As we approach the warmer months, we want to take a moment to recognize the 8th grade skiers who all graduated from the BKL program this year! 8th grade graduation is a big deal in the BKL world, as you wrap up at least one, if not many, years of noodle tag, costumes, jumps, and mini skis (but don’t worry, all those fun things exist in high school too!). This year, at each one of NENSA’s Mini-Fests across New England in early to mid March, 8th graders were presented with a certificate to commemorate their BKL days.

Some of the graduates at the Mini-Fest! From left to right: Charlie, Anika, Clare, Sara, Zeb, Ruth.

I caught up with the graduates to hear about some of their favorite BKL memories. As is the times, I connected with them over email, hence the differing lengths of responses. There were 12 kids, and not surprisingly, 12 different answers. But as you read each below, I’m sure they’ll all bring the same warm and hearty smile to your face!

NENSA put together a slideshow of all the 8th graders in the New England-wide program, which you can see here.

Amelia: “One of my favorite ski memories from a while back was when my brother and I skied our first Craftsbury Marathon together in our snow-pants and on our fishscales. 16 km seemed like a long, long, way to race. I remember starting the race trying to keep up with my brother and being concerned that we weren't going to be able to finish it if we started out that fast. We both made it, though!”

Anika: “I really enjoy practices when we go off trail skiing.”

Anya: One of her favorite memories is making ice cream at the Mt. Top BKL Festival in 2015. Each skier skied laps around a field towing a container of ice cream ingredients!

Charlie: “My favorite BKL memory is from the Silver Fox Trot. I was in second grade and during the race, some of the people went off course and I went after them and showed them the way back onto the course.”

Clare: “My favorite memory is mini skiing with my friends.”

Emily: “After ski practice, I liked going mini-skiing with friends on the snowshoe trails, falling in the snowbanks and winding down hills, sometimes going off into the woods around the path.”

Isabel: “One of my best memories of being a former BKLer is from my 6th grade festival, which was in Middlebury in 2019. I was racing the classic relay on the first leg and my teammate Anika and I were both skiing together as she was also starting her team’s leg. We ended up encouraging and supporting each other in very out of breath voices as we skied, and it was a great experience of mutually pushing each other while also competing side by side. It was an important proof that ski racing could be not only a fierce competition but also an opportunity to encourage your teammates.”

Leta: “I remember fondly doing biathlon in the dark with Ethan and Emily one night and playing ‘race to the middle.’ I both remember the peaceful beauty of Craftsbury under the midwinter stars, and the excitement of all of us kids playing the game.”

Sara was unavailable for comment, so Coach Ollie shared that: “Sara McGill jumped into our program with both feet this season, racing any chance she got. While Sara is somewhat reserved at practice, she lets her work ethic and commitment to improving do the talking. We’re excited to see how she grows as a racer and as a person.”

Ruth: “I remember at one BKL festival all my friends and I put pigtails in our hair and raced with them in. Another year I wore a pink wig and gold pants. Last year there was an awesome tubing hill to go on. I mainly remember it being a lot of fun with friends, costumes, food, and racing! I also had a lot of fun with my friends doing the Craftsbury Marathon. One year we all wore tutus.”

Zeb’s favorite memories include “All the fun crazy games played at practices, especially tag, dodgeball, and using foam noodles, races that were fun, shooting smiley faces in the targets at biathlon, and hanging out after practice going off the jumps doing 180's, 360's, and sometimes faceplants.”

Congratulations 8th graders! We can’t wait to see how quickly you ski, how much you smile, and how much fun you have in high school!

8th Grade BKL Graduation