Jamboree at Ripley Cancelled

Due to hazardous travel conditions tomorrow the Jamboree Race at Ripley has been  cancelled.
We will be practicing at Riverside as usual. Bring your skate skis.

Our next race is this Monday the 20th back at Camp Ripley for the Little Falls Invite. All skiers will be participating in this event. Varsity 10km pursuit, JV and JH 5km skate race.

More details to come.

JamborSki

In a world where everyone thought all ski meets were the same...
One day of racing showed everyone just how different it could be.
Enter: the Ski Jamboree.

This Thursday, 1/16, we'll be going to Camp Ripley near Little Falls for a meet that breaks the mold. It's a format that more closely imitates the range of races seen in the Olympics or World Cup: it includes sprints (about 1.5km/1 mile/3-4 minutes for fast skiers), continuous pursuit (3-4km classic + 3-4km skate, non-stop), and team relays (about 3km for each racer).

You will miss all of school on Thursday. Plan ahead! In fact, we will leave Tech between 6:45-7:00a.m., because we're really hard core (thanks, parents, for also being hardcore and providing rides at such an early hour).

This meet format is proposed to replace the current State Meet, in the hopes that a wider range of people will have the opportunity to be successful in skiing. This meet is long, but also fun and exciting, and it will provide you with a lot of opportunities to cheer on your teammates, race hard, and fill idle time with skiing. If you're not sure where you're racing, talk to Lance or myself.

This is Thursday's race schedule:

10:00 AM Girls Sprint qualifying 40 skiers - 15 second intervals

10:15 Boys Sprint qualifying 40 skiers – 15 second intervals

10:45 Girls Continuous Pursuit 40 skiers -Mass start. Classic 3-4k then skate 3-4k.

11:35 Boys Continuous Pursuit 40 skiers - Mass start. Classic first then skate

12:25 Girls Sprint Quarter-Finals (top 24 qualifiers) 4 heats of six – top 3 in heats move on to Semi-Finals

12:45 Boys Sprint Quarter-Finals (top 24 qualifiers) 4 heats of six – top 3 in heats move on to Semi-Finals

1:05 Girls Sprint Semi-Finals (top 12) 2 heats of six. Top 3 go to Finals. Last 3 – Consolation.

1:20 Boys Sprint Semi-Finals (top 12) 2 heats of six. Top 3 go to Finals. Last 3 - Consolation.

1:35 Girls Sprint Consolation Finals (7-12 place) - one heat

1:45 Boys Sprint Consolation Finals (7-12 place)- one heat

1:55 Girls Sprint Finals (top 6)

2:05 Boys Sprint Finals (top 6)

2:15 Girls 4 X 3 km Relay (2 Classic-2 Freestyle) Mass start

3:00 Boys 4 X 3 km Relay (2 Classic-2 Freestyle) Mass start

4:00 Awards

Edit: We will also be back in time for the 7:00 p.m. band concert. Our apologies to Mr. Zwack if any of his musicians are exhausted from having an amazing meet.

Things you need for Mesabi

Last minute tip/reminder: Try to pack a smaller "carry-on" with things you'll need on the bus, large bags are usually stowed. (Think: water, food, homework, entertainment, clothes for skiing as soon as we arrive...)

Please remember these items, in roughly decreasing order of importance:

-Yourself, at door 6, at 9:30 a.m.-Medications (e.g. asthma inhalers)
-Food
-Skis/boots/poles/hat/gloves
-Dry socks
-Water bottle
-Toothbrush/paste
-Money

This list is not comprehensive.

You will be responsible for all of your snacks and meals beside lunch on Saturday (thanks so much for our helpful and supportive parents for putting lunch together!). Most skiers also find a restaurant for dinner on Friday because people like hot food.

The Run-down

If you're not sure what to expect, here's a quick synopsis:
On Friday, we'll take the bus straight to Giant's Ridge and spend time skiing. After we ride to the hotel and settle in we'll make dinner plans. We'll eat, and make last minute race preparations, relax at the hotel.

Bright and early Saturday morning, we'll check out and head back to the Ridge. Skiers from dozens of teams will be racing continuously all day: two skiers, every thirty seconds, for hours. You can find your start time here.

There will be a lot of downtime, and a lot of snacking. Once you've finished your race, you get to fill the entire rest of the day with as much skiing as you possibly can.

The trails are beautiful, the event is remarkable, and the fun is unforgettable.

See you tomorrow (or today, as the case may be)

Mesabi and a look ahead

Mesabi info: $60 fee needed by Thursday.

Before we move forward on this post, this is an A race, the biggest High School ski race in the country with skiers from 3 states. Do all the small things right this week!! This means eating, drinking and sleeping. We've gone over it all season you know what to do. Every second is a position in a race like this. Use the extra day off from school wisely Tuesday! Catch up and get ahead on your school work. More to come...looking forward to our practice Wednesday:-)

Travel Day: Friday, January 10th
Depart Tech: 9:30 pick up Apollo 10:00.
Arrive at Giants Ridge 2 p.m.
Pre-ski to 4 p.m.
Back to Hotel and dinner 4:30-??
Staying at the Coates Plaza Hotel, Virginia, MN

Mesabi East X-C Invitational
Saturday, January 11th
Giants Ridge Golf and Ski Resort

Approx. Start Time:
10:00 5K Classic Varsity/JV Boys
12:00 5K Classic Varsity/JV Girls
1:30   5K Freestyle Varsity/JV Boys
3:00   5K Freestyle Varsity/JV Girls

Depart at 5 p.m.
Stop for dinner at some point.
Arrive back at Tech 10ish.

Line up: B Varsity Freestyle: Cory, Jason, Jack
             B JV Freestyle: Tom, Ricky
             B Varsity Classic: Isaac, Zeb, Carter
             B JV Classic: Noah, Connor
             G Varsity Freestyle: Katie, Kaethe, Miriam
             G JV Freestyle: Mary, Aubrie
             G Varsity Classic: Shannon M, Shannon C, Bethany

They will post individual start times later this week:-)

The rest of this week...
Tuesday: if temps allow, optional easy individual ski in discipline you're racing.
Wednesday: plan on some solid ski time!
Thursday: Wax day
Friday: Pre-ski
Saturday: Race

Mora Invite Cancelled:-(

Despite my best efforts to will temps upward a degree or two with optimism the forecast is borderline and I'm sorry to say the Mora Invite has been cancelled!
We will still have our regularly scheduled practice on Tuesday.

It looks like races are really going to pile up in the second half of the season. Please, please, use today and the upcoming week to get ahead with your studies.

Mesabi updates tonight!

Can you Camus?

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."
-Albert Camus

Which is easy for him to say, since French winters are much milder than Minnesota winters.

News:
-The next scheduled meet in Mora, on Tuesday, 1/14... is uncertain. Since the MSHSL rules forbids competition at -4F, it seems unlikely they will host despite Lance's optimism.
-If you're coming to Mesabi, we need a check for $60. If you bring it on Tuesday, you will be rewarded with a high-five and an enthusiastic grin. We absolutely need it from you no later than Thursday, but you will be met with a reproachful look. You will miss almost the entire day of school on Friday. Tell your teachers.



Since I do what I can to keep these posts as hep, up-to-speed, and culturally relevant as possible, it's about time we had a numbered list:"

The top ten variations of Camus' "In the depth of winter..." quote elucidating possible pastimes or musings for statewide school closings due to cold

1. "In the depth of winter, I melted wax onto the bottoms of all of my skis."

2. "In the depth of winter, I made every effort to stay inside."

3. "In the depth of winter, I finally learned chemistry."

4. "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay within me a digestive tract, which is pretty cool if you think about it."

5. "In the depth of winter, I checked my weather app and then ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes."

6. "In the depth of winter, I remembered to brush my teeth at least twice daily."

7. "In the depth of winter, I did fifty pull-ups in one day because my lats were hankering for a workout."

8. "In the depth of winter, I forgot to finish writing my top-ten list."

9. "In the depth of winter, I referenced the Okee-Dokee Brothers in the title of a blog post that aggressively stretched a French philosopher's relevance to Nordic skiing."

1/2/14

Bring your classics if you have them, all others will be skating.
Pack the warm clothes for today!!
Jackets are in! Bring your money.
Plan on shaking off a little rust if you haven't been able to get out and ski over break:-)
Think of new goals for this New Year.