February 5, 2009 (Bethel, Maine) – A wonderful day was had by all at the 8th annual NE Women’s XC Ski Day, this year held at The Bethel Inn Resort. Main sponsor TD Banknorth again was a major presence as they brought employees, give-away gifts from their tent at the head of the brightly colored ski industry and sponsor tents, and their spokesperson gold medal Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson, who has been a special guest since the beginning of Women’s Ski Day in 2002. Gold Sponsors L.L. Bean, Isis for Women, Toko wax and VBT Bicycling Vacations, Silver Sponsors Designer Gold, Akers Ski and The Bethel Inn Resort all participated with wonderful raffle prizes. One of the day’s highlights was the special end-of-day raffle drawing for the VBT donated weeklong summer bike tour through Tuscany – it was won by Ski Day participant Susie Laidlaw, who jumped in the air and shouted, “Honey, I won for us!” to her husband Morgan who was there as the Rossignol ski rep, handing out skis for women to try out during the day.

The benefit organization of this year’s NE Women’s XC Ski Day was REACH, The Rape Education and Crisis Hotline, serving the surrounding area with a 24 hour hotline and support groups, as well as prevention efforts such as community education and legislative reform, services available to young children, teens, women and men, free of charge and confidential.

Ski conditions were perfect just out the back door of The Bethel Inn Resort. In fact nearly a quarter of the participants of Women’s Day spent the whole weekend there enjoying the wonderful skiing on the trails and gourmet meals at the Inn dining room. The skiing was so good that six or more of the participants of the Guided Tour offered during the last two hours of Women’s Ski Day decided to stay out and keep skiing when their tour leader had to return to the Inn (all returned safely!).

A new highlight of the day was the contest to see which group of women from around New England could bring the most participants. It was actually a tough competition! One group of mostly young women numbered seventeen, several other groups numbered twelve and thirteen strong. But one group stole the show – all eighteen of them – wearing bright pink t-shirts labeled “Dairy Heirs” in honor of the dairy farm down the road, the home of the Bancroft family, who sent at least three generations of participants to Women’s Day, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, aunts and cousins (and several of the older generation were spotted in the tavern having a quiet glass of wine before the relay – which seemed to work quite well!). Leslie Bancroft Krichko has been an instructor at Women’s Ski Day since 2002, bringing her young daughters, who now are old enough to be participating themselves and see it as a real highlight of winter.

Another instructor since the beginning, Mary Heller Osgood, loves to teach the clinic for women who are getting on cross-country skis for the first time. “I had about 10 women stay for the second beginners’ clinic because they wanted ‘to go somewhere,'” she said later. “I said OK, and they immediately headed off down the golf course. I chased after them, and when we ran into other groups we just changed our route. Along the way we worked on the snowplow, herringbone, and weight shift. We finally turned around when it was time for lunch.”

As Chief instructor Trina Hosmer says, “Nowhere else do women feel so included, and they have so much fun learning together. Every year we have women join us who have never skied before, and by the end of the day they are participating in our fun two-person relay, and having a wonderful time!”

Thank you to the volunteers from the Bethel ski community and Caribou Recreation Development, who made the day run so smoothly. Thanks also to Bronze sponsors Bancroft Contracting (the same family!) and the Bethel Foodliner, and to Friends of the event True North Adventureware and Bondi Bands. Thanks to The Bethel Inn Resort for the wonderful luncheon, and to all of the donors to the raffle that followed lunch. Thank you to the twenty instructors who each taught three clinics during the day, and brought the love of cross-country skiing to so many women. Special thanks to umbrella organization the New England Nordic Ski Association!

Next Events
– Feb. 07, 2009: TD Banknorth Eastern Cup / UVM College Carnival/ USSA Super Tour
– Feb. 07, 2009: 5th Annual Maple Onion 15K & Bill Koch Ski Race
– Feb. 07, 2009: Onion River BKL Race
– Feb. 07, 2009: Prospect Barnas Birkebeiner for Kids

Link to Full Calendar here.