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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:
[email protected] 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
MAST Update Week Ten Part II Wednesday, January 18, 2023 (barely) Dear MAST Families: I have a few short but important announcements and corrections. I submitted the names of everyone who is racing tomorrow to the high school athletic directors. I requested an early release of 2:45PM. I suggest that you bring a note to school making the same request from a parent. The run orders for tomorrow’s race is attached. Missing MAST Jacket: Sully Hunt’s MAST Jacket is missing since Friday’s race at Welch. The name HUNT is printed on the back. Please look through your bags and belongings and see if perhaps you have the wrong jacket. The February 2 race at Welch is a THURSDAY race, not a FRIDAY race as was incorrectly stated in the last Update. Thank you to everyone who pointed out the error. Our ace photography team of Brien Spanier and Janna Fraboni have posted awe-inspiring pictures on our website. Be sure to take a deep dive. You can download any photos you like directly from the website. Click on the MORE header, then EVENTS, PHOTOS, NEWS, then PHOTO GALLERY, then 2022-23 SEASON. To download, I just press CONTROL AND SPACE BAR on my MacBook. You’ll figure it out. They are beautiful pictures. Thank you Brien and Janna. Here is a link: Mpls Alpine Ski Team Jan 21 Supplemental Training: Attached is a roster of athletes who have signed up for supplemental training as of Wednesday morning. We still have room for more athletes. Here is a link to register: Jan 21 Supp Training Registration. The coaches will be sending out our team selections for the Wild Mt Invitation tomorrow night after the race. That race is on Friday (really), January 27, 2099. We also need a lot of parent help both around the tent and on the hill as race workers. This is going to be a great race with healthy competition for our skiers. Please consider working the race. Races run better when MAST parents are volunteering. More to come.... Mark
MAST Update Week Ten
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 Dear MAST Athletes, Coaches and Parents: The rain and above freezing temps of the last several days has created a large pool of icy water on my corner of 48th and Harriet. If you have any aches and pains, feel free to come over to take an ice bath. Just like the pros do. We have a very busy training and racing schedule ahead. Do not skimp on your sleep and take great care to eat healthy. Stay away from the processed foods, sugars, sodas, energy drinks--- anything with empty calories—empty of nourishment. I. Training/Racing Schedule Week Ten Tuesday, January 17 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 3:45-6PM: Pods 12/11. Lanes 6, 7. 5:00-7:15PM: Pods 10/9. Lane 6. Warm-Ups on South Chair. 6:30-8:45PM: Pods 8/7. Lanes 5,6. Warm-Ups on South Chair. Wednesday, January 18 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 3:45-6PM: Pods 10/9. Lanes 4, 5. 5:00-7:15PM: Pods 12/8. Lanes 4, 5. Warm-Ups on South Chair. 6:30-8:45PM: Pods 11/7. Lanes 4, 5. Warm-Ups on South Chair. Thursday, January 19 Race at Hyland. 3:45PM Inspection. 4:30PM First Run Start. Friday, January 20 Hyland Training (Wear Rope Tow Gloves) 3:45-6PM: Pods 12/11/10. Lanes 6, 7. 5:00-7:15PM: Pods 9/8/7. Lane 6,7. Warm-Ups on South Chair. Saturday, January 21 Hyland Training: 7:45AM-10:30AM: All Pods. Lanes 1, 2, 3. AND Supplemental Training at Wild Mt on Saturday, January 21 2:30PM Load Bus at Washburn. 10:30PM Return. I HOPE YOU WILL SIGN UP FOR SUPPLEMENTAL TRAINING ON SATURDAY. WE WILL HAVE A LOT OF FUN AND YOU WILL MAKE ANOTHER LEAP FORWARD IN YOUR SKILL DEVELOPMENT. THIS IS A GOOD WEEKEND TO DOUBLE UP PRACTICES IF YOU HAVE THE ENERGY. GOOD LANES AT HYLAND IN THE MORNING AND THEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO OWN THE SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP RACE VENUE. II. Races, Race Intentions, Race Workers: January 19 to February 2 Our next race is on Thursday against Benilde-St. Margarets (my alma mater), Jefferson (Joel’s alma mater), Holy Angels and Delasalle. We need parents to sign up to work this race and the remaining races at Hyland. We will also need parents to work the races at Wild Mt on January 27 and Welch Village on February 2. I will send links to volunteer for these two big races in a follow up email. For now, please volunteer for the 19th, 23rd, and 30th. Many coveted race worker roles remain open. January 19 Hyland Race https://signup.com/go/oChxoYH January 23 Hyland Race https://signup.com/go/bEmKFnb January 30 Hyland Race https://signup.com/go/LCyNmAtI Athletes: be sure you are stating your race intentions. Attached is a spreadsheet listing all the remaining races and the athletes who have stated race intentions for each race. Please look over this spreadsheet carefully and make sure your name and intentions are listed. If you need to change your intention, you can re-register. I can check to see which registration is the most recent. To state your intentions for any of the races list below, just click on the race date. Monday, January 23: Hyland Race vs MWT and Lake Crystal. 4:30PM First Run Start 2:45 early release. NEW Deadline for stating intentions: Wednesday, January 18 at 9PM. Friday, January 27: Wild Mt Invitational II. 9:30AM First Run Start No school on Jan 27. Load buses at 6:15am. Deadline for stating intentions: Friday, Jan 20 at 9PM. Monday, January 30: Hyland Race vs Wayzata and Jefferson. 4:30PM First Run Start 2:45pm early release. Deadline for stating intentions: Friday, Jan 20 at 9PM. Friday, February 2: MEC Race #3 at Welch Village. 5PM First Run Start. 1:30pm early release. Load buses at 2PM. Dress at school. Deadline for stating intentions: Friday, Jan 27 at 9PM. NOTE TO SELF: HONOR THE DEADLINES! III. Welch Waiver All racers are eligible to race in the race at Welch on February 2. But all racers, coaches, and parents who will be on skis that day need to have signed the Welch Liability Release. If you raced at Welch on January 13th, your waiver is signed. You do not need to sign this again. Thank you. If you still need to sign the Waiver, here is a link. Welch is INSISTANT on checking that every athlete, coach and race worker who is on skis has signed the waiver. Believe me, it is a tremendous headache to deal with Welch on this so please make my life easier by signing this waiver today. Minnesota State High School League 2022/23 Season Release If you are over 19, you can sign the waiver yourself. If you are under 19, a parent needs to sign the waiver. Don’t ask me why 19 is the dividing line because I don’t know. That’s all for now. See you at practice. Mark |
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