The Maine Winter Sports Center Cross-Country Program serves as a nationwide model for developing international caliber racers in a community-based support system. Athletes are provided with coaching, housing, health insurance and professional development opportunities while training full-time to achieve the highest level in the sport. Each athlete is responsible for assisting with school and club-based ski activities, providing support to younger MWSC athletes, and offering healthy lifestyle programs within the state of Maine. Through coaches’ education, club leader internship opportunities and community outreach, the MWSC Cross-Country Program aims to steadily increase the number of Maine residents who experience a positive cross-country ski outing each year.
August
1 Fat Tire Festival, Presque Isle
8 Bradbury Mountain Bruiser 9 Mile Trail Race, Pownal, Me
8-14 MWSC Camp, Sugarloaf, ME
14 USSA Level 100 Clinic, Farmington, ME
14 Maine Team (HS) Training Day, Farmington, ME
September
12 Bradbury Mountain 12 Mile Trail Race, Pownal, ME
14-27 MWSC Camp, Cody, WY
TBD High Plains Nordic Clinic w/ MWSC Elites
October
4 Sunday River Trail Marathon, Newry, ME
7-14 USST/NENSA NEG Camp
29-31 Lobster Roll/ME Collegiate Rollerski Championships, North Haven, ME
8/26/10
Sugarloaf Training Camp.
We spent the week of August 8th through 14th at Sugarloaf mountain in Western Maine. We stayed in the dormitory rooms of Carrabasset Valley Academy with the Biathlon team. It was a good opportunity to spend some time training and hanging out with the biathletes. It seems to me that sometimes we are two separate teams, going off and doing our own training at our own locations, but after the camp I felt as though we were one team again, Maine Winter Sports Center.
The week was a base training week for nearly all of us with a only few focusing on intensity training. It's the time of year where those who have already done enough base training can transition into an intensity block, focusing more on intervals and sprint workouts than on long "over distance" workouts. The rest of us spent the week topping off our endurance base so that we will be able to start an intensity block within the next few weeks.
The greatest part about western Maine is being up in the mountains. They provide a plethora of opportunities for outdoor activities. We used the steep condominium access roads for roller-skiing and did bounding intervals up the maintenance roads up the mountain. By the end of the intervals we were at the base of the snowfields, nearly at the top of the mountain. We also did many long hikes along the Appalachian Trail including a Bigelow mountain hike and a hike from the base lodge of Sugarloaf mountain to the base lodge of Saddleback mountain, a 7 hour, 20 mile hike. We were pretty tired after that one, good thing it was on one of the last days of the camp.
On the 13th we all came down to Farmington, ME to do a clinic for middle school and high school skiers from around south and western Maine. It was a good clinic, I think the athletes (both the ones teaching and the ones being taught) got a lot out of it. Then, we packed up and headed back to the county for another big volume week.
It was a great camp. Great weather, great food, and of course great training with great people. I don't think it could have gone any smoother or better.
Happy training.
Welly Ramsey
X-C team athlete
Summertime is flying by and athletes are getting in solid training hours and getting prepared for the upcoming season, which will be here before we know it.
8/3/10
The past few months have flown by and everyone is busy training hard, working hard and playing in the spare moments that we have. Over the next couple of months the Cross Country ski blog will be updated every two weeks by a different athlete. We are hoping to give each and every one of you something to look forward to every two weeks and to keep the community informed about our activities through not only the blog but through updated photos as well.
Keep enjoying the summertime sunshine and check back soon for our first team blog by MWSC elite athlete, Sarah Dominick.
MWSC Earns New England Elite Team Spots
7 May 2010
Thanks to the hard work put in over the past year, several MWSC XC athletes have qualified for selection to the NENSA Elite Team and the NENSA Development Team. Sam Tarling, Welly Ramsey, Pavel Sotskov, Russell Currier and Grace Boutot were all selected to NENSA's Elite Team. Fred Bailey, Joey Bard, Hilary McNamee and Nick Michaud were all named to the NENSA Development Team. These team namings are an honor and rank our athletes among the very best in New England. Congratulations to you all!
For more info on the MWSC Cross-Country Program
Contact Will Sweetser.
MWSC athletes spending their free time improving their volleyball skills at Sugarloaf Camp
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Team picture on top of Saddleback Jr. during the base-to-base hike.
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Cross Country and Biathlon Team enjoying a summer treat at Gilford's ice-cream during Sugarloaf Camp.
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Hitting the trail after reaching the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.
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Elite Athlete, Fred Bailey on one of the many hikes during the week.
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A few of the athletes spending their down-time having fun.
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