Just a reminder that you cannot practice with the Team until you have been cleared for NU Sport and bring a Consent to Treat to the Coach.  Many athletes on the list have been cleared for Fall sports and I see their names on the list – you just need to bring a Consent to Treat to your first practice.  If you are still getting clearance, make sure you bring the Pink Sheet from Debbie when you show up to practice as it often takes a few days for your name to find its way on to the cleared list that I get.

New skiers should bring a helmet (bicycle OK) for roller skiing and a thin pair of socks to practice.  We only have a few spare helmets and unless we have one that fits, you cannot roller ski.  Our Dry-Land practices all meet in Room B-3.  Initial beginner sessions will stay in the room, but as soon as you are comfortable we move outside to the parking lots by tennis courts and up the hill.  Contact the coaches if you have any questions.

Our parent/athlete meeting will be held on Thursday November 6 at 6 pm in the Science Lecture Hall.  Hopefully we can get everything done in an hour.  If you cannot attend and still wish to join the Team, please contact me ASAP as I will be removing names from the Roster if I haven’t heard from you.

During the Beginner Clinic this afternoon, I was asked about the difficulty of our first race, which is scheduled for Friday 12th December.  It is a Freestyle Relay in the Meadow at Kirkwood Cross Country.  Last year the weather was beautiful and there was just enough snow (it was gone within the week).  The previous year the morning started off cold and fine but by the time of the High School start we had near blizzard conditions which made a tough race.

To show our newcomers what to expect I have posted a low resolution video from both the girls and boys race from last year on Youtube  (the boys race had previously appeared on Facebook).  Both Delphine and Cody wore my Gopro on their heads while they skied the lead off leg of their relays.  The Girls  video is 13:37 long and the Boys  video is 11:20 long. The course is a fairly flat 3 Km with the only technical difficulty being a sharp right hand turn.

While not a dumper, a few more weeks of little storms might see us in business!   Remember,   before we go to the snow we need paperwork.  We also need to maintain our equipment and get it allocated.

I managed to break my incoming e-mail for a short period on 10/21/14.  If you emailed me and the message bounced, try again.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

There will be a meeting during lunch on Friday October 24 in Room B-3 to finalize the team roster.  We have 35+ names at present but have not heard from many of them for a long time.  If we don’t get your full contact information and equipment sizing information by Friday we will delete you from the mailing list.  Regular practice starts in 3 weeks and our first race is in 8 weeks – this is our last week of recruiting, we have to get ready for the season.  Remember you can sign up on-line.

Athletic Dept will be having a Winter Sports meeting at 6pm Wednesday 22 October in Baggett Theater.   After brief general comments from the Athletic Director there will be break-out sessions in E-Wing for each sport.  Nordic Skiing will be there, so if you cannot make our long scheduled meeting on November 6, this is your chance to find out about how the team will run this year.

During collab period Monday Oct 20 there will be a meeting for all  NU athletes in Ali Gym.  Try and make it.

Adam, Cody and I, with Rocky riding escort, roller skied from Cisco Grove to the Soda Springs bridge this morning.  Beautiful day with lots of Fall colors starting to show up there.  According to GPS it is a 30 Km round trip with 1000 ft elevation gain.  The road is rougher than ever with the frost cracks turning into yawning chasms.  Major excitement was two flat tires on the Aero skiis, but as we had Rocky carrying spares didn’t cause a problem.

Beginner Roller Skiing starts this week. Please sign up on Doodle by noon of the day. We meet in Room B-3. You must bring a helmet (bicycle is fine) to wear while on roller skis. A pair of light gloves such as cycling gloves is advised to help avoid blisters. You must have been cleared for school sport and have given the coaches a signed Consent to Treat Form. If anyone wants to suggest a more convenient time than those proposed, please contact the coaches.