John's Season Wrap-up

With such a winter feel today it is hard to believe the HS ski year has ended.  It is great that we have a number of racers participating at the J2 Festival and the EHS Q and Championships.  This year has been unique with the early and consistent snow.  Despite a few warm ups, we never had a long interruption and successfully completed all the scheduled races.  A big thank you to the school community and parents for all the support during the season at the races and the Christmas camp.  The team exceeded my expectation thanks to all the hard work and focus through the year.

A few highlights from the results sheets are Samantha winning the Classic race at Class C Championship, after finishing as runner-up at both WMC championship races. Forrest and Graham also both earned a podium finish at the State Championships.  The team had a very strong result at the WMC Championships, with the Boys' team 2nd and the Girls' team 3rd.  The team also is well represented on the WMC ALL Conference Team by Samantha, Fiona A., Forrest, Graham and Tucker, with John not far off ranked in 14th.

The State races this year were at historic Black Mountain and the team successfully defended both the Boys and Girls titles.  For the girls, it is the fourth year running as State Championships!  Congratulations to Carlin and Lily - their four titles may be matched but not surpassed. The Boys' team this year was very strong and deep.  Unfortunately this year our two freshman ended up as alternates for the State races.  Davis and Dylan would have been solid scorers on most other teams, but had to settle for wax testers in Rumford.  Thanks to their efforts we were able to find the best wax combination, so they really contributed to the team win.  Lars and Zach were solid at the State races, with Zach scoring two top 10 results and Lars two top 20 finishes. The Girls' season looked to be in for a major rebuild after graduating three strong seniors last year, however due to the hard work and determination of Samantha, Fiona A., Carlin and Lily, all had very strong results all year, and newcomers Fiona C-D, Fiona L., Emma all had strong days while dealing with injuries and illness.

A fond thank you to our three special seniors - John, Carlin and Lily lead by example throughout the season and are responsible for building a strong and balanced team.
John

Eastern High School Qualifier

The Maine Eastern High School Selection race is this Sunday at Sugarloaf.  Information has been posted on mainehighschoolskiing.com, so take a look there to see information about:

• This race.
• How to register for this qualifier race.
• Eastern High Schools on March 14-16.

Since the regular high school ski season is over, anyone participating in this race is doing so on their own, so make sure you register, arrange your own transportation, etc.

John Tarling says he is intending on attending this race and is happy to help wax, however it would be good to let him know how many to expect.  Be sure and let Susan know if you will be participating in this race and she will let John know.

Good luck to all!

Class C State Champions!!!

Girls and Boys both finished first!!!

Check out the Race Results tab for detailed race results.  Awesome skiing everyone!!!

Wednesday Update

We had a great day of skiing today, followed by board games, food and Olympics.

Slight change of plans for Thursday afternoon ...
After awards at Black Mt, we will NOT be returning to our rental house and will instead head right to Freeport.  That will most likely put us back in Freeport around 3:00.

Check out the Race Results tab to see how well our team skied today!!!

It's been a good day :-)

We have arrived!

After a nice snowy ski at Black Mt, we have arrived safe and sound at our rental house.  Kids are happily playing pool and ping pong, there's a fire in the fireplace, and dinner prep is happening!  Hope to see many of you tomorrow for the classic race!

States Information

Black Mt – Here we come!

Here’s everything to know about this week’s trip to Black Mt for States …

Races:

Wednesday, February 19 - Classic Race
Girls Start - 1:30 PM
Boys Start - 3:00 PM

Thursday, February 20 - Skate Race (note updated race times)
Girls Start – 10:00 AM
Boys Start – 11:30 AM
Awards to follow

Transportation:

Leaving –

Arrive at Desert Rd by 12:45 on Tuesday, February 16.  Driving away at 1:00.

Returning –

After Awards on Thursday, we will return to the rental house to pack up, then head home.  We will probably arrive by dinner time, but depending on timing, we may opt to stop for dinner on the way home.

Be sure to let Susan know if you will not be riding the van either to or from this trip.

Food:

Everyone should come on Tuesday either having eaten lunch or bring lunch for the ride.

Everyone should bring their own stash of bars, etc. to eat when they want.

We would like 4-5 families to send along cookies, brownies, etc. for desserts and snacks.  Please let Susan know if you will be sending along a treat.

All other food will be just like Christmas Camp – organized by the chaperones.

Housing:
We are renting a house in Bryant Pond.  All skiers will be in a bed (some twins, some shared doubles).  Everyone should bring a sleeping bag, as it's too much to wash sheets for 20.

There is a phone at the house for incoming calls only.  The number is 207-665-2918.

Skis:

·      - Check the Wax Info tab for wax information.  Be sure you’ve waxed your race skis.

·      - When we leave on Tuesday we will go directly to Black Mt for an afternoon classic ski.  Make sure you have your warm-up classic skis waxed and ready to go for this practice.

What to Bring:

Lunch/snack for Tuesday

Sleeping bag

Towel

Water bottle

Bars/snacks

Your dessert contribution (4-5 families)

Warm clothing (layers!) - including hat, mittens, race gloves, etc.

RACE SUIT

Ski clothes

House clothes

ALL classic and skate skis/boots/poles

Toiletries

Basic wax equipment

· Scraper

· Cork

· Small amounts of kick wax and glide wax

LABEL ALL THE GEAR AND CLOTHES YOU DON'T WANT TO LOSE.

Cost:

Families will be billed for the cost of the rental house and food.

Other Info:

On Tuesday, we will ski upon arrival, before heading to the house, so everyone should:

·  Come dressed in your ski gear

·  Bring a lunch/snack to eat in the van

·  Keep your CLASSIC boots/skis/poles handy

·  Have your water bottle-belt handy

Other things to remember:

·  Wax skis

·  Check the packing list one last time!

Preliminary States Travel Info

There will be more information put up here later this weekend, but for planning purposes, we will be leaving Desert Rd at 1:00 PM on Tuesday.  We will go directly to Black Mt for an afternoon ski, and then head to our rental house in Bryant Pond.

Check the Race Schedule tab for race times, being sure to note the updated time of the skate race on Thursday.

Revised start time for States SKATE race on Thursday

Be sure to check the Race Schedule tab for updated start times for the Skate race on Thursday.

Leaving for WMCC Skate

Skiers will leave school at 12:45 p.m. on Monday, February 10, for the WMCC Skate race at Libby Hill.  This means that at lunch time (12:00-12:45) you will need to eat AND get ready for the 12:45 departure.

UPDATED - Friday/Saturday Info

FOR FRIDAY PRACTICE ...

• Clean race skis
• Mark the wax pocket
• Race ski tips and tails should be glide-waxed 
• Bring race skis to practice for additional waxing
• Bring practice skis to practice for skiing

Check the WAX INFO tab for wax recommendation.

UPDATED Plans for Saturday are:

• Arrive at Desert Rd at 6:50 a.m.
• Depart Desert Rd by 7:00 a.m.
• Arrive at Stark's Hill by 8:30 a.m.
• Races at 10:00 and 11:30
• No awards, so we may depart Stark's around 12:45-1:00?
• Back to Desert Rd around 2:30???

Tell Susan today if you are not riding the van to Fryeburg in the morning.

General Info

1. There is officially no race today (Wednesday) at Libby Hill.  Today's skate race will now take place on Monday at Libby Hill.  We are still on for classic at Stark's Hill in Fryeburg on Saturday.
2. Classic practice tomorrow (Thursday) after school.
3. Classic practice and waxing (for Saturday's race) on Friday at 11:00 at Pineland.  Plan on staying around 2 hours.
4. Skis will need to be waxed on Thursday night/Friday morning, BEFORE coming to wax on Friday.  John will put out a wax recommendation tomorrow (Thursday).
5. Plans for Saturday are:
• Arrive at Desert Rd at 6:15
• Depart Desert Rd by 6:30
• Arrive at Stark's Hill by 8:00
• Races at 10:00 and 11:30
• No awards, so we may depart Stark's around 12:45-1:00?
• Back to Desert Rd around 2:30???

WAXING

Check the WAX INFO tab for wax information for Wednesday's WMCC Skate Race at Libby Hill.

Races, States and General Info

Hard to believe that the school ski season ends in just a few weeks.  See below for general information about these upcoming next few weeks.  More details will follow as the dates get closer.

1.  For those that attended Christmas Camp, the business office will be billing $106.

2.  Our next races are Part 1 and Part 2 of the WMC Championships.  Part 1 takes place next Wednesday afternoon (February 5) at 2:00 PM at Libby Hill in Gray and is a skate race.  Part 2 takes place the following Saturday (February 8) at 10:00 AM at Stark's Hill in Fryeburg.  This Saturday race is a classic race.  We will be leaving Desert Rd early in the morning, most likely by 6:30 AM and will return around 3:30 - 4:00 PM.

3.  In anticipation of this Saturday's (February 8) classic race at Fryeburg, everyone should be sure to have cleaned their classic skis since the Sassi race at Black Mt.  Also know classic skis may need to be waxed by Thursday night so everyone's skis will be ready in case John wants to put on a binder for the Saturday race.  More wax info this week ...

4.  Our final races of the season are the Class C States races at Black Mountain in Rumford.  Races take place on Wednesday, February 19 (classic race) and on Thursday, February 20 (skate race).  We expect to leave on Tuesday morning, February 18 (time TBD) and return home around dinnertime on Thursday, February 20.  Note this return date is a change from our original plans.  We are renting a house in the Bryant Pond area, one that is large enough such that all kids on the team can attend, whether or not they will ski in a States race.  In the next week John will be figuring out who will be skiing in what races and will share that information once determined.  Those not scheduled to race are still alternates, and may end up racing if necessary.

5.  Please put Tuesday, March 4 at 7:00 PM on your calendars for an an end-of-season ski team gathering.