Mid-season Update from John

The Merriconeag nordic team has remained focused the last few weeks, despite the difficult snow conditions at Pineland, our home training venue.  Even with the lack of snow and cold days we have found skiing opportunities at local golf courses and have not yet missed a scheduled race.  On the 15th we traveled to Stark's Hill in Fryeburg for a WMC freestyle race.  Forrest and Samantha lead the team with a first and second respectively, and both the boys' and girls' teams finished in second place.  Tucker, Graham and Zach also scored for the boys, and for the girls, Fiona A., Lily and Carlin all scored.  The following Monday it was back to Stark's for a holiday Relay Race featuring a Boys' and Girls' four person relay, as well as an open race.  The boys and girls both came out on top - the boy's team of Tucker, Graham, John, and Forrest bested a field of seventeen teams, the second MWS boy's team of Zach, Dylan, Davis and Lars finished ninth.  Samantha, Lily, Fiona A, and Carlin topped the girls field.  Fiona L. and Emma were our finishers in the open race having good results of 17th and 22nd place.

This past Saturday we traveled to Rumford for the historic Sassi Memorial Race hosted by the Chisholm Ski Club.  This race always draws a large and talented field from around the state.  This year we had a cold but pleasant day of racing at Black Mt, the boy's and girl's teams both finished in fourth place, a very solid showing against the strongest teams in Maine.  It is a good sign for the school when this result is not a surprise and the name of the school is being recognized around the state for a solid Nordic program. In the J2 class qualifying race, Forrest had a very strong race in fifth place, followed by Tucker in ninth.  Both will represent the school and Maine at the NE J2 Festival later this winter. Dylan and Davis also placed well in the J2 race in 36th and 49th respectively.  Graham and John had very strong open races in 17^th and 31^st place, followed closely by Zach in 44th and Lars in 81st. These results are impressive given the large field of 228 finishers.  On the girls side in the J2 race, Fiona L. and Emma both had solid races in 33rd and 56th place.  Fiona's place was not far off from the girls J2 team, and both are improving every practice. In the girls open race, Fiona A. skied to a very impressive 17th over all in a field of nearly 200. Samantha has had a very solid year finishing near the top in all her starts and was named an "honorable mention skier of the week." Unfortunately she was not at 100% physically and had misfortune in a couple of falls, leading to a 28th place - a very solid finish place although I am sure we will see more in upcoming races. Carlin was next in 35th, also a good finish but not what she is capable of in classic, better wax and dialing in the prep will pay off before year end.  Lily was the final scorer in 48th place, a good job in classic for her. Next up is this week's WMC race at Libby Hill in Gray.

Practice at Pineland

Practice today will take place on the Oak Hill trails at Pineland.  Van riders will be brought to Desert Rd after practice.

IMPORTANT:
IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE SNOW AND TRAILS, NOBODY IS PERMITTED TO WALK ON THE SKI TRAILS - ONLY SKIS ON TRAILS!!!

Clean your skis!

Everyone should clean their classic skis from Saturday's race and put on a coat of glide wax.

Sassi Last Minute Details

Start Lists:
Go to http://mainehighschoolskiing.com/ and check out the Start Orders, shown under the Super Sassi Saturday section.

If you are riding to Sassi with your family and NOT taking the van, you must tell Susan by Friday 8:00 PM.

Also, be sure to check the 2 posts immediately below this one for general team Sassi information and J2 information.

Sassi Information - 1/25 Race

SASSI Race - Saturday, January 25

Skiers born in 1998 and 1999, be sure to check out the J2 information in the post just below this one.  It's important!

Race location:
     Black Mountain, Rumford

Start times (approximate):
     11:00 am J2 WOMEN 
     11:45 am OLDER WOMEN
       1:00 pm J2 MEN 
       1:45 pm OLDER MEN
     -------------------------
       3:15 pm AWARDS and BIB DRAWS

Transportation (updated!):
     7:45 AM - Arrive at Desert Rd to load vans
     8:00 AM - Prompt departure from Desert Rd
     9:30 AM - Arrive at Black Mt.
     5:00-6:00 PM - Return to Desert Rd (skiers can call from the van with more precise arrival time)

What to bring:

• FOOD!  - Everyone will be gone from early until late, so all should come with an ample supply of snacks, lunch, etc.  Black Mountain does have a cafeteria in the lodge with standard ski mountain food for purchase.
• Water bottle (extra water is available in the lodge)
• CLASSIC ski gear
• Warm clothes and layers

WAX:

     Wax info will be posted on the blog within the next couple days.

Van:
     *Any skiers need to tell Susan if they will be riding with their family and NOT riding the van.
     Also, we may have a few extra seats on the van, so if parents want to ride to Rumford on the van,
     get in touch with Susan to discuss.

Skiers born in 1998 or 1999

J2 Information

If you (your child) was born in 1998 or 1999, they count as a J2 skier.  The Sassi race at Black Mountain this coming Saturday, in addition to being a race for all Maine high school skiers, is also the qualifying event for Maine J2 skiers for the J2 festival held March 7-9, this year in Vermont.  Maine creates a team of 20 J2 boys and 20 J2 girls to make up the Maine team.  Click on the link below for much more specific information regarding this event.

You will note that this J2 festival is an expensive weekend ($325), with the cost entirely borne by the skier and his/her family.  Also, in addition to the $325 for the festival, skiers must also have a NENSA membership (cost $35).

Should a J2 skier be in the top 20, they need to come to the race this Saturday knowing whether or not they will attend the J2 festival in March.  Registration and payment will take place during the few days following the race, but skiers MUST report their intentions after the race itself on Saturday.

It is not uncommon for skiers to not attend the festival because of the significant cost, so nobody should feel badly if they decide to not attend because of the price tag.

Ask Susan if you have any questions, and please be sure to come to the Saturday race knowing what your plans will be.

Click here for Maine J2 Information

Relay Orders/Bib Numbers for Monday at Fryeburg

Click on the link below to see relay orders and bib numbers for tomorrow's race at Fryeburg …

Click HERE for start lists

Fryeburg on Monday, January 20

Here are the details for heading to Fryeburg on Monday, January 20 …

Depart Desert Rd: 8:00 AM

Race details:

     Skate race - 3.93k/leg

     Relay teams of 4 (either 4 boys or 4 girls)

     Those not on a relay team will be in an individual mass start race

Race times:

     Girls Relay - 10:30

     Boys Relay - 11:35

     Boys Individual - Mass Start 12:45

     Girls Individual - Mass Start 12:50

Return home:

     Looks like we could leave Fryeburg around 1:30, which would put us back at Desert Rd

     around 3:00ish.  Skiers can call home from the van when we have a better idea of timing.

What to bring:

• FOOD!  - Everyone will be gone 8:00-3:00, so all should come with an ample supply of snacks, lunch, etc.
• WATER! - There is not water available at Fryeburg, so be sure to bring enough for yourself.
• Ski gear

WAX:

     Wax info will be posted on the blog within the next couple days.

Van:
     *Any skiers need to tell Susan if they will be riding with their family and NOT riding the van.
     Also, we will have a few extra seats on the van, so if parents want to ride to Fryeburg on the van,
     get in touch with Susan to discuss.

RACE/PRACTICE CHANGES

Due to the poor snow conditions, a number of changes are taking place this week.

Practice:

Today's practice has been cancelled, as the Pineland trails are closed.  Van riding kids will be brought to Desert Rd on the regular 3:00 van (arrival 3:20) today.

Thursday's practice may move to Val Halla in Cumberland.  Stay tuned ...

Race:

Tomorrow's race at Pineland has been cancelled.  Instead we will go to Fryeburg for a SKATE race.  Start time remains 3:30 for girls, boys to follow.

Transportation to Fryeburg:

We will have 14 skiers, so we need 1 van (11 skiers) and 1 car (3 skiers plus coach).  If any parents are available to either drive the van or drive their car to Fryeburg for the race, please call Susan to discuss.

Return from Fryeburg:
The skiers will return to Desert Rd (passing by Pineland to drop off kids with cars), probably around 5:45-6:00.  Kids can call parents on the ride back.

* * * Think Snow! * * *

Race Day Status

Given the current snow conditions and the forecast, it is uncertain whether or not we will have a race at Pineland this Wednesday, January 15.  This will be determined sometime on Tuesday, January 14.

If the weather and snow conditions end up in our favor, we will be co-hosting the race with NYA and will need a number of parent helpers to assist with handing out bibs, organizing the start, collecting bibs at the finish, keeping the finish area clear, assisting the timer, and helping any racers that need assistance.

If we are not able to hold a race at Pineland, we may travel to Fryeburg on either Wednesday or Thursday, or we may have no race this week.

Stay tuned for news on Tuesday about what's happening, and be parents should be ready to help out if we do end up hosting.

Start of Season note from John

The Nordic Team opened the race season at Telstar High School Saturday. The popular relay always draws a large field and gives teams the chance to start the year in a fun event featuring three different races. Merriconeag entered two teams in the mixed relay, one team in the mixed school relay and a single racer (Davis) in the individual race.

It turned out being a perfect day to race - sun, cold, little wind and packed powder tracks.  In the opening race we had two strong teams, Samantha, Graham, Lily and Forrest raced well and finished a very close 4^th, while our 2nd team of Carlin, Dylan, Fiona A and Tucker finished 14th out of 69 teams. Fiona CD and Emma raced in the mixed school race with a pair of Portland skiers and both had the chance to get in and race.  Fiona CD completed her first race in a while and looked strong, and Emma skied well in her first High School race. Davis was our lone racer in the individual race and finished a strong 11th.

The team was fortunate to hold a Christmas camp in Rangeley thanks to the generosity of the Pierce family. Their trailside condo was very convenient, allowing us to ski two workouts each day and have a relaxing mid day lunch, letting the kids recover between sessions. Although the RLTC was not fully open, the tracks we did ski were in good shape and we were able to do a fair amount of good classic skiing. The camp featured a fun team relay and a few intervals, some drills, but mostly just continuous skiing - a good way to start the year. Thanks to Susan and Jason, along with the Sarah and Dan, for making the camp a huge success.

The dryland phase of the year was short this year thanks to an early season snow storm, allowing the team to get on skis early.  Unfortunately this cost us our roller skiing workouts, but not a bad trade however.

The WMC races start Wednesday at Pineland on the 8th and we will host the next race on the 15^th, also at Pineland.  All are welcome to come out and support the team. Complete results for high school races along with articles can be found on the website mainehighschoolskiing.com.
John

Telstar article

Click HERE to see a newspaper article on the Telstar race.

*** TELSTAR UPDATE ***

In hopes that the temperature will warm a bit more, the Telstar Relays have been delayed by 1 hour and will begin at 12:00, not 11:00.  We will push back the departure time by 1 hour as well, so everyone should now come to Desert Rd at 9:00, we will leave by 9:15, planning to arrive at Telstar by 11:00.

Arrival time back to Desert Rd at the end of the day is difficult to predict (maybe 4:30-5:00?).  Best plan is for kids to call from the road (kids without phones can borrow).

Telstar on Saturday

Race Info:

Saturday's race at Telstar begins at 11:00 AM.  This is a 3k skate relay race.  There are 4 skiers/team, with each team having 2 girls and 2 boys.  Race location is Telstar High School in Bethel.  We can go into the school to stay warm.

Travel Info:

Everyone should plan on being at Desert Rd around 8:00.  We will leave by 8:15, with travel time of about 1.5 hours.  Return time is unknown, but skiers can call parents on the way home (maybe around 3:30 - 4:00???).  Please let Susan know by Friday noon if you are not taking the van but taking your own transportation instead.

Notes from John T:

Once we have exact team start times, those racing next need to do a full warm up.  Later starters can do a course preview and go inside if it is extremely cold due to wind chill. In cold conditions a good breakfast and hydration is very important.  Also important - hand warmers, neck and ear coverings and good warm ups. We want to keep warm by moving, not standing still long; once cold it is difficult to warm up. 

Wax info:

The wax will be easy ... cold snow and low humidity call for a cold glide wax.  A base wax can be a graphite or a first layer of the race wax. Race wax Swix CH or LF 6 or equivalent with a good brushing will work.

What to bring:

Skate ski equipment - skis (race and practice), boots, poles

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

Race suit

Water bottle

Lunch

Snacks