June 2023

Thank You to our NYSEF Golf Open Sponsors!

Biesemeyer ADK Building, Black Rock/McGraw Foundation, Burnham Benefit Advisors, Craigwood Golf Course, Global UW, Gore Mountain Lodge/Beck’s Tavern, Hyde Fuel, Hyde Mobile, Lake Placid Family Dental, Lake Placid Ski Club, Long Run Wealth Advisors, Loremans, Malone Golf Club, Merrill L Thomas Inc, North Woods Engineering, Reliable Racing, S. Curtis Hayes, Saranac Lake Golf Club, The Cottage and Mirror Lake Inn & Spa, The Crowne Plaza Lake Placid, The Four Seasons Apartments, The Lussi Family, The Physicians and Surgeons of LP Sports Medicine, Twitchell Sportswear, Whiteface Golf Club

Upcoming NYSEF Programming:

Skimeister Adventure Series (Lake Placid/Wilmington/Saranac Lake):

NYSEF is excited to offer a new training opportunity for athletes ages 9-13. This summer, we are hosting The Skimeister Summer Series; a three session, three-day weekend series throughout July and August which will provide athletes of all disciplines the opportunity to train within a broader NYSEF team Each day there will also be sport specific time to target athletes' development in their respective discipline Learning important skills such as balance, agility, coordination, and strength will complement many outdoor adventures; improving endurance, stamina, and fitness in a fun and fast paced summer weekend series Overnight accommodations and meals NOT provided.

Dates: 7/7-7/9, 7/14-7/16, 8/25-8/27

Cost: $250/camp, $600/all camps

Registration: https://go teamsnap com/forms/378641

Grasshopper Jump Camps (Lake Placid):

Grasshopper camps are for athletes ages 6-14 training on the K10/K20 hills, with some opportunity to move up to the K48. We will focus on both off hill and on hill skills and activities. Athletes not enrolled in a NYSEF summer jumping program are expected to bring their own equipment, rentals available for a fee

Dates: 7/27-7/30, 8/24-8/27

Cost: $275/camp (Equipment Rental: $30)

Registration: https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/376233

Lindsey Van Ladies Jump Camp (Lake Placid):

NYSEF Ski Jumping Staff and Special Guest Olympian Lindsey Van welcome all female ski jumpers with 2+ years experience jumping K20 or larger for a three-day development camp at the Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex!

Dates: July 13, 2023 - July 16, 2023

Cost: $325 (Equipment Rental: $30)

Registration: https://go teamsnap com/forms/376233

Norway Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined Camp (U12+):

NYSEF is arranging our second annual training trip to Norway at three different locations for approximately a two week period of ski jump training as well as a first-hand look at some of Norway’s most famous ski jumping facilities including the world renowned Oslo Holmenkollen, the largest ski flying hill in the world at Vikersund, and the Olympic Ski Jumps at Lillehammer where NYSEF World Cup athlete Tate Frantz now resides and trains

Dates: August 4-17, 2023

Cost: Preliminary estimate $2,500 - $3000 + airfare Email

On-Snow Alpine Camps at Big Snow (U12/U14):

Focusing on the U12-U14 age group Late-summer and fall overnight trips to Big Snow in New Jersey will provide on-snow training opportunities for development alpine athletes to refine their skills, get time in their boots, and gain and edge on the competition

Dates: July 25-26, August 22-23,

Tentative Dates: September 23-24, October 21-22 (subject to change)

Cost: $350 includes coaching, lodging & lift ticket ($200 local/no lodging)

Registration: https://go teamsnap com/forms/380835

Alumni Spotlight

Rod Blackhurst: NYSEF to Netflix

NYSEF Gore Alumn now Emmy-Nominated Producer

On Rod Blackhurst’s IMDB page, under the Trivia section, it says he “ was a successful alpine ski racer until 1997 ” That’s not how Rod remembers it

“Let’s be honest, I wasn’t a great racer, ” he says. “I was a pretty good skier but was never a competitive person ”

Blackhurst, a NYSEF Gore alpine athlete from the late 1980s until he officially retired in 1997, is now an Emmy and Critics’ Choice nominated director and producer with Netflix He’s best known for his Netflix documentary Amanda Knox, and the recent crime thriller, Blood for Dust, starring Kit Harington, Josh Lucas, Scoot McNairy, and Stephen Dorff.

Nashville has been his home for the past seven years, but Rod grew up in North River, on the back side of Gore Mountain, and began ski racing with NYSEF when he was six years old

After graduating from Colgate University in 2002 with a degree in French Literature, Blackhurst spent a few years making ski films in Northern California before joining the clothing company Orage as a team manager.

“I made it to the top of the ski filmmaker heap quickly and had a few great years working with some free skiing legends like JP Auclair (rest in peace), TJ Schiller, and Matt Sterbenz,” he says. “There’s no denying that years of disciplined ski racing is what allowed me to keep up with these guys as we traveled and skied around Europe and North America ”

Blackhurst fondly remembers his coaches Rich Burnley, Mark Richards, Mitch Huff, and John Przekop, though readily admits there were so many at NYSEF that coached him over the years it’s hard to remember everyone ’ s name. He does, however, remember the impact the whole NYSEF experience had on him

“I just loved the community and some of my fondest memories were adventuring around ski areas after races were over or meeting other racers from all over New England,” he says.

While his trips back to North River to visit his family are fewer and farther between than he would like, he does keep up with what’s going on around town.

“I actually get a bit of news from my folks who still live in North River and ski at Gore as they run into families and former racers at the mountain,” he says

Learn more about Rod: http://www.rodblackhurst.com/

Join https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/NewYorkSkiEducatinFoundati/LPBenefi t23 html

This year marks NYSEF's 50th Anniversary and to celebrate, we ' re planning an extra special Golden Anniversary Summer Benefit for August 19th at the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid from 6pm to 10pm. Registration is now open.

Please join us for this special evening, featuring great food, live music, a silent auction, an awards ceremony, and special programming honoring 50 years of incredible stories and moments.

We can't wait to share this special celebration with you!

Register Online Today!

NYSEF Adds Skimeister Program for 23/24 Season

Most members of the NYSEF community affiliate the word "skimeister" with our end-ofseason, just-for-fun competition at Whiteface consisting of alpine and skier-cross or moguls races. But what does "skimeister" really mean?

A "Skimeister", or "Master of Skiing" is someone who excels in every aspect of skiing. Traditional skimeister competitions - which were popular over 100 years ago in Europe and The United States - consisted of a cross country ski race, a downhill ski race, and ski jumping (often on alpine equipment) The champion was determined by a scoring system which would combine competitive components from each discipline to achieve a final score. Those athletes with the aerobic endurance of a good cross country skier, the anaerobic power and precision of a good downhiller, and the fearlessness of a good ski jumper were named true skimeisters!

Its no question that NYSEF exists in a perfect climate for athletes to become masters of skiing The Catskill and Adirondack winters provide endless opportunities for locals to cross country, downhill, and backcountry ski. Newly revamped jumping facilities in Lake Placid have resulted in ski jumpers flocking to the area to train and compete, while ORDA venues provide some of New York State's best racing and training terrain for alpine, cross country, and freeride athletes

With so many training opportunities available to athletes in our area, most have to make the choice early between cross country skiing, alpine skiing, freeride, or ski jumping competitively This summer, however, NYSEF received a grant from the Killington World Cup Foundation to start a new Skimeister program, which will begin accepting new athletes for the 2023/2024 winter season beginning next month

NYSEF's Skimeister Program will be for athletes ages 7 to 10 who are interested in all types of competitive skiing. Winter programming will involve alpine and freeride training at Whiteface Mountain, ski jumping at the Olympic Jumping Complex, and cross country skiing and biathlon training at Mt Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, New York. Athletes will get an introduction to competition in each type of skiing with NYSEF's qualified coaching staff from each discipline

The Skimeister Program is kicking things off this summer with NYSEF's new Skimeister Summer Adventure Series; a three session, three-day weekend series of programming throughout July and August which will provide athletes of all disciplines, ages 9-13, the opportunity to train within a broader NYSEF team.

The series begins on Friday July 7th, with the first session based out of Whiteface Mountain Athletes who attend will learn important skills such as balance, agility, coordination, and strength through activities such as hiking, mountain biking, trail running, paddling, and team games.

Each session will also have built-in sport-specific time, where athletes will break into groups with coaching staff to train skills unique to their discipline This includes rollerskiing for nordic athletes, range time for biathletes, and balance work on bikes and ropes courses for alpine and freeride athletes. All participants will also have the opportunity to try other disciplines, and should emerge from each session a more well-rounded athlete

Stay tuned for more information about NYSEF's Skimeister Programing in the coming months! Registration is now LIVE online for the Skimeister Summer Adventure Series! Visit nysef org/camps for more information and registration details

Support NYSEF at the Kelly Brush Ride

NYSEF is once again participating virtually in this year ’ s Kelly Brush Ride on September 9, 2023 Please help us reach our goal of raising $1,000 for this amazing foundation. Join our team, make a donation, grab your friends, and head out on a ride for a good cause! The Kelly Brush Foundation strives to inspire and empower people with spinal cord injuries to live active and engaged lives! The foundation helps people discover adaptive sports and recreation, hosts camps to immerse people in sports and community, and most importantly, provides hundreds of grants per year to organizations like NYSEF!

Donate Here: https://kbf.akaraisin.com/2023kellybrushr ide/nysef