New Gloucester, ME – The New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) today announced recipients of funding for this year’s US Ski Team J1 trip, World Junior Championships, and World U23 Games. This new funding was made possible by the recent generosity of NENSA members through its annual fund drive and online fundraising auction as well as the generosity of NENSA’s major sponsors TD Bank, L.L. Bean, and Trapp Family Lodge.
NENSA’s Competitive Programs Director is pleased to see progress in the organization’s ability to support these important trips, “This is something that we have been wanting to do for a long time so it is fantastic to see it come to fruition! For our juniors and U23 skiers, these trips are a critical piece in their development. When you add to this the expense they incur not only for these trips, but for the necessary summer and fall training camps, and domestic races, and Junior Nationals the expense can be daunting to a family and local clubs.”
The World U23 Ski Championship features the world’s best cross country skiers under age 23. NENSA is pleased to support one of those athletes. Ida Sargent from the Craftsbury Green Racing Project and Dartmouth College finished 4th at last year’s championships and is hungry to reach the podium in this year’s event. NENSA is pleased to provide $500 of funding toward her effort.
The World Junior Ski Championship takes place during the same week at the same venue as the World U23’s. It features the best skiers aged 19 and under and New England athletes go into the event with a real shot at earning a top finish. Skyler Davis (Stratton Mountain School) enters the championship with lots of momentum after earning 3rd overall at the recently concluded national championships in Rumford, Maine. His teammate Heather Mooney also raced strong at nationals and goes into the event as the 2nd ranked American team member. Isabel Caldwell (Stratton/Dartmouth) grabbed the final spot on the women’s team with her 6th place ranking and expects to be tough in both sprints and distance racing. Each of these athletes receives $750 in support from NENSA.
The first opportunity for US Ski Team-supported international racing is the J1 Scandinavian Cup trip. New England was well-represented on this trip with Cambria McDermott (Stratton) qualifying for the women’s team and Patrick Caldwell (Stratton/Ford Sayre) and Jack Hegman (Mount Mansfield) earning spots on the men’s squad. NENSA is please to support each of these athletes with $250 of funding.
NENSA’s long-term goal is to fully fund all New England athletes qualifying for these important steps in the athlete development pipeline. If you would like to help make this goal a reality, please support NENSA’s sponsors and plan to give generously to NENSA’s Annual Fund in April and the online fundraising auction in November. It is the support of NENSA’s members in the past year that made this first step a reality and with continued support, we can do more.
2011 World U23 Ski Championship Schedule Otepaa, Estonia Thurs., Jan. 27 Men’s and women’s 15/10k free Sat., Jan. 29 Men’s and women’s 1.4/1.2k classic sprint Mon., Jan. 31 Men’s and women’s 30/15k pursuit
2011 World Junior Ski Championship Schedule Otepaa, Estonia Wed., Jan. 26 Men’s and women’s 10/5k free Fri., Jan. 28 Men’s and women’s 1.4/1.2k classic sprint Sun., Jan. 30 Men’s and women’s 20/10k pursuit Mon., Jan. 31 Men’s and women’s 4×5/3.3k relay
2011 J1 Trip Details (source: NCCSEF)
Training Camp: Athletes will depart the U.S. on January 26, 2011. The athletes will travel to Ostersund, Sweden where they will meet up with Head Scando Team Coach Matt Johnson. Between Jan 27th and Feb 1st the team will be staying at Camp Sodergren in Ostersund, training on the trails adjacent to the lodging.
Race Week: On February 1st, team will drive to Ornskoldsvik, Sweden where they will be staying and racing for the next week.