Ski team races toward recognition

Gogo Jones
Reporter

The official ski team was disbanded years ago due to a lack of seriousness and dedication among its participants, but the high school has revived the program this winter.

“For a long time the kids on the team would join, and didn’t have any intentions of taking it seriously. Unfortunately, their misconduct led to the team losing recognition,” one of the team’s parent founders, Suzanne Cole said. “In the years after that, there just weren’t enough dedicated skiers around to form a competitive team. Now we have a group of skiers with experience in racing, and are giving them an opportunity to do what they love. Skiing is a tough and humbling sport, but the kids are so passionate about it.”

The team became official this year. “My mom and Mrs. Alexander proposed the idea of the ski team to Mr. Egan last year, and this fall we were finally able to get the program organized. The founders are Suzanne Cole, Libby Alexander, and Mike Anthony helped as well,” sophomore Courtney Cole said.

Currently, the team consists of ten members, but is looking to expand in the future. “This year we wanted a relatively small team to start off with, but next year we will probably open it up to a lot more kids who want to do it,” Courtney said.

Several team members explained how they had been skiing from an early age, and expressed their passion for the sport. “I’ve been skiing since I was two or three so basically my whole life. My favorite part about skiing is the freedom and how you can always push yourself to do a bigger trick or get a faster time,” senior Kyle Isherwood, said. He frequently visits Vermont for further practice, as do many of his fellow skiers.

As of now, there is only one requirement needed to join the team. “Since this is the first year that the ski team has returned, Mr. Egan required prior USSA (United States Ski and Snowboard Association) experience. In other words, to join the team you had to have experience ski racing,” junior Jenny Curt, said.

However, because the team is not funded by the school it must draw its funds from its members.  “Ski racing is an expensive sport. We all pay for several pairs of skis for different types of courses, helmets, poles, and all other necessary apparel,” Jenny said. If everyone contributes, the students are able to pay for slope passes, food and team shirts.

The team meets four times a week. On Mondays and Wednesdays, they perform “dry land” training with C4 (Core, Cardio, Cross, Conditioning) instructors. “We do mostly lower body and leg exercises [with the C4 instructors]like squats, planks, and some other things,” freshman Wilson Fleming said. “It is a great workout for after school”.

On Tuesdays, the team travels in their van to Mt. Southington, in Plantsville, Connecticut. There, they prep on the slopes for the races, which usually take place on Thursday afternoons. The racers described the style of competition as a modified giant slalom. They compete against 200-300 other skiers of all levels, including students from surrounding towns such as Danbury, Greenwich and Darien. In fact, “Before this year we were the only school in the district without a ski team,” Jenny said.

However, she explained that being a team in its first year comes with a challenge. “Since our team is so small, we have to compete in the boys varsity division, giving the girls a major disadvantage. However, the closeness of our team and the bond we share is something I wouldn’t give up for a chance at a higher ranking. The ten of us are always laughing, joking and cheering each other on which is such an important part of the ski racing experience and makes it truly enjoyable and worth the time commitment,” Jenny said.

Jenny’s appreciation for the community aspect of skiing is one shared by all of the team’s members. “My favorite part of the ski team is that I get to hang out with people that I don’t usually get to hang out with,” sophomore Chuck Anderson said. “I met a lot of people through the team and have started good friendships with everyone.”

Putting behind a subpar past, the ski team looks to establish itself as a serious program.