UPDATE FROM NYSEF SNOWSPORTS
February 27, 2018
Freeride competing around the Northeast
From Freeride Program Director, Mike Kirchner: while the Olympics have been in full swing in Pyeongchang, the NYSEF Freeride crew has kept busy competing around the northeast as qualifying season is comes to a close. Head Coach, Justin Perry headed to Waterville Valley, NH and Coach Bob Witt headed to Sunday River. More updates on the competitions can be found here.
Familiar Faces at Gore Mountain
From Program Director, Rich Burnley: Mother Nature has not been very kind to folks in the ski business over the past week or so. At Gore, Echo has withstood the weather fairly well and is in nice shape for the U16 and U19 Championship races. Twenty U14s from NYSEF-Gore qualified to the U14 States. U12s had their Flight Camp in mid-February and Morgan Shute won her class at the Ski Bowl Skier Cross this February. More updates can be found here.
Soaring high in Connecticut
News from Head Coach, Colin Delaney: the Elite and Development Ski Jumping teams are headed to Junior Nationals in Anchorage, Alaska at the end of February. To make Junior Nationals, these athletes competed and performed well in Salisbury, Connecticut. Our Youth Jump Team has also been hitting the road on weekends in search of snow and hardware! Click here for the Ski Jumping / Nordic Combined update.
BLK Festival and Empire State Games
NYSEF athletes took on Empire State Games and the BLK Festival in mid-February. Photos and results from BLK Festival can be found here. Anya Morgan and Lauchie Cheney-Seymour took first in their age groups during the biathlon event for Empire State Games. Detailed results from the Empire State Games can be found here.
Alpine Skiing: U14 Champs
The NYSEF U14s have been on the road over the last few weeks with races at Gore Mountain, Windham Mountain and Belleayre Ski Center. Some action shots of athletes at Windham Mountain can be found here. Photo Credit: Steven Ventura. U14's will be racing at Whiteface Mountain for U14 State Championships and U14 Eastern Championships in early and mid-March. Stay tuned for reports and results!
Go Boys, Go! 2018 Olympic Recap
The 2018 Olympic Games was an adventure - full of success and smiles as well as disappointment for our NYSEF alums. Ski jumper Will Rhoads placed 9th in the team event and 46th in the men’s Normal Hill Ski Jump. Shortly after the Games started, Tommy Biesemeyer suffered a crash in training that forced him to sit out the speed races and return to the states for surgery - a heart-breaking disappointment. On the flip-side, Kevin Drury placed 4th in the Men's Ski Cross - a huge accomplishment for our alpine alum turned Cross! For more updates on our alums Lowell Bailey, Tim Burke and Andrew Weibrecht, click here.
Digging into Snowsports with Fox News
Learn more about the different tricks our FREERIDE athletes are doing here.
Learn more about the standing and prone position in BIATHLON here.
Learn more about how to do FREESTYLE flips at home here.
Learn more about the secrets of the SKI JUMPING suit here.
Learn more about the importance of WAXING your skis or board here.
Learn more about the anatomy of a BIATHLON RIFLE here.
ALUM Spotlight: Cecily Decker
NYSEF Athlete and Saranac Lake native, Cecily Decker was named to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Alpine C Team for the 2017-18 season. Decker is ranked 75th in the world in downhill with 19 top-10 results, including 9 podiums with 5 overall wins. Decker earned the honor of the Golden Ski Award for her 2016 season results.
Over the past few seasons, Decker has topped the podium at a number of international races including a Nor-Am Cup Downhill at Lake Louise, an Eastern FIS Giant Slalom at Sugarbush VT, a FIS-University GS race at Jiminy Peak MA, and the Downhill at the 2016 Junior Championships at Copper Mountain CO. She's placed top 5 in 22 FIS races in her short 3-year career of racing internationally.
Most recently, Decker placed 3rd for juniors in the Women's Nor-Am GS that took place at her home mountain, Whiteface! Next she'll head West for the Nor-Am Speed series at Copper Mountain. For more of Decker's accomplishments, click here.
Northwood School Alpine Update
Update from Terry DelliQuadri: The admissions office is hard at work putting together acceptance packets for next year’s new students. It is looking like we will have a healthy crop of Northwood ski racers. School is currently out for winter break but most skiers are training and competing around the Northeast.
Save the Dates
Ingrid Ormsby Bar-B-Que
February 23-25: NYSSRA U19 State Championships, Gore
March 1-4: NYSSRA U14 State Championships, Whiteface
March 3: NYSEF Ice Cream Party, Emma's Lake Placid
March 4: Ingrid Ormsby Bar-B-Que, Whiteface
March 15-18: U.S. Ski and Snowboard Eastern U14 Championships, Whiteface
March 22-25: U.S. Ski and Snowboard Eastern Finals, Gore
March 24: NYSEF Nordic Raffle ticket winner announced
March 30: NYSEF Alpine/Freeride Raffle ticket winner announced
May 1: Early bird registration for Annual Golf Open closes
May 20: Lake Placid Community Day, Horse Show Grounds
June 10: Annual Golf Open- Social
August 18: Summer Benefit - Social
September 8- Kelly Brush Ride
September 9- 70.3 Ironman- Volunteer with NYSEF!
Join NYSEF Snowsports on Sunday, March 4 beginning at Noon for a barbeque to celebrate Ingrid Ormsby’s life and support the Ingrid Ormsby Scholarship Fund with NYSEF.
The event will take place at the NYSEF Building at Whiteface. The cost of the barbeque is $10.00 per person. A NYSEF staff member will be collecting food money ‘at the door.’
The Ingrid Ormsby Scholarship is dedicated to Ingrid's support of alpine racing for local youth athletes. The Scholarship is awarded annually to an athlete who is pursuing their snowsport career at Whiteface and participating in NYSEF. In addition to being an avid alpine skier, the scholarship recipient must also be in good standing with the local community and their school.
Learn more about on the facebook page, here.
Staff Corner: Share Your Story!
Name: Shane MacDowell
Job Title: Head Cross Country Skiing Coach
Favorite Hobby: Canoeing (and skiing)
How did you get involved with NYSEF Snowsports?
I have worked in the ski industry across the country and as we all know, the ski world is very small. When the opportunity came up to work at NYSEF and live in the Adirondacks, it was a no brainer. I am very excited to add to this great program. My fiance, Danielle, has a strong affinity to NYSEF and promoted the program everywhere. I was eager to test it out for myself and be a part of the growing organization.
What are the top three ‘unique’ things that make NYSEF special?
- Its incredible location and availability of trails and venues across the Adirondacks.
- Winter Term opportunities for all snowsport athletes. The NYSEF Winter Term allows junior athletes the opportunity to access top seasonal training, while continuing remotely in their school's curricula. These athletes range from 13 to 18 and are living and training around Olympic hopefuls.
- Learning from all snowsport disciplines. At other organizations, it was primarily cross country skiing. At NYSEF, we regularly interact with coaches, athletes and alums who have experienced snowsports in many ways. We support one another where you do not see with many organizations who cater to only one snowsport.