Many are familiar with BHS’s Nordic Ski Team, which practices cross country skiing at Legacy Park in Bedford, right next to Riddle Brook Elementary School. With the season beginning in early November, there is usually no snow on the ground to begin skiing yet, so the team starts with dry land workouts, including running and strength training. Additionally, they’ll practice the motion of skiing around the Legacy parking lot with roller skis- essentially, picture a mini skateboard attached to each foot.
Skiing practices begin when there’s enough snow on the ground to blanket the fields, usually around early to mid-December. However, this season has been looking very different compared to previous years since there has been very little snowfall- highly abnormal since it’s already now the beginning of January. Since the start of the winter season, the team has only had the chance to ski for three days! The 3-inches of snowfall on December 18 simply did not sustain with last week’s high temperatures and rain. Now that all the snow has melted, the team will have to return to dry land practices again. Unfortunately, the future for the nordic team doesn’t look so good with a prediction of minimal to no snow at all in the coming weeks.
Senior captain Lily Mooney explains that “when there’s no snow around Bedford, we’ll have to travel hours north to both practice and race. Sometimes, we’ll even have to take day trips to Waterville or go to the White Mountains for races.”
Hopefully, Bedford will get some snow soon so that the Nordic team won’t have to worry about driving three hours just to practice!
