Race moved to Thursday

Due to the weather, this week's race has moved from Wednesday to Thursday, February 2.  Race time is still 3:30, departure from Pineland is 1:30.

SASSI Recap

Thanks to the parents supporting the Nordic Team at The Sassi Race Saturday as well as the earlier races this year. I have noticed the days are staying lighter longer as we practiced last week, a telling sign that we are into the important period of the ski season.  This week is the last regular season race followed by the WMC races and then the State Races. Despite a low snow season so far we have had five races and have had on snow practice most days.  The team has worked hard and we are getting good results and efforts from both the boy's and girl's team members.  A few highlights so far are our first NIGHT race at Mt Cranmore in N.H, two trips to Rumford, one to Starks Hill in Fryeburg and a fun Sprint Race at Pineland.  I have been pleased with the many top results on both girl's and boy's teams.  But as gratifying as these results are it is most pleasing to see the level of commitment by all team members. Our Girls Team is well known and they have attained a high level of expectation in the WMC, the boys team is also improving and I look forward to continued development from them as well.  This past Saturday we did the Sassi Race at Black Mountain.  Thanks to all parents who helped out, driving, supporting the team at the race and waxing, it would be impossible to do this type of event without help. I read the race report from the Chisholm Ski Club stating there were 480 racers at the Sassi, this continues to be one of the largest HS ski races in NE. Despite  very challenging track conditions the team performed well.  We qualified four J 2's for the Maine Team who will represent the State at the NE J2 Festival.  This is a great event and one that has started many young skiers on a great path in skiing. Congratulations to Samantha, Jesse, Graham and Eli.  Other high and low lights from the race, Zoe placing 4th against the best high school girls in Maine, Carlin, John and Ben all benefited from OK skis and had great races, Lars skied a solid race and placed well in the J2 race. Unfortunately  Lily missed her start and gave up lots of time, she has shown real improvement this year and she will be charged up this Wednesday I am sure. Emelie and Teagan skied well in a strong girls field, I know they would have had even better results had the wax worked.  The wax team tried many different wax combinations, however changing conditions and no good test track worked against us nailing the right mix Saturday. Despite less than stellar wax the girls were a strong 4th and the boy's 9th, a good result against the best teams in the state.


John

Race Photos

Did anyone take photos yesterday? If so, please contact Ben or me about posting them to the blog for everyone to see.

Sassi - Saturday, January 28 --- REPOSTING OF THE SAME INFO AS TUESDAY

Sassi - Saturday, January 28 --- REPOSTING OF THE SAME INFO AS TUESDAY

TIMETABLE:

7:50 - arrival at Desert Rd. - PLEASE LET SUSAN KNOW ASAP HOW YOU WILL GET TO THE RACE

8:00 - sharp departure

11:00 race - J2 girls, girls ... 1:00 race - J2 boys, boys

2:30 - awards and the naming of the J2 Team

4:30 to 5:30 - arrival back to Desert Rd. (we'll try to post to the blog as we drive out)

TO WEAR: (Boys can wear "street clothes" and change at the venue if they'd like.)

race suit

race hat

warm socks

snow boots or running shoes

gloves/mittens

under layers for top and bottom - check the weather to see how many layers you need to fit!

parka/coat

pants to go over your race suit

TO BRING:

$10 race fee - give it to Susan anytime between now and Saturday

classic skis - waxed and ready (see post on Thursday for details)

classic poles

classic boots - these are really important Zoe!

neckwarmer / buff

Dermatone or other skin protector for ears, nose, cheeks, etc.

sunglasses

clothes for after the race

full water bottle

BOYS - a good sized snack to be eaten before the race (you have a long time between breakfast and race time)

a bar or other snack for right after the race

a hearty lunch - (girls will eat around lunch time, but boys will likely wait until after they race)

TO DO:

eat a good dinner

eat a good breakfast - whatever works for you

drink LOTS of water on Friday and Saturday morning

get lots of rest on Friday night...

TRANSPORTATION:

We'll have a van but will need extra drivers. Please let Susan know if you can take other skiers in your car.

J2 Team:

Sassi is a qualifier for the Maine J2 Team. Skiers born in 1996 and 1997 are called J2s. (J3s are younger and J1s are older.) The top 20 (or so) J2 boys and top 20 (or so) J2 girls qualify for the team. The Maine J2 Team travels to the J2 Festival Weekend in March to compete against teams from all the New England states, New York, a Canadian team, and often a team or two from out west.  Immediately following the naming of the team, skiers must either commit (and give a check for $100) or decline. There will also be an opportunity to buy a Maine Team Jacket which is another $100 or so. The J2 Team is a LOT of fun and a great way to see what the next level of ski racing is all about while meeting skiers from all over.

For more info: http://www.mainehighschoolskiing.com/documents/j2s2012.pdf

SASSI and Friday Practice

Due to the weather forecast for Friday we will not have practice.  Take time to get organized for the race Saturday and clean and wax classic skis.  Remember to clean side walls and the tops of the ski.  Also mark the kick zone so it may be identified in the wax bench.  Wax glide zone for temps around 30-35F.  We will wait with kick wax till race day morning so bring a pair of skis to warm up with if possible.

Thanks,

John

Practice tomorrow and SASSI info

Good job to all who raced today, it was good practice skiing in close with others and going hard. 

Thursday please be ready to do a workout on foot and skate ski, we may be able to do some work on the MM loop we used today.  Looking ahead to Saturday I expect the temps to be in the mid 30's so a wax like LF 8 will be fine, try to start by cleaning skis with a warm wax then add a cold wax or grafite base wax.  Scrape and brush well then add final race wax, check temps again on Thursday.  Clean the kick zone and sand with 80g paper and clean.  This prepares the ski for binder wax.  Rumford is expecting snow and some mix Thursday night and Friday, so the binder could be a HARD WAX or Klister depending on the amount of wet weather. Any binder should be applied THIN, I will go over this again later in the week.  Also the team could use a wax bench for the race, let me know if you have one.

Thanks,

John 

Sprint Results are up!

Check the results tab...

Sassi - Saturday, January 28

TIMETABLE:

7:50 - arrival at Desert Rd. - PLEASE LET SUSAN KNOW ASAP HOW YOU WILL GET TO THE RACE

8:00 - sharp departure

11:00 race - J2 girls, girls, J2 boys, boys

2:30 - awards and the naming of the J2 Team

4:30 to 5:30 - arrival back to Desert Rd. (we'll try to post to the blog as we drive out)

TO WEAR: (Boys can wear "street clothes" and change at the venue if they'd like.)

race suit

race hat

warm socks

snow boots or running shoes

gloves/mittens

under layers for top and bottom - check the weather to see how many layers you need to fit!

parka/coat

pants to go over your race suit

TO BRING:

$10 race fee - give it to Susan anytime between now and Saturday

classic skis - waxed and ready (see post on Thursday for details)

classic poles

classic boots - these are really important Zoe!

neckwarmer / buff

Dermatone or other skin protector for ears, nose, cheeks, etc.

sunglasses

clothes for after the race

full water bottle

BOYS - a good sized snack to be eaten before the race (you have a long time between breakfast and race time)

a bar or other snack for right after the race

a hearty lunch - (girls will eat around lunch time, but boys will likely wait until after they race)

TO DO:

eat a good dinner

eat a good breakfast - whatever works for you

drink LOTS of water on Friday and Saturday morning

get lots of rest on Friday night...

TRANSPORTATION:

We'll have a van but will need extra drivers. Please let Susan know if you can take other skiers in your car.

J2 Team:

Sassi is a qualifier for the Maine J2 Team. Skiers born in 1996 and 1997 are called J2s. (J3s are younger and J1s are older.) The top 20 (or so) J2 boys and top 20 (or so) J2 girls qualify for the team. The Maine J2 Team travels to the J2 Festival Weekend in March to compete against teams from all the New England states, New York, a Canadian team, and often a team or two from out west. Immediately following the naming of the team, skiers must either commit (and give a check for $100) or decline. There will also be an opportunity to buy a Maine Team Jacket which is another $100 or so. The J2 Team is a LOT of fun and a great way to see what the next level of ski racing is all about while meeting skiers from all over.

For more info: http://www.mainehighschoolskiing.com/documents/j2s2012.pdf

Race on Wednesday, January 25

A few details about the race this Wednesday:

• The race is at Pineland at Oak Hill.  This is NOT by The Market and Outdoor Center but instead is across Rt 231 where running races are held.
• We are not hosting this race so we don't have official responsibilities.  Parents, your job is to cheer on the skiers!
• We may need a couple parents to help collect jackets at the start and help find their owners again at the finish.
• There will be one van at the race for skiers with no other ride home.  Parents, if you're at the race, please take your skier home afterwards.
• We'll post wax recommendations as soon as we have them from the coach.

Note from John

Please plan to ski Classic on Friday.  If there is no school and you can still ski, let me know and I will try to meet with those who can do so as long as driving permits.

Let's always meet for ski practice at the OUTDOOR CENTER at 3:15, you can do a warm up in the stadium area while others are getting ready if you are early.   

Try to ski BOTH days this weekend.  If you have time a longer, slower session is worthwhile.  Next week we will race at Pineland on Wednesday and at Rumford on Saturday for the Sassi CL, race start time 11am.

John

Results are in!

Check out the link on the Race Results tab.  Boys show first, for Girls' results click on the Girls tab at the bottom of the page.

Expected temps at Fryeburg

Accuweather says:
9:00 AM - 3 degrees
10:00 AM - 13 degrees
11:00 AM - 20 degrees
12:00 PM - 22 degrees

Dress warmly!

Details for Fryeburg, Monday, January 16

TIMETABLE:

7:50 arrival at Desert Rd.

8:00 departure

10:30 race - girls first

2:00 ISH - arrival back to Desert Rd. (we'll try to post to the blog as we drive out)

TO WEAR:

race suit

race hat

warm socks

snow boots - you might be standing on snow for more than 2 hours...

gloves/mittens

under layers for top and bottom - two if you want/can fit them

WARM parka/coat

insulated pants to go over your race suit - warm muscles work better and recover better!

TO BRING:

skate skis - waxed and ready (see the previous post for wax info.)

skate poles

skate boots

neckwarmer / buff - wind chill could be as low as -18

Dermatone or other skin protector for ears, nose, cheeks, etc.

sunglasses if you want them

warm clothes for after the race

full water bottle

BOYS - a snack/bar to be eaten in the van before the race (you have longer between breakfast and race time)

a bar or other snack for right after the race

a hearty lunch - protein will help you feel better on Tuesday

a thermos of hot tea/cocoa, etc. for afterwards - optional but you'll be glad you have it

(we will have handwarmers and footwarmers)

TO DO:

eat a good breakfast - whatever works for you

eat a good dinner - pasta is rarely a bad thing before a race

drink LOTS of water on Sunday and Monday morning

get lots of rest on Sunday night

TRANSPORTATION:

Skiers who want a ride:
Jesse
John
Emelie
Zoe
Zach
Graham
Lily
Ben
Carlin
Elodie

Skiers who have their own transportation:
Lars
Jack
Samantha
Eli
Teagan

No Ski Practice Today - plus info about Monday race

Note from John:
Hi All
Due to wet weather today Pineland is asking teams to stay off the trails so we will have NO practice Friday (van riders will be brought to Desert Rd at 3:15).The conditions should be good  this weekend so please try to ski each day.The race Monday is ON at Stark's Hill,it is now a SKATE RACE.. Please wax skis for COLD temperatures. Start with a graphite base wax or a cold wax and scrape and brush thoroughly then add race wax for days temperature,now it looks like 0-10F so a cold LF wax will be fine.Be sure to scrape well and brush well,NO WAX  should be showing on the base,you will be able to feel the wax in the base,just not on the surface. We will leave Desert Rd at 8am.Make  sure to bring WARM clothes as Monday is expected to be chilly.
Thanks,
John

From Susan and Jen:
Going to Fryeburg, we can take 1 van and will also need at least 2 cars.  Rides on the van will be 1st come, 1st serve.  Departure from Desert Rd is 8:00 AM, with arrival at Fryeburg around 9:30.  Would everyone please email or call Susan or Jennifer, letting us know if you need a ride/if your family is driving/if you have extra room in your car.

RESULTS and things

Official results are up.  Check the Race Results tab!

Seriously great job everyone!!!

On to other things ...

• There is no practice on Thursday, January 12.
• In light of the expected snow, we hope the race in Fryeburg on Monday, January 16 will take place as originally scheduled and the team is planning to be there.
• Since we hope to go to Fryeburg on Monday, we will not attend the Leavitt Hornet Race on Saturday as a team.  Individuals can enter as they wish.

Black Mt Race Details

Black Mountain tomorrow has turned into a huge race with 346 skiers!  To accommodate everyone and get all racers in before dark, the start time has moved up to 2:45.  The schedule for departure is:
*If possible, change into race gear prior to 11:45 class (probably at break time?)
11:45 - Go to class, hand in homework, check in with teacher for any new work
11:55 - Change into race gear (FAST) if you haven't already done so
12:00 - Depart school

Lunch will be in the van/car on the ride to Black Mountain.

We have drivers for Black Mt

Big thank yous to Sarah/Carol and Jo D. for stepping up to drive on Wednesday.  We're headed to Black Mountain at lunchtime on Wednesday for a classic race.

Transportation - Help Needed

As you can see, the weather has wreaked havoc on the best of transportation plans.  Originally the schedule looked like we would have to rely on parent drivers very little, as the bulk of our races were close by (Libby Hill, Pineland, Twinbrook, etc.) and we expected to transport with just our coaches and perhaps a student driver.  Instead races have been moved far away and we are needing to call on parents again, as we don't want students to transport other students for these extra distances.  So an explanation and an apology for needing to ask for help again this week.

We are working to pull off attending a classic race at Black Mountain in Rumford this Wednesday, January 12.  To do so we will need at least one and preferably 2 parents to help with driving.  John can drive the van, so these new volunteers will be driving their own cars.  Departure from Pineland will be by 12:45 at the latest, so the helper/drivers need to arrive at 12:30.

Without going these extra distances the ski team would not be able to participate in races, so thank you for your understanding and support.

Please contact Susan at highschool@merriconeag.org or 688-8989 if you can drive this week.

Thank you!

Note from John re: plans for the week

Sorry for the late posting ...

Looking ahead to the week, Monday will be a day to run, lets try up hill repeats!  Tuesday with luck we should be able to get on the man made loop at Pineland, it should be ready.  Wednesday I am suggesting we do the 5K Classic race at Black Mt in Rumford.  Thursday and Friday with luck on snow at Pineland.  Saturday we could race at Rumford in the Leavitt Hornet Classic.  We did not have this on the original schedule and I realize some are planing to do the Eastern Cup in Augusta (moving to Titcomb Mt in Farmington.  Saturday-sprint, Sunday-distance).  I would like to hear ASAP who is racing the EC race to see if it makes sense to do the race on Saturday in Rumford.  If we are able to do the race Wednesday in Rumford we will need to wax Tuesday, GLIDE and KICK BASE, we can do final wax at  race site.  More to come once this is confirmed.

Thanks,

John

Volunteers Needed

We are assuming that Pineland will have a 1K loop for the race, which we are co-hosting with Freeport. We will need several volunteers:

Start line - gathering clothes into bins (2 for each race)

Finish line - getting racers into a queue for timing (2-4)

Cookie table - 1-2 (we could also use someone to get the table itself and to set it up on site)

Cookie bakers - 7 to make 2 dozen or so.

On course monitors/Extras - 2

If you can volunteer for any of the above tasks, please email Jennifer. Thanks!

Results are up!

Check the Race Results tab.  Congratulations Teagan!

Returning to Desert Rd

The skiers are their way back!  They left North Conway at 6:25, intend on making a bathroom/beverage stop, and are expected back to Desert Rd around 8:15ish.  No results yet - we'll post them when we have them.

Race at Cranmore is on for Thursday

WAX:
John says to use Swix CH7 or CH8 (or LF7 or LF8 - more $) or any wax for temperature range between 25 and 30 degrees.

Our gang is heading to Cranmore tomorrow for a skate race beginning at 4:45. Ben Tupper will be driving his car and John Tarling will be driving the van. Space will be at a premium, so each skier may bring only 1 pair of skis. Expected time back to Desert Rd. will be around 7:45 - 8:00, but we will update the blog tomorrow evening with a more exact time once we know what time the team actually leaves Cranmore. This means that the skiers may be hungry before they finally arrive back home. Lisa is sending along muffins for the group, if anyone else wants to contribute clementines/snacks/etc. please let Susan or Jennifer know. We suggest everyone bring along a hearty snack/dinner to eat in the car on the way back.

So the list for Thursday is:

good lunch (to eat at school)
1 pr (only) skis - race skate
poles
boots
race uniform and hat

full water bottle
light snack for the ride to North Conway
hearty food for the ride home
warm clothes for after the race - extra socks too!

Ben Tupper's our hero

Three cheers for Ben Tupper, as he has volunteered to drive to NH for the race on Thursday at Cranmore!  We will consult with John on Wednesday to work out details re: what to bring, what to wax, etc.

THANKS BEN!

Race Possibility for Thursday

Mt. Cranmore in North Conway, NH has offered to host a race this Thursday.  Race time is 4:30 and will be under the lights, so it should be pretty fun!  In order to do this, we need at least 1 parent volunteer and their vehicle to make the trip to Cranmore.  It would mean leaving Pineland on Thursday afternoon at 2:00, driving to Cranmore, staying for the race, then driving skiers and gear back to Desert Rd.

If you can be this heroic parent, please let Susan know asap at highschool@merriconeag.org or 688-8989.  We'll need to put this together quickly if our team is able to go.

It will be posted on the blog if someone volunteers.  Until then you can assume we're still looking for someone to help out.

Wednesday race cancelled

It will come as no surprise that the race scheduled for Wednesday, January 4 at Libby Hill has been cancelled due to lack of snow.  Instead there will be a regular practice with running/hill bounding.

Pineland Race - January 11th

Pineland Race - January 11th

We are hosting a race with Freeport at Pineland next Wednesday, assuming there is enough snow. Parents and skiers are warmly encouraged to make batches of 2 dozen cookies - any type but NO NUTS please - to share with racers from other teams. We did this last year and we got a great response. Please add a comment below if you'd like to make cookies. If we get at least 7 batches from our team and 7 from Freeport we'll have plenty.

Ski Camp Summary

The MWHS Ski Team completed our first Christmas Ski Camp this past week.  A big thanks to all the families who helped make the trip a success and a special thanks to Jennifer, Susan and Jason for their planning and help during the camp. We departed from Desert Rd Wednesday morning in spring like temps and it was apparent that if winter was not coming to us than we would have to find winter.  In NE that means Mt Washington.  Even with spring like conditions on the drive to NH, I was confident we would find the winter conditions we were looking for.  As we prepared to leave the trail head in Pinkham Notch we began getting sketchy reports regarding water running down the hiking trail, not what we wanted to hear but we headed out to see for ourselves.  As we headed up the trail we soon noticed at least two Nordic Teams running down, so I figured it would be possible to make it to the shelter at the base of Tuckerman's Ravine.  At the shelter it was full on winter with wind and snow and cold, perfect!  After a short lunch we quickly descended and headed to one of the best Nordic Centers in the east, the Jackson Ski Touring Center. Unfortunately the prior night's rain cleaned out the skiing and we were faced with two options, ski around a field next to Jackson or head up to higher ground at the end of nearby Carter Notch Rd.  We decided to try the high ground and were pleased to see the Freeport Nordic Ski Team at the same site: things looked promising.  Sadly, the snow on the ground was very soft and not worth damaging skis so we cut this session short and headed to the rental house nearby.  It was clear we were a hungry group as the two large platters of lasagna disappeared in a hurry. Thursday we headed to Craftsbury Vt to find skiing at the local Nordic Center on man made snow.  The conditions were excellent and we had a great day of skiing. Returning to the house we all enjoyed excellent chili and corn bread, followed by a movie about skiing in Tuckerman's and games. Friday we traveled to Black Mt in Rumford to ski on more manmade snow on the same trails hosting this weeks US National Nordic Championships.  We had another great ski day, skiing with many racers prepping for the upcoming Nationals, good training for sure.  After skiing we enjoyed an end of camp dinner in Freeport.  All in all a great camp.  We traveled to interesting venues and did end up finding the skiing and winter we were aiming for. Looking ahead we will likely be back to running trails and some strength work until we can ski.  Pineland will be making snow when it gets cold, hopefully this week will provide the conditions necessary to do so.  Monday will be off, Tuesday and Thursday we should plan to run, be sure to dress appropriately as the temps will be dropping Tuesday.  I will talk to the team on Tuesday to see who is available on Wednesday and update status of the scheduled race once I hear if it is being rescheduled.  Please bring poles for running/bounding but we will not need roller skis due to the sand on the roads.  The next sure race is not a scheduled team event, however we should think about the Eastern Cup Race, 1-14-12, and 1-15-12 in Augusta.  These races are likely to go as scheduled however the site could change to Rumford if we do not get snow before hand.  Remember everything is subject to change due to variable weather and snow.

Thanks,

John

Christmas Camp Cost

The cost for the Christmas Camp comes out to $132.73 per student. The costs were held down significantly by parents making and donating food. The costs were increased by all the driving we did - three states in three days! Thankfully, the kids paid only $5 (instead of the $51 I gave as a potential) for ski passes for the whole trip.

Don't send money to anyone yet. I'm going to talk with Kathy Watko to determine the best way for the accounts to be settled. I just wanted to give you a number to expect.

Stay tuned...