The Bend Endurance Academy, in partnership with Meissner Nordic is hosting a free learn to ski day at the Meissner Nordic Community Ski Trails.The event welcomes participants of all ages and abilities.

Clinics, taught by Academy Nordic staff members, will start at 2pm on Saturday, February 11th.

Participants must provide their own skate or classic gear.

The Learn to Ski Day is part of the Bend Endurance Academy Community Trails Project. The project features six community outreach days focused on trail use and trail building. The Community Trails Project is made possible by a grant from the North Face Explore Fund.

For more information contact info ‘at’ bendenduranceacademy ‘dot’ org

Right from the start, the Bend Endurance Academy has been supported by people like you.

You have made generous donations with your time, treasure and talent because you believe in our mission and how the Academy positively affects our community. Bringing America’s kids outdoors is a challenge that concerns all of us and fortunately we live in the best place in the world to be outside. But there is so much more to facilitating a child’s personal growth than just physical activity.

Our Academy athletes will become leaders among their peers and stewards of our environment. They will become volunteers in our community because of the positive impacts from our accessible, skilled mentors and amazing staff.

A donation from you is essential for the overall health of our organization.

We provide affordable access to healthy endurance sports with free transportation, after-school pick up and free loaner equipment. The Bend Endurance staff and board diligently work to keep program fees reasonable. In turn, our families and friends have shown their gratitude by turning out for the myriad volunteer opportunities that we have fostered with other local events and organizations. But we need your donation too!

If we are to expand our model and have greater access to kids in Central Oregon, we will need your support for more loner equipment, new tires, and for the rental vans we use so there are fewer cars at the trailheads and more kids out on the trails.

Take a moment to watch this video and see what your donation facilitates across disciplines:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Please consider making a donation to the Bend Endurance Academy today. All donations are tax deductible.

For your convenience, you can use the Paypal button below to make a donation for any amount up to $100. You may also mail your donation to the address below.

I wish you all the best in the New Year!

Sincerely,

Ben Husaby

Executive Director

P.S. – I’m amazed at how much we’ve grown in the past 3 years and we’re charging forward every day, so follow us on Facebook and stay connected to see what your donations make possible!

Bend Endurance Academy, 500 SW Bond #142, Bend, OR 97702

  ]]> http://www.bendenduranceacademy.org/your-donations-make-a-difference-2/feed/ 0 http://www.bendenduranceacademy.org/nordic-update-2/ http://www.bendenduranceacademy.org/nordic-update-2/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:21:03 +0000 bknowles http://www.bendenduranceacademy.org/?p=5937

Continue reading Nordic Update

The Academy’s Nordic athletes raced the 2012 Sunnyside Pursuit on January 7th and 8th at Mt. Bachelor. The event served as a Junior National Qualifying race for Pacific Northwest skiers.Bend Endurance Academy’s Ryan St. Clair (pictured at left) and Michael Widmer finished 1, 2.  In a combined 20 kilometers of racing, Ryan edged Michael by 2 seconds. They were competing in a large category which included J1/0J/Master and Senior Men. Full results are listed here. Over 25 members of the Academy’s Nordic development and competition team participated in the weekend’s races. Seven Academy athletes posted qualifying results. Devo team skiers who chose not to race enjoyed a backcountry tour to Todd Lake.

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The Academy’s cycling team is competing at the National Cyclocross Championships this week in Verona, WI. Academy athletes raced in junior and U23 categories with the following results:

“We are honored to be recognized as part of the national movement to inspire youth to explore the outdoors,” said Brenna Warburton who serves as the Academy’s Communication/Development Coordinator. “Our organization values volunteerism and the grant will support our Community Trails Project which includes 6 days of community activities focused on ski/bike trail maintenance plus free learn to ski/bike clinics.”

“We believe in the importance of bringing youth together from diverse backgrounds and providing them with opportunities to get outdoors,” said Ann Krcik, director of Outdoor Exploration at The North Face. “We support organizations that work to create these opportunities for youth because we’ve seen firsthand how these programs can ignite a passion for the outdoors and teach them the importance of protecting the places we play for generations to come.”

The Bend Endurance Academy was established in 2009 and currently supports programming for over 300 families.

To get involved in the Bend Endurance Academy Community Trails Project call 541.678.3865 or email info ‘at’ bendenduranceacademy ‘dot’ org

The US Gran Prix of Cyclocross Series Finals are coming to Bend on December 10 – 11

Volunteers Needed:

The Bend Endurance Academy is coordinating volunteers for this event and we would like to staff as many of the positions with our friends and families as possible.

This is a great way to watch the races and get involved in one of the biggest and most important cross races in the country! Many of the top-ranked elite men and women from North America will be here to compete and put on a show.

Please sign up on this spreadsheet.

If you have any questions please contact Bill Warburton directly: 541.335.1346 or bill@bendenduranceacademy.org

Isabel Smith- Photo Credit: Matt Whitcomb, USSA Nordic

The Nordic season has officially begun.

Our Nordic Competition skiers traveled to West Yellowstone, MT during Thanksgiving week for a successful training camp and the season’s first races. According to Nordic Program Director Ben Husaby,”The team size is growing steadily and we are off to a great start with the first Super Tour results. Bella Smith, Dakota Blackhorse and Nick St. Clair had notable performances in West Yellowstone and 6 of our athletes: Dakota, Bella, Lars, Max, Holly and Reitler are still on the road- traveling to Bozeman, MT for the next SuperTour races. Our athletes are competing at the highest level of national racing and we are excited to see what they can accomplish this season.” Check out the full SuperTour Results.

Dakota Blackhorse- von Jess, Photo Credit: Fasterskier.com

Our Nordic Development skiers have been dryland training as well as seeking out good snow. The team is patiently waiting for the excellent grooming at Meissner Nordic to begin. Nordic Development coach Stuart Smith-Blockley noted,” We had our best first day on snow- ever- thanks to Lloyd Vordenberg setting tracks one Sunday morning. We have a growing group of Devo skiers this year and they’re already making great progress in just a few short weeks.”

Devo Team- Photo Credit: Coach Bill

Practices begin for our Nordic Youth skiers this Saturday and Sunday. December 3rd and 4th and we are excited to welcome Pete Basinger, Melanie Nelson, Allie Phillips and Libby Hayden to our coaching staff. “We still have spots available and enrollment is still open,” according to Youth Club coach Brenna Warburton. “We’d like to encourage young people to sign up soon- especially to enjoy our Winter Camp December 20-22. We’d also like to encourage families to renew or join Meissner Nordic to support all of their trail grooming efforts.”

Our Masters Nordic programs will start on December 6th. Sunday Masters and Thursday Women’s Skate are both full- but there is still room on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sign up today to save your spot!