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Good Morning: Big race at Welch today. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to work the race. We could use some gate judges on the JV courses if anyone would be willing to give it a go. Also, we are a bit short on coaches today. I am bringing our video cameras. If one or two or more would like to video tape our athletes' race runs today, please shoot me an email or text. Here is a link to sign up to help with the race: https://signup.com/go/YdhTMqp or click here We are not serving food at the race today, so hopefully you remembered to bring a sack supper or money to pick up something in the cafeteria. The race should move along quickly since we are running varsity and jv on separate courses. There will be an awards ceremony for both jv and varsity after the race (once results are calculated). The SW boys are the defending MEC Conference Boys Champions. The Washburn boys are bucking in the start gate to take that title away from them. But they have to beat back Hastings who are in first place in the conference standings. Saturday Supplemental Training: I re-opened supplemental training today. There are two spots on the bus if anyone else would like to attend. Here is a link: https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/355949 Section IV Championships Team Selections The coaches have carefully analyzed race results from the last month of racing. You all made it really hard for us to make our selections. There has been so much improvement from all of you this season, and for many of you, your results from the last three races have put you on the threshold of stardom. The future looks bright. But in the end, we are limited to six racers and alternates. We have had some illness and injuries to contend with so some schools have more selections than others for this reason. The selections are listed in alphabetical order. Seeding and alternate selections will be made tomorrow after one last look at race results. For now, know that you are attending as either an alternate or one of the six racers. If you are listed and you are not interested in racing, please let me know immediately. To EVERYONE: if your name is not on the list, your spirit is. You have pushed your teammates to become the best ski racers they can become. Your hard work, enthusiasm, support, continuous improvement and presence on the hill six days a week has made everyone better. Those who will be pushing out of the start gate next Wednesday know that they are racing for not just themselves, but for you as well. You helped them become the racer they are today. Thank you for that. Looking Ahead: We will be hosting a Hyland JV Championships. We are planning on awarding medals to the top five boys and girls in each grade division: 7th/8th, 9th/10th, 11th/12th. If you are competing in the Section Championships, you are not eligible to race. If you do not end up racing in the Section Championships, you are eligible to race. Here is a link to state your race intentions: February 10 Race Intentions Also, last year our 7th grade girls suggested that everyone dress up in costumes for our last Saturday morning practice of the season. That was a really fun day. I will leave it to all of you to decide if you would like to do this again on Saturday, February 11. Talk to the current 8th graders and/or the captains if this sounds like something you would like to reprise. There is nothing quite so entertaining as watching a dinosaur ride a chairlift and race down a slalom course. Who knew? One final request: if you are planning on riding home with a parent after the race, please let a coach know--preferably the coach who is on the bus with you...or whoever is checking you off as you get on the bus. Thanks all. See you at the hill. I'm leaving early to stage the gates and set one of the JV courses. I decided I will set one of Coach Jack's courses today. Looking forward to seeing you slay it. Mark 612-275-8392 markrobertconway58@gmail.com 
Wow! Great racing tonight! How about that win for the Washburn girls. MEC Conference Champs. Guess who finished second? Southwest girls. Impressive. I told you that you were improving. So, keep working hard. Set a new goal for yourself. I will shoot video tomorrow and Saturday. Watch it. Study it. Talk with a coach about what you see. Congratulations to Gabby, Levi, Xavier, Jerome and Steffan for finishing in the medals. We had seven girls finish in the top thirteen and seven boys finish in the top fourteen. That is really good team skiing. There are so many wonderful performances tonight that deserve mention, but you need to go to bed and so do I. Look for a big slap on the back in practice tomorrow. But don't get a big head. There are more improvements ahead if you keep working hard and supporting each other. Thank you coaches and parents for all of your hard work on the hill tonight. And it was so neat to see so many parents cheering at the bottom and during the awards ceremony. The view of the finish arena from the knoll was quite inspiring. One final thank you: for cleaning up the mess on the tables and on the floor in the chalet tonight. I will never understand how someone can just leave their trash behind for someone else to clean up. If your dream is to make the world a better place, it is an empty pursuit if you haven't learned to clean up your own messes first. Sleep well. See you tomorrow afternoon. Mark PS. Video is uploaded to Sprongo. Thank you Jodi and Hassan for braving the cold to operate the camera. Hope you didn't lose any fingers.
Good Afternoon: Hopefully everyone survived our very cold night on the hill last night. Race results were very exciting and positive, demonstrating just how deep the season-long improvement runs on the team. I believe I counted 17 Mpls skiers in the top 20 in both the boys' and girls' results. Thank you for your patience last night as we dealt with continuing timing issues. Not much any of us can do about that. Thank you to all the coaches who helped on the hill and all of the parents who attended and worked the race. In below zero temps and with endless timing difficulties, we still managed to somehow complete over 400 race runs in a bit over two and a half hours. Maybe closer to 600 race runs with all the re-runs. Congratulations to Andreas Drekonjas and Gabby Harritt for their victories. Andreas is the first skier to post a sub-17 time this season as far as I remember. And in team results, Washburn-SW-MAST went one-two-three in team scoring. Nicely done. Thank you to Sergei for once again calculating and formatting the race results that are attached. Our next race is Thursday at Welch Village. Thank you to all the parents who have signed up to work the race. We still need more volunteers. There is one error in the sign up form: the form indicates that the race is a Hyland race. Hopefully you already know that this is inaccurate. The race is at Welch Village and the race is slated to start between 4:50-5PM. If you signed up to work thinking the race was at Hyland and you cannot make it to Welch, please email or call me. We still need volunteers, especially gate judges. Here is a link to sign up: Feb 2 Race Volunteer Sign UP at Welch Any parents who plan to ride the lifts to work the race will need to sign the Welch Waiver. If you did not sign the waiver for yourself when you signed it for you athlete, you will need to do so. Here is a link: Welch Waiver Athletes: if you plan to bring and store your equipment to Washburn or SW before school, here are the instructions from the ADs. Washburn: "The Washburn skiers can store their ski equipment in the closet by the main gym. The door will be open at 7:00am and will close at 8:30am." I believe you can enter through Door 5 by the dumpsters in the parking lot off 49th street. Southwest: "They can store the gear in my outer office off the Commons or in the main office behind the desk in the hallway part (hockey puts some gear there). I will let Mark and Old School know to open my office door if I am not here." The coaches will be announcing the Section Teams for Washburn, SW and South/Roosevelt tomorrow. We have some very difficult decisions to make. See you tonight. Dress really warm!!! Mark
MAST Update Week Twelve Sunday, January 29, 2023 Dear MAST Athletes, Coaches and Parents: First, I want to thank all of the coaches and parents who helped in so many ways to make the Wild Mt Invitational such a successful event on Friday. We started and finished on time; the courses were fun, challenging, and well maintained; the race was judged fairly; and our athletes were well fed. Thank you! Second, I have made some changes to the schedule that may not agree with the schedule posted in Team Snap. Updates will be made to Team Snap, but for now, please refer to the schedule posted below when planning your week. Third, we have a race at Hyland on Monday. I will ask for an early release of 2:30PM. This may be our last full team race at Hyland this season, so all seniors are seeded at the front of the run order. Let’s give them a bit of extra cheering and appreciation as they exit the start and cross the finish line. And in warm-ups, practice your pole plants and outside-ski-to-outside-ski pressure, along with all the other drills that constitute your pre-race routine. Fourth, we have a big race at Welch on Thursday. The race is slated to begin at 5PM, but there is a chance we will start up to fifteen minutes earlier if we can be ready to do so in time. I will be asking the Athletic Directors for a 1:15PM early release so you have time to change at school or, for those who have to travel to meet the bus, get to SW or Washburn. If you are in middle school or attend South or Roosevelt, you will have to change into your race gear at Welch once we arrive. Meet the bus at 1:40 at either Washburn or Southwest. I will ask the SW and Washburn Athletic Directors to again find a space for you to store your equipment during the school day. Once I know the location, I will send out instructions. February 2 MEC Race Day Schedule 7:30-8:15AM. Drop off race equipment at Washburn/SW. 1:15PM Early Release and Change into Race Gear or Travel to SW or Washburn to meet the bus. 1:40PM Load Bus 1:55PM Depart 3:00PM Arrive/Unload/ Boot Up/ Bib Up 3:15PM Ticket Up Distribution 3:30PM Warm-Ups 4:00-4:25PM Inspection 4:45-5PM First Run Start Fifth, we need A LOT of race volunteers to fill the race worker roles on all four courses that will be set on Thursday at Welch. The race should go quickly since we are running JV and Varsity on separate courses. This means that the varsity field will number only 70 boys and 70 girls, and the junior varsity field will be even smaller. To make this work, we need a lot of parents to work the race. Here is a sign up link: https://signup.com/go/YdhTMqp or click here. Attached are the names of the athletes racing on Thursday at Welch. Refer to this roster to determine whether you/your athlete is skiing in the JV race or Varsity. If your name is listed and your plans have changed, email me immediately so I can adjust the run order. If your name is not listed and you thought you had registered for this race, CALL ME. 612-275-8392 It is possible that I made a mistake sorting through race intentions and creating run orders. Sixth, hopefully everyone who is registered to race at Welch has also completed the Welch Liability Release/Waiver. If you haven’t, you will not be racing. Welch is serious about this waiver, and they want it completed YESTERDAY. If you raced or coached or volunteered for the race at Welch in January, your waiver is completed. Any parents who will be on skis to work the race will also need to sign the waiver, as will coaches who will be attending. Minnesota State High School League 2022/23 Season Release Seventh, we have one last Supplemental Training scheduled at Wild Mt for Saturday, February 4. Registration is quite full, but there is still room for roughly ten more. Hopefully, all contenders for a starting position on our Section IV Championship Teams are already registered. If not, do so today before all the spots are filled. Saturday, February 4 Supplemental Training at Wild Mt: Register Here. Eighth, the Section IV Championships will be held on Wednesday, February 8. I need to submit run orders by Wednesday this week. The coaches will make final team selections on Tuesday. Attached is a race schedule and the roster of race worker assignments. As you can see, our parents need to fill many positions:
markrobertconway58@gmail.com Training/Racing Schedule Week Twelve Monday, January 30 Hyland Race vs Wayzata, Bloomington, AHA, DelaSalle, Lake Crystal 2:30PM Early Release. 3:45PM Inspection. 4:30PM First Run Start. Tuesday, January 31 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 3:45-6PM: Pods 12/11/10. Lanes 2?, 6, 7. 5:00-7:15PM: Pods 9. Lane 6. Warm-Ups on South Chair. 6:30-8:45PM: Pods 8/7. Lanes 5, 6. Warm-Ups on South Chair. Wednesday, February 1 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 3:45-6PM: Pods 12/11/10/9. Lanes A?, 4, 5 5:00-7:15PM: Pods 8/7. Lanes 4, 5. Warm-Ups On South Chair 6:30-8:45PM: No Training. Thursday, February 2 MEC Race #3 at Welch Village and MEC JV Championships 1:30PM Early Release. 3:45PM Inspection. 4:30PM First Run Start. NO HYLAND TRAINING TODAY! Friday, February 3 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 3:45-6PM: Pods 12/11/10 5:00-7:15PM: Pods 9/8/7. Lanes 4, 5. Saturday, February 4 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 7:45AM-10:30AM: All Pods. Lanes 4,5, 6 or 1, 2, 3. AND Saturday, February 4 Supplemental Training at Wild Mt: Register Here. 2:30PM Load Bus at Washburn. 10:30PM Return. Keep working hard. Fun to see so much improvement. We will continue to work on skiing combination gates with more courage and agility in training this week. I saw a lot of improvement in this area yesterday morning. New video is posted on Sprongo—from the Wild Invite and from Saturday morning training. Hopefully you are watching your runs. Studying your runs. See you tomorrow at 3:45 or so. Mark 612-275-8392
Good Evening Race Fans: After a gnarly drive to Wild this morning, the sun came out and we had a great day of racing. Our Washburn boys finished third in team scoring and the SW boys were right behind in fourth. The MAST boys finished a very respectable eleventh out of twenty teams. The Washburn girls finished the race in a three way tie for first place. To break the tie, the points of the teams' fifth finishers were calculated and the Washburn girls finished in second place. The SW girls finished sixth and the MAST girls landed in ninth place. Great team results for all six teams. Gabby Harritt and Kate Moore finished on the podium in sixth and seventh places. Andreas Drekonja was our sole medalist on the boys' side, finishing sixth overall. Although our teams scored well in team scoring, you have yet to ski as well in a race as you have in training. I think you know this. Don't give up. Don't doubt yourself or your abilities or the value of your hard work and self-discipline. Celebrate the three or four turns that felt fantastic. Celebrate the second run that was so much better than the first, or the first run that was better than the second. Celebrate how you attached the pitch or the first gate. Or the fact that you made saves today that you couldn't make two weeks ago. Celebrate the improvement you have made in the last two months because it is remarkable. See you bright and early. Mark 
Good Morning Wild Mt Invite Racers:
We still have race worker positions to fill tomorrow at Wild Mt. Please consider volunteering. Note that the two open gate judge positions are only for one run, not two. Kirsten is signed up to serve as Starter but we may need someone to take her place. Great job. You are the one communicating with timing from the start house and giving the start commands to the athletes. Easy job to learn. Enjoyable to do. Please send me an email or a text if you are willing to volunteer to work one of these jobs. Starter: 1. Scoreboard: 1. 2. Gate Judge Run 1 Station 3: 1 Gate Judge Girls Run 2 Station 1: 1. Thank you. Mark Great Night of Racing! Thank you to all the parents and coaches who worked the race. You filled all of the race worker positions. So impressive. With 24 volunteers working the race, everything went very smoothly once we had the timer show up. And, thank you Sergei for formatting and calculating the results all the way from Big Sky. You put down some nice runs tonight. And the results are strong. Seven of the top ten boys were MAST skiers and eight of the top ten girls. Congratulations to Gabby Harritt for yet another victory. And how about the SW girls. Packing into the top of the results to come within only three points of Washburn. Well done girls. And the Washburn and SW boys went one-two also. And our MAST teams finished well, placing fourth. Everyone is improving and the results show this. Three weeks remain. I know you are in the midst of finals week, so stay focused on school this week. If you can continue to to train this week AND finish your semester with quality work, then do that. If you need to take a day or two off to make sure that you end the semester with the high grades you want, then by all means do so. We will be working on driving the inside knee and creating a bigger platform with higher edge angles this week. Tighten the arc with higher edge angles. See you all tomorrow. Excited to get back to some training. Mark
MAST Update Week Eleven
Sunday, January 22, 2023 Dear MAST Athletes, Coaches and Parents: Another big week of racing and training ahead. I made some changes to the training schedule this week. Please look at the updated schedule carefully. Most important, the 3:45PM session on Thursday is for those athletes participating in the Wild Mt Invitational II on Friday. For those not racing at Wild, please come to the 5PM practice if you are in grades 9-12 or the 6:30PM practice if you are in grades 7 or 8. Also, I am told by our athletes that a 2:45pm early release does not give you enough time to get to Hyland. Hmmm. I will ask for a 2:30 early release tomorrow. I suggest bringing a note to school requesting the early release as well. I. Training/Racing Schedule Week Eleven Monday, January 23 Hyland Race vs Mound WestTonka, AHA, DelaSalle, Lake Crystal 2:30PM Early Release. 3:45PM Inspection. 4:30PM First Run Start. Tuesday, January 24 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 3:45-6PM: Pods 12/11. Lanes 4. 5:00-7:15PM: Pods 10/9. Lane 4. Warm-Ups on South Chair. 6:30-8:45PM: Pods 8/7. Lanes 2, 3. Warm-Ups on South Chair. Wednesday, January 25 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 3:45-6PM: Pods SW/Roosevelt. Lanes B, C. 5:00-7:15PM: Pods 7/8. Lanes B, C. Warm-Ups on South Chair. 6:30-8:45PM: Pods Washburn/South. Lane C. Warm-Ups on South Chair. Thursday, January 26 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 3:45-6PM: Wild Invite Teams and Alternates. Lanes 6, 7. 5:00-7:15PM: Pods 12/11/10/9. Lane 6. 6:30-8:45PM: Pods 8/7. Lane 6. Friday, January 27 Wild Invitational II: 6:15AM Load Bus. 9:30AM First Run Start -and- Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 5:00-7:15PM: All Pods. Lanes 4, 5. Saturday, January 28 Hyland Training: 7:45AM-10:30AM: All Pods. Lanes 4, 5, 6. II. Race Workers Still Needed We still need to fill a few race day volunteer positions for our race tomorrow (Monday) at Hyland. January 23 Hyland Race https://signup.com/go/bEmKFnb And for the Wild Invite, we still need more parents to volunteer to send some food items, help with the tent, and work the race—namely, we need two more gate judges (you only work one run), three more course workers, and two scoreboard recorders. January 27 Wild Invite Race https://signup.com/go/mRVOtzZ Looking ahead we have a race on Monday, January 30th at Hyland. Please sign up to work this race as well. January 30 Hyland Race https://signup.com/go/LCyNmAt And finally, we will need race workers, lots of them, to work the race at Welch on February 2. 5PM first run start. We will have four courses running, one for Varsity and one for JV. This is the Metro East Conference Championships for all of the JV athletes on our teams. It is also the final race of the Metro East Conference series (one was cancelled due to the snow storm). The SW boys are the defending conference champions and will be fighting off a very strong Hastings team and their Washburn teammates. The Washburn girls will be trying to prevent the 2022 girls champions, Hill -Murray, from make it two in a row. The SW girls are also a threat to take the crown. But to make all of this happen, we will need race workers. Look for a volunteer sign up to come your way in the next couple of days. III. Last Call To State Your Race Intentions Athletes: This is your last chance to state your race intentions for our last two races before Section Championships. I will be closing sign up on Wednesday, January 25th after practice. Monday, January 30: Hyland Race vs Wayzata and Jefferson. 4:30PM First Run Start Friday, February 2: MEC Race #3 at Welch Village. 5PM First Run Start. IV. Supplemental Training on Saturday, February 4 at Wild Mt We have one remaining Supplemental Training on the calendar: Saturday, February 4. We had a fantastic training session at Wild Mt yesterday afternoon and evening. The StarTrib had a glowing story about the inspired Kombi courses I set last night and the unbridled joy the athletes experienced as they carved their way through the slalom and GS shaped turns. If hill space allows, Yours Truly will give you one more opportunity to experience the exhilaration of a perfectly set Kombi course. But you have to sign up. Saturday, February 4 Supplemental Training at Wild Mt: Register Here. Big race tomorrow. Make sure you have sharp edges and waxed bases. Sleep well. Mark MAST Update: Wild Mt Invitational Team Selections Saturday, January 21, 2023 Good Afternoon: We are racing at Wild Mt on Friday, January 27, 2023, in the first annual Wild Mt Invitational II. We are entering three boys’ and three girls’ teams of six racers each and sending two alternates per gender, one for Washburn and one for Southwest. Team Selections Are Attached. If you stated your intention to race in this race and paid for a lift ticket, but were not selected to participate, MAST will be refunding your lift ticket fee. I wish we could take more athletes, but the race only offers a Varsity division this year. Our hope is to add a JV Race to the Wild Invite II schedule next year. Transportation We have a bus with trailer scheduled for 6:15AM pick up at Washburn. Please fill out the Jan 27 Athlete Travel Plans survey to tell me your travel plans. Jan 27 Athlete Travel Plans RACE WORKERS and RACE DAY HELPERS NEEDED! Parents: please sign up to help. We need gate judges, course workers, a starter, scoreboard recorders, a chief gate judge (Mark can teach you), and we need people to help with the tent, food distribution, and food. Gate judges will be asked to judge just one run. We need a total of three. Sign up HERE: Jan 27 Race Worker Sign Up. See you very soon if you are training at Wild this afternoon. Mark
Good Evening; Better late than never. Results from our race last night are attached. Much to say about the race and your continuing improvement, but I will save that for another time. Attached is a spreadsheet with race intentions for the remaining races as well as a list of athletes who have completed the liability release waiver to Welch Village. This waiver needs to be signed by the end of this weekend in order for you to race on Thursday, February 2 at Welch village. Remember, all MAST athletes are eligible to race at Welch. There will be a MEC JV championships separate from the MEC Varsity Race. If you have not stated your intentions for Monday's race, do so by the 11:50PM SATURDAY. Here is the Welch Waiver Link. This will be the last time I post this link, so get it done if you plan to race. Here are the links to state your race intentions for the remainder of the season. Monday, January 23: Hyland Race vs MWT and Lake Crystal. 4:30PM First Run Start Monday, January 30: Hyland Race vs Wayzata and Jefferson. 4:30PM First Run Start Thursday, February 2: MEC Race #3 at Welch Village. 5PM First Run Start. Intentions are closed for the January 27th race at Wild, The Wild Mt Invitational II. The coaches are carefully scouring race results and making their team selections. We will be announcing the teams for the Wild Invite II before the end of the weekend. See you in the morning or afternoon. Or both. Mark
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