Weston Race Help

Thanks to our Boston-based support crew for helping and cheering!

alums (and alum-in-law) Tim, SarahT, SaraD

our youngest wax tech at work (on her parents' skis)

Weston Race Report

by Emily

It was a beautiful sunny day for racing. We began our long day with an early morning departure for Weston, MA. This eastern cup was different from anything we have done before. There was a sprint in the morning, then a distance race in the afternoon. Upon arrival we got right on our skis and began warming up for the sprint. The course was located on a golf course, so there were few hills, and many long flat stretches. The biggest hill deemed “Mt. Weston”, was a small hill with a pile of snow on top to make it bigger, but it was very steep, and a key place to gain time.  The girls had a strong showing in the sprint, all placing within eleven seconds of each other, later in the afternoon the guys came close to matching with fifteen seconds between them. The middle of the day was hardest for all of us. Sam, Noah, and Tucker had a mere hour and fifteen minutes in between the two races, but were able to produce impressive results in their 6k distance race. The girls were next with the same distance, 2x3k loops to make 6k total. They also skied well considering the course was beginning to deteriorate on the hills and corners. About half way through the race a wind began to pick up that blew through the flat golf course. It was great to have a tail wind, but a head wind after racing twice that day was very challenging. The J1 boys had a similar experience, but skied three laps around the loop for a total of 9k. Overall today was exhausting, but everyone left with at least one strong performance making it a very satisfying day. For those who would have liked even better performances, there is always the Stowe Eastern Cup next weekend.

watching the girls approach Mt Weston in the sprint

Recent News

by Helen and Kate

New Hampshire Series: With everyone done with exams, we started off the new quarter with the second half of the New Hampshire Series.  It was  a classic 5k at Whitefield with lots of new snow from the recent storms.  Although it was cold everyone did well and managed to keep most digits.  All Ford Sayre skiers made either the New Hampshire J2 Team or the New Hampshire Eastern Team!  It was a successful day for the team!

OD: Today was another cold day in Lyme, where the team went on an over distance classic ski.  It was around 2-2:45 hours, with three ten minute sessions of strength.  We were lucky with the beautiful weather and the beautiful snow conditions.

Pictures from today:

Photos from last weekend:

Happy Birthday Jennie!  (or, cold camera enters warm building)

December Skiing

by Sam M

Although the snow cover is now abundant, back in December this wasn't the case.  During that time, the team was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to get some quality skiing in on some high meadows in Lyme.  We are much appreciative of the Furstenbergs' generosity for the use of their fields.  The days were short and cold but the sunsets amazing!

Making the Most of the Early January Thaw

Many thanks to Bill and Eric for their grooming efforts!  The course they set through the crust in the fields at Fullington/organic farm easily absorbed 100 BKL skiers, coaches, and parents on Tuesday, and provided a great venue for the JNT's Wednesday intervals.

Meanwhile, our alums continue racing at Nationals in Rumford.  Greg sent these photos of Dylan and of Paddy and Paco pushing each other through one of their six laps in yesterday's 15k CL race.

Good luck to everyone in today's FS distance race!

Mt. Hor Hop 1/1/11

Mt. Hor Hop is ski racing old style, from the flow of the narrow course to the one long hill, its just plain fun to ski. Better, one never knows who might turn up, two years ago Liz Stephen came and zipped around for two quick laps.

This year was quiet, probably because the nationals in Rumford. Of the JNT, Kate, Helen, Caitlin, Emily, Noah and Isaiah raced. Summer JNT member Molly came with the team and raced in Holderness Colors. Ford Sayre masters also had a strong turnout.

Conditions proved tough, the course had soft shoulders and demanded a light touch, some were happy with their race, others not.

Here is the link to the JNT YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSfe-GPhsqw

Go JNT!

Classic Technique Practice 12/29

The holidays brought snow and distraction from the blog, so here is what happened last week.

Wednesday before the new year was technique drills at Oak Hill. Dennis provided coaching and spent the session emphasizing snow feel and body position. After skiing around the arena with no poles, up the hill they went. After some practice climbing, it was time for some downhills and working on step turns.

Thursday was a distance ski in Lyme and Saturday we raced at Mt. Hor Hop.

FS JNT Alums at US Nationals

We got a quick update and some great photos from Greg, who was in Rumford for the first race at US Nationals (classic sprint).  Click a photo to see a larger version.

• Natalie made the ski downs among the senior women.  She led her heat out of the stadium and for the first 500m.
• Lizzie made the ski downs among the junior girls today - came in 5th in the junior ski-downs, 14th among all junior women (9 junior girls skied in the top-30 rounds).

Good luck to Paddy, Lizzie, Paco, Dylan, Beth, Natalie, Chelsea in Wednesday's classic distance race!