2013 World Cup Final -- Video & Pics UP!!!

To see the entire photo gallery, click HERE.

Enjoy the video -- parents, here's an opportunity to share your in-depth knowledge of Public Enemy. 


2013 World Cup from Brewster Burns on Vimeo.

World Cup Final Media On the Way

Congratulations to the winning team captained by Annika Kahkonen.  More pictures and a video will be posted in the weeks to come -- stay tuned!

Plans for Week 12 and Final World Cup Race

Don't miss this weekend - It's time for the final World Cup race and end of season awards.  The Worldcup teams have two close contests but with full rosters things could change fast.  At this point, Annika's team is in 1st with Chris Burns close behind.  Not too far back is Colleen's team in third with Hayden's team close behind them fighting for third place.  Let's see what happens when everyone participates in the races!

This weekends race will consist of two runs - one GS from the headwall and one SL out of the lower start.  Be sure to have protective gear for SL.  The combined times from these two starts will give us our third and final result.  The Winterkids 24 hour ski challenge begins at noon on Saturday so it is VERY important that we get out the door BY 8:30 so that we are off the hill when this event begins.  THIS MEANS THAT YOU SHOULD ARRIVE AT 8 AM SO YOU ARE BOOTED AND READY TO ROLL AT 8:30.

Help from parents will be appreciated.  We will need someone to hand out bibs and assign the numbers to the start list, we will need help getting gates up the hill, we will need help setting up the finish corral, we will need an announcer for the race and of course we will need a lot of shouting and cowbells ringing on the hill!  If you can help please be at the lodge by 8 AM. Thank you.

Following the race we will take a lunch break.  After we tally the days results and compile the season long results we will have an awards presentation.  I am guessing that this will happen between 1:30 and 2 PM.  We will more than likely do these awards outside at one of the picnic tables.  There will be team awards for the World Cup, Most Improved skiers by age group and the annual Fearless Leader award for the athlete that set an example of what we are all about, who was always there to lead and help things run smoothly.

Thanks to everyone for a great season.  Be sure to check out the season wrap up posting on the blog next week.  We have lined up some very talented coaches to join our existing staff next season and we hope that you will join us again and you will pass on the word to others that may wish to join a fun program with a focus on safety, fun and learning in a competitive environment.

See you bright and early on Saturday,

Coach Reis

Worldcup II: Plans for 3-2-2013

This past weekend a number of our athletes participated in the Fitch-Gilpatrick fund raiser race on Ego.  Those not racing helped with setting, organizing and timing.  Following the race athletes worked on ski fundamentals with their coaches. With the great conditions we have this spring it is important for all athletes to return to fundamentals as spring skiing is actually the start to next years race season.

For this weekend (3/2/13) we will have our second Worldcup race, this time being a GS.  For the final (3/9/13) we will have one run of GS and one run of SL followed by annual results and awards.

For this weeks GS several of our team leaders will be away at the high school shootout, working to earn a spot on the Maine team for the high school New England Finals.  Therefore the co-captains will take over the leader position for this weeks race.

Team 1 - Pierce for Annika
Team 2 - Sarah for Colleen
Team 3 - Erin for Chris
Team 4 - Hayden

If you don't remember what team you are on please refer back to the blog post dated 2/2/13

The schedule for the day will be as follows:

8:30 - pick up bibs
8:45 - 10:00 - free ski and warmup with captains/co-captains
10:00 - 10:30 - course inspection
10:45 - first run GS on Boris (from headwall down)
Second run immediately following first run

Lunch
Free ski with team - coaches will join in after lunch

Parents should feel free to help with organizing and handing out bibs, helping to set the courses, helping to organize athletes at the start, sideslipping the course, collecting bibs at the end of the race and of course cheering and ringing cowbells!  Please see the coaches at 8 am to get organized.

Let's be ready to go out the door at 8:30 so that we can get the race going on time.  Thanks, Coach Reis

Fitch/Gilpatrick Memorial Race Information

Brewster Burns, silver medalist in
last year's Fitch-Gilpatrick Memorial,
shows off the hardware. 

The Sandy Fitch & David Gilpatrick Memorial Race will be held on Saturday, 2/23. This race is sponsored by the Mt. Abram Ski Club and all proceeds will benefit the Maine Cancer Foundation in honor of Sandy & Dave. Many of the race kids have helped make this a successful race in past years and the Ski Club looks forward to your help once again! Coach Courtney will be setting the course on Egomaineah, and we ask that racers meet her at Westside by 9:00 a.m. to help set the NASTAR-style course, assist with timing, and take down the course after the race. Race groups will ski in the afternoon.

The race will begin at 10:00 a.m. and is open to the public. A $10 registration fee includes two runs -- registration will be at the West Side Lodge. We invite all parents and friends to join us and help raise money for the Maine Cancer Foundation (other donations are always welcome!). Ski school programs will also be running at Westside and we hope most of the classes will also be able to enjoy the course!

Thanks in advance for your support and help in making this a great event for the Mt. Abram Ski Club, Maine Cancer Foundation and Mt. Abram Community!!

Class A States Debrief and Plan for 2-23-2013

Click HERE to see a gallery of all Oxford Hills Skiers, Mt. Abram skiers & forerunners.

Congratulations to our Oxford Hills girls for their part in winning the State Championship earlier this week!  Leading the way for the team was Colleen Stauder with an 8th place finish in GS and a 7th place finish in SL.  Current Mt. Abram skiers who are on the Oxford Hills team include Annika Kahkonen - 10th in GS, Chris Burns 8th in GS and Amanda Hanning 15th in SL and 16th in GS.  Due to their top ten finishes, Colleen, Chris and Annika will be competing in the High School shootout to select a Maine team to compete in the New Englands.  Joining them are Mt Abram alumni and current OH skiers Ben Brown (6th SL and 7th GS) and Matt Michaud (8th SL and 9th GS).  Also congratulations to our own Hayden Pearson (Marshwood) for a very respectable showing in GS (28th) and SL (21st).

Thank you to our forerunners who showed the great level of skiers we have at Mt Abram.  Any of the forerunners could have skied in this Class A competition.  Thanks again Pierce, Sean, Sarah, Erin and Kaylie!

For a training plan this week we will be working on Free Skiing and Technique.  Please bring your SL skis (no need for protective gear).  The weekend will be busy with USCSA regionals on Saturday and Sunday (Boris) and the Fitch-Gilpatrick race on Saturday (Ego).  I will be checking in with USCSA to see if we can provide forerunners out of our older age group.  For those athletes please come prepared to race SL on Saturday and GS on Sunday if we can get you in.

See you at 8:30 Saturday, ready to ski!  Coach Reis

Training Plan and Congratulations!

Congratulations to the Mt. Abram athletes that have recently competed in their Middle and High School division championships this week.

KVAC SL at Titcomb

Colleen Stauder - 3rd Women
Anikka Kahkonen - 4th Women
Amanda Hanning - 8th Women
Chris Burns - 13th Men

CCC Conference Championships at Shawnee
Abby Condon - 6th Womens GS
Chloe Noack - 10th Womens GS
Ella Novick - 12th Womens GS

Abby Condon - 8th Womens SL
Ella Novick - 9th Womens SL
Chloe Noack - 16th Womens SL

SMAA Championships at Shawnee
Hayden Pearson - 7th Mens GS
Hayden Pearson - 7th Mens SL
Several more top 15 results from our Sunday group Marshwood HS

WMC Conference at Shawnee
Keaton McEvoy - 17th Womens SL (Skimeister)
Keaton McEvoy - 24th Womens GS (Skimeister)
Piece Stevens - 26th Mens GS

Training Plans
This week we will train SL on Boris with the older athletes course set over the headwall.  Please bring your SL skis and protective gear.  Next Tuesday and Wednesday Mt Abram is hosting the Class A High School State Championships.  If anyone is interested in forerunning at this event please see Coach Reis on Saturday.  Also, we have a lot of B-net to place on the hill on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.  If any parents or athletes are available to help place this protective netting any help will be appreciated.

Plan for 2-9-2013

With the impending storm knocking at our door we will be free skiing this Saturday.  Bring out those twin tips and rip up the mountain!  We'll get back in the gates when the snow stops falling :-)  Coach Reis

Week 7 Recap

Despite the challenging conditions the athletes had a great day on Saturday with their first Worldcup race.  We set a SL for this race due to hard snow conditions and this was a first for many of the younger athletes.  The captains did a great job warming up their athletes and doing a good inspection.  Everyone figured out where they needed to turn (the combinations can be confusing) and skied quite well.  In the afternoon we had groups that went off to Tele ski and others worked on technique in small groups.  Either way, it looked like everyone had a good time.

The results from the race are: (Captains, I need your team names)

First - Team 1 with Chris Burns as Captain

Second - Team 2 with Annika as Captain

Third - Team 3 with Colleen as Captain

Fourth - Team 4 with Hayden as Captain

One thing to keep in mind when considering the results.  There were several key racers that were not able to race this weekend.  Be prepared for some shakeups to the results when everyone is present.  Have a good week and check in Thursday night for the weekend plans for week 8.

Plan for 2-2-2013

UPDATE [4:14PM 2/1]: Please come prepared to run Slalom both in training and in our Worldcup race.  Race time TBD on Saturday morning.

Crazy weather this week isn't it?  We are not sure what we will have for hill space this weekend but we are going to try our best to have a SL Worldcup race.  For the older athletes please bring protective gear.  Check below to see which team you are on.  We will ski in teams first thing in the morning.  If you are not listed on a team please contact Coach Reis at 1reisj@gmail.com.  Please check the blog again on Friday for any last minute changes.  Thanks and think snow!
Team 1
Annika Kahkonen
Polly Rae
Kali Flaherty
Chloe Noack
Leah Weinberg
Jack Harrington
Ella Novick
Abby Lane

Team 2
Colleen Stauder
Kailey Lane
Sean Flaherty
Sarah Novick
Carson McAvoy
Claire Williamson
Caroline Burns
Caroline Harrington

Team 3
Chris Burns
Erin Lane
Harrison Lane
Owen White
Keaton McAvoy
Jake Carroll
Jackson Bleakly
Will Manchester-Wells
Dane Mendelsohn

Team 4
Hayden Pearson
Aaron Rae
Amanda Hanning
Abby Condon
Cooper Knudsen
Bennett Carroll
Frankie Kennedy
Will Kline
Andrew Klein

Photos - 1-26-2013

Click Here: Pictures are up for last week's training!

Frigid Schedule for 1-26-2013

The word for this weekend is COLD.  Let's come prepared for the weather.  Lots of layers, neck warmers, mittens are better than gloves when it gets cold and handwarmers are a must.  We will be taking breaks inside as required but let's keep an eye on each other for signs of frostbite (white patches on exposed skin).  Check your buddy and your buddy will check you.

The Middle School and High School group will train GS turns this weekend with a set on Dudley more than likely in the afternoon when temps are at their highest.  The morning will consist of GS skiing skills and probably a few turn shape drills set with brushes.

Courtney will have a stubbie course to work on SL turns with the younger group.

See you Saturday - Stay Warm!

Wrap-up for 1-19-2012

Courtney's group did an excellent job in the picket fence drill this past Saturday.  We are often at different places at different times on the mountain but the groups came together at the end of the morning session and we were able to see everyone in one place.  Wow are the younger kids progressing!  Great job by the athletes and their awesome coach.  The afternoon fun race demonstrated everyone's continued progress and again the younger group excelled taking several top 15 positions.  Can't wait to have a World Cup Team race to bring out the very best in everyone.

It was nice to be able to do both SL and GS in the same day.  I know it's a hassle to bring extra gear but this plan worked out well for everyone.  Sorry that it ended up being only a one run GS race in the afternoon but a few technical glitches got in the way.

You may have noticed that we have an additional coach with us for the remainder of the season.  Please welcome coach Paul Stevens who will be helping with the older group.  Paul is a former ski racer who raced at Gould Academy.  He was an incredible speed skier (Downhill) during his time. He has some great stories about racing so grab him for a chairlift ride when you can.

More about this week's training on Thursday but let's all be prepared for VERY cold temperatures this weekend.  Neck warmers, an extra couple of layers and chemical hand warmers will be great things to have.  By the way you can purchase hand warmers at Walmart in their hunting and fishing section.  Much cheaper to buy them there than in a ski shop.

Stay warm this week,  Coach Reis

Pictures!

Pictures from this week are up! Click HERE to view.

Plans for Saturday, 1/19/2013

High temps this past Monday will alter our training plans a bit.  Plan on Slalom work this Saturday (1/19/13) morning. Please bring protective gear for morning training.

We will run a GS race out of the lower start in the afternoon (as conditions allow).  Our Oxford Hills athletes are scheduled to race at Kents Hill on Saturday.  If the Kents Hill race goes on as scheduled the GS will be a timed "fun" race.  If conditions at Kents Hill do not allow the High School race to be run and the Oxford Hills athletes are with us we will run our first "World Cup" team race that afternoon.

There we not enough athletes interested in traveling to Sunday River for their Carnival on Sunday so we will not be traveling to that race.  There will be another carnival race later in the season.

See you Saturday!  Coach Reis

Plan for Weekend & Week Four Wrap-up

Week four took the athletes into tall gate slalom.  The first course was set on Dudley and included stubbies, 25mm gates and 27mm gates, with and without helper brushes.  The second course was longer and was set on lower Dudley.  The younger athletes had their own stubby course to practice on.

We continue to look for better turn shape and direction change above the gate.  To reinforce this, in the afternoon session the groups worked on drills and free skiing.  The older group of athletes did railroad tracks over and over again until we had a good athletic stance for everyone.  We then proceeded to do one ski skiing to promote balance and carving on both sets to edges.

The Mt Abram Worldcup teams are now set and each team will need to come up with a team name.  The teams are listed with Team Captain listed first:

Team 1
Annika Kahkonen
Polly Rae
Kali Flaherty
Chloe Noack
Leah Weinberg
Jack Harrington
Ella Novick
Abby Lane

Team 2
Colleen Stauder
Kailey Lane
Sean Flaherty
Sarah Novick
Carson McAvoy
Claire Williamson
Caroline Burns
Caroline Harrington

Team 3
Chris Burns
Erin Lane
Harrison Lane
Owen White
Keaton McAvoy
Jake Carroll
Jackson Bleakly
Will Manchester-Wells
Dane

Team 4
Hayden Pearson
Aaron Rae
Amanda Hanning
Abby Condon
Cooper Knudsen
Bennett Carroll
Frankie Kennedy
Will Kline
Andrew Klein

Racers Needed

The Gould Carnival U10, U12, U14 race is scheduled for this coming Sunday 1/20/13.  This is an all day event and will require that you arrive at Sunday River ready to ski by 8:30 AM.

So far I have only heard from one athlete about going.  We will need at least 10 athletes to make up a team to do this race.  If we have a team Coach Reis will be with the athletes for the day.

If you have an interest please email Coach Reis at 1reisj@gmail.com by 9 PM on Wednesday 1/16/13.  If we have enough athletes interested details will be posted in the Thursday blog.  This event is open to all Mt Abram athletes that are 8-13 years old.

Plan for January 12th, 2013

Things are coming along nicely for balanced athletic stance, railroad tracks and pole plants.  The picket fence drill was awesome last week in promoting good pole planting skills.  The morning brush drill worked well for developing better turn shape.   The athletes skied well in the stubby gate courses that we set.  Use of helper brushes helped promote better turn shape and the ability to complete every turn in the course.  Remember, a direction change ABOVE the gate (where we have been setting the helper brush) will allow you to FINISH your turn AT the gate instead of starting it there and getting late for the next gate.

Expect J4 (thinner 25 mm) Slalom tall gates for this coming weekend along with brushes and stubbies.  Be sure to bring your protective gear.  The weather report has a 40% chance of rain so plan your clothing choices accordingly. 

We will select balanced teams and team captains for our intramural races this weekend.  Start thinking about what you would like to name your team!  Coach Reis

Notes from Parent Meeting

January 5th Parent Wrap-up

• Saturday 1/5/13 wrapped up with a parent meeting in the cramped quarters of the Westside basement.  If you missed the meeting the subjects covered included;
• Program times run 8:30-11:30 and again from Noon until 2:30.  If you are running late simply join your group when they cycle around on the main chair.  Be sure to send along a healthy snack for your young athlete to enjoy on a chair ride.  Staying well hydrated is also a good idea.
• Equipment – If your athlete has just one pair of skis make it a longer length Slalom ski.  Twin tips unfortunately don’t work well for ski racing.  Choose a softer flexing 3-5 buckle boot over a stiff one. Poles that are the correct size are a must.  To check turn pole upside down and grip under the basket.  Your arm should make a 90 degree angle at the elbow for a correct sizing.  Too long is better than too short.
• Slalom Safety equipment – Courtney’s younger crew will not need pole guards or basher bar protection on the athletes helmet.  Shin guards are helpful but not required.  All other age groups should have shin guards, pole guards and a basher bar for their helmet.  If your athlete has a soft ear helmet and you cannot affix a basher bar they should be wearing a bite guard.
• Clothing – Please make sure that your athlete has plenty of warm clothes to wear.  A cold athlete is not getting much out of the session.  Extra socks, gloves/mittens, neck warmer, extra layers of clothing are all good ideas.
• Training vs. Free Skiing – Whenever it snows we will free ski.  Free ski time is also available during warm-up runs, at lunch and at 2:30 after the program is over for the day.  The coaches have a plan for each week to help our athletes improve their skills.  Please encourage your athlete to actively participate in these learning opportunities.
• Race opportunities for U10, U12 and U14 – Gould Academy Competition Program “Carnival” race on Sunday 1/20 beginning at 8:30 at Sunday River.  If your young athlete would like to compete in this fun event please contact Coach Reis at 1reisj@gmail.com.  Also “Open” (don’t need to be a USSA member) race for U8 thru U16 at Lost Valley on Monday 1/21.  Again let Coach Reis know if you have an interest.
• USSA membership – opportunities for additional racing outside of our intramural program exist.  Join at http://my.ussa.org/ or see Coach Reis for more information.

Plan for Saturday, 1/5/2012

Weather and snow conditions look promising for this coming weekend 1/5/13.  The Mt Abram Race team will continue working on Athletic Stance, Railroad Tracks, Pole Touch/Plant and Turn Shape.  Slalom Skis will be the preferred ski for this week.  We will set a short SL course or two depending on the progress made with skills development, so athletes are encouraged to bring their protective gear including; shin guards, pole guards and face protection.

Want to see some top athletes working on the skills that we are doing?  Check out the USSA Eastern website at http://www.youthskillsonline.com/ and click on your age group tab for a listing of videos that you can watch!

Please plan to be out the door and on the hill at 8:30 AM and don’t forget to remind your parents about the meeting at Westside Lodge at 3:15 PM – Coach Reis