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The Maine Winter Sports Center and Carrabassett Valley Academy (CVA) were approached by Bill and Joan Alfond in the spring of 2004. The Alfonds have long been generous supporters of CVA's mission of being one of the top Alpine and snowboard sports academy's in the world. They had also been impressed by the efforts of the Maine Winter Sports Center to create opportunities for kids in rural Maine. Together, CVA and the MWSC are raising aspirations and providing opportunities for Maine youth to reach their full athletic and academic potential.
The Alfonds wanted to create a bridge between these two Maine institutions by providing scholarships that would allow two worthy Maine kids to attend CVA. The partnership between the Alfonds, CVA and the Maine Winter Sports Center is one of a shared commitment to making a difference for Maine youth.
"Carrabassett Valley Academy is the beneficiary of the Joan and Bill Alfond Scholarship program in that the two student recipients, Anne Rockwell and Dominic Cyr are outstanding young people who contribute greatly to the school community. Said John Ritzo, Headmaster art CVA. Both Anne and Dom are top students academically and both are exceptionally talented athletes. More importantly, with their commitment to achieving high goals and the dedication that they demonstrate daily in achieving those goals, they are positive role models for other students to emulate. The strong work ethic that they share combined with their politeness and friendliness makes them key members of the student body."
Both Dom and Anne have met with considerable athletic and academic success, yet both remain humble. They fit in well with their fellow class and team mates. They are extremely supportive of other students. Their teachers and coaches comment on Anne and Dom's willing and cooperative attitudes. In short, these are two student-athletes that represent the best of Maine's youth.
"CVA and the MWSC set our State apart from others in the skiing industry because of the quality of their world-class programs and facilities." said Owen Wells, President of the Portland-based Libra Foundation and an important source of funding for both the MWSC and CVA. "I applaud Bill and Joan for their efforts to reach out to the children of Maine with this scholarship program, and in the process, help create a partnership between these two skiing institutions."
Senior
Van Buren
Fourth year at CVA
Currently a member of the U.S. Ski Team National Development System
» Click here to visit Dom's Results Page
BIO: Dom Cyr was the first athlete to receive the Alfond scholarship and has set a high standard for all to follow. He enters his fourth year at Carrabassett Valley Academy ready and eager to face the academic and athletic changes that await him in his senior year. A member of the USST Development Team, Dom returned from a late summer camp in La Parva, Chile. This was his second summer camp in Chile with the US team. In Chile for over two weeks, the camp went extremely well for Dom. In downhill training he had been in the top 5 both days until a fall during a race brought his camp to an early end.
Prior to his trip to Chile Dom spent the summer working for Soderberg Construction Co. in Caribou. According to Carl Soderberg, "Dom is a fine young man and we loved to have him with us again. We hated to see him go, but we enjoy thinking of his travels and his future at CVA."
Dom Cyr (L) Bill Alfond (R) at press conference announcing scholarship.
In a letter to Bill and Joan Alfond last spring Dom stated: "I want to thank both of you once again for this great opportunity you have given me. I would not be skiing this fast if I could not ski every day like I am. This is a wonderful experience, which is allowing me to pursue my passion for racing while getting a great education, making a lot of friends and meeting many wonderful people along the way."
Academically, Dom been doing just as well as with his racing, despite the fact that he was at school less than a third of the winter due to a hectic race schedule. Thanks to CVA's academic programs and the support from his teachers Dom was still able to make the honor roll during the first half of the winter term and narrowly missed it for the second half.
In late November Dom and his fellow CVA alpine teammates will travel to Austria for early season training. The competition season begins after that and then Dom is off to the races.
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Senior
Greenville
Fourth year at CVA
» Click here to visit Anne's Results Page
BIO: Returning to CVA as a senior, Anne is continuing to follow her dream to be a ski racer. She finished 3rd in last season's MARA Cup standings and lowered her SL Points to 52, giving her a national age ranking of 13th. "This school is giving me everything I need to become my best athletically and academically," said Anne. "With the backing of the Alfond Scholarship and the support of CVA's excellent teachers and coaches I know I am in the right place. CVA is everything I have dreamed of and more!"
Anne is from Greenville and has dreamed all her life of coming to CVA. Thanks to the generosity of the Bill and Joan Alfond Scholarship Fund that dream is coming true.
Anne, along with her family, and many people in the Greenville community, worked together throughout the summer to raise the additional money needed for her travel and equipment costs.
Rick Bisson, CVA PR Director said that since coming to CVA it was immediately apparent to the faculty and staff that Anne was an exceptional student-athlete. "In the first two soccer games she clearly established herself as a skilled and aggressive player. In physical testing she earned one of the highest scores of the CVA females and her teachers sing her praises in the classroom." Anne will be a J2 racer this year and is known for her humility, hard work and focus, both in the classroom and on the slopes.
"I've been skiing since I was three," Rockwell said. "My parents are very active in our areas ski programs so I was introduced to skiing very early. "Her dad is a Greenville High School ski coach so she has had plenty of opportunities to forerun races and train. Rockwell said that she did most of her ski training on Squaw Mountain and Big Rock in Mars Hill. "They provided me the opportunity to learn the basics of alpine skills that helped me get into CVA.
The young racer from Greenville heard about CVA when she passed the school on her way to races and skiing at Sugarloaf. "I knew a family from Greenville that moved here and were doing well. This is when I started thinking about attending CVA. I wanted to become the best skier I could be, and I knew that if I stayed in Greenville it wouldn't get me anywhere. Greenville's ski area is dying and I wasn't going to let my dream die along with it."
It's been a family affair to get Anne into CVA. "She has a twin sister, Ruby," Ervin (Rocky) Rockwell, her father and former coach said. "We had some reservations about how it was going to work out for them, being apart for the first time." Anne's twin sister Ruby is a freshman student at Greenville High. "It has worked out well. When they were in middle school, they competed against each other on the ski team." "Both Anne and Ruby have been on the hill since they were four years old and consistently won events, and the only one to beat Ruby was Anne." Now at CVA, Anne seems to have her priorities in order, and according to her father, "she absolutely always has."
Anne said that she has set monthly goals and overall goals. "I have been trying to get stronger and get better in balance and coordination. I feel that the only way to get somewhere is to set your goals high, so I am shooting for being the best I can possibly be. At the end of each week I evaluate my improvements and what I need to work on more next week. It will be a challenge, but I came here to strive to my fullest. If I work my hardest and take advantage of this school, I can make my goals come true. And that is exactly what I am going to do."
Are the Olympics a possibility? "The sky is the limit if you really want to work at it here at CVA. At this point I am looking at one goal at a time and once I have accomplished these first, new goals will emerge."
Anne discussed her thoughts about CVA. "I am a lot more independent than I once was. I have started to learn how to manage my time, and prevent sport injuries. I like the classes here. The teachers are very inspiring, and take the subjects and relate them to our lives well. Sports are very intense, but in every session you learn and grow. Knowing that I improved is the award of working so hard. CVA is everything I had thought it would be."
Rockwell finds the schedule quite tight at CVA, but she definitely wouldn't mind a little more relaxation time. "I can't think of too much that I would want less of. I seem to get a lot more done when I am busy. CVA is a dream of mine that has come true and I am thrilled to be here. I wouldn't really want to change anything."
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