Tuesday, February 28, 2012

End of Season Celebration

Date: March 8
Time: 6 to 7:30
Place: Community Hall, Desert Road

Please bring a dinner or heavy appetizer to share. Dessert will be provided.

$ contributions can be left in the HS office with Susan. - Check your email if you don't know what this means!





Friday, February 24, 2012

Recap from John


The trip to Rumford for the Class C State Championships went very well, the Girls repeated as Class C champions while the Boys delivered their first State Hardware with a runner up 2nd place to the strongest Boy's team in Maine HS skiing, NYA.

The team warmed up for the States at the Western Maine Conference Championships on 2-8-12 at Pineland for the FS 5k,and at Starks Hill Fryeburg on 2-11-12 for the CL 5k. The WMC has proven to be the top class of skiing in Maine and the MWHS girls team finished a strong second to Yarmouth, the Boys were 4th after the FS race but due to a difficult wax day in the CL race ended up 5th, a strong finish against the States top teams. Highlights for Girls were ZCD winning the CL race and 3rd in the FS, ECD 4th in FS and 6th in CL, Samantha 6th in FS and 10th in CL, Teagan also made the top 10 with a 8th in the FS race. Jesse, Lily and Carlin also had fine finishes in a very deep field. For the boys Jack had a top ten (8th) in FS, Eli was in the top 20 both races, Graham had a fine FS 22nd, and Ben Tindall a solid 27th in the CL race. John, Zach and Lars were fighting hard for good finishes as well. On Saturday at Starks the team was treated to grilled cheese sandwiches and other goodies, thanks for the support from all the parents.

The trip to Rumford started on Sunday morning, after a light lunch and quick wax job the team previewed the 5k CL course. Most had skied the course earlier this year at the Sassi race and were getting to know the course well and dialing in the best lines and waxes. The efforts worked as ZCD blistered the CL course in a very fast 16:05 for the win by 56s over ECD, Samantha continued her late season break out with a 7th followed by Teagan in 9th, Carlin in 13th and Jesse in 14th to take a commanding lead in the Girls team results. For the Boys Jack lead the way in 5th followed by Eli in 7th, Ben was just outside the top 10 in 11th, Graham 12th, John 15th and Lars 38th. The Boys after day one were second to NYA with a good cushion over 3rd place Freeport. The CL race conditions were about perfect as the temperatures stayed cold enough to provide good glide and allowed the wax team to find a good grip wax, this was a big improvement over the WMC CL wax result. A large thanks to Henry, Ben and Jason for help in the wax room. The FS race on Tuesday was late in the day so it was challenging to keep the team busy but not too busy during the day. We contested an impromptu scavenger walk, splitting the group in boys and girls teams. The boys used  a creative and  liberal interpretation of the rules and appeared to win, however special consideration was given to the intrepid Girls who walked almost to West Paris to find the school on the search list and were awarded the win. The FS 5k race was on the traditional Rumford HS course and included a single one lap course. ZCD again finished 1st for her fifth Class C Championship!! ECD was close in 2nd -17s, Samantha 3rd -24s, giving the girls a rare podium sweep. Teagan improved to a fine 7th and another top ten finish followed closely by Jesse in 12th and Lily in 15th as the Girls ran away with the Championships. The boys closed the States racing with great skiing, Jack had another top result in 5th in 12:19 for 5K-do the math, this is FAST! Eli continued his late season surge with a 6th -13s after Jack, Graham was next in in 12th followed by Ben in 14th, John 15th and Zach 34th. Congratulations to the Boys State Class C Runner ups and the Girls repeat Class C Champions. A special thanks to the parents for supporting the Christmas Camp and the WMC as well as the State Championships. Susan and Jennifer especially did the hard advance work planning the food, transportation and lodging all year and Carol kept us well fed at States - THANKS.

JOHN

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

We're back...

• Check out Maine High School Skiing and/or Chisholm Ski Club websites for final results and photos for both the skate and classic races.

• Apparently we left some things in the house. Carol and I looked through every room, yet somehow we left a "whole bag of things" according to the owner. So, look carefully through your bags and note what you are missing. I'll retrieve the bag of items and send it to school next Monday. If there is something you are in need of immediately, give me a call.

Thanks to everyone!!


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Update from Bryant Pond

By now you've all see the results - congratulations to both teams! The girls took first again, and the boys (35) are much closer to leader NYA (18) than to the third place team, Freeport (85).

Thanks to a train (or two) some didn't sleep as well as they could have last night, but the skiers generally seem a happy bunch this morning. Breakfast was spent perusing the many photographs taken yesterday (check out the Chisolm Ski Club website for photos) and planning for the races today. Now the skiers are readying themselves for a morning walk along the river.

We hope to see everyone at the races later today: girls at 3, boys at 4. After the races, and the awards, we'll return home to have a delicious meal of chicken enchiladas (thanks to Sarah Pierce!) and to celebrate a great season.

Thanks to the parents who made such delicious meals. We've really appreciated them all.

Tomorrow we will leave the house at 8:00 AM to arrive at Desert Rd. by 9:30 AM.

See you there and then!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Results!

See Race Results tab for Day 1 of Class C State Championship Classic race ...

Girls 1st ~ Boys 2!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Late breaking news...

10:00 depart
11:45 or so arrive at Black Mountain
12:00 - eat lunch
12:30 - ski
mid-afternoon - arrive at the house, choose beds/rooms (lottery system), dinner, etc.

So, come in the AM prepared to ski for the afternoon. Ski clothes shouldn't be at the bottom of your bag.

And, don't forget your bag lunch!

Ski Prep for States


I hope every one is pumped for the Races this week!  The team has had a great year so let's finish strong. I plan to recap the last races including WMC soon ,it was great seeing Zoe win the CL race and the girls have a strong 2nd place along with the boy's fine result among the states top teams.

For States please prep CL and FS skis with a base layer of graphite.  The CL skis should get a layer of LF or CH 7 or equal for temps expected to be 25-30F. The FS race will be LF or CH 8 on same base prep. Be sure to clean tops and sidewalls and mark kick zones. We will do a final glide wax before each race in Rumford. Also we will plan to ski after a light lunch Sunday at 12:30 or so, please have practice skis cleaned so we can do a quick klister job and test waxes.

Thanks,
John

Monday, February 13, 2012

MENU FOR THE STATES TRIP...Please see below for sign ups

Sunday
Lunch – bring your own to eat at Black Mtn. or buy it there
Snack – popcorn, crudites and dip, trail mix
Dinner – Soup or stew with lots of pasta in it, bread, salad, and dessert

Monday
Breakfast – pancakes and eggs with yogurt and fruit
Lunch – make your own sandwiches (turkey/PBJ) and apple/banana
Snack – crudites, chips, salsa, sour cream, guacamole
Dinner – Pasta (wheat / quinoa), bread, salad, dessert

Tuesday
Breakfast – oatmeal, eggs and toast, yogurt and fruit
Lunch – make your own sandwiches (PBJ/turkey) and apple/banana
Snack – crudites, chips, salsa, sour cream, guacamole
Dinner – Enchiladas / chili, cornbread, salad, dessert

Wednesday
Breakfast – bagels, fruit, and yogurt

PLEASE SIGN UP (by emailing Jen) FOR 1 ITEM FOR EACH STUDENT COMING FROM YOUR FAMILY:

1 large pot of chili for 10 (or 1 batch of enchiladas for 10) (2 total) - PIERCE
1 large pot of soup/stew with pasta in it - no beans - TUPPER AND...
2 batches cornbread + 1 pound of butter (1) - WU
6 boxes wheat pasta + 4 boxes quinoa pasta (1) – CHACE-DONAHUE
Pasta sauce for 20 (1) - SONNTAG
Three salads for 20 (About two big bins of lettuce plus veggies)(1) - WU
5 dozen cookies/bars/etc. (2) SAFFEIR AND NEVEU
2 boxes of clementines +1 large bag of apples (1) - SONNTAG
5 bunches of bananas + 2 large loaves of dinner bread (1) - ROEBER
sliced natural turkey for 10+ sandwiches (2) - SONNTAG AND BURGESS
4 dozen natural eggs (1) – CHACE-DONAHUE
2 dozen bagels, 4-5 packages cream cheese (1) – CHACE-DONAHUE
2 jars nat. peanut butter, 1 jar honey, 2 jars jelly (1) - GUNDERSEN
Crudite for 3 group snacks plus dip (2) - SAFFEIR AND NEVEU

Sunday, February 12, 2012

STATES TRIP 2012...RUMFORD HERE WE COME!!!

Departure: 10 am from Desert Rd. on Sunday the 19th. We will all go over together, taking one van and two other cars as well.

Return: We will leave by 10 am on Wednesday to arrive back by noon to Desert Rd. (Anyone may leave immediately following the 4 pm race on Tuesday.)

Lodging: We will be staying at the Maine Farm House, which is about 30-40 minutes from the venue. You can find it online if you'd like to take a look.

Race venue and timing: Black Mountain of Maine. The same place the Sassi Classical was held in January. Monday (classic) 1:30 girls and 3:00 boys. Tuesday (freestyle) 3:00 girls and 4:00 boys.

Chaperones: Jennifer, Jason, Carol, and Susan

What to bring:
• All of your race gear - suit, hat, buff, boots, skis, poles, and warm up skis and boots for both classic and skate
• Underlayers - we don't know the weather yet. Be prepared and bring layers.
• Coats - same.
• Shoes/slippers for inside the house, regular snow boots, AND running shoes.
• Many pairs of socks!
• Sleeping clothes and toiletries
• Your own pre- and post-race bar/snack. We'll have lots of food, but we won't have "bars". Everyone has their own favorites and should bring them.
• Water bottle with holder if you have it.
• Bag lunch to eat upon arrival at Black Mountain
• The food you signed up to bring
• Games - of the non-electronic kind please.**
• A PG or PG-13 movie to add to the pile of possibilities for Tuesday night. The movie should be appropriate for ages 14 to 18. Chaperones will have the final say on whether a movie will be shown.

** This trip is a school, not parent, sponsored event. The regular school field trip rules apply. Electronic stuff that is used inappropriately will be wrapped in an organic rainbow silk scarf and allowed to rest for the remainder of the trip.

Food:

Check the posting from Feb. 16.

Expectations:

We expect that you'll have fun. We expect that you'll do your best. We expect that you'll pitch in with dishes and clean up. We expect that you'll already know the rules and will follow them. We expect that YOU expect to be treated as a young adult. We expect the boys to be excited about all having their own beds! We expect everyone will have a great time!

Any questions about the logistics of the trip, food, timing, etc. call Jennifer, Carol, or Jason.
Any questions about the races, the team, etc. call John.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

WMC Classic Recap


I want to complement all the team for working hard in today's Classic race.  The Girls continued their top performances with a second place finish  The Boy's had a harder time today, no help from the wax, but this happens. Still 4th in Skate and 5th in Classic and overall is a good finish.  I have looked at the boy's results and have a few observations that explain or make sense of our finishers.  First I compared each skier's place and time back from the Skate race and assigned a somewhat arbitrary target finish time for the CL race.  I note that the majority of the field had a wider spread in the Classic race than the Skate race due to course profile and wax variables, still the numbers are interesting.
       FS                                                            Cl                      Target     Dif       
JP   8pl +43s                                            21pl +2:19             +1min        -1:19  notes:rock skis enough said
EM  18pl +1:34                                       14pl +1:37              +2:17        +  40              skis worked well
GR  22pl +1:48                                        46pl +3:55              +2:20       -1:35               skis too grabby!
BT  27pl +2:06                                         25pl +2:33              +2:50       +17                 skis worked
JB  32pl +2:33                                         40pl +3:27              +2:55        -32                  skis fair
ZN  45pl +3:14                                        50pl +4:01              +3:45        -16                   skis fair
LG  94pl +5:21                                        81Pl +5:48             +6:21        +43                  not sure why,better result
This is very unscientific however it shows (proves) the variables in classic skiing, the target assumption was based on FS results time back by place very roughly rounded off. For Jack and Graham your negative dif is explainable! PS do not try checking my math I have not.
I will look at the Girls and give comments, a quick thought is the conditions for the girls were more stable so I expect the girls are going to be closer to target.  Of course some will favor one technique over the other this also contributes to different relative results.
John

Friday, February 10, 2012

WAX UPDATE

As one might expect, weather in Maine changes fast.  I had waxed my own test skis with two different combos from yesterday and the forecast has changed.  The temperature looks warmer as the cold air will arrive later on Saturday so a warmer glide is called for, additionally it is likely to snow a small amount.  For Glide if you have Ski GO Violet another layer on top would help.  BNS is recommending HF ORANGE 23-34F, LF or XC will also work, Swix HF or LF 8 is in the same range.

John

Practice Today

Please review the course map and start list. I will be at Pineland Outdoor Center today at 3pm for practice.  We will classic in the man made track. I will do a base wax prep on everyone's race skis.  The weather temp will be around 30F Saturday a little under of the girls, for the boy's a little over. A small mount of new snow is likely Saturday however it is not likely to be enough to change the wax however it may require a hard wax cover on top of klister.


Link to Start Lists



Thursday, February 9, 2012

WMC Race Details...

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to bring food and supplies. We'll have hot drinks and bagels for parents, siblings and racers too, which we'll get set up when we arrive at 8 am. We'll have lunch between the races and the awards, which will be around 1:30.

**If you are sending breakfast items, please send them with someone who is arriving at 8am.**

Please bring:
• Whatever you volunteered to bring for the breakfast or lunch - see one of the previous posts to check
• All of your race gear - suit, hat, boots, skis, poles
• Filled water bottle and any more water you might want - for you and your family
• Bar for after the race (if you'd like)
• GIRLS: Food to eat in the car/van on the way to the race - around 7 or so
• BOYS: Same, but around 8:30 or so
• Warm clothes - it will be chillier this weekend
• A chair if you want one for resting - for you and your family

Girls arrive to Fryeburg by 8 am
Boys arrive to Fryeburg by 9 am

We have a van leaving Desert Rd. at 6:30 that has room for girls if anyone needs a ride. Boys don't need to stand around in the cold - arrive later if you can! If you need a spot on the van, you must contact Susan ASAP to make sure there is room.

See below for directions:

Stark's Hill (Fryeburg, ME)

Head West on 302 (toward Conway) through Fryeburg Village. Turn left onto Elm Street at the Irving Station (across from the Fryeburg Post Office). Elm Street will merge with Smith Street in 1/4 mile; stay straight ahead on Smith Street to the end where it will turn sharply to the left. Head straight, as the road turns, toward B & C Auto body. Beyond the auto body shop are some oil tanks and beyond that is the entrance to our trail network. Parking is limited so park wherever there is room.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

WMC Recap and Looking to Saturday


Great racing today at the WMC Freestyle races at Pineland. Another fantastic result for the girls team, 2nd overall at the WMC meet is a result to be very proud of.  Four of the top eight places and solid results for all the girls reflects all the hard work they have put in this year.  The boy's continue to improve as a team, a fourth place finish is very respectable in a very strong field.  Its great to see the competition among both the boy's and girl's team, this competition is making everyone faster...keep up the good effort.

Thursday is an off day for practice however as mentioned we will help out at the middle school race (Campus Loop). Henry will be at the school at 3pm to help out getting the middle school the help they need.  Bring skate gear and make use of the time on snow. Friday we will Classic ski, lets meet at the outdoor center at 3pm, bring a pair of practice skis to use and your race skis for a binder wax I will apply.  You should klister your practice ski with swix KR 50 or 60 or equivalent for temps around 40F. Race wax suggestion for Saturday at present should be the same as today, SkiGo LF or XC Graphite and XC or LF Violet race wax.  For Swix use the base wax as for today and LF6 or CH6.  Clean the race classic skis, top and side walls, sand kick zone with 100 g paper, mark kick zone for klister.  The kick zone starts at the heal of your boot and goes forward, the front of the zone will vary, hard wax pockets are longer.Any questions, please contact me.

John

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Wax recommendation for Wednesday skate race

Clean with a warm wax (yellow) and scrape hot.  Use a graphite XC or LF or a Swix Moly, scrape and brush well. Apply race wax Swix LF or CH7 or SkiGo Violet XC or LF.

Roger is recommending a slightly colder race wax due to the texture of the old snow, so even though the temperature will be around 30 degrees, I would go with his suggestion and use violet instead of red.

If you have HF wax, this would be a good race to use it on.  Make sure to scrape and brush thoroughly.

Monday, February 6, 2012

For PARENTS: (Please also see the State Meet post below this one.)

WMC Saturday Race...Let's get cooking!

We will arrive to the race venue around 8am, races will begin around 10, and awards will be around 1pm. Let's provide something similar to last year with a little bit of twist: freshly made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch! We'll have the bagels, tea, coffee, and cocoa available as soon as we get set up and then grilled cheese (with a few choices) with fruit and a cookie for lunch.

Please sign up by emailing me how much you will bring of what item and I'll add your name to the list below. Thank you!

*Note* We have calculated quantities based on all members of each skier's family attending and eating. Please let us know if everyone isn't going and we will adjust amounts accordingly.

2 6-8 foot tables from the C. Hall - Wu
2 wax tables - Sonntag (1), Chace (1)
3 double burner stoves and fuel - Pierce (1), Burgess (1), Roeber (1)
3 griddles to be used on the stoves - Sonntag (1), Heyburn (1), Wu (1)
3 spatulas - Phillips (1), Sonntag (2)
2 spreading knives - McCurdy (2)
3 cutting boards - Phillips (1), McCurdy (2)
buttered big sky bread (about 90 slices) - Burgess
sliced cheese - cheddar (about 3 1/2 pounds) - Tupper
sliced cheese - other (about 1 1/2 pounds) - Tupper
sliced tomato (about 60 slices) - Saffeir
sliced avocado (about 30 slices) - Saffeir
cooked bacon (about 90 strips) - Pierce
something else to put in a grilled cheese sandwich?
bananas (4 large bunches) - Burgess
clementines (2 boxes) - Sonntag
cookies (4 dozen) - McCurdy (2), Gundersen (2)
bagels, sliced (4 dozen) - Phillips
cream cheese (6 8 oz. packages) - Gundersen
peanut butter (1 jar) - Pierce
butter (1 pound) - Sonntag
hot water in the 5 gallon container - Chace
cocoa packets - Chace
tea bags - Chace
coffee (ideas on keeping this hot?)
insulated cups - Chace
spoons or wooden stirrers - Chace
napkins - Chace
trash bags - Chace
paper towels/tp for skis - Sonntag
tent- 2 sides - Neveu if they can find it!
banner - Chace
camping tent for changing - Roeber

Sunday, February 5, 2012

STATES TRIP

Here are a few quick details:

1. Only 6 skiers per gender can ski in each of the two races. We have 7 skiers on the boys team and 7 on the girls team. We'd like everyone to come to the meet, whether or not they anticipate racing. Having the whole team present would really be the best. Having an alternate in case of injury or illness is important, and it just wouldn't be the same without everyone. (Last year our boys alternate took photos and video, cheered, helped the coach, and generally had a great time.) The house we've reserved will hold all 7 boys and all 7 girls on our team. Please let John and Jennifer know ASAP if you will not be able to attend the meet. John will speak to the team about how he will choose the skiers for each race.

2. The house is called the Maine Farm House. Check this website for pictures: http://www.themainehouses.com/farm_house/farm_house.php

3. We will leave on Sunday, probably mid-morning, and will most likely return on Wednesday (time unknown). The races will be over by Tuesday afternoon, but we are unsure of when the awards will be. They may be later on Tuesday or on Wednesday afternoon. It will be fun to relax and celebrate on Tuesday night. However, if you can't stay for Tuesday night, you are free to go home. (The cost for the trip will be the same whether or not you stay for Tuesday night.)

4. We'll be doing meals the same way we did at Christmas Camp. Sign ups will be on the blog after the WMC races.

5. Jennifer, Jason, Carol, and hopefully Susan, will be chaperoning. However, the races are only about an hour and half away, at Black Mountain in Rumford. It would be great to see as many of you as can come!

Any questions about the skiing or choice of skiers for the states races - ask John.
Any questions about the trip - ask Jennifer.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Stark's recap from John

The Thursday race at Stark's Hill was a good one for the MWHS Team. The start format was a change of pace, FOUR per wave, making for fun racing and lots of good competition. On the boys side they continue to get stronger and finished THIRD, despite Jack missing his start (coach cheering in girls and did not get back to the start to help - Sorry Jack - LESSON...stay near start area). Graham led the boys with a strong 7th place finish - great job boys! The girls continue to be among the state's strongest teams regardless of class. Samantha had a breakout race finishing 3rd and leading the girls to SECOND place. Next up are the WMC Championships next Wednesday and Saturday. I encourage all family and friends to try to see at least one of the races.
John T

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Tomorrow's Wax


Hi All,

Thursday at Starks will be a nice day with temps in the low to mid 30's F.  Clean skis, wax base layer of Skigo Grafite or a cold wax, race wax LF or CH 8 or wax for expected Temps.  Scrape well and brush thoroughly. The skiing will be fast and fun, rest up.

Thanks,
John