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EVERYONE:

Shoutout to our own Jack Young, who came up through our BKL/junior programs and now skis with the Craftsbury GRP, for his 4th place finish on the World Cup this weekend! Story here.
The clubhouse is for our youth skiers; not parents. It’s important that our coaches have the space to develop relationships with CSC participants apart from their parents, and for teammates to be able to bond with each other. Parents are welcome to come in and out for drop off/pickup and to communicate with coaches, but otherwise we ask that parents use the Activity Center for their indoor space or wax room needs. While all of our youth skiers are welcome in the clubhouse, it’s often pretty packed with middle/high-school aged skiers, and BKLers may find more space in the Activity Center.
The training plan is here and below. Please fill out the attendance form at the start of each week.
Waxing skis: check out this compilation of helpful videos the GRP skiers made awhile back. They all still hold up! All U14s, juniors, and comp masters should be or get familiar with how to wax both skate and classic skis. BKLers don’t need to stress about this too much yet.
Race season is here. That means:
- check the events calendar if you want to avoid busy times
- our coaches are scattered across the region/country/globe on any given day, so please communicate with the group emails rather than any one person: BKL@craftsbury.com for BKL; jrskiing@craftsbury.com for Jr/U14; and masters@craftsbury.com for masters/adults.

JUNIORS:

Holderness Eastern Cup: here’s all the info about it. Read it ASAP, as there’s a registration and ski prep deadline Wednesday, and we need parents to help with food!
It’s time to dial down the training. Less filler; more rest!
Good work at Rikert. Blowing out the cobwebs kinda stinks but you gotta do it sometime.
Headlamps: bring them. It gets dark early and it’s silly to drive all the way to Craftsbury and then only ski for 30 mins because it’s dark.
You need wax boxes. With wax in them. Here’s a doc about that.
Looking ahead at some dates:
- Eastern Cup #1 is at Holderness on 12/20 - 12/21! Wahoo!
- Eastern Cup #2 is at Quarry Road 1/17 - 1/18
- Reminder: toggle to the “25-26 year” tab at the bottom of the training plan to get a better sense of what’s ahead this winter.

U14s:

You need wax boxes. With wax in them. Here’s a doc about that.
Holy wow we’ve seen some good skiing from y’all recently. Keep it up! Your coaches are so impressed.
BKL (because you’re still in BKL!) race dates to put on your calendars include:
- Sat, 1/3: Race for Warmth @ COC. Info here.
- Sat, 2/7: Bill’s Blastoff @ COC. Info here.

BKL:

PLEASE check the technique for any given day and get out on snow with the right gear! It saves a lot of kerfuffling.
Groups: we had a great first week of BKL! There may be some shifting around of kids in groups if coaches feel it will help with cohesiveness. You’ll get an email directly about any changes for your skier.
Something wrong with your rental gear? Head to the clubhouse before or after practice to get it sorted with a coach. Right at the start of practice is a tough time to help you with gear.
Parent lessons: we want to teach our BKL parents how to ski (or improve at it)—for free! Signups will happen on the attendance form the week prior.
- Sun 1/4 @ 1:30pm: classic
- Sun 1/25 @ 1:30pm: skate
Kickoff meeting/info session: thanks to those who joined! Notes here; video recording here.
Reminder that BKL won’t happen on the following days due to holidays and races:
- December 23-28
- Sunday, 1/2: we’re putting all our energy into the race the day prior (more info linked below) AND a lot of our coaching staff will be gone at US Nationals (also Olympic Trials)
- Sunday, February 1 (But! there will be BKL options at the Craftsbury marathon this weekend suitable for older/more experienced BKL skiers + parent chaperones)
- Sunday, February 8 (But! There will be a bunch of high-level racing to watch all weekend AND a BKL race late afternoon on Sat 2/7)
BKL race dates to put on your calendars include:
- Sat, 1/3: Race for Warmth @ COC. Info here.
- Sat, 2/7: Bill’s Blastoff @ COC. Info here.

BIATHLETES:

Note- there are NO BIATHLON PRACTICES these days:
- Sunday Dec 21. IBU Cup Trials are here all morning. This is part of the Olympic Trials process for senior-level athletes. Spectators highly encouraged!
- Between Dec 24-31 (holidays plus coaches gone)
Reminders:
- Bring to every practice: gloves, poles and a dry change of clothes & warm layers
- Subscribe to the #biathlon channel in our club Slack
- Take the USBA Basic Rifle Safety online course before the end of December. There is a special U13 version for younger kids.
- Season welcome information here.
- Jan 10 novice-friendly race- suitable for all our biathlon program participants.
Jrs/U14s:
- Midweek folks: this week you may choose whether to come on Tuesday at 5:15pm or Wednesday at 4:15pm after the high school races. No 5:15pm Wednesday option.
- Each U14/Jr may sign-up here once for a 1-on-1 between December and February
- Winter race opportunities

ADULTS/MASTERS:

Great job with the classic intro last week. We have a good foundation for building in both techniques! Please remember to check the training plan to know what the session is before you arrive. Ollie may not be around this week on Thursday due to biathlon trials.

Here’s the TRAINING PLAN for the week, or check below:

Training week of 12/15