Sunday, February 23, 2020

What's Next ...

~ Updated Sunday, February 23 ~

Here's what there is to know about the nordic team for the next week or so.

End of Season Gathering:
In the next few days we will nail down the date of our end of season appreciation evening. Susan will let everyone know (and it will be posted here) when we have a date.

Photos:
Start collecting/organizing photos from this year's ski team and get ready to share them for a slideshow. Info will be posted here shortly as to exactly who to send them to. The picture can be anything related to the ski team this season - skiers, coaches, ski camp, waxing, racing, riding in the van, hanging out together, etc.

Optional Races:
With states behind us, the regular high school race season is now complete.  Coming up next weekend (Saturday, February 29) is the U16/Eastern High School Qualifier, which is scheduled to take place at Quarry Road in Waterville.  For those that don't know what this is, the qualifier is a "two race in one day format" (classic in the morning, skate pursuit in the afternoon) to determine who is eligible to represent Maine in both the U16 festival and the Eastern High School festival later in March.  Each of these festivals is a 3 day/2 night event of skiing and racing.  U16s are for younger skiers (born in 2004 or 2005) and EHSs are for all high school skiers.  Each state in New England (and nearby) will field a similar team of 24 skiers and they all race against each other on the festival weekends.  Note that if you make either of these teams and choose to attend the festival weekend, there is a not insignificant fee to be paid by the skier/family (U16 ~ $365, EHS ~ $300, plus NENSA membership).  Click here for a post on mainehighschoolskiing.com re: the qualifier.

Anyone is welcome to participate in the qualifier.  In addition to the link posted just above, interested skiers should keep an eye on www.mainehighschoolskiing.com for any new info and updates that may be added.  Do note that this is not an MCWS team event, so the race registration fee ($20 early or $23 day of) is not covered by your MCWS team fee.  All skiers participating in the qualifier will need to submit their own registration (online registration form found on the qualifier info page on mainehighschoolskiing.com).

John Tarling has graciously agreed to wax for our skiers participating in the qualifier, so please extend an extra thank you to John for his help.  Anyone wanting John to wax for them MUST contact him by Wednesday at 3:00pm (February 26).  Good luck to all that elect to ski in this race!  Remember that if you make one (or both) of these teams and intend on participating in the festival weekend(s), you must have a check in hand and be prepared to pay for the festival weekend(s) on February 29, the qualifier day.

For those that do make either the U16 or Maine EHS team - those festival weekends are:
U16 - March 6-8 at Mountaintop, Chittenden, VT
EHS - March 13-15 at Gore Mountain, North Creek, NY

Scholarship:
There are some scholarship funds available for attending these festival weekends.  Information is shown on the Qualifier info page on mainehighschoolskiing.com, along with a download of the application form.  Note that the completed scholarship application form must be returned by March 1, which is next Sunday.

Practices:
Since the regular high school season is over, there will not be regular daily practices. However John may be available to meet some days with interested skiers, but needs to know ahead of time. Anyone that wants to continue practices with John MUST talk to Susan on Monday and also let her know your preferred practice days and availability. As long as Pineland is open, skiers are always welcome to arrange their own transportation and ski on their own (passes are still good). Skiers are also welcome to ski on the trails on the Desert Rd campus (grooming status unknown).

Uniforms:
Everyone should return their CLEAN uniform to Susan this week.  Kids skiing in the qualifier next weekend may keep their uniforms until after that race.

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