End of Season:
With the States races behind us, the high school regular season is officially over. HOWEVER, see below for info about optional races.
End of Season Gathering:
We will have our final ski team event on TUESDAY, MARCH 8 at 7:00pm at the MCWS high school. Skiers should all plan to attend and we hope to see parents too. For those new to the team, this is an hour (maybe a little longer) of appreciation and looking back at the season. The team thanks the coaches and other helpers, the coaches recap the season and we wrap up with a slideshow. In non-covid years, we usually have cake or other tasty treats, but since we currently try to avoid unmasking (and therefore eating) while inside, we will send everyone home with a cookie instead.
Photos:
If you haven't already added photos to the shared google drive, please do that now. This could be pictures of ... skiers, coaches, parents, waxing, racing, hanging out together, etc. - Click HERE for photo folder link.
Optional Races:
The regular high school race season is now complete. Coming up in just over a week (Saturday, March 5) is the OPTIONAL U16/Eastern High School Qualifier, which is scheduled to take place at at Sugarloaf. 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 (under 16) festival and the Eastern High School (EHS) festival later in March. Each of these festivals is a 2 day event of skiing and racing. U16s are for younger skiers (age 14 and 15) 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, plus NENSA membership.
Anyone is welcome to participate in the qualifier. Interested skiers should keep an eye out on www.mainehighschoolskiing.com, as they have a post now - https://www.mainehighschoolskiing.com/index.php/20-latest-post/1211-2022-maine-u16-ehsc-nordic-selection-race-info - and will likely post more detailed info over the next week. Do note that this is not an MCW-NYA team event, so the race registration fee ($22) is not covered by your MCW-NYA team fee. All skiers participating in the qualifier will need to submit their own registration (online registration form found on the qualifier info page linked above).
Coach Nathan has graciously agreed to wax for our skiers participating in the qualifier, so please extend an extra thank you to Nathan for his help. Anyone wanting Nathan to wax for them should contact him by Monday, February 28 at 9:00am. Good luck to all that elect to ski in this race! Remember that if you make one (or both) of these teams (the EHS team and/or the U16 team) 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 March 5, the qualifier day.
For those that do make either the U16 or Maine EHS team - those festival weekends are:
U16 - March 12-13 at Jackson, NH
EHS - March 19-20 at Titcomb Mountain in Farmington
We will have our final ski team event on TUESDAY, MARCH 8 at 7:00pm at the MCWS high school. Skiers should all plan to attend and we hope to see parents too. For those new to the team, this is an hour (maybe a little longer) of appreciation and looking back at the season. The team thanks the coaches and other helpers, the coaches recap the season and we wrap up with a slideshow. In non-covid years, we usually have cake or other tasty treats, but since we currently try to avoid unmasking (and therefore eating) while inside, we will send everyone home with a cookie instead.
Photos:
If you haven't already added photos to the shared google drive, please do that now. This could be pictures of ... skiers, coaches, parents, waxing, racing, hanging out together, etc. - Click HERE for photo folder link.
Optional Races:
The regular high school race season is now complete. Coming up in just over a week (Saturday, March 5) is the OPTIONAL U16/Eastern High School Qualifier, which is scheduled to take place at at Sugarloaf. 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 (under 16) festival and the Eastern High School (EHS) festival later in March. Each of these festivals is a 2 day event of skiing and racing. U16s are for younger skiers (age 14 and 15) 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, plus NENSA membership.
Anyone is welcome to participate in the qualifier. Interested skiers should keep an eye out on www.mainehighschoolskiing.com, as they have a post now - https://www.mainehighschoolskiing.com/index.php/20-latest-post/1211-2022-maine-u16-ehsc-nordic-selection-race-info - and will likely post more detailed info over the next week. Do note that this is not an MCW-NYA team event, so the race registration fee ($22) is not covered by your MCW-NYA team fee. All skiers participating in the qualifier will need to submit their own registration (online registration form found on the qualifier info page linked above).
Coach Nathan has graciously agreed to wax for our skiers participating in the qualifier, so please extend an extra thank you to Nathan for his help. Anyone wanting Nathan to wax for them should contact him by Monday, February 28 at 9:00am. Good luck to all that elect to ski in this race! Remember that if you make one (or both) of these teams (the EHS team and/or the U16 team) 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 March 5, the qualifier day.
For those that do make either the U16 or Maine EHS team - those festival weekends are:
U16 - March 12-13 at Jackson, NH
EHS - March 19-20 at Titcomb Mountain in Farmington
More info about the festivals can be found on nensa.net --> Events, then look for either Eastern High School Championships or U16 Eastern Championships.
Scholarship:
There may be some scholarship funds available for attending these festival weekends. Again, keep an eye on the mainehighschoolskiing.com post for more info or contact Buzz Bean (EHS trip leader) or Elisha Dyar (U16 trip leader), both of whose contact info can be found on the qualifier post on mainehighschoolskiing.com.
Practices:
Since the regular high school season is over, there will not be regular daily practices. However Nathan may be available to meet some days with interested skiers, but needs to know ahead of time who will be there. Anyone that wants to continue practices with Nathan MUST connect with him by Monday, February 28. 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.
