Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Dear MAST Athletes, Parents and Coaches:

We would like to give you a brief update on our planning for the 2020-21 alpine ski season.   

First, the MAST Covid Task Force is up and running.   We held one meeting thus far and identified the many issues we need to consider this winter with Covid-19 remaining a health risk.  As you probably anticipated, there are many more unknowns than knowns at this point. 
Here is what we know:
No State Fair, so no goat barn cleaning fundraiser.   This represents an $1800 fundraising loss for MAST.
At this point, we will not have any large in-person pre-season gatherings: i.e., ice cream social, orientation meeting, parent party.  The Hoigaard's Tent Sale may or may not be held.  Either way, we will not be participating.

Here are the unknowns:

1.  Equipment Swap, MAST Equipment Night at Pierce; Coffee Sales Fundraiser.
These smaller gatherings are still up in the air.  Whether it will be safe to hold these annual events will be determined by the Covid-19 infection rates as the dates draw close.

2.  Transportation.
Will it be safe to use buses to transport athletes to races and supplemental training?  
Can we utilize carpools to safely transport athletes to and from Hyland practices? Races? Supplemental Training?

3.  Giants Ridge Camp.
Our four-day winter break camp is not cancelled yet, but it is hard to see how we can hold a camp this year unless there is a near miraculous turn of events.  Sadly, Randy had to cancel all summer camps this year at Camp Chicagami.  Obviously, Camp Chicagami will first need to re-open in order for us to offer a winter camp this season.    The growing body of science suggests that transmission is more easily facilitated with increases in proximity, duration, and poor ventilation.  All three factors are part of the experience of being at a GR training camp.   In normal times, having long periods of time together in close proximity is one of the reasons you enjoy going to camp.  Needless to say, a 2020-21 camp is highly unlikely, but we can all hold out hope, right?  At least for a while.  We will probably need to make a final call in early to mid-October, unless Randy makes a decision sooner to stay closed for the winter. 

4.  Supplemental Training and “Away” Race Venues.
How the transportation questions are answered will be an important factor in whether we will be able to offer Supplemental Training sessions or compete at Invitationals or venues other than Hyland this winter.  And how we travel and house the team at the State Meet will need to be considered carefully this season.   It is unlikely that we will have community meals this year: i.e., pasta dinners, our celebrated burrito bowls at Invites.

5.  Hyland.
Three Rivers Parks and Hyland have not yet determined what new practices they will be implementing this season to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.   We will need to adapt to whatever safeguards Hyland implements, such as limits on participation numbers at practices, shorter practice sessions, social distancing on chair rides, in lift lines and in the chalet, etc.   ​

Please feel free to share questions and concerns you have that are not addressed here.   You can send them via email to me at [email protected] or give me a call at 612-275-8392.   For now, know that the MAST Covid Task Force will be monitoring all guidance issued by MPS, Minnesota Department of Health, the MN State High School League, and other governing organizations.  Our top priority is to keep our athletes and families healthy through the 2020-21 season. 

Second, we have a number of volunteer positions to fill this season due to graduation.  Here are two we would like to fill sooner than later.

1.  MAST Website Administrator.   
We need one or two volunteers to keep our website up to date during the 2020-21 season. I have made some updates to the home page recently, but more work needs to be done.  During the fall and winter months, the website becomes an important tool for informing, teaching, and celebrating our athletes’ success and improvements.   The website platform we utilize (Weebly) is easy to learn and use.  

2.  MAST Registrar.   
Tracking team registrations in the fall is an important volunteer role within the MAST organization.   The MAST Registrar maintains the team database and helps update the team’s Google-Groups contacts roster.  Most of the work is performed September through November.  
Please call or email if you have any interest in filling either of these positions for the 2020-21 season.   Email: [email protected]. Phone: 612-275-8392.

Third, the MAST Summer Strength and Conditioning Program continues... online. If you are not already following @Mplsalpineski on Instagram, please click this link and follow our page: https://www.instagram.com/mplsalpineski/ 
The link should prompt you to create an Instagram account if you do not have one already.  

Finally, if you would like to send PHOTOS and/or SHORT (as in 15 seconds) videos of you and/or your friends working out, I will post these on our website.   Just send them to me at [email protected].  

My hope is that all of you are staying healthy and maintaining some measure of sanity and even a bit of joyfulness occasionally.

All the best.

Mark Conway
612-275-8392
[email protected]

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Minneapolis Alpine Ski Team" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mplsalpineski/b7f9b510-2f33-4fcf-bb93-98fc1c4248f2o%40googlegroups.com.

​Update #2
Monday, June 15, 2020
MAST Summer Strength and Conditioning Program

Dear Athletes, Coaches and Parents:

We are (mostly) ready to share the first day of the MAST Summer Strength & Conditioning Program with you.  (Mostly because video demonstrations are still uploading using my very, very slow wifi.) We will be posting three S & C workouts plus two aerobic workouts per week in both the @MplsAlpineSki Instagram account and Mpls Alpine on YouTube.  Here are two ways you can access the workouts. 
 
I.               @Mplsalpineski on Instagram
First, if you were already following MAST and Mark on Instagram, you will already be a follower of @MplsAlpineSki.  Luke and I just changed the name.  If you are not already following @Mplsalpineski on Instagram, please click this link and follow our page: 
The link should prompt you to create an Instagram account if you do not have one already.   
 
II.           Mpls Alpine on YouTube
You can also access the MAST Summer S & C workouts through the Mpls Alpine YouTube Channel.  
All the information you need (warm-ups, workout exercises and reps, sets, video demonstrations) will be available in a spreadsheet that will be updated weekly.   Each workout includes two links to two playlists.  The first playlist is the Warm-Up Routine we would like you to use each day before you undertake the workout of the day.   The second link takes you to the workout of the day (for instance, "Week 1. Day 1").   So...drum roll please.... here is the link to the MAST Summer Strength and Conditioning spreadsheet.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mjape5is9TyDhmwIEr3ITH54ChzvjyGF2Hi_zUsFJOA/edit?usp=sharing
Note: Use the tabs on the bottom of the spreadsheet to access the five workouts we will be posting each week.   We may not get all five workouts posted at the beginning of the week, so check back because we will be updating as needed during the week so that you do not miss any workouts.

III.        Registrations for Summer Strength and Conditioning
Attached is a roster of all 39 of you who have registered for the MAST Summer S & C Program as of Sunday, June 14, at 10PM.   Thank you for registering. This will allow our captains to find ways to engage with you during the summer.     You should be hearing more about what they have planned soon.   If you are not registered, here is a link:   
https://www.mplsalpineski.org/summer-strength-and-conditioning.html
Use the roster if you like to set up small workout groups.    Small... keep it under 10, preferably smaller than that.   Make sure you maintain proper social distancing.   

If you have questions, please reach out.
Thanks, and good luck and have fun with this.   
 
Mark Conway
612-275-8392
[email protected]

PS.    Thank you to Luke for all his help figuring out the best social media platforms to use to share all this with you.   Just goes to show you, you can teach an old dog new tricks but that doesn't mean he'll like them.    You will still be getting long, artful, memorable, entertaining, wise, caring emails from me during the season.
PSS.  Welcome back Ella Horgan.    So glad you will be joining us from Michigan.   You were deeply missed this year.  Hope you had a wonderful year even without MAST in your daily life.
PSSS.  Welcome to new MAST athletes Will Cherveny, brother of Finn, and Beatrice Moldow, a ninth grader at South next year.  The MAST girls have expanded their roster.   Yahoo!

MAST Update 1  - Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Dear MAST Athletes, Parents and Coaches:
Three months have passed since we celebrated the hard work and success of our 131 athletes and the 20th anniversary of MAST at our annual banquet.  My how our lives and world have changed in this short period of time.  Given the ever-present threat of Covid-19 and the terrible tragedy of events that have unfolded these past two weeks it takes some effort to push forward and begin planning for the upcoming 2020-21 alpine season.  If we are going to have a ski racing season next winter preparation and planning must begin now.  
 
I. Banquet Kudos
I would like to say THANK YOU to all who made the banquet a huge success!   Thank you to Sabena Svedahl who chaired the festivities and consequently suffered through the details. Thank you to Susan Peterson and Michelle Smith who found so many ways to honor our athletes with their creativity and artistry.  Thank you to Christine Smalley and Kelly Bent for the extra special efforts to acknowledge and celebrate the 20th anniversary!  Thank you to all who volunteered with set up, serving, clean up. Thank you to the coaches who put tremendous thought and effort into planning the program.  Thank you to Matt Arbeiter for your leadership across the 2019-2020 season!  And THANK YOU Athletes for being terrific human beings.   Each and every one of you is a joy to coach.  
 
II. Summer Strength and Conditioning Program
We will be offering a Summer Strength and Conditioning Program.  It begins Monday, June 15th.  Unfortunately, we will be offering it remotely.   Here is how it will work.
 
Starting on Monday, June 15, Daniel and I will be sending you THREE workouts that you can do during the week either on your own or with a small group of your friends (provided you maintain proper social distance from one another).   We will send you the workouts with both written instructions and video demonstrations via  Instagram and YouTube.  We support any parents who do not want their athlete to have an Instagram account on their phone, so athletes, do not use this as an excuse to beg them for one.   Both accounts will be private so you will need to subscribe.   I will send you instructions on how to subscribe over the weekend.   The workouts will change weekly.  You will need to have quality shoes for running, jumping, and cutting.   You might need some sidewalk chalk for some workouts, and maybe dig through your closet for that jump rope you still have from grade school gym class.  Some of the workouts will require you to use a jump rope or create a speed ladder.  The captains are also working on creating a way for you to track and share your workouts with the coaches and the rest of the team.  They are also thinking up ways to make this fun and social even though we can’t gather as one large group.  Stay tuned.
 
For now, if you would like to participate in the MAST Summer Strength and Conditioning Program, you need to register.  Click here.
 
Be sure to fill out all the parts of the form and click on the submit button at the bottom of the page. Please register by the end of the weekend. If you don’t register, you will not be able to see the workouts The program will run from June 15 to the start of school. We will send you an email about how to access the program sometime on Sunday.
 
III. Planning Amidst Coronavirus
Planning for the 2020-21 season has begun in earnest.  We plan for next season knowing that the pandemic is far from over and whatever plans we set could very well change.  Many questions remain unanswerable today.  Will we be able to ride a bus together?   Will we need to limit the number of participants at a given practice?  Can we share a cabin at Camp Chicagami?   Sit down at a table together indoors?
 
With the State Fair cancelled, we have lost a significant team fundraising and bonding experience.   We still hope to hold the ice cream social at Beards’, equipment swap, tuning sessions, parent party, etc.   We have been building the calendar as though everything is normal.  We will adapt, amend, and cancel as needed. Keeping you and your family healthy is our first priority.  
 
IV. Immediate Volunteer Help Needed
We need your (parent) help.  We have several volunteer roles to fill due to graduation. We also have one very important task force to get up and running.  Please consider getting involved if you are not already.
 
A. Covid Advisory Task Force 
We are calling upon the MAST community to create a task force that will be responsible for monitoring, communicating, and implementing any Covid related guidelines that are generated at the State, City or School District levels.  Please reach out to Jodi if you would like to be part of this group. Everyone is qualified!  We would like to this task force up and running very quickly.
 
B. Webmaster/Web Administration.
The MAST Website is an important source of information both during and out of season.   We use a platform called Weebly that is relatively easy to learn.  We could use one, two or three people to help maintain the website with up to date information, photos, forms, etc.  
 
C. Fundraising
We need volunteers to help develop, lead, and/or assist with our team’s fundraising efforts.   We especially need help developing a sponsorship program, pursuing grants, and managing specific fundraising events.  Please contact Jodi or Mark Conway  if you would like to learn more about how you can help. 
 
As the season approaches a full list of open positions will be posted on the MAST website and announced in subsequent MAST Updates.
 
I will miss meeting with you in person this summer.  Should the pandemic subside over the summer, and if MPS allows, we will consider returning to in person training sessions.  For now, we need to dig deep and find other ways to support each other.
 
Best wishes,
Mark Conway
612-275-8392