Week of February 4th -

Schedule for the week is below.  Lots of information, so please read this carefully.  At this point we only have two more weeks of regular season practices and races, and three weeks left until the state meets.  With the season quickly going by, and only having four more races left (including Wednesday's Costume race), the  long term weather outlook is still looking poor.  Certainly not an ideal situation to have just a few weeks before the end of the season, but this is the reality that many teams are facing.  As of this morning there were still no local areas with snow, however Sleepy Hollow now has a 350 meter loop of man made snow, and is expected to have more tomorrow.    

Sleepy Hollow
So... as an effort to increase our time on snow the last few weeks, and to help prepare for the upcoming state meet, I have arranged for any member of the Essex Nordic team to ski at Sleepy Hollow at any time.  We will still be busing to the Range Tuesdays and Thursdays, so consider the Sleepy Hollow days as 'unofficial practices' of which skiers will be responsible for their own transportation (cannot get a bus for these days).  This means that these will NOT be considered mandatory practices.  

How will this work and what is the cost? - Sleepy Hollow will be charging us 5 dollars per skier each visit.  I will have a chart in the blue locker room at school for skiers to keep track of their total visits.  At the end of the season, each skier who has been to Sleepy Hollow will add up their total visits, multiply this by 5 (cost per skier per visit) and then turn in a check made out to Essex Student Activities.  I will then have the school write Sleepy Hollow a check for all of our skier visits.  Having this site available not only serves to us a a backup for additional training, but also gives the chance for any skier from the team to ski at any time, even for night skiing (Sleepy Hollow offers night skiing though 9:00 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays).
This is really a good deal so lets take advantage of this!

Costume Race
This is still on for Wednesday, however the location has yet to be determined.  The format has changed a bit from last year.  It will still be conducted in relay format, however teams will consist of three racers, not two 
Every team is encouarged to dress up!  Note: there will be a JV and Varsity race category for both boys and girls.  Because this race is coming up quickly, I need to have skiers give me your teams ASAP. Costume Race Sign-Up

Eastern High School and J2 Championships Qualifier Race -Sunday February 10th -
Online registration ends this Thursday (the 7th) so please sign up soon if you are interested!  I have already spoken to several who are interested in doing this race, and think it would be great if we could get several to represent our program by doing this race!  
Registration and Information
Information Sheet


States Tee Shirt Orders -  It is that time of the year again.  Orders for this year's state meet tee shirts are due this Tuesday. (the 5th).  States Tee Shirt Sign Up

Monday Feb. 4th -
Practice at EHS.
Run / Core and skate ski prep for Wed.  

Tuesday, Feb 5th-
Classic ski at Range

Wednesday, Feb. 6th -
Costume race at TBA

Thursday, Feb. 7th -
Classic / Skate ski at Range
Distance

Friday, Feb. 8th -
Ski at Sleepy Hollow.  Technique TBA.  Meet at 3:45.

Saturday February 9th -
Skate Race at Sleepy Hollow.  Bus leaves EHS at 7:45.

Sunday, Feb. 10th -
Eastern High School and J2 Qualifiers at Craftsbury (this is not part of our public high school racing schedule).