NYSEF April 2023 Newsletter

That's A Wrap!

April is the month when everyone at NYSEF takes a deep breath and says " we did it - now on to 2023-2024!" Our summer on-snow training projects are on the calendar; we ' re taking advantage of the record-breaking snow the West has received Our local training programs are up and running with offerings in all disciplines. We're excited to see the interest in our summer programs and projects!

I want to thank our first-year NYSEF families for bringing your enthusiasm and hard work - I hope to see you in the 2023-24 season! It's not exactly a walk in the park to stand out on the race hill for hours upon hours in the wind and freezing temps but our team does it race after race For this, our event staff deserve all the credit in the world Thank you To our volunteers - we wouldn't be able to do half of what we do without your help. Thank you. And last but not least, thank you to our team of coaches and staff. Your impact is felt throughout the organization and I am incredibly grateful for your time, dedication, and effort

Enjoy the spring weather,

John Norton

April 2023

What's Next: Summer Programming With NYSEF!

NYSEF is proud to provide quality "off-season" training opportunities for all of our athletes! This summer, NYSEF will host alpine projects in Mammoth, CA, Copper, CO and Chile as well as ski jumping projects in Norway and the Midwest.. Regular off-snow training will also be offered in many forms! Visit nysef org/camps to find more information and register!

Goodbye for Now: Farewell to our High School Seniors!

The toughest part of each spring is saying farewell to our graduating high school seniors. We wish them well in their next steps and the great beyond, and hope they'll come back to visit, and maybe even coach one day!

Andrew Scanio

Ariana Haben-Ribiero

Bella Wissler

Emily Heintz

Galen Halasz

Justin Zeng

Kyle Casabonne

Lily Quant

Madison Geer

Matt Faust

Miceala Leonard

Pedro Gonzalez

Sophia Kelting

What's Next: Spring & Summer Events

Spring Bike & Gear Swap

Saturday May 13, 2023 9am-11am

Wilmington Town Beach (Lake Everest)

Join NYSEF, BETA, SLICK, and local bike and gear shops for our second annual bike and outdoor gear swap. Bring your gently used bikes and gear to sell or swap. All sales/swaps will be direct between buyer/seller.

NYSEF Annual Golf Open

Sunday June 11, 2023

Lake Placid Club Golf Course

Join us for our Annual Golf Tournament!

Registration is LIVE online at the link below: https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/NewYorkSkiEducatinFoundati/GOLF23.html

NYSEF Annual Summer Benefit

Date and Location To Be Revealed Soon!

Keep an eye out for our Save the Date - we cant wait to celebrate 50 years of NYSEF with you this summer!

Volunteer Opportunities!

Lake Placid Marathon Aid Stations - Sunday June 11, 2023

Horse Show Grounds 8am - 2pm

Please join us to help hydrate athletes and cheer on family and friends in the community

Ironman Lake Placid - Sunday July 23, 2023

TBD

Please join us to help hydrate athletes and cheer on family and friends in the community during the marathon portion of Ironman Lake Placid!

Contact Tiffany to sign up: tiffanyve@nysef.org

USASA USASA NATIONALS NATIONALS

Congratulations to all of NYSEF's Freestyle Ski and Snowboard athletes who competed in USASA National Championships at Copper Mountain in Colorado from April 1-12.

Athletes competed in slopestyle, skiercross, boardercross, and rail jam competitions throughout the two week event. What a way to wrap up the season!

Freestyle National Championships at Copper Mountain

This year ' s National Championship event started out with the snowboard competitions in week one, with Robbie Sinclair of Whiteface taking 2nd in the Junior age class for Boadercross and Jack Spiers of Gore cracking the top ten with a 7th in the Grommet Boardercross.

The skiers took over in week two with so many great results including a National Championship for Yvetta Hofrichter of Whiteface in Grommet Railjam Yvetta also placed 7th in Slopestyle and 9th in Ski Cross. Belleayre Junior Coach and athlete, Marielle Rodriguez, had a phenominal week, placing 3rd in Slopestyle, 4th in Ski Cross, and 6th in Railjam. Adelaide Kipiniak, also from Belleayre, also reached the podium with a 3rd place finish in Youth Ski Cross, a 7th in Slopestyle, and 11th in Railjam.

April 2023

Other notable performances:

Hunter Goodwin (GO) - Youth SX - 4th

Owen Proietti (BE) - Breaker SX - 8th

Sean Rosenzweig (GO) - Youth SX - 8th

Noah Baldwin (GO) - Grommet SS - 9th, RJ - 12th

Grace Nichols (BE) - Breaker SS-10th, SX-11th

Twenty three total athletes represented NYSEF at Copper this season and we are SO proud of them all for their determination and hard work! To bring up complete results check out the USASA website and click on the 2023 National Championships tab. Also, watch out for our Freeride Friday post on Facebook with some more photographic evidence Congratulations to the winners and everyone who competed!!!

Liatoppen Biathlon Festival

Biathlete Jenna Stainken takes on Norway

Each year, over 1,000 biathletes gather in Liatoppen, Norway to cap off the competitive season at the Liatoppen Biathlon Festival - the world's largest biathlon event While most competitors in the festival hail from Norway, a small contingent of American athletes has been invited to compete each year since 2016 This year, NYSEF's very own Jenna Stainken was selected to travel with the US team! Jenna was in Norway competing from April 14-16th. Here's what Jenna had to say about her experience:

I was selected to join a youth team of biathletes representing the US at the Liatoppen Biathlon Festival in Norway It was one of the most exciting and thrilling experiences of my biathlon career!

Leading into our race weekend we were training at either Geilo or Liatoppen We would typically have a workout in both the mornings and afternoons, then congregate to one of the team houses for dinner and games. It really helped bring the team together, unless of course someone plus 4’d you in Uno

Mixed in with training, we also took some time to explore Norwegian culture Our team visited one of the oldest stave churches in Norway Dated back to 1192, it was built entirely out of wood, no nails. It proved to be a very resilient way to build in this Nordic climate! It was fascinating to learn about, but it was also a nice break from constant training.

One amazing part of racing outside of the US, was to see how much support and love for biathlon there was Even though the focus was on the competition, the spirit didn’t end there Some Norwegians would come and ask us questions about what it’s like to be a US biathlete and encourage us to come again next year. We also had an article in the local newspaper written about us! Hopefully, the love for biathlon and its community will continue to grow in the US Especially as the US continues to have better rankings in their competitions Our coaches and team were quite happy with the results and our representation here at Liatoppen!

I had a wonderful time meeting new people, skiing in new places, and exploring a culture I had never interacted with before. I encourage any fellow young biathletes to take a chance and apply next year. It’s definitely worth it!

Advice for Girls

In their Words: NYSEF Alumna Kalen

Griffin & Belleayre Local Iz La Motte

Share their Love of East Coast Skiing

Ahead of New Ski Film

In Their Words: Advice for Girls

Kalen Griffin is a Lake Placid native who grew up racing as a NYSEF alpine skier at Whiteface Mountain. Iz La Motte grew up skiing at Belleayre - prior to NYSEF acquiring the program - and is well acquainted with ski racing on the East Coast. They’re part of a new, allfemale-driven film project under the direction of Sara Beam Robbins that puts their experiences as young female skiers in the spotlight.

Advice For Girls is a feature-length ski film showcasing the collective experience of women in the ski industry

Throughout the film, athletes share the lessons they have learned through their experiences and pass advice on to the next generation of female skiers Inspired by the poem "Advice for Girls” written by Addy Jacobsend, who is also a producer on the project, the film features an all-female cast and crew tackling big terrain and even bigger stereotypes

“For me, I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of an allwomen ' s ski film - it means that I get to be me, ” Griffin said “I get to showcase my “chargey” style of big mountain skiing as well as the racer side of me that still loves to crush perfect corduroy.”

Griffin will be seen in the film during the big mountain skiing and cliff-hucking segments, as well as some classic groomer shots. She shared that this project is really important to her because she knows first-hand what it’s like to be a young “skier chick.”

“I know how hard it can be to be yourself and "just-do-you",” she added. “I am proud and stoked to be taking on a role where young skiers may have the chance to look up to me. It's a special place to be in right now and I'm happy and grateful to be a part of it all ”

The team hopes that this film will inspire young girls to show up as their true selves and not let anything stand in their way, La Motte said

“I feel very honored to be a part of such a talented, creative, and intentional team,” she says.

La Motte is a cinematographer for the film and has spent the 22/23 season traveling and filming throughout the Intermountain West. She also credits her experiences as a racer with giving her the mental stamina and determination she has today.

“Mentally, ski racing gave me the drive to overcome challenges, a keen sense for attention to detail, and the determination it takes to bring projects to fruition,” La Motte said.

La Motte now lives, works, and skis out west, but can name plenty of things she misses about skiing the East Coast

“I miss the tight trees of the east,” she said. “Picking lines through tight, gladed terrain is so fun and very unique to the east The technical terrain that exists all over the east turns out some very, very good skiers.”

“If you want to be competitive in ski racing, that doesn't mean that you have to give up freeskiing - ski with your friends, try a 360, try a backflip or rail (with supervision and proper coaching) Try everything you want to; you can only be frustrated with yourself for not trying And if you never try, you never know You can be girly and still be a great athlete/ski racer You can be super strong and still be girly Never ever let anyone tell you you ' re not good enough, and if they do PROVE THEM WRONG. If you want it badly enough, you will find a way. ”

Kalen Griffin

NYSEF Alumna

Griffin started skiing at the age of two on the Greatest Vertical East of the Rockies, aka Whiteface Mountain and joined NYSEF at seven “I LOVED the NYSEF program as a kid,” Griffin said “It was the most wonderful thing in the world. I loved the coaches, I loved my friends and I just plain loved skiing - and still do!”

Her love of skiing is obvious; she raced throughout high school at Northwood School, went on to race at St. Lawrence University, then spent three winters coaching U10, U12, and U14s out west. “My racing background and strong fundamental skills have given me the confidence to try lots of new features and terrain styles in big mountain skiing,” she says

She credits the structure NYSEF provides - as well as the lack of it at times - with helping her be who she is, and remembers her NYSEF coaches very fondly. “Pat Larkin, Art Lussi, Kevin Brousseau, and Jimbo all freeskied the pants off us as kids, yes we trained gates but we also freeskied a lot and I know the freeskiing helped me become the skier I am today,” she said.

Griffin, who lives out west but returns home during the summer months to spend time with her family, credits learning how to ski on the East Coast with her mindset that there will never be a bad day skiing because it’s a privilege just to ski.

“My biggest piece of advice is to show up as yourself Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing, focus on what works for you because at the end that’s what’s going to bring you the most success and hopefully make you the happiest. Be true to yourself and make sure you ’ re having fun throughout the process. ”

“Skiing in the west is magical: powder is fantastic, free refills on storm days are unparalleled and sunshine and 32 degrees is incredible,” she adds “[But], I wouldn't be the skier I am today if I didn't have my eastern background, it gives you a bit more grit I think!”

Actually, the entire crew - from the production team to the athletes - features some strong New York State representation. The Advice for Girls team includes Olympians Caroline Claire and Devin Logan from Long Island, athlete, and producer Sierra Schlag whose formative years of skiing were spent at Hunter Mountain, athlete Caroline Brokaw who grew up in Manhattan, and photographer Bianca Germain who grew up in the Albany area.

The team hopes that this film will set the new standard for athlete and creative team compensation

“Our aim is to show women and girls that they are valuable and that their stories are important,” La Motte said “Our goal is to pay everyone involved with this film their day rates and show that undervaluing athletes and creative work is not a viable option for the future of this industry ”

Advice for Girls is raising funds through Kickstarter to help make this project possible: The majority of the proceeds will go to paying the athletes and creators involved and covering production expenses. All funds raised will go directly toward making this film the best that it can possibly be To donate by the fundraising deadline of May 5th, visit:

www.kickstarter.com/projects/adviceforgirlsfilm/ advice-for-girls

Alpine Recap: Nationals and CanAm Championships

Four alpine athletes from NYSEF at Whiteface capped off their seasons by competing on a National level. Northwood School's Jackson Magnus, a second-year U14 , competed at CanAm Championships at Mont-Tremblant in Canada from March 30 - April 2nd. Jackson had a solid run of Super G during the event

U16 athletes Cara Dempsey, Julianne Brochu, and Denny Sebek travelled to Mission Ridge, Washington during the first week of April to compete in U16 National Championships Denny placed 4th in the skills quest competition, Julianne was the hard charger in the slalom (moving from start 51 to 13th place!), and Cara placed 16th in slalom. What a great way to end the alpine racing season!

April 2023

Coach Maddie on the Move!

NYSEF’s Head Biathlon Coach Maddie Phaneuf will head to Austria in May to begin a new coaching education course with the International Biathlon Union’s (IBU) Academy. The IBU is the international governing body for biathlon

The First Level Course requires three weeklong in-person courses throughout the upcoming year, along with an online curriculum throughout the year. Maddie will head to Austria for the first week in May, then Sweden in October, and Poland in March 2024

While pursuing this new level of education, Maddie will engage in theoretical and practical lessons in the fields of skiing, shooting, exercise physiology, coaching soft skills, equipment, applied training science, biathlon performance, and the business of sport She’ll be learning from well-known experts and coaches in the fields of winter sports and sports science. Only 20 coaches are selected each year.

“I applied for this course last year and didn’t get accepted, so I’m excited that this year I got in,” Maddie said. “I’m grateful to get the opportunity to learn more about biathlon coaching

Biathlon:

Athlete of the Year: Abby Van Dorn

Rookie of the Year: Duncan Van Dorn

Most Improved: River Gray

Hardest Worker: Jenna Stainken

Best Teammate: Galen Halasz

True Grit Award: Bella Wissler

2022/2023 Season

Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined:

Athlete of the Year: Kai McKinnon

Rookie of the Year: Blake Glazier

Most Improved: Will Coffin

Hardest Worker: Jack Kroll

Best Teammate: Henry Loher

True Grit Award: Max Fey

XC Devo Race Team:

Athlete of the Year: Will Preece

Rookie of the Year: Vivienne Smith

Most Improved: Leila Fey

Hardest Worker: Liam Stoddard

Best Teammate: Ryan Mannion

True Grit Award: Max Fey

XC Junior Race Team:

Athlete of the Year: Sophia Kelting

Rookie of the Year: Maya Garrison

Most Improved: Daven Linck, Filippos

Kogiantis

Hardest Worker: Andrew Scanio, Kai

McKinnon

Best Teammate: Bella Wissler

True Grit Award: Holly Erenstone

Belleayre U10 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Harlan Grigor, Max Gould

Rookie of the Year: Sofie Jay, Tristan Venafro

Most Improved: Maddie Yan, Leela Kumar

Hardest Worker: Thomas Gomez, Kemal

Glover

Best Teammate: Kaylee Gaudette, Tia Finlow

Best Listener: Harlan Grigor

Whiteface U10 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Ava Reynolds

Rookie of the Year: Grace Graham, Theo

Munier

Most Improved: Juliette Wright, Callaway Rath

Hardest Worker: Ana Sofia Vucic

Best Teammate: Owen Sangster, Nilana

Hofrichter

Best Listener: Piper Horgan

Gore U10 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Ariana Gray

Rookie of the Year: Will Maguire

Most Improved: Frances Davenport, Ethan Seo

Hardest Worker: Adele Davenport, Kris

Schaeffer

Best Teammate: Mae Laguzza, Desmond Currie

Best Listener: Catherine Mulvey, Von Miller

Belleayre U12 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Josie Oosterheert

Rookie of the Year: Jackson Kushmock

Most Improved: Hudson Steinfield, Mila Krane

Hardest Worker: Jakey Pelligrino

Best Teammate: Reese Scully, Sam Gomez

Best Listener: Graham Lee

Gore U12 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Chloe Brown, Jude Miller

Rookie of the Year: Jack Geidel, Addison Mead

Most Improved: Joe O'Connell

Hardest Worker: Henry Aldridge-Krawciw

Best Teammate: Lexi Dorfman, Quin Doherty

Best Listener: Emma Chung

Whiteface U12 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Evelyn Palma

Rookie of the Year: Isabelle Morganson

Most Improved: Henri Meunier

Hardest Worker: Cecelia Norfolk, Penelope

Kniskern

Best Teammate: Sunny Gravatt

Belleayre U14 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Amelia Karcz

Rookie of the Year: Andrew Whittemore

Most Improved: Georgia Schmidt

Hardest Worker: Will Bertinelli

Best Teammate: Alex Pellegrino

Whiteface U14 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Ollie Boutelle, Jackson

Magnus

Rookie of the Year: Luke Wardlaw

Most Improved: Ruby Howe, Gabe Dolan

Hardest Worker: Georgie DeSantis

Best Teammate: Nora Petrocci

Gore U16/U18 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Mason Englert, Coleman

Dahl

Rookie of the Year: Avery Tunney

Most Improved: Lily Quant

Hardest Worker: Esa Connelly

Best Teammate: Wilder Gamage

Best Competitor: Taylor Dennis

FIS Men Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Charlie Howe

Most Improved: Pedro Gonzalez

Hardest Worker: Gavin Ebert & Patrick Gilbert

Best Teammate: Justin Zeng

Gore U14 Alpine:

Advanced Carver: Liam Colwell

Rookie of the Year: Desmond Cheung

Most Improved: Zoe McGuire

Hardest Worker: Francesco Del Poeta

Best Teammate: Carter Dibble

Best Listener: Ryan Czimbal

Belleayre U16/U18 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Jillian Lacey

Rookie of the Year: Sam Rein

Most Improved: Cash Nova

Hardest Worker: Nico Fonesca

Best Teammate: Kristen Trivell

Whiteface U16 Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Cara Dempsey

Rookie of the Year: Mikey Mezzetti

Most Improved: Max Engelen

Hardest Worker: Henry Parobeck

Best Teammate: Teegan Wardlaw

FIS Women Alpine:

Athlete of the Year: Olivia Levesque

Rookie of the Year: Kirsten Iles

Most Improved: Whitney Donohoe

Hardest Worker: Sonja Toishi

Best Teammate: Lea Lambert

Belleayre Freeski:

Athlete of the Year: Adelaide Kipiniak

Rookie of the Year: Marcus Auton-Smith

Hardest Worker: Owen Proietti

Best Teammate: Mateo Rodriguez

Gore Freeski:

Rookie of the Year: Noah Baldwin

Most Improved: Hunter Goodwin

Hardest Worker: Cooper Mead

Whiteface Freeski:

Athlete of the Year: Wyatt Stanclift

Rookie of the Year: Clay Fuller

Most Improved: Yvetta Hofrichter

Hardest Worker: Dane Morelli

Best Teammate: Jackson Ruppert

Best Listener: Ryker Galvin

April 2023

Belleayre Freeride:

Athlete of the Year: Luke Spoerel

Rookie of the Year: Breiden Cox

Most Improved: Gabe Renaldo

Hardest Worker: Zoey Leong

Best Teammate: Baxter Diels- Smith

Gore Freeride:

Most Improved: Jack Spiers

Hardest Worker: Evan Burke

Whiteface Freeride:

Athlete of the Year: Robbie Sinclair

Rookie of the Year: Logan Casey

Most Improved: Elle Russo

Best Teammate: Liam Redding

Thank You!

Thank you to our sponsors: Merrill L. Thomas, Long Run Wealth, Lake Placid Family Dental, Black Rock Foundation, and the Donald C. McGraw Foundation.

Thank You to our Volunteers!!!

April 2023