Boulder Nordic team

Primary Practice Venues

• Eldora Nordic Center – on snow
• North Boulder Park – dryland and snow
• Summit Middle School – dryland practice
• South Boulder Recreation Center – dryland practice

Communication

Communication with Athletes & Parents

Our webpage has information about our program schedule, calendar of events, race opportunities, and other Boulder Nordic Team information. https://www.bnt.ski. Each week you also will receive an email with upcoming events, important information, and meeting locations for the week. Email notification of absences to Program Director, Merle Richter at merle.richter@bnjrt.ski.

Communication with Coaches

BNT encourages athletes to communicate their questions and concerns with lead coaches at practice and to work with their peers to resolve conflict.  Athletes may, however, choose to email coaches.  Coaches will respond to email within 48 hours of receipt but will not respond after business hours.

BNT encourages parents to email coaches with questions or concerns; before and after practice, coaches are focused on the athletes.  Coaches will respond to email within 48 hours of receipt but will not respond after business hours.  Coaches will answer phone calls during business hours as their daytime jobs allow but will respond to messages within 48 hours.

Gear and Equipment

For dryland practices, athletes should come to practice each day with the following items:

• Headlamp
• High visibility shirts are required for rollerskiing days (neon color clothing: yellows, greens, pinks, blues)
• Running shoes and socks
• Helmet, ski boots, rollerskis & poles for rollerski days
• Running shorts and/or training pants
• Temperature appropriate shirt and/or jacket.  Layers are great!
• Gloves and a hat for cold weather
• Sunglasses
• Water
• Small snacks in pocket or water belt

For on-snow practices, athletes should come to practice each day with the following items:

• Headlamp
• Classic or skate skis, depending on the practice day
• Classic or skate ski boots, depending on the practice day
• Classic or skate ski poles, depending on the practice day
• Kick ski waxes for classic days for a variety of temperatures, wax cork (coaches will make wax call in the morning on classic practice days)
• Nordic ski pants
• Temperature appropriate layers such as long underwear. No cotton!
• Temperature appropriate jacket.  Layers are great!
• Ski socks or tall socks.  No cotton, ankle socks when skiing!
• Hat
• Sunglasses
• Dry, warm gloves
• Buff or neck gaiter
• Water
• Small snacks in pocket or water belt

Where to Get Nordic Equipment

You can rent skis and poles for the from BNT:

• U14 and younger athletes: $100 per technique pair with poles
• U16 and older athletes: $150 per technique pair with poles

Or you can purchase your gear and equipment at one of the following:

1.  Inter-team Ski Swap – Team members bring gear they’ve outgrown to sell or donate to younger and/or new skiers! This will take place at the Meet & Greet on Sunday, TBD.

2. Boulder Nordic Sport Team Night – Our local ski shop, Boulder Nordic Sport at 629 S. Broadway, Suite K, Boulder CO, offers skiers on the team discounts for new gear bought from the shop. They will be open from 4:30PM – 8PM on October TBD, for our team only to purchase new gear. Coaches will be available at this event to give advice on sizing and purchasing appropriate gear.

3.  BNT Ski Swap – This is our largest fundraiser of the year. It will take place on November 12, 2025 at the Elks Lodge, 3975 28th Street, Boulder. The greater Nordic ski community turns out to sell and buy Nordic ski equipment, boots, and clothing!  Additionally, Nordic vendors from across the front range and mountain Nordic venues come to sell their wares.  All BNT families volunteer for this event, and it’s a great opportunity to get equipment at low prices!

Register with US Ski & Snowboard (USSS) and Complete Safesport Requirements

All BNT athletes and parents who ski at Eldora MUST register with USSS at https://usskiandsnowboard.org/.

• Athletes register as Cross Country Competitor
• Parents register as Cross Country Volunteer and periodically complete a background check
• Additionally, all athletes who are 18+, parents, and coaches who ski at Eldora must complete their SafeSport Requirements through USSS.  https://usskiandsnowboard.org/safesport-athlete-safety.

Why?

• BNT’s insurance mandates athlete and parent USSS membership as a requirement to provide insurance for the team.
• Eldora mandates athlete and parent USSS membership as proof of insurance to allow us to ski at Eldora.  Athletes, parents and/or coaches without a current USSS Membership and SafeSport Accreditation will not be allowed to ski at Eldora during after-hours practice times.
• Rocky Mountain Nordic and USSS mandate that all racing athletes be USSS members.

Buy An Eldora Pass or Individual Day Passes

Our on-snow practices are held primarily at Eldora Nordic Center at Eldora Mountain, 2861 Eldora Ski Rd, Nederland, CO 80466. Season Nordic passes can be purchased at https://www.eldora.com/plan-your-trip/tickets-passes/passes.

Transportation to Practice

Riding in the Team Van

• Youth athletes who are age 12 and older may take the BNT van to/from practice as well as to/from races. On winter practice days, the van first picks up athletes at South Boulder Rec Center at 4:05 PM. It then arrives at Boulder High School at 4:20PM. The van schedule for fall practice days will come out weekly. Masters skiers may not use the van.
• Cost: Athletes pay for van use as part of the registration process. Van use costs $125 for the season per day. For example, if you take the van on Tuesdays only, then you pay $125 for van transportation for the season. If you take the van on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you pay $250 for the season.
• Waivers: In order to ride in the van, athletes and their parents must sign the Van Disclaimer during the registration process.

Parent Transportation

Athletes younger than first year U14s must ride to practice with a parent or in a carpool.  BNT will send out a family directory at the close of registration to help parents facilitate carpools.

Getting Ready for Practice

Your coaches are excited to provide fun and challenging opportunities to prepare for and be on the Nordic trails and race courses.  The success of each practice depends on athletes arriving to practice on time and prepared.  On weekdays, you won’t have much time between the end of school and the beginning of practice.  Here are some ways to streamline the process and be prepared:

• Have a Positive Attitude:  Having a positive attitude and upholding BNT’s values of commitment, teamwork and good sportsmanship is critical to the success of your ski season and the team!  When you register for the team, you will sign the BNT Athlete Codes of Conduct (General and Racing) agreeing to the rules and spirit of BNT.
• Prepare Your Practice Bag: whether your parent drives you or you take the van, pack a Nordic practice bag to bring to school. This should contain all the above listed practice items for dry-land practice, roller-skiing, or on-snow practice. 
• Prepare Your Snacks: Your ski bag should also include snacks for before and after practice. Please eat a snack on the way to practice and something within 20 minutes of finishing. This helps your training make the biggest impact. Coaches will discuss nutrition advice throughout the year.
• Get Dressed: many of our dry-land meeting spots do not have bathrooms. If necessary, please change your clothes at school. You can also change in your car, but please don’t plan to train after arriving to practice.
• Be On Time:  Plan to arrive 5-10 minutes before practice begins.  This will allow you time to catch up with your teammates and ask questions of your coaches without cutting into practice time.

Late Policy

BNT athletes commit, among other things, to being on time for all training and – if they compete – ski races. Please notify coaches at least thirty minutes in advance if you will be late to practice.  Please note that the BNT van usually cannot wait for late skiers. If you know you will be late, please arrange for other t ransportation to practice. Practice may start without athletes who don’t notify coaches that they will be late – there is no guarantee that the team will be found once practice starts.

Racing with Boulder Nordic Team

For athletes who choose to race, we are excited to participate in the Rocky Mountain Nordic Junior National Qualifying races and Youth Festival this season!  Please refer to the RMN for details about the races and qualifying for Junior Nationals:  https://rmnordic.org/race-schedule/. 

2025-2026 Race Season

Race #1: JNQ 1, December 20 and 21 (Saturday and Sunday) in Snow Mountain Ranch, Granby, CO

Race #2:  JNQ 2, January 23 and 24 (Friday and Saturday) in Soldier Hollow, Utah

Race #3:  JNQ 3, February 7 and 8 (Saturday and Sunday) in Minturn, CO

Race #4:  JNQ 4, February 21 and 22 (Saturday and Sunday) in Aspen, CO

Race #5:  Mike Elliot Youth Festival, February 28 and March 1 (Saturday and Sunday) in Durango, CO

Coaches will send out details and registration for each race beginning two weeks prior to the race weekend.  The RMN establishes a registration deadline, but athletes will register through BNT.

Race Lodging

U16+ athletes:  All U16+ athletes are encouraged to lodge with the team for race weekends.  Lodging details for these athletes will be sent out with registration.

Parents/Families:  All families are responsible for obtaining their own lodging for race weekends.  However, lodging options for each race, including options for a team discount, will be sent out during the dry-land season.

Race Expenses

All expenses for participating in RMN-sponsored races are separate from registration fees. In order to make race fees more affordable and predictable, the team will be subsidising the cost of coach’s lodging out of our general operating fund.  Parents of athletes who choose to race will get an invoice from BNT that must be paid before the athlete can participate in their next race.  BNT operates on a tight budget; it pays for all the race costs up front but cannot carry them on behalf of the racers.

Race expenses include, but are not limited to the following:

• Skate Race Fees charged by the hosting venue
• Classic Race Fees charged by the hosting venue
• Waxing fees
• Coach per diem for the race weekend
• Van gasoline (because the vans transport the coaches and skis)
• Ski passes, where applicable, for previewing the course the day before the race begins

Athletes who lodge with the team also will be invoiced for their own race lodging

BNT reimburses parents who provide breakfast, snacks and lunch for coaches on race weekends.  Please submit your receipts to the BNT treasurer.  The race invoice will reflect the deduction of food expenses.

Team Building

Being part of a team is integral to BNT.  Participating in team meetings, team dinners, goal-setting sessions, ski waxing events and the BNT Ski Swap are great ways to get to know your teammates and coaches and create a fun team atmosphere.  Additionally, coaches strongly encourage U16+ athletes to ride the team van and stay with the team on race weekends. We learn and perform better when we are surrounded by the support of our teammates!

Parent Responsibilities

We are a board-supervised, volunteer-run organization. Parent participation is an essential part of our team’s cohesiveness and success.  With the exception of families in their first year with BNT, each family should expect to contribute noticeable time and energy to sustain the growth of their skiers and vitality of the club.
Conduct:  The most important thing you can do as a parent is to maintain a positive attitude and uphold BNT’s values of commitment, teamwork, good sportsmanship, and citizenship on behalf of yourself and your child.  To that end, parents are required to agree to and abide by the BNT Parent Codes of Conduct (General and Racing).

Other parent responsibilities include the following:

• Mandatory Volunteering:
  • 4 Hours – The BNT volunteer program requires every devo, devo plus and comp family to earn four volunteer-hour credits per family.  During registration, these families must sign up for listed responsibilities that total the four volunteer-hour credits. Families who either do not sign up for or fulfill the volunteer-hour requirement will be invoiced a $200 volunteer fee.
  • BNT Ski Swap – BNT hosts its largest fundraiser, the Ski Swap, in November. In addition to the 4 hour volunteer requirement, all families also are required to work for at the Ski Swap in order to keep our costs in check.
• Mandatory Donation: All devo, devo plus and comp families pay a $300 donation per skier in addition to the registration fee (for example, if a family registers 2 skiers, the total donation is $600).  BNT adds this donation so that athletes can focus on skiing rather than fundraising.  This donation is tax-deductible.  Please email our Treasurer, Lenora Reynolds for BNT’s tax-ID number. 
  • If the mandatory donation poses a challenge to your family, please notify Dan Weinberger at president@bnjrt.ski so that we can work with you.
• Fundraising: We appreciate any additional fundraising you can do to help the team. Some corporations will match your donations. You also can raise funds during our annual BNT Ski-a-thon, a fun event where athletes raise funds based on donations per laps skied.
• Athlete Preparedness: If a U8 – U14 athlete arrives at a practice or race without adequate food, drink, warm clothing or the necessary gear, parents must either find a warm place to wait with their child or transport them home. Remember your trail pass and headlamp!
• Transportation: Parents are responsible for transporting all U8 – first-year U14 athletes to and from practice and races, either individually or in a carpool.

We’re so excited you’ve joined BNT!  We’re looking forward to a wonderful season!