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MAST Update #1

8/26/2022

MAST UPDATE #1
Friday, August 26, 2022

Dear MAST Athletes, Parents and Coaches:

Welcome to the first official MAST Update of the 2022-23 season. I hope your are as excited to read this as I am to send it. If you do not wish to receive these updates (and I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't), you should be able to unsubscribe yourself by scrolling down to the end of the update. If you still can't make them stop coming, then shoot me an email.

I. State Fair Fundraiser for MAST
The Minnesota State Fair officially opened yesterday, which means that we will be gathering soon to clean up after the goats and poultry. Are you signed up to help with this sinus-clearing, team-building, character-enhancing, money-raising adventure? Thank you if you have already signed up to work. If you haven’t signed up, here are the details.

MN State Fair Goat and Poultry Barn Clean Up Event
Date: Monday, September 5th
Time: 5:30pm
Location: MN State Fair Goat and Poultry Barn. 1785 Judson Avenue St. Paul

SIGN UP LINK:https://signup.com/go/jOUaTFR
State Fair Tickets:
All people who volunteer will receive a free ticket to the State Fair. You can pick up your
complimentary fair ticket starting Friday, September 2 - Monday, September 5th.
Where: The McConville Homestead 5057 Newton Ave South.
Tickets will be in a box on the deck (facing the park) like last year. Anybody can text or call Matt McConville at 612-802-9560 with questions.

II. Race Equipment and A Note On Purchasing New Equipment This Season
Ski racing is an equipment intensive sport. Unfortunately, ski racing equipment is expensive. For this reason, many of our athletes look for used equipment to get them through the first years of their careers. I will write more extensively about equipment AND upcoming ski swaps (including our own) in future MAST Updates. For now, you can learn a lot about the equipment you need and how to size and select used equipment by reading through the pages we have posted on our website listed under the EQUIPMENT header.
https://www.mplsalpineski.org/
Regarding NEW equipment: I have been informed that ski shops may run low on race skis and boots this season due to factors out of their control. For this reason, IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON PURCHASING NEW BOOTS OR SKIS THIS SEASON, DO SO SOONER THAN LATER. It is possible that ski shops will sell out of certain brands of race skis and boots before the season even begins. Shopping now and in September is better than October. October is better than November. You will not find lower prices by waiting to make your purchase. We are fortunate to have many good ski shops in the Twin Cities: Pierce Skate and Ski, Joe’s, Gear West, Hi-Tempo.

As many of you already know, Pierce Skate and Ski is my favorite ski shop and a MAST sponsor. Pierce offers special pre-season pricing for racers. Just let them know you ski with MAST. Other ski shops may also offer discounts to high school racers. Just ask.

The staff at Pierce asks that you make an appointment in advance if you are purchasing skis and/or boots this Fall. A boot fitting appointment can take up to 90 minutes if done properly, so plan accordingly. If you need poles, tuning equipment, clothing, or protective gear, you are welcome to just walk-in. Here is the number to call if you would like to make an appointment with one of the many experienced sales staff at Pierce: 952-884-1990. Know that I am always willing to talk through your equipment needs with you over the phone. And if you are at a swap or in a ski shop and you have a question, give me a call. One other tip, download a clip of your best run from your Sprongo account when you go to buy new equipment. This will help the salesperson to better match the equipment to your skill level.

Some additional thoughts/recommendations.

For those who are new to MAST, you need race skis and race boots. Recreational skis and boots will not work.
If you are a returning athlete, pull out your ski socks and try on your boots. Do they still fit? Are the soles worn down? Are they easy to flex? Too easy? Too stiff? Call me if you have a question about whether your boots will serve you well for another season.
Check out your skis. How much have you grown since last season? How much weight have you gained? How many years have they been used? How much side edge is left? How beat up are the bases? While you are at it, sharpen the edges and put some wax on the bases. Again, call me if you have questions about your skis.
If you are a varsity level skier, you need to know that skis wear out. Simply put, worn out skis are slow. No matter how strong your technique, dead skis will greatly impact your time. I have seen athletes improve their times by as much as two seconds per run when they move from a used ski to new. If you are a beginning racer, this is not a big deal because you can probably make many adjustments to your technique and tactics to significantly lower your times. But once you get to varsity, worn out skis put you at a big disadvantage to the other competitors. If your skis are more than two years old, consider looking for a new pair of used skis with only one year of use on them, or, consider purchasing a new pair this year.

III. Rostering and Registration
My goal is to open registration on October 1. We will be limiting the roster to 130 athletes. Last year, we closed registration before the season opened and had to turn away several athletes. If you are new to MAST or have a new athlete in your family joining the team this season, please complete the NEW ATHLETE INQUIRY FORM that can be found on our website. Some of you have already done this, so thank you for taking that first step with MAST. This will help me assess interest and start the process of building a roster. If you are looking for more information about MAST, you can watch the two slideshows available on the homepage of our website. Some of the information needs to be (and will be) updated, but I think you will find them helpful even though they are referencing the 2021-22 season.
Finally, if you will not be returning to ski with MAST this season, please let me know this as well.
More information about registration will be communicated once you are back in school.

That’s a lot of information for your first MAST Update of the season. Enjoy your last week of summer break. I am excited to see you on Labor Day at the Goat Barn!
Best wishes,
Mark Conway
Head Coach, Mpls Alpine Ski Team
612-275-8392. [email protected]

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MAST Update #1

MAST 2022 State Fair Fundraiser - Goat and Poultry Barn Clean Up

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