Cumberland Youth Skiing

Youth Skiing Wrap-up Revised

2009-03-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone is enjoying the day off. The temperatures for tomorrow are supposed to be cold so we have revised the Youth Skiing Wrap-up. We will ski on Tuesday from 3:30-4:45. We will then head over to the Memorial School in North Yarmouth for some pizza to celebrate the season. I realize that driving to N. Yarmouth may be inconvenient for some but that was the only place where we could find space. The event will take place in the multipurpose room. We’ll hopefully be done around 6:00.

Please see the note from the previous post about RSVP.

Thanks and see you on Tuesday!

Youth Skiing Wraps Up March 3rd

2009-02-27T03:59:00.001-08:00

Next Tuesday, March 3rd, will be the last day of the Cumberland Youth Skiing program for the year. We'll start the session at 3:30. Around 4:15, we'll stop and have pizza and whatever else to celebrate the season. We'll do this under the veranda at the new red building at Twin Brook, where we always meet.

For parents who have not come out to ski, please come, whether by ski, snowshoe, or foot. This will be a great opportunity to observe what we've been doing this winter and I'll think you'll enjoy it.

Please RSVP by calling Cumberland Recreation at 829-2208 on Monday or Tuesday. Also, feel free to RSVP via email to sdavis@cumberlandmaine.com.

Cumberland Rec will supply the pizza, plates, and napkins. If you're interested in contributing,

here is a list of items that we could use to enhance the event:

salad

desserts

juice/drink

etc

In the event of extreme weather, like rain, we'll move it to the gym at the Memorial School in North Yarmouth. As of now, the weather is predicted to be around 30 degrees with some snow showers. This will be conducive to having the event at Twin Brook. If the weather changes, drastically, I'll email by noon Tuesday.

Thanks and have a good weekend!

Youth Skiing is on for the next Two Weeks

2009-02-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a great vacation week. I heard that a lot of families were going on some great trips. It should be a good week of skiing. We'll wrap things up next week either on March 3rd or March 5th. We may try to do some type of get together. Details will follow.

Have a good rest of the week and I hope that power has been restored.

Thanks!

Bill Koch Festival

2009-02-11T03:30:00.000-08:00

Dear Skiers,
This is a repeat of a message I sent a week or so ago. With a February 1 deadline coming up, I thought I would send out a reminder.

It is time to sign up for the New England Bill Koch Festival to be held theweekend of February 27-March 1 at the Notchview Reservation in Windsor, MA(near Pittsfield). For full information, go to the festival website whereyou can find lots of information about the festival:
http://www.nensa.net/page.php?id=2936

If you are interested in this event, I would encourage you to registerbefore February 20th so that you avoid a late fee. You should also make a reservation at theCrowne Plaza as soon as possible. Be sure to call them directly and ask tomake a reservation for the festival (don't go to central reservations--they will send you back to the hotel).

What is the Bill Koch Festival? It is a fun weekend of skiing for skiersborn after 1994. There are competitive events--an individual classic raceand a skate relay race, as well as non-competitive skiing--themini-marathon. For the youngest skiers, there are the lollypop races.There are kids from all over New England that come together to celebrate Nordic skiing.

The actual events start on Saturday morning, but most people try to arrive at the festival site by Friday afternoon, hopefully in time to check out the courses.

Most people will stay at the Crowne Plaza in Pittsfield--there is a pool there and the Saturday night Pasta Dinner and awards are held there. Inaddition, they set up a waxing room and are essentially the event headquarters. You can find out all of the lodging options at the festivalwebsite.

Our family went to our very first Bill Koch Festival in 2001 at Notchview. I remember the weekend vividly. Jackson skied in the lollypop race and thenskied in a relay as well. Carter spent most of the weekend skiing around avery short loop in the woods where they had decorated the trees with all sorts of trolls. Four years later, we returned and they were both racing in all of the events.

When you register, they will ask you for your club. If you are in the Cumberland, Freeport, Falmouth, Yarmouth, North Falmouth area, I would encourage you to sign up as part of Coastal Nordic. If you are from CapeElizabeth, your club is Cape Nordic. When they ask what district you arefrom, it is SOME (Southern Maine).

I know that western Massachusetts sounds like it is a long way away fromsouthern Maine (and it is about a four hour drive) and you might bewondering about snow in Massachusetts. Well, the best snow we have had atthe festivals were the two festivals at Notchview, the one at Stowe and lastyear at Gunstock.

Hopefully, we will have a good group of skiers from southern Maine attendingthis year. Morgan Laidlaw will join us as well for coaching and support!

Ted Hall846-4872

Update for Week of 2/9

2009-02-10T03:13:00.000-08:00

Practice is on this week. We will freestyle both days this week. No practice next week on the week of Feb Vacation.

Thanks!

Some photos from the Scavenger Hunt

2009-02-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

Sunday, 2/8 Youth Skiing Event

2009-02-03T05:53:00.001-08:00

Wow--what a time we had out there at Twin Brook today. Forty-eight youthskiers ranging from 4 to 14 years old skied all over Twin Brook's trails ona scavenger hunt. The kids picked up tokens and candy in the woods andturned them in for all kinds of prizes at the end.
It was great fun seeing everyone out there skiing--kids and parents!

Thanks to everyone for bringing the prizes and special thanks to PeakPerformance in Portland for donating ski ties, water bottles and posters tothe prize table. Thanks to all of the parents who helped out on the courseand at the prize table.

Next week's event--the 2nd annual Tennis Ball Biathlon, Sunday, February8th. Registration between 11:00-11:45; race begins promptly at noon.Registration fee is $2.00.

Skiers will ski a short loop, stop and shoot tennis balls through a hulahoop, ski a second loop, come in and shoot tennis balls again and thencomplete a final loop. This is a SKATE ski race.
Anyone eighth grade and younger is welcome. There will be a special coursefor the lollypop racers (under 8 years old).

Ted Hall
846 4872

Week of 2/2 Update

2009-02-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

We had a great turnout on Saturday for the parent skate clinic. 17 people took part with skiers of varying ability levels. Everyone had a good time and thanks for the turnout.

The rain originally schedule for tomorrow appears to be snow. If classes end early, check the blog. The snow that is coming appears to be insignificant.

We are skating both days this week.

Thanks!

Lots of Snow today...Classic Thursday

2009-01-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

There will be a lot of soft new snow at Twin Brook, challenging to skate on. We'll classic on Thursday, we had planned on skating. If you have Swix purple put on a couple of thin layers. We'll apply wax otherwise.

Thanks!

1/25 Race..Next weekend's event

2009-01-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

Dear Skiers,

Thanks to everyone for coming out on a cold day today (Sunday). There was some great skiing by everyone. I hope you had fun! I have attached the results from today's race. Please let me know if I didn't spell your name right or anyother mistakes I might have made.

Next week is our first annual scavenger hunt at Twin Brook, open to all youth skiers 8th grade and younger. Please gather no later than 11:45 on Sunday, February 1 at the shelter on the Tuttle Road side. We will get organized and then skiers will go off and ski all over Twin Brook for an hour. At 1:00, we will all come back to the starting point and hand outprizes for the scavenger hunt. Depending on the age, skiers will either skiwith a partner or an adult.

SINCE WE HAVE TO DO SOME PLANNING FOR THIS ONE, PLEASE RSVP TO ME (Ted Hall ted_hall@earthlink.net), BY FRIDAY NIGHT SO THAT WE CAN GET EVERYTHING WE NEED. The idea of prizes is NOT to present big things, but simply to have little prizes for each of the stations they visit. For every skier participating, please bring at least three small prizes (more if you want to--we will need more than that). Some examples include:--books that you no longer want at your house that you think someone elsemight want--ski posters--a couple of cookies in a bag--if you decide on this one, please cook abatch and bring a bunch of prizes--small toys that you think kids would like--Halloween size candies--pieces of fruit

The idea is to have fun with this. You can ski any style you want at this one--you could even snowshoe if you would prefer. Let me know if you have questions.

Ted Hall

846-4872

Twin Brook Skate Race, Southern Maine Bill Koch Youth Ski Leage, 1/25/09

Lollypop race approx .5k

J5 approx 2k, J4 approx 3k, J3 approx 4k

Lollypop Division:

1. Stapler, Zeb Cumberland

2. Gagnon, Elizabeth Cumberland

3. Mulling, Natalie Cumberland

J5 Girls

1. Wilbraham, Jenny Bath 11:27

J5 Boys

1. Olins, Yacob Freeport 9:08

2. Menz, Henry Cape Elizabeth 21:23

J4 Girls

1. Nolin, Mikela Yarmouth 18:09

J4 Boys

1. Laukli, Evan Yarmouth 12:01

2. Hall, Nicholas Cumberland 12:22

3. Menz, Daniel Cape Elizabeth 13:38

4. Humphries, Ethan Freeport 14:22

5. Jepson, Camden Scarborough 16:00

J3 Girls

1. Hatton, Dana Cape Elizabeth 15:03

2. Lesnikova, Ihilia Yarmouth 16:06

3. Laukli, Katrina Yarmouth 18:39

J4 Girls

1. Jacobs, Chester Yarmouth 12:53

2. Hall, Carter Yarmouth 14:23

3. Elder, Jack Yarmouth 14:48

4. Jepson, Anders Scarborough 16:07

5. Maurer, Max Freeport 16:33

6. Mullin, Mitchell Cumberland 19:14

Week 1/26

2009-01-26T16:11:00.000-08:00

Youth Skiing

We are skate skiing both days this week. There could be some snow on Wednesday which should keep the conditions great. Both days were great last week, we skated on Tuesday and classic skied on Thursday. On Thursday, there was a 120 racer middle school race which kept things interesting.

I'll have wax remover on hand to remove any kick wax from Thursday.

Learn to Ski

For any parents who want to learn more about skate skiing, come to Twin Brook on Saturday morning at 9:00-10:30 am. I have a bunch of equipment with the exception of poles. So if you have poles, bring them. I have skis and boots that I can lend out.

I'll be at the red building around 8:45am, I'll do a boot fitting and we'll start skiing. We'll finish at 10:30.

Youth Ski Events

2009-01-20T02:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Ski Families,

For the next three Sundays at Twin Brook in Cumberland, we will be hosting Bill Koch events for youth skiers.

Sunday, Jan 25--Bill Koch skate race begins 12:00 with sign up from 11:00-11:45 right by the shelter on the Tuttle Road side. There will be races for the following age categories and ribbons for all participants:

Lollypop (born after 2000)
J-5 (born in 1999 & 2000)
J-4 (born in 1997 & 98)
J-3 (born in 1995 & 96)
Also, if there are any 8th graders who were born in 1994, we will have a J-2race for them.

Sunday, Feb 1--Bill Koch Scavenger Hunt at Twin Brook. This will be open to all youth skiers. Please meet right by the shelter by the Tuttle Road entrance between 11:30 and 11:45 to sign up. Each skier will ski with a mapand a list of possible clues. Full directions will be given that day. THIS EVENT DEPENDS ON EVERYONE BRINGING AT LEAST TWO PRIZES PER SKIER. The prizes should be inexpensive--perhaps a used book that you don't use any longer, some kind of treat, a hat, poster, pin, etc. The idea is that for every station the kids visit, they pick up a small prize when they return. Skiers will go out for 45 minutes and can go all over Twin Brook to look for prize certificates.

Sunday, Feb 8 Bill Koch Tennis Ball Biathlon begins 12:00 with sign upfrom 11:00-11:45 right by the shelter on the Tuttle Road side. There will be skate races for the following age categories and ribbons for all participants:
Lollypop (born after 2000)
J-5 (born in 1999 & 2000)
J-4 (born in 1997 & 98)
J-3 (born in 1995 & 96)
Also, if there are any 8th graders who were born in 1994, we will have a J-2race for them.

Skiers will do one short loop and then come into the "shooting range" where they will need to put three tennis balls through a hula hoop. Then, they will ski another lap, come in and shoot again, and finally ski one final lap.

Please let me know if you have any questions. These events rely on help from parents. If you can come and be prepared to help out, that would be great.

Ted Hall
846-4872

Week of 1/19 Update

2009-01-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

It should be a great week of skiing! We will skate on Tuesday this week and we'll classic ski on Thursday. The air temperature is much more mild this week and everyone should be comfortable.

One thing on the logistic side: prior to departing Twin Brook, please ensure that name have been returned to the check-out area.

Thanks again!

1/15/09 Practice

2009-01-15T04:01:00.000-08:00

To everyone involved with the Cumberland Youth Skiing Program:

Nordic Skiing is a tough person sport and Maine is a tough person state. BUT with the cold temperatures and high winds today it is in the best interest of everyone to cancel practice. Thanks and we'll see you next Tuesday.

Have a good weekend!

Week of 1/12 Update

2009-01-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

It should be a great day of skiing tomorrow. Be sure that everyone is prepared attire wise. Also please try to mark your child's equipment with name or some type of unique identification. Other than that, everything should be pretty straight forward.

Thanks and have a good week!

Bridgton Biathlon Sunday, January 18th

2009-01-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

The Bridgton Biathlon, sponsored but the Southern Maine Biathlon Club and Maine Winter Sports Center will take place on Sunday, January 18th.

This is an air rifle biathlon where the guns are provided by the race organizers. You do not ski with a gun, instead you ski a lap and then come into the shooting area to pick up a gun to shoot the target.

The total race distance is 4k. Each skier will do one lap, come in and shoot, ski another lap, shoot etc..

Event Time: Clinic will take place from 10:00-11:30am and its required that all racers take the clinic. The race begins at noon.

Location: Five Fields Farm, Bridgton. www.fivefieldsski.com for directions.

The race is open to young skiers and adults. It's a great introduction to biathlon. Last years several racers were 10-11 years old.

Price: 15.00

Race Results: 1/11/09

2009-01-11T14:38:00.000-08:00

Race Results: Pineland Race, Southern Maine Bill Koch Youth Ski League

Technique: Freestyle

.5k

Lollypop Division

1 Lauklia, Sophia Yarmouth

2 Hester, Niklas Falmouth

3 Hester, Annika Falmouth

2.5k

J5 Girls Barbara, Gretchen Yarmouth 20:34

J4 Girls None

2.5k

J4Boys

1 Laukli, Evan Yarmouth 10:10

2 Jones, Henry Yarmouth 12:40

3 Humphries, Ethan Freeport 13:11

4 Pietropaoli, Timmy Freeportt 13:44

J3 Girls

1 Hatton, Dana Cape Elizabeth 17:14

2 Bell, Ihilia Yarmouth 18:38

3 Laukli, Katrina Yarmouth 22:37

J3 Boys

1 Jacobs, Jacob Yarmoth 14:54

2 Hall, Carter Yarmouth 17:08

3 Jones, Sammy Yarmouth 19:29

4 Smith, Colin Cape Elizabeth 24:28

5 Shedd, Nicholas Cape Elizabeth 28:29

J2 Girls

1 Pidden, Emma Yarmouth 20:01

Some Photos from Thursday

2009-01-09T03:39:00.000-08:00

Thursday 1/7

2009-01-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

We had a great day on Tuesday. We had an enjoyable dryland session and we're excited about the snow today. On Thursday we will ski. Parents, please mark all ski equipment with something that identifies your skier. Masking tape with a name will probably work best. Everyone seems to have black poles and Rossignol skis. This can create problems when equipment is being taken on and off. Also ensure that hats and gloves are brought to the session.

Also, please ensure that your skier has signed up through your rec program or Cumberland Recreation directly.

Coaches, if anyone can bring a camera tomorrow that would be great. It should be a pretty day out there.

Thanks and see you out there!

Youth Ski Program starting Tuesday-Dryland

2009-01-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

The Cumberland Youth Ski Program will begin tomorrow as scheduled, minus the snow. We walked the trails on Saturday and found there was a layer of crust with ice underneath. The trails are skiable, however it would not be an enjoyable experience.

For Tuesday, we'll have a dryland session. We'll break the group into subgroups. We'll do some hiking, various drills, trivia questions (very successful the last time this happened) and some general adventure. It won't be skiing but we'll have a good time. The kids will get some good exercise. Have the kids come with cold weather attire, sneakers, ski poles, and a sense of adventure.

Coaches, I'll send you out an email on Tuesday morning and I'll give you a plan when the session starts tomorrow. Remember to have the kids dropped off on the Tuttle Road entrance of Twin Brook at 3:25. We'll be finished around 4:30-4:45.

Thanks!

Hopefully the snow will come through on Wednesday and we'll ski Thursday.

2009 Youth Ski Prgram begins Jan 6th

2008-12-29T06:22:00.001-08:00

I hope that everyone is enjoying the holidays. More snow is in the forecast this week, the conditions should be great for the start of the youth ski program on January 6th. As mentioned in the meeting, the sessions will run from at 3:30pm 5:00pm. Please have kids dropped off at 3:25 at the new building on the Tuttle Road entrance of Twin Brook (this is opposite of last year). We will be skating for to start off the season.

For the program to run smoothly, we will need 6-8 coaches per session. You don't need to have any experience to coach, enthusiasm is the main ingredient. If you're interested and have never skied, no problem. We've had great coaches in the past who have only used snow shoes. I'm going to have a simple coach clinic on Saturday, January 3rd, from 9:00-10:30am at Twin Brook. We will meet at the new red building, as mentioned above. We'll talk about some skate drills, safety, and general logistics. The session is designed for coaches only.

I'll send out updates weekly during the seasons. Feel free to email me with any questions. If you are interested in coaching, but cannot attend on Saturday, please let me know, I need to get a list started. Have a great rest of the week! Coaches, hopefully I'll see you Saturday and I'll see everyone else next Tuesday.

Thanks!
Morgan

Week of 3/4 Update

2008-03-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Youth Skiing Families and Skiers

We are on track to have our second to last practice tomorrow at Twin Brook. After skiing we’ll have our annual end of year celebration at 5:15, it’ll take place at the Wilson School. To help out Cumberland Recreation, please RSVP at recreation@cumberlandmaine.com.

Mother Nature is again making things challenging weather wise. If it’s pouring rain, we will move the practice and party to Thursday.

If the weather is questionable on Tuesday, please check www.cumberlandyouthskiing.blogspot.com, I will try to update the blog at noon. If there is no update, assume everything is on as planned.

It’s been a great season. Thanks for everything!

Cumberland Youth Skiing Wrap-Up

2008-02-27T17:41:00.000-08:00

The Youth Ski Program is winding down for the season. The last day of the program will be Thursday, March 6th. On Tuesday, March 4th, we will have a year end program wrap-up/pizza party at the Wilson School cafeteria in Cumberland. The party will start after the Tuesday practice; it’ll run approximately from 5:30-6:30. For the party, please ensure that the kids are wearing shoes, not ski boots.

Pizza will be supplied for the event. Molly Montgomery will be sending out an email to see if anyone wants to contribute additional items such as salads, juice, or desserts. For accuracy, please RSVP via email to recreation@cumberlandmaine.com.

We have had a great season! Kids who were beginners are now very comfortable with the aspects of skiing. Several kids who never on skied prior to the program and are now able to enjoy the sport, hopefully for many years to come. Many of these new skiers have brought their parents out to ski to enjoy the outdoors. In addition, thirteen kids from Southern Maine will attend the Bill Koch Ski Festival held this weekend at Gunstock, New Hampshire.

We had sixty six skiers signed up for the program and we averaged fifty-five skiers per practice. We had twelve parent/mentor/coaches that need to be thanked for their efforts. The coaches were there to provide support, instruction, and served as snowball targets throughout the season. At the conclusion of the season, the Cumberland Youth Skiing program will have had over 700 cross country skier visits to Twin Brook throughout the session.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the success of the program including Cumberland Recreation and Healthy Hometowns for facilitating the ski lease program.

Week of 2/18 Update

2008-02-18T05:29:00.000-08:00

We had two great days of skiing last week. The snow conditions were excellent, the kids had a great time. There will not be any Youth Skiing sessions this week during vacation. We will reconvene again on Tuesday, February 26th.

2008-02-13T06:38:00.000-08:00

2/7/08 Ski Practice Cancelled

2008-02-07T08:20:00.000-08:00

With the school cancellations, slippery roads, and high winds later today, practice for today will be cancelled. I've always been bull headed about driving in slippery conditions, especially to go ski! In light of recent circumstances, I need to be reminded that driving in the winter is dangerous. Have a good day, be safe. If you have a little bit of space outside, put on your skis, build a jump, and have fun!

Some Photos from 2/5

2008-02-06T05:19:00.000-08:00

It was a great day of skiing yesterday and the conditions will vastly improve with the snow today! The new snow yesterday made for some fun times!

Snowballs were flying Taking Shelter
I've been hit!
The skiing snowman, they named him Morgan

2/5 Youth Skiing Practice is On!

2008-02-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

We'll see you at 3:30

Youth Skiing for 2/5/08

2008-02-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

Dear Cumberland Youth Skiers and Families:

I hope you all enjoyed the Spring Weekend. It was nice but it has put a damper on the skiing. I spoke with Bill Landis today (Monday). The skiing has improved since last Thursday and the conditions are safe. However, there is a forecast of sleet, changing to a wintery mix, and finally changing to all rain on Tuesday morning. Bill Landis will check Twin Brook at Noon on Tuesday. He will make the determination on whether we'll have practice on Tuesday. I will send out an email at that time. It will also be posted at www.cumberlandyouthskiing.blogspot.com. If you're unable to access a computer please call Cumberland Recreation at 829-2208 after 12:00 on Tuesday to see if the Youth Skiing session will happen. I appreciate your patience and I apologize for any inconvenience.

1/31 Youth Skiing Practice Cancelled

2008-01-31T09:29:00.000-08:00

Youth Skiing Skiers, Families, and Coaches:

I just spoke with Bill Landis at Cumberland Recreation. Twin Brook still has snow but the conditions are very icy today. There is a 2.5k loop that is being groomed for a middle school race today. The loop is the only skiable area for today and with there being a race, the youth skiing kids will not have a lot to ski on. So the 1/31 practice is cancelled. With the wintery mix coming this weekend, I think we'll end up in the positive with snow gain. We will plan on having practice next Tuesday.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

A great day 1/29

2008-01-29T17:59:00.000-08:00

We had 62 kids show up today for 1/29 edition of Cumberland Youth Skiing. We had awonderful day, the skiing was great. The kids continue to improve. The kids now have an understanding of the fundamentals and all seem to enjoy the exercise. They also like the speed element and a lot of them really like jumping. Jumping is a real challenge on cross country skis. The jump we use is small but it builds confidence. Here are a few photos from today.

Joe went for it. He took a spill but he came up smiling. Note the line in at the top of the hill

2nd year Youth skier Alex got some air

Wilson found the way up

And this is why we do it! The essence of skiing. Tell me Nathaniel isn't psyched to be on skis!!

Pictures from 1/24

2008-01-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

In Limbo

2008-01-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

Week 2 Recap

2008-01-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

Week 2 of Cumberland Youth Skiing was great! After a huge storm on Monday we had great conditions for Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, all three groups went over to the Tuttle Rd side of Twin Brook and skated the B & C loops. We had 59 attendees. Our new skiers, Team USA, no longer has any fear on the downhills. Canada and Norway discovered the jump that was being built by some of the Yarmouth Middle School Skiers. All of the kids demonstrated an amazing ability to manipulate the coaches when told that we needed to ski rather than jump. One skier told me that she left something at the top of the hill. I watched her ski up the hill, she picked up nothing, and proceeded to take the jump. They love the jump. On Thursday, we classical skied for the first time. We started a little late as we were busy applying kick wax for 51 skiers. Bill Landis set some great tracks for us and the kids got a taste of kicking and gliding. A few of the kids really enjoyed it but the majority of the kids like the speed of skating. With that being said, many of the kids will have kick wax remaining on their skis. If attending the race Saturday, its a skating race, rub some wax remover over the kick zone of the ski. I gave Ted Hall, the Saturday race director the heads up, he'll have some wax remover at the race as well. For week 3 we will skate ski on Tuesday and Thursday. Have a great weekend!

Photos from 1/15/08

2008-01-16T05:26:00.001-08:00

Week of 1/14 Youth Skiing Update

2008-01-14T14:01:00.001-08:00

Everything is on business as usual with the youth skiing program this week. Plenty of snow now, back to Winter. The conditions should be amazing this week. We will skate on Tuesday and we will classical ski on Thursday. It looks like the conditions for Thursday will be extra blue conditions. If anyone has kick wax please put a couple of thin layers on the skis for Thursday. If you don't have any wax, no problem we'll apply it on Thursday. Be on the lookout for details from Ted Hall this week regarding the race this coming Saturday at Twin Brook. The races will be very low key and a lot of fun for the kids, they'll will have a blast! Coaches, check your email tonight, I send you out a lesson plan for Tuesday.

Addional Ski Events for Cumberland Youth Skiing

2008-01-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

Many of you probably saw the Ted Hall. Ted is the Chairperson in Southern Maine for the Bill Koch ski league. He previously sent an email about additional opportunities in Southern Maine. Here is a listing of races/ski events that Ted noted:

Saturday, 1/19/08, 10:00am Skate Race Twin Brook, Cumberland

Sunday, 2/3/08, 1:00pm Classic Race, Pineland, New Gloucester

Saturday, 2/9/08, 10:00am Tennis Biathlon, Twin Brook, Cumberland

Sunday, 2/24/08, Cape Elizabeth Trails, details tba

Saturday and Sunday 3/1 and 3/2/08 TD Banknorth Bill Koch Ski Festival
Gunstock Nordic Center, Gilford, New Hampshire
www.bklfestival.nensa.net
For Lodging: contact The Margate on Winnipesaukee
76 Lake St
Laconia, NH 03246
1-800-margate www.themargate.com
Mention Bill Koch festival

Week 1 Recap

2008-01-10T16:28:00.000-08:00

Week 1 of the Youth Skiing program was very successful. On Tuesday, we had 66 skiers attend our practice. From what I understand, this was a record turnout. We had several skiers attend who had never been on skis before and many others who had only been on skis two or three times. We did some drills without poles and also performed various balance drills. Our USA and Canada groups stayed on the Greely Rd side of Twin Brook while our Norway group ventured over to the B & C loops on the Tuttle Rd side of the park.

On Thursday, we had 58 skiers attend. We started the practice with some drills to recap what we learned on Tuesday. The Norway and Canada groups explored some of the longer loops. The USA group took a few minutes to sharpen their downhill and turning skills. Later, the USA group ventured onto the other side of the park where there was a middle school race. We unfortunately missed seeing recent Cumberland Youth Skiing Alumni Kellan Humphries, Ian Moore, and John Burgess who are now racing at the middle school level.

It was a great first week. The kids enjoyed themselves, we had great weather, and everyone got some good exercise. If you know of any other kids who are interested in skiing, send them our way. I’d really like to see the group grow to 75 skiers before the season ends.

A special thanks needs to go out to the coaches that made this first week happen.

Week of 1/8 Youth Skiing Update

2008-01-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

Youth Skiing Program
It's definitely a January thaw outside but there is still plenty of snow. We will practice at 3:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday this week. As mentioned previously, our meeting point will be at Twin Brook on the Greely Road side. The drop-off point will be at the far side of the Greely Road parking lot. All skiers need to look for the person with the orange vest who will be taking attendance. Skiers will then walk over to the picnic tables behind the back stop to get a name tag. At the end of the practice, the tag needs to be returned to the board where it was retrieved.

Coaches
We have a lot of coaches who have committed to assisting with the program. We will be especially stacked with coaches this week. Please keep up the commitment; we can never have too many coaches. We’ll be sending out a coach schedule next week.

Equipment
If anyone still needs equipment, try these resources:

Play it Again Sports: it’s hit or miss, keep checking, the inventory changes frequently

Maine Winter Sports Center: this is a great program, for $50.00 a winter skiers can get outfitted with equipment that works beautifully with this program. Contact Mike Yeo at mike@mainewsc.org or 207-318-7550 for additional info.

Peak Performance Sports:

Gorham Bike and Ski:

Youth Skiing Coach Clinic Sunday, January 6th 10:00AM

2008-01-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! The youth skiing program is scheduled to start on Tuesday, January 8th.

For coaches/volunteers, there will be a clinic this Sunday, January 6th, at Twin Brook. We’ll start at 10:00am and it’ll last 90 minutes.

For the first 15-20 minutes, we’ll discuss some of daily tasks such as arrival, attendance, departure, and overall safety. After that, I’d like to go over the basics of skating and some of the drills that we’ll cover this season. If you have only waxless or classic skis, please still attend. We’ll meet on the Greely road side at the baseball field, you’ll see the dugouts. This may end up being our "official" meeting place for the entire winter session, Bill Landis will let us know this week. If it is our meeting place, he plans on having adequate grooming on the Greely road side of the park.

Information Meeting Outline

2007-12-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

In case you missed the youth skiing information meeting, here is what we covered:

Cumberland Youth Skiing Program 2007-2008
Enjoy the Outdoors, Enjoy a Great Sport, And Enjoy Each Other!

Goals of the Program
•Have Fun!
•Promote Nordic Skiing as a lifelong sport
•Promote an active and healthy lifestyle, hopefully develop valuable life
habits
Essential Elements of a Successful Program
• I as the coach, Morgan Laidlaw, can provide the outline for the program, the content is provided by the parents (an outline is terrible without the content!)
• The program will only be as good as its parental involvement!
• Redundancy with mentors/coaches is needed at each practice
• Parental Expectations will only be met with Parental involvement
Tasks Needed at Every Session
• Attendance taker (1)
• Departure monitor (1)
• Coaches (6-8)
• Registration Database coordinator
What Does a Practice Consist Of?
• The group is broken down into groups based on ability level (2007 we used Norway, Canada, and USA)
• We practice the drill of the day (V1, V2, diagonal striding, double poling)
• Each group will then go for a 30-45 minute ski hopefully implementing the drill of the day
• All three groups usually reconvene at 4:30 to do some of the following: slalom course, play a game like ultimate Frisbee of soccer on skis (often times the kids gain their most valuable lessons by playing games on skis)
Equipment
• A good attitude is essential every practice! If you’re having a bad day that’s okay, just don’t bring it to practice! Let skiing turn a bad day into a Great Day!
• Skis – a combination waxable ski is ideal for classical and skating technique
Waxless Fishscales are adequate for learning classic technique but not ideal
• Poles – A combination pole sized up to the chin
• Clothing – layers, ski pants, gloves, hats that will cover the ears
• Water
Communication Channels
• Cumberland Youth Skiing Blog: www.cumberlandyouthskiing.blogspot.com
• EMAIL distribution will be done by Morgan Laidlaw (Morgan@harbordogs.com) at the beginning of each week
• Bill Landis, Cumberland’s recreation director, will be a communication point as well (blandis@cumberlandmaine.com)

Youth Skiing Information / Registration Meeting

2007-12-09T04:22:00.000-08:00

The NORDIC SKI PROGRAM at Cumberland's Twin Brook Recreation Area will be offered again this year, for Grades 3-6. Both classic and freestyle (skating) techniques will be taught, for recreation and for future ski teams. Coach Morgan Laidlaw, who MWS skiers enjoyed last year, is returning. The program will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays for seven weeks (weather permitting), Jan 8th - March 6th. Sessions will be held from 3:30PM to 4:30 (ending at 5:00 as the light returns). Each participant will need a pair of Nordic skis, poles, and ski boots.

Parent volunteers are needed to assist, no experience necessary. The fee is $45.00, which can be waived for one child with a parent volunteering. Enrollment limit is based on the number of parent volunteers, to ensure a high quality experience. Parent and skier orientation will be held on Thursday, December 13th from 6:30-7:15 PM at Drowne Road School, Cumberland. To register, pick up a form at the MWS office, or contact Cumberland Recreation Department, 829-2208.