New Website!

We have a new and improved website!

Please visit us at www.baynordic.org.

Thank You! and RENTAL RETURN

Thank You to All the Bay Nordic Kids!

The snow cooperated in Februray and March making this a great season. Once again, we had a great year with the kids. Be sure to check out all the 2013 photos at http://shoffmanphoto.smugmug.com/CrossCountrySkiing-2012/Bay-Nordic-2013. Saturday's final event should be posted soon.

Rental Return

For those renting skis, rental return has been scheduled for Thursday, April 4th (5:30pm to 7:30 pm) and Saturday, April 6th (9:30 am to Noon) at InCompetition Sport in Green Bay (www.incompetiion.com). We will be on hand to help with the return and deposits. With a couple of weeks of skiing left and spring break, these dates were the best times to schedule. The UWGB ski team will be available to help with ski return and prepping the skis for summer storage.

Once again, thank you for a great year!

Kids Race & Potluck Saturday Mar. 2nd

This Saturday, March 2^nd, is our final event of the year.  The weather forecast looks great and the camp has a lot of snow!  As we did last year we will be having our kids “race/tour” and potluck.  Our Bay Nordic Kids race is our own small version of the Barnebirkie.  The kids are encouraged to go at their own pace, whether high speed or at a leisurely pace.  Whatever they choose, we want parents at the start/finish are and along the course with their cowbells, whistles, horns, etc.!  Let’s make this a great event for the kids.

The potluck will include burgers & hot dogs on the grill along with all the side dishes brought by the parents.  The anticipated schedule is as follow:

10:00am – Kids in their groups for a warm-up.

10:20am – Coaches will start gathering kids at the start line.
10:30am – Start of the race/tour. 

                3-4 yr olds:  1/2 to 1 KM (dependent on Coach Sue)

                5-6 yr olds: 2 KM (1 lap)
                7-12 yr olds: 4 KM (2 laps, we will have a cutoff time for the 2^nd lap to make sure we don’t have any kids out too long)
                Skaters (Polar Bears) – 4KM one loop

Following completion all kids will receive their participation medal.  We will not be getting back into groups, the potluck will be ready!

Looking forward to Saturday!

Saturday Feb 16th 10-Noon

Crazy weather again this weekend but hopefully the County will get the trails back to great conditions by Saturday!  We will be watching the trail conditions and communicating with the County. We do fully expect to have Bay Nordic this Saturday as schedule. 

The original schedule was to have the kids “race” this weekend in concurrence with the adult Stump Farm race; however, due to the challenges this winter for snow & planning involved, the Stump Farm adult race will not happen.  The good news is we plan to make this a regular “group instruction” session then do our kids “race” during our last event on March 2^nd.  We did this last year and it worked well with the kids getting play time after and the potluck.

See you Saturday

 

Jan 19th Bay Nordic Cancelled - Trails Closed

Sorry to say that Brown County has not opened the ski trails and the County has asked us not to hold our group session this weekend, thus, we are CANCELLING BAY NORDIC for SATURDAY, Jan 19th. We had hoped for more snow today and an "ok" from the County however were not successful. The trails do have coverage and a portion has been tilled. County policy is preventing opening up the trails for groups when the entire system is skiable. Various sections of ice and debris remain. We are extremely disappointed in the circumstances. Hopefully you find some skiing for the weekend and we get some snow soon!

Enjoy the Weekend

Bay Nordic

 

Snow Condition Update for Jan. 19th

Hard to believe we are concerned again about snow conditions after great skiing a couple of weeks ago. The warm weather last week did major damage to ski trails throughout the midwest. Most trail systems were either wiped out or left with a hard ice sheet. The good news for the Reforestation Camp is coverage remained throughout the warmup, the bad news is we were left with the hard ice sheet.

Jen spoke to the County today and they are working with the grooming equipment to try and prep the trail to skiable conditions. If they are able to achieve some success and we get a little bit of snow on Wednesday or Friday we should be set to have a good day with the kids. If on Friday evening the trails are still ice covered and unsafe we will need to cancel the session but, as of now, we are staying optimistic we will be able to go.

Think Snow!

Jan 5th Session

I know it's late...but just a quick reminder. Bay Nordic is scheduled for Saturday, Jan 5th from 10am to Noon. Please arrive between 9:30 to 9:50am to register and pickup the new hats! Group warm-up starts at 10am sharp and all kids should be ready to go.

Trails are in great condition and the weather looks promising. See you tommorrow!

Sorry to say....CANCELED - Session 1

Sorry to say, but after talking with some of the coaches, we are going to cancel tommorrow's session. Conditions at the ski trails were marginal at best this afternoon and with the warm overnight temps and anticipated rain in the morning, we cannot ski or do dryland with the kids.

Lets hope for some Christmas snow! Sorry for the weather, I really wish we could change it!

12/15/12 Session Plan

There is a little bit of snow at the Reforestation Camp so our plan is to have Saturday’s session on snow!  Brown Co. have rolled the trails and conditions are marginal (no tracks are set).  Let’s hope the temps stay low enough so we can continue with the plan.  An e-mail will be sent out if conditions drastically change and we are forced to do a “dryland” event.

A couple of reminders for Saturday:

-           All kids must check in.  Check in is from 9:30 to 9:50.  Kids should be in their groups (assigned at check in) before 10:00.

-          At 10:00, a large group warm-up will start followed with kids breaking up into their assigned groups.  The session lasts 10am to Noon.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday!

Equipment Rental Pickup & Coaches Clinic

A couple of reminders

Equipment Rental Pickup - 12/1 (Sat) & 12/2 (Sun)

For those skiers renting equipment, pickup is scheduled for this Saturday & Sunday from 10am to Noon. Equipment can be picked up at the Versch house located at 6387 Aspen Drive, Sobieski, WI. Please bring the kids for proper boot fitting.

Coaches Clinic Thurday, November 29th @ 6pm

For those who plan on helping out with coaching at any level, we have a coaches clinic scheduled for this Thursday at 6pm. The clinic will be held at Aurora Sports Medicine in Green Bay. Please let us know ahead of time if you plan on attending.

Membership Forms

If you plan on joing this year and haven't sent them in yet, please do so ASAP.

Thanks! Think Snow!

2013 Membership Information & Registration

We are excited to get the Bay Nordic season rolling. We look forward to returning and new faces this year.  Forms are linked up in the "Resources" section of the blog.

Please help us with the planning by registering early! We have a limited amount of rental equipment also and priority is given as the registration is received. Forms and information is also posted on our blog at http://baynordic.blogspot.com/.

A couple of other notes:

ANST Stump Farm Race (10 mile run, Duathlon, & 5K trail Run) - Sunday, October 28th

This is a fundraiser held for the local middle & high school ski team. They have extended a discount race fee of $5.00 for Bay Nordic kids who particpate in the 5K event. Come out and enjoy the Reforestation Camp before the snow arrives! Details on our blog regarding the Bay Nordic Kids and race details at http://skiwithanst.org/.

Coaches Clinic

A coaches clinic has been scheduled for November 29th (Thursday) at Aurora Sports Medicine at 6:00pm. For all returning and new coaches. Please consider coaching (assistants are great!). These volunteers keep the program successful.

Oct 28th ANST Trail Run - Special Bay Nordic Registration Fee!

The Ashwaubenon Nordic Ski Team (ANST) is holding their annual trail run and duathlon on Sunday October 28^th at the Reforestation Camp. This is an important fundraiser for the program used to support the middle and high school skiers throughout the year….the future for many Bay Nordic skiers! To provide another opportunity to enjoy the trails and encourage participation, ANST is providing a discount fee of $5.00 for Bay Nordic kids to register for the 5K trail run.

- The $5.00 registration fee applies to all Bay Nordic kids registered last year and any new members registered by the date of the event.

- 12 & under age group awards will be included.

- Any parents that want to run with their kids MUST register separately with ANST (pre-registration or on-site available) and have a race number to be on the course. Adult registration is separate at www.skiwithanst.org.

- Bay Nordic kids will check in separately with Jennifer and volunteers. Registration, liability forms, and fees for the 5K event must be completed.

- Information on the event can be found at www.skiwithanst.org.

We hope to see a good number of Bay Nordic families at the event!

Rental Ski Return March 24th

We have set the Rental Ski Return for Saturday, March 24th 10am to Noon.  Please try to return the skis on this date, we have the UWGB ski team volunteering their time to help us with the wax prep for summer storage.

Equipment can be returned to same location as the pickup....6387 Aspen Drive, Sobieski, WI.  If you cannot make the date, please contact us to make other arrangements.

Thank You

Bay Nordic – Thank You!

Thank you to all the kids participating with Bay Nordic this winter. It's great to see so much interest in the program---over 160 kids registered this year. Our goal has always been to provide an avenue to introduce kids to sport and provide an opportunity to have fun and develop a passion for the sport. Whether a kid uses that passion for competition or as an active outdoor hobby, we succeed. Skiing is one of those great activities that can be done at the highest competition, with the family, and just a way to get out and enjoy the outdoors.

In spite of such a challenging winter to find snow in the area, we had a great day for skiing this past Saturday. The lack of on-snow practice didn't deter all the smiles at the finish line (much like a lot of adults I know in the Birkie). Perfect snowball making snow helped with the smiles also!

Pictures of this weekend as well as the January 21^st event are also posted at http://shoffmanphoto.smugmug.com/CrossCountrySkiing-2011/Bay-Nordic-2012.

One last thank you to all the coaches and volunteers helping with the program! We fully volunteer based, so local skier support of the kids program is crucial to continued success.

We will have the final rental return date out this week.

Let it snow December 1^st 2012!

Bay Nordic

It’s Snowing!

Much needed snow is arriving tonight, predictions are 4 to 6 inches. Brown County plans on grooming for the kids early in the morning so we should be set for a great day! Bring your skis and appetites.

One quick note on Season Rentals. We will not be taking season rentals back on Saturday, doesn't work logistically with so many skis, plus there may be some skiing left for the spring. We are working on having returns either March 24^th or 31^st at the Versch house, depending on assistance from the UWGB ski team for prepping the skis for summer storage. We will let everyone know soon.

See you tomorrow.

March 3rd Year End Party

The Reforestation Camp received about 3 inches of snow last night topped off with a nice March rain for the day….perfect snowman making snow I guess. We are really unsure right now what the trails will be like this weekend. Grooming this snow may be very difficult. Maybe we will get lucky and have some snow on Friday and falling temperatures.

Regardless of the trail conditions, we will have our end of the year potluck and grill out for all…Adults and Kids included. Bay Nordic has the shelter reserved for all the families and the grill will be fired up for hamburgers and hot dogs (we need a few grill masters!). Anyone who wishes to help set up and/or contribute to the potluck, please contact Jennifer.

The stars of the day will be the kids. If we have skiing, the annual kids race/tour will be the focus of the session (a make-up for the Stump Farm cancellation). Courses will be set for the groups based on experience and ability, ranging from approximately 1 to 4 km. All participants will earn their "Bay Nordic" medal upon completion. Encourage the kids to have fun with this event, it's their time to show off. Parents…help cheer the kids on, bring your cow bells!

As a backup plan, we will set up a foot race for the kids…thinking obstacles, through the woods, whatever creativity we can put together to have a fun event and have the kids earn their Bay Nordic medals.

We plan on monitoring the ski trail conditions through Friday evening and will keep everyone informed on how to prepare for the day.

Schedule of Events:

• Session Rental pickup by 9:45am
  
• Check-in by 9:50 am. Kids need to be ready to go at 10 am.
  
• 10:00 to 10:45am. Group warm-up followed by short session with coaches. Coaches will then lead the groups to the start of the race and help out with getting the kids moving
  
• Start at 10:45 until completion….time for some treats!
  
• If we are forced to do a non-skiing event. The warm-up will be shortened and the "race" start will be moved up.
  

Hope to see everyone on Saturday….Think Snow!

Feb 18th Session

I just stopped out at the Camp, we can do this tomorrow. With some creativity of course! We plan on making the most of what we have. At full disclosure the trail head is not good and conditions are far from optimal; however, we do have some good options to get the kids out on skis and have some fun. Pending if the "regular" ski trails freezes this evening creating icy conditions we will have the kids ski on the snowmobile along the east side of the camp and for the younger kids (the Penguins) within an open area with good snow coverage. We will meet in the normal location for the warm-up then split into group. The coaches will lead the kids on a hiking adventure to the snow!

Please be ready for the warm-up by 10am. Session Rental, pick up skis no later than 9:45am.

On a positive note, the weather should be warm….good day to spend some time outdoors.

Bay Nordic

Feb 18th Session

We are anxiously awaiting for Saturday so we can get on the snow with the kids. Looking forward to a strong showing. As some of you may have heard, we have cancelled the Stump Farm 12K race due to the marginal snow conditions (see www.incompetition.com) . The Reforestation Camp has skiable snow but it is not of a race quality that can ensure a safe and fair event. Since this will only be our second time with the kids this winter, we are switching our emphasis from the "kids race" to a regular coaching session with the kids. We feel that this will provide the best experience for all. We will be holding a "race/tour" event during our end of the year cookout for the kids giving them an opportunity to earn their medals!

 

A couple of reminders for Saturday:

 

• All kids must check-in and be with their groups at 10:00am. Session is scheduled from 10am to Noon.
  
• Session Rentals 
  Pick up equipment by 9:45am. I need to have enough time to join my group for coaching.
  
• Hydrate and fuel the kids adequately before the ski.
  

 

See you Saturday!

Feb 11th Cancellation – No Snow!

With regret and apologies, we are forced to cancel this weekend's (Feb 11^th) Bay Nordic session. We held slim hope, however, after talking to the County today, the warm weather and low snow conditions have left the trails a frozen ice pack that cannot be re-groomed for safe conditions with the kids. We need some snow! We will continue to be optimistic that some snow arrives for the February 18^th event. Regardless of what Mother Nature provides, we will have our season ending cookout snow or now snow on March 3^rd!

Bay Nordic

February Sessions – 2/11 & 2/18

We wanted to give a quick update on the next two weekends. We have the "make-up" session planned for Feb 11^th and Stump Farm Feb 18^th. Unfortunately, it has been the worst winter here in Green Bay for skiing that we can remember. Right now the trails are boiler-plate ice and closed. Hopefully we will get a miracle storm, at least a few inches of snow would be great. This has been a difficult winter for getting the kids out on the skis but we are staying optimistic for a strong finish…lots of new and experienced kids to expose to a favorite sport of ours!

Bay Nordic is putting on the Stump Farm this year as a fundraiser with Deb and Mark Ernst heading up race planning. As with most races in the Midwest this year, we hesitant on the planning, unsure if there will be adequate snow to ensure a safe event. If snow arrives and the event is a go, we will need volunteers to help with registration, food, organizing, etc. We are taking a "wait-and-see" approach on the weather and further advertisement but please consider assisting if we are able move forward.

Think Snow!

BAY Nordic