Update 19: Week Nine, January 4, 2020

Happy New Year!
 
Thank you to all the athletes, coaches and parents who attended our 14th Annual Giants Ridge Camp this week.   I am so grateful to our coaching staff and the parents who joined us and helped keep camp safe, on schedule, and organized.  The athletes worked very hard, which showed on day three and four when they handled the long runs and steeper pitches of Innsbrook and Helsinki with noticeable improvement.   The afternoon race on Thursday was very fun.   Attached are pictures of the boys' and girls' scoreboards.  I will assemble a more formal presentation of race results and post these on the website over the weekend.  Congratulations to Luke and Elsa for posting some impressive times.   
 
Races This Week
With eight intense weeks of (mostly) training behind us, we now ramp up our racing schedule.   We have two races this week.  Both are at Hyland.
 
Tuesday, Jan. 7:  Varsity and JV @ Hyland
vs: SW, WHS, MAST, AHA, Wayzata, Armstrong-Cooper, and Mound-West-Tonka
3:45PM Inspection Opens
4:30PM First Run Start
 
Friday, Jan 10: Hyland JV Race—JV Only.
3:45PM Inspection Opens
4:30PM First Run Start
 
ALL Racers: PLEAE STATE YOUR RACE INTENTIONS FOR BOTH RACES -- even varsity racers should do this.  This will just make it easier for me to keep track who is available and who is not.  Please do so by Sunday evening AT 8PM. You are encouraged to also state your race intentions for all the races on the January calendar provided you know your schedule.   
 
All JV racers are guaranteed one start this week.  If you would like to race in both races, feel free to accept the invitation to race in both races. However, with our large numbers, we may need to limit JV racers to one race start this week.   If there is not enough room to race everyone who wants to race, I will let you know on Monday morning.  
Accept or Decline Your Race Invitation Here
 
You will want to be on the hill ready to ski before 3:45. For those skiers who state their intention to race, I will ask the schools to grant you an early release of 2:45 on Tuesday and Friday.  
 
Race Workers Needed
Parents: we need your help on the hill as race workers.  Race worker sign up is ready to go for January 7.   We will also need a few gate judges and scoreboard recorders for the JV race on Friday.   Please send me an email if you can help on Friday: markrobertconway58@gmail.com.
 
Race Worker Sign Up Here
 
Looking ahead, we have some big races in January that will require a rather large core of MAST parent volunteers.  Please consider helping.  Our athletes have worked hard.  They deserve well run races and the only way races run smoothly is if we have ample volunteers. These are the positions we need to fill:
·      Assistant Starter
·      Starter
·      Gate Judges (6)
·      Scoreboard Recorders (2)
·      Course Workers (3)
·      Assistant Timer (2)
·      Announcer (1)
And these are the races:
·      Wild Mt on Friday, January 17
·      Hyland (Varsity and JV) on Tuesday, January 21 (4:30pm Race Start)
·      Afton Invite (Varsity and JV) on Friday, January 24 (12:30pm Race Start)
·      Gitchi Gummi Invite (Varsity Only –10 per squad) on Thursday, January 30 @ Spirit
Mt or Mt du Lac (9:30am Race Start) 
 
I will let you know as soon as we have a race worker sign up ready for the remaining races in January.  For now, please sign up to help at the January 7th race.
 
Supplemental Training: Saturday, January 11 at Wild Mt.
Continue to make big breakthroughs and gain valuable experience on the race venue of our Section IV Championship.  Our next supplemental training session at Wild Mt is on Saturday, January 11.  Cost: $55 for lift ticket, coaching, and transportation.   We will load the bus at 2:30pm from the Washburn parking lot.  Return at 10:30pm.   
Register for Supplemental Training Here.   
 
Galaxy Cup: A US Ski and Snowboard Race Series For High School Racers
Attached is a flyer announcing a new race series designed specifically for high school racers who would like to get additional race experience both during and after our high school season ends.   Racers must be 14 years or older as of January 1, 2020.   The Galaxy Cup consists of six slalom races held over three days in January and February.   These races are sanctioned by US Ski and Snowboard and require that you obtain a membership license with US Ski and Snowboard.    You can purchase either a Competitor U16 and Older License for $170 or a Non-Scored Athlete License for $100.  (See the attached USSS Membership Levels pdf for more information about the different membership levels is USSS.)   The race entry fee for the three days of racing is $72.   The entry fee does not cover the cost of the lift ticket, so that is an additional expense.  The Galaxy Cup participants will be racing alongside US Ski and Snowboard racers from Central Division Region I of US Ski and Snowboard.  This will allow you to test your skills against some of the best racers in the State.   In addition, Galaxy Cup racers will earn points for each race result.  Points will be tallied through the six races.  After the last race on February 27, an awards ceremony will be held for Galaxy Cup participants and awards will be given to the top ten boys and girls based on total points earned for the race series.   The first race is coming up soon.  Many of you are ready to test your skills on the US Ski and Snowboard circuit.  I encourage you to give it a try.  MAST will not, however, be sending coaches to these races so you will need to find your own transportation and work with other MAST teammates to create a team atmosphere.   Feel free to call me with questions.  I helped create this race series so I will be glad to answer your questions. 

Here is a link for more information about Galaxy Cup, how to obtain a US Ski and Snowboard Membership, and how to register to race in the Galaxy Cup slalom race series: Galaxy Cup
 
And here is a link to obtain a US Ski and Snowboard Membership: USSS Membership

I want to end by saying thank you again to our coaches who are so committed to helping you acquire the skills you need to become an outstanding skier and to the parents who have been working behind the scenes to make MAST happen this year.  Without our fantastic parents and coaches, we would not exist.  I want to especially thank Eleanor and Becca and the volunteer coaches who led practice at Hyland this week while we were luxuriating at Camp Chicagami and Giants Ridge.  And thank you to all of you athletes who have been working hard each night to become better skiers, racers and, without even knowing it, better human beings.   Keep up the hard work. Keep smiling.   It is a joy to watch you improve on a daily and weekly basis.
 
See you on the hill.
Mark