetford, 11th, 11:18.7) and Katie Davis (Lyme, 17th, 11:45.3) also had strong races. Evan Nichols of Lyme finished 7th in the boy’s third-fourth-grade race with a time of 9:41.6. Spencer May, Jack Lange , Erik Blix and Matt Walsh also raced well.

In the girls fifth- and sixth-grade 3 km race, Ford Sayre skiers made a very strong showing with Greta Bolinger (2nd, 13:09.6), Ingrid Miller (4th, 13:16.9), Lucy Glueck (5th, 13:47.4), Cassandra Nichols (7th, 13:57.8), Kennedy Lange (12th, 14:21.3), Hannah Chipman (13th, 14:23.6), Grace Dietz (20th, 15:14.2), Shannon Walsh (23rd, 16:06.8), Margot Davis (29th, 16:30.9) and Liz Rightmire (30th, 16:32.1). In the boy’s fifth- and sixth-grade race, Andy Rightmire (6th, 12:39.3), Patrick Osborn (13th, 14:06.4), Daniel Bandler (15th, 14:15.3) and Peter Burnham (30th, 16:11.1) all had strong races over the 3km course.

The girls seventh- and eight-grade race covered a 4 km distance with Kirsten Miller finishing 3rd with a time of 15:41.1. Alexandra Schaffner (11th, 17:00.2), Ann Osborn (13th, 17:08.4), Sara Spencer (26th, 18:59) all raced well in a field of 57 skiers. In the final race of the day, the boys seventh- and eighth-grade 4km race Adam Glueck had a very strong third place finish in 13:52.9. Jack Burnham (26th, 17:31.5), Stefan Cole (27th, 17:42.2), Arturo Johnson (28th, 18:01), Adam Mendelsohn (32nd, 18:47.5) and Malcolm Silver-Vanmeter (34th, 19:11.4) had good races for Ford Sayre in a field of 46 skiers.

For more photos of the event, go to: http://losborn.smugmug.com/share/FordSayre