Things to remember for tomorrow's race in Fryeburg

Transportation:

• All skiers will be taking the vans from Desert Rd.
• It's hard to pinpoint an exact return time, but our best guess at this point is 6:15ish.

This week

A few things to note for this upcoming week (January 29 - February 2) ...

• Since it stays lighter so much later these days, the team will stay on snow at Pineland until 5:00.  This means the van will be returning to Desert Rd around 5:20+.
• On Wednesday we have a classic race in Fryeburg.  The team will be leaving school around noon.  All skiers should:
• Check the bulletin board for the adjusted Wednesday schedule for this week and be sure to check in with the teachers of the classes they'll be missing.
• Bring lunch, to be eaten in the van on the way to the race.
• It's difficult to predict an exact return time to Desert Rd, but at this time our best guess is 6:15ish.  Kids can call from the road once we actually depart.

Pasta/Wax party at Louise's house on Friday

Check your email for info about a pasta and wax help party at Louise's house on Friday (tomorrow) evening.  Let Louise know what you can bring.

Also, remember to tell Susan by 12:00 on Friday if you need a ride on the van to the Sassi race on Saturday.

Hope everyone can make it!

2018 Sassi Race Info

The Sassi race is this Saturday, January 27.  Here's what's what ...

Transportation:

• Vans will be leaving Desert Rd at 7:15 AM, so skiers should arrive by 7:05.  Anyone wanting a ride on a van MUST let Susan know by noon on Friday.  If you don't request a ride on the van, don't count on a seat on the van.
• The vans will return to Desert Rd after the race, best guess is arriving back to Desert Rd around 4:30ish.  Kids can call from the van with a more exact arrival time.

Today's race is ON!

We have the green light for today's race.  It will take place at Libby Hill in Gray.  Girls start at 3:30, boys will follow.

Waiting for news about tomorrow's race

We are awaiting word from this week's race organizers about whether or not Libby Hill will be skiable tomorrow (Wednesday).  In the meantime, we are moving ahead with race plans, so wax your skis, bring your gear to school tomorrow, and whenever we have news to share about the race, we will share it.

Remember to tell Susan by 12:00 on Wednesday if you need transportation back to Desert Rd after the race.

Coming up this week

As a heads up, here's what's happening this week ...

Wednesday, January 24 - WMC skate race at Libby Hill in Gray

Thursday, January 25 - High school team helps out at the middle school race at Pineland (hosted by MCWS), being out on the course, directing traffic and encouraging all skiers.  The van will most likely return to Desert Rd slightly later than usual (5:15+).

Saturday, January 27 - Sassi classic race at Black Mt in Rumford.  This is a long standing, extremely well run race and is great preparation for the upcoming WMC conference championships and states races.  We are counting on all team members to attend this race, but anyone with a compelling reason for not being able to be there needs to let Susan know by Wednesday at 3:00pm, which is when our entries are due.

Maranacook Waves Info

Date: Saturday, January 20, 2018

Location:
Maranacook Community School
2250 Millard Harrison Dr (Route 17)
Readfield

Race Info:
Freestyle, 5K. Wave start by grade (seniors first, then juniors, etc.). There will be 6 to 8 skiers per

We ARE attending the Maranacook Waves this coming Saturday, January 20

Since Telstar was cancelled, we are definitely skiing in the Maracook Waves this coming Saturday, January 20.  This is a fun race with a different format - skiers set off by grade (seniors, then juniors, sophomores, and finally freshman) with waves of 6-8 skiers/wave.  This is a 5K skate race.

Any skier not available must let Susan know asap, and definitely by Wednesday morning at 9:00am.  If we don't have school on Wednesday, send her an email letting her know.

Race start times are 11:00 girls, 12:30 boys.

More detailed info (transportation, etc.) will be posted later this week.

Updated - MLK Day race in Fryeburg

~ Updated on Sunday, January 15 at 6:45pm ~

We have a fun relay race at Fryeburg on Monday, January 15.  Here's what there is to know:

Race Format:
Each school may field two 4-person girls teams and two 4-person boys teams. Those not 'fitting' onto a relay team will be in the girls or boys mass start race after the relays are complete. This is a skate race. Due to the recent weather, the course is quite fast. For safety reasons, big downhills have been removed and therefore some distance has been added. Everyone will now ski two laps for a total of 5.57K per skier.

Tuesday practice and race update

Tomorrow's practice will include wax help for those that need it after skiing is done.  That means the van won't return to Desert Rd until 5:20-5:30.

Thanks to everyone that weighed in on Saturday race availability.  It looks like we will not be doing the Hornet Classic this coming Saturday, January 13.  We are still determining plans for the following Saturday Maranacook Waves, so stay tuned to the blog.

Also, remember that we have a WMC race this coming Monday (MLK day) in Fryeburg. Race and transportation info will be posted in the next few days.

Asking all skiers to weigh in

As everyone knows, this weekend's Telstar relays were cancelled due to the weather.  We are therefore looking to add another weekend race to the season, which one will be determined by the race where the most skiers are available.  The possibilities are:

Saturday, January 13 - Hornet Classic, held at Leavitt Area High School in Turner.  This is a 5K classic race, with individual starts at 15 second intervals.  Note that this is next weekend, which is the same weekend that we have a race in Fryeburg on Monday (MLK day).
-OR-
Saturday, January 20 - Maranacook Waves, held at Maranacook High School in Readfield (NW of Augusta).  This is a skate race, with a modified relay format.

EVERY SKIER SHOULD COME TO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, JANUARY 8, PREPARED TO TELL SUSAN THEIR AVAILABILITY FOR THESE RACES.  You can also email Susan over the weekend.

We only plan on doing one of these races and would like to choose the one with the highest number of our team members.

Telstar cancelled and looking ahead

Due to the predicted ridiculously cold weather (high of -5 with winds of 15mph = wind chill of -30!), the organizers of the Telstar relays have cancelled Saturday's race.  That means our next race is next Wednesday, where we are cohosting a classic race at Pineland.

Parents - we will need a number of people on hand to help out at the race on Wednesday, January 10.  Jobs will include collecting bibs, writing finishing bib numbers on a clipboard, and being generally helpful.  Please let Susan know if you will be there to help out.

Transportation info

To ensure all skiers and parents are on the same page, here are the general guidelines re: transportation for the ski team.

• The school drives skiers from Desert Rd to Pineland for daily practice and returns them back to Desert Rd after practice.  There are also a number of student drivers that regularly drive themselves.  If any of these regular drivers changes plans on any given day and need a ride on the school van, they must let Susan know by 12:00 of that day so plans can be put into play.
• The school provides rides for skiers to all races, and ...
• For nearby weekday races (Pineland and Libby Hill), we assume that student drivers will drive themselves.  If a student driver needs a ride to a nearby race, they must let Susan know by 12:00 of race day, and earlier would be nice.
• For nearby races, many/most parents come to the races, so we don't plan on providing transportation back to Desert Rd after a race, however if there are skiers that need a ride back to Desert Rd after a nearby race, either the skier or a parent must let Susan know by 12:00 on race day that a ride is needed.
• For weekday races that are farther away (Fryeburg), Susan needs to hear driving plans from every student driver by 3:00 the day before the race.
• Many parents attend weekend races (to Fryeburg, Black Mt in Rumford, etc.), so anyone that wants a ride on the school van must tell Susan by 5:00pm the day before the race.  Don't assume that you will just show up on race morning and have a seat on the van - you must reserve a seat on the van for weekend races.
• If you ride the van to a weekend race but will be getting your own ride home, please tell Susan when making your van reservation.

Susan is happy to talk about these arrangements with anyone that wants more info or wants to hear why we need to be so nit-picky on who's riding where.

Thanks to everyone for clearly communicating their transportation plans.

Beets!

Want to ski faster and with less effort?  Eat beets!

https://nutritionfacts.org/2017/12/28/how-to-use-canned-beets-to-improve-athletic-performance/

Wax info

Remember that wax info for upcoming races can always be found on, you guessed it, the WAX INFO tab.

Also, a reminder that all skiers should refrain from using HF and pure fluoro waxes and top-coats for all regular season races.  This policy was agreed to by the coaches this fall.