Congratulations to the Rangeley Alpine Ski Club for a great season!

Even though they spent more time traveling to the various mountains to train than they actually got to ski, this high-spirited group of ski racers consistently placed in the top ten.

After Saddleback closed, and the local school was unable to help support the middle school students, it became apparent to several parents that they needed some sort or organizational plan to keep the kids racing. The parents took the matter in their own hands and formed the Rangeley Alpine Ski Club with Brad Stokes acting as Board President, Michelle Laliberte as Secretary and Virginia MacFawn as Board Treasurer.

“As parents we felt we had such an asset in Hawk (Jeff Hawksley)  and Jon (Jonathan Adkins) and wanted to be sure our kids could have the opportunity to train under them.” said Laliberte.

So with Head Coach Jeff Hawksley, and Coach Jonathan Adkins, the team starts their training in the gym with dry land training in November. Moving to snow in December with competitions that go until the end of February, they continue to train while snow is still plentiful through March.

Once they can handle the lifts and various types of mountain terrain, children can start as young as seven years old.  This year the group had 16 participants.

So how did they do this 2019/20 season? Laliberte was happy to report, “We are so proud of these kids. They have soared to the top of the field. We have kids consistently placing in the top ten in competition and every member of the club has surpassed expectations for ski ability. This year our high school female skiers won The Mountain Valley Conference. They placed 5th at States. The boys team was short a team member, but had excellent individual performances.”

Now that Saddleback will be reopening next season, the Club will be able to do less travel and more skiing. Laliberte continued, “We are so excited to be back at our home mountain. The decreased travel time is going to mean valuable opportunities for more skiing which will only strengthen all the athletes skills.”

If you would like more information about this great group, visit their website RASCMaine.com. There you can see postings about upcoming events, volunteer opportunities and options for much needed donations for this well deserved group.

High School Girls Team: Emma Rae, Autumn, Jaxsyn, Bristol and Amelia

Cheering committee!

High School boys Charlie, Nathaniel and Dax

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