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MAST UPDATE #4 Friday, September 15, 2023 Hello MAST Athletes, Parents, Friends, and Coaches: First, I would like to welcome the new athletes/families to MAST who have expressed interest in our team. Our means of communicating with our athletes and families is through email. Our sport is more complicated than most, but also more rewarding once you settle in for the journey. You will find that most of your questions will be answered simply by taking the time to read these Updates carefully and following through on any action requested. Second, I am having trouble adding “mpsedu” email addresses to our google groups address book. There might be a setting you can change so that your email address can be added and you can start receiving Updates to your "mpsedu" account. But MPS might also be blocking outside organizations from directly adding people to our address book. Parents, until we figure out a fix, please share these Updates with your athlete. And if anyone has a fix, please let me know. We have a lot of stuff coming up in October. Mark your calendars, sign up, participate, engage, learn, befriend, expand, and thrive. Here we go. I. Hyland Season Passes On Sale Through MAST Now Through October 29 Attached is a roster of athletes who purchased a 2023-24 Hyland season pass in the Spring of 2023 at the discounted rate of $449. For those who still need to purchase a 2023-24 Season Pass to Hyland, you can do so THROUGH MAST and save money because you will avoid paying MN sales tax. Unfortunately, the price is now set at $474 until the end of October. To purchase your pass through MAST, send a check made payable to Mpls Alpine in the amount of $474 to: Hope White 4945 Clinton Ave South Mpls, MN 55419-5660 Deadline for ordering your pass through MAST: Sunday, October 29. A BIG THANK YOU to Hope for once again managing our season pass sales effort. You can also purchase your pass directly from Hyland and Three Rivers Park District. Then, mark Monday, November 13th from 6-7:30PM on your calendar. That is when we all meet at Hyland to take our season pass photos and pick up our passes. We also knock off some other administrative business at that time. II. New Family Orientation to High School Ski Racing and MAST Monday, Oct 2, 7-8:30PM Fuller Park Rec Center (4802 Grand Ave South) MPS Students in grades 7 through 12 and their parents/guardians are invited to attend a presentation on high school alpine ski racing and the Mpls Alpine Ski Team. The presentation will help students and parents discern whether our sport and our team is a good fit for you. (Hopefully, you will decide to give it a try.) Returning athletes and parents are invited as well, especially if you missed last year’s presentation and still have questions about our season and program. We will be holding a full team (athletes and parents) online presentation titled “Orientation to the 2023-24 Alpine Season” on Sunday, November 12 at 6PM. If you can’t attend, the presentation will be posted on our website so you can view it over and over again at your pleasure. But in-person is so much better. III. MASTers Golf Tournament Thursday, October 5, 4PM Tee Time. Earlier this week I sent you notice about our MASTers Golf Tournament Team Fundraiser on Thursday, October 5 at 4PM at Hiawatha Golf Course. This fundraiser is for adults only... parents, grandparents, neighbors, alumni.... Pizza and beverages will be served in the clubhouse afterwards and we will be holding a raffle (that has proven to be very lucrative for the Conway household in the past.) We are seeking donations for the raffle. If you have something to donate (gift cards, a service, an experience, apparel, equipment, etc), please donate here: MASTers Golf Tournament Raffle Donation. To book your tee time, sign up HERE: MASTers Golf Tournament Sign UP. IV. Mr. Paul’s Supper Club Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser Monday, October 9 The other BIG team fundraiser coming up is sponsored by MAST Families Tommy Begnaud, Carrie Begnaud, Levi Ehlers, and Phoenix Ehlers at their restaurant Mr. Paul’s Supper Club. They are hosting a pasta dinner just for us. All money raised comes back to MAST. Last year’s dinner was a huge success. Great food. Great atmosphere. Festive, delicious, energizing. Here are more details. Where: Mr. Paul's Supper Club. 50th & France (3917 Market St, Edina, MN 55424) Two Seatings 6:00pm & 7:30pm Tickets: $25 for adults & $15 for Kids under 12 (Paid in advance. If your athlete is a volunteer - they eat free!) Drinks available for purchase Food: Buffet style: Pasta, (with a gluten free option), vegetarian red sauce, meatballs, salad, bread, dessert Please sell tickets to family, friends, neighbors, teachers, grandparents- anyone looking to support MAST, eat great food, and dine at the Twin Cities Best Restaurant -Mr. Paul's Supper Club! TO MAKE RESERVATIONS, CLICK HERE: Mr. Paul’s Supper Club MAST Dinner. Attached is a flyer that you can send out to anyone in your world who might be interested in enjoying an outstanding meal with exceptional athlete led service in a joyous atmosphere. V. Equipment and Equipment Sales and Swaps A. Educate Yourself About Ski Race Equipment. As you know, ski racing is an equipment intensive sport. Which makes it an expensive sport. If you are just getting into ski racing, the costs can be overwhelming. To help you manage these expenses, we encourage new families to buy as much used equipment as you can (with the exception of a race helmet—buy that new and don’t skimp on the price). The first of several “ski swaps” starts next Friday, September 22 at Buck Hill. Ski swaps are also held at Afton and Hyland in October. These swaps are good places to buy used boots and skis, race suits, jackets, poles, and protective equipment. I advise you to do your homework ahead of time so you know what you are looking for. My other piece of advice: be there when the doors open, especially if you are looking for slalom race skis. Those go quickly. Before you go to a swap, make sure you know the following information about equipment. Slalom race skis: distinguishing between a recreational ski and slalom race ski, jr race vs tweaner vs adult FIS, proper length, differentiating between “used but serviceable” vs “worn out”. Race boots: distinguishing race boots from recreational, ascertaining proper fit and flex number, identifying used but serviceable. Race poles: vs recreational poles, compatible with pole guards, proper sizing. To help you become educated, follow this link to the MAST Guide to Buying New and Used Equipment. Read this before you go to a swap so you know what you are looking for and how to discern race from recreational and quality from worn out. The MAST Guide is also attached. B. Upcoming Ski Area Swaps Buck Hill: Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23 Afton: Friday, October 6 and Saturday, October 7 Hyland//Team Gilboa: Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28. C. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11TH MAST Equipment Night At Pierce Skate and Ski If you are in the market for new equipment, remember that Pierce Skate and Ski is holding its annual MAST Equipment Night on Wednesday, October 11. MAST coaches will be on hand from 3PM to close to assist you and the Pierce staff with properly matching and fitting athletes with new gear. If you need new boots, be sure to make an appointment in advance by calling Pierce Skate and Ski directly. 952-884-1990. Again, you can make an appointment on October 11th when a MAST coach will be on hand to help, or any other day of the week. Boot and ski models and sizes do sell out, so if you know that you will be buying new equipment this year, I suggest making the appointment for either October 11th or earlier. D. Saturday, October 14, 9-Noon MAST Equipment Swap & Tuning Clinic & Individual Fundraiser Kick-Off 1. MAST Equipment Swap MAST is also holding an equipment swap on Saturday, October 14. You can sell or donate your old equipment and look for used equipment as well. Coaches will be on hand to assist you with selection and sizing. Here are some instructions. You can also find these on our website at https://www.mplsalpineski.org/mast-equipment-swap.html. Location: 4800 Harriet Ave Equipment Check In: 8-9AM Equipment Sale: 9AM to Noon. Equipment Pick Up/Cash Out: Noon to 1PM. And... Added Bonus Events During The Swap.... Tuning Clinic: 10AM Individual Fundraiser Kick-Off: 10AM to Noon. 2. MAST Ski Swap Instructions If you have any equipment you would like to sell at the swap, you are encouraged to post this information on our website in advance. This includes skis, boots, shin guards, poles, gs suits, bibs, etc. Here is what to do. Step One: Take one or more pictures of each item you would like to sell. Be sure to get as much detail in as possible, i.e., condition of the boot soles, model information, flex number, sizing, etc. Step Two: Fill out the Equipment Sales Form on our website. https://www.mplsalpineski.org/mast-equipment-swap-sales-form.html Step Three: Send the photos to Cyrus Vahhaji ([email protected]) and Mark Conway ([email protected]), along with a short message that you would like these photos on the website and that you have filled out the sales form for each item. If the item does not sell before the swap on Oct 14, then bring it to the swap to sell. Equipment is already posted on our website for sale. Check it out if you are looking for used equipment: https://www.mplsalpineski.org/equipment-swap-inventory.html 3. MAST Tuning Clinic: Saturday, October 14 at 10AM (During the MAST Ski Swap) All MAST athletes should be able to tune your skis (sharpen your edges and wax your bases). Parents are encouraged to also learn how to tune the skis so you can help your athlete do this properly without damaging the skis. Two brains are better than one. Our tuning clinic will teach you the basics of tuning and will help you get started. Join us at 10AM on Oct 14th. 4. MAST Individual Fundraiser Kick-Off MinneSalsa and Urban Ventures Coffee Sales. 10AM-Noon on October 14th at the MAST Equipment Swap. Receive instruction on how to sell salsa from MinneSalsa and coffee from Urban Ventures, pick up order forms, and get fired up to earn money to cover some of your expenses for the season. Use the money to pay for Saturday Supplemental Training Sessions, purchase Away Race Lift Tickets, help cover the Winter Break Training Camp Fee, purchase tickets for the MAST Banquet, or buy MAST apparel. VI. Registration for MAST and Alpine Skiing Finally, a word about how to register for MAST. The Mpls Alpine Ski Team is a 501c3 non-profit organization that administers the alpine ski racing team of the Mpls Public Schools. To become a team member, you need to register twice: once with MAST the non-profit and again with MPS Athletics. Registration with MAST opens on October 1 and registration with MPS Athletics opens October 26. At the point of registration, you will also be asked to pay two fees: $275 to Mpls Alpine and $75 to Mpls Public Schools. You will pay these fees during the registration processes of both organizations. Both registrations are online. I will send links and instructions in advance of the dates when each registration opens. When you register with MAST on or after October 1, you guarantee your place on the team. Registration for Alpine Skiing with MPS opens on October 26. If you have not registered with MAST by this date, there may not be any open positions remaining on the roster. There have been years when our roster has filled by the time registration opens with MPS Athletics. We don’t have tryouts and we don’t cut athletes. Nonetheless, because training space at Hyland is limited, we have to put a limit on our team size, which is roughly 120 skiers. I hope you enjoyed this very long --but useful-- MAST Update #4. I held my breath the entire time it took me to write it. If you missed any of our previous Updates you can always find them on our website under the About MAST Header. If you are not in a Fall sport, I hope you are doing something daily to improve your strength, endurance, balance, speed and agility. Be well. Make good decisions. Study hard. Be kind to your siblings and parents. They love you. Mark Conway 612-275-8392  
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