December 3, 2009 – I am thrilled to announce that yesterday the NENSA board of directors approved and today we are announcing the NENSA Skis for Kids program. With $10,000 from our generous supporters at TD Bank and $30,000 from two close friends of NENSA, we have the necessary funds to launch a permanent and sustainable NENSA-operated lease program to provide skis for kids throughout the region.

How does it work? Youth club leaders can work with NENSA to arrange leases for their skiers and especially as a tool to recruit new families to the sport. Time and again we have heard that the barrier of purchasing new equipment is too huge for a family that does not even know if their kids will like to ski. With this program, the cost is $50 per year to get well-maintained (brand new this year!) skis, boots, poles, and bindings to use from December through March plus a wax starter kit from TOKO for each child to keep for those who get on board first.

Individual skiers who are members of NENSA BKL but do not have a club participating in the program may also lease by contacting skis@nensa.net. These skis will be shipped via UPS or may be picked up at nearby club drop-off events.

What type of equipment is available? For the littlest kids top quality waxless skis with NNN bindings and boots and OneWay poles are available. For the bigger kids, through 8th grade, very good combi boots and waxable skis are used. The level of skis would take a skier from their very beginning in the sport up to a reasonable level of BKL and middle school racing. Our goal is to get people started in the sport with some great stuff; our sincere hope that skiers will turn to local ski shops when they reach the racing level to want separate skate and classic equipment and other high-performance gear.

How to I get started? For now, please email Skis@nensa.net and cc: abby@nensa.net if you think your family or club would like to take part in the program. Please include an estimated number of sets and general age range. By next week, we will have our order forms ready to distribute more widely and fully launch the program. We expect to make our first round of deliveries before Christmas!

We realize it is a late start… but we are just too excited to wait on this until next year. Please considering scrambling with us to make this program a success and get more kids on skis. How about an ad in your local paper welcoming new members to your club? Or an email to a family friend or neighbor letting them know that their kids can now get access to skis through NENSA.

We also realize that you need more details from us. We will have those for you shortly. This news was too good to sit on, however, so I wanted to let you know today!

Please note: The program is not offered to members in Maine who are eligible for the Maine Winter Sports Center lease program. Please contact connor@mainewsc.org if you are from Maine and wish to lease skis.