It happens all too often. Inexperienced skier takes off from the start of a distance race as though it is a sprint qualifier, only to struggle through several more kilometers. Will Sweetser, competitive programs director at the Maine Winter Sports Center, has a workout that encourages athletes to take an honest look at their individual ability and find a sustainable pace for every distance.
With nearly two dozen athletes, the MWSC in northeastern Maine is shaping up to be a national powerhouse in both cross-country and biathlon. "From my perspective as director, this group is more of a team than we've ever had," says director Will Sweetser. "There is no doubt that our program will have one of the best men's distance teams in U.S. XC."
After announcing Wednesday that the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC) is closing Black Mountain Ski Resort in Rumford, Maine, six-time host of the U.S. Cross Country Nationals, President/CEO Andy Shepard is hoping a buyer will step forward soon.
The Maine Winter Sports Center, which has owned and operated Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine, since 2003, has announced its intention to close the alpine mountain, effective immediately.
With his four years of NCAA eligibility completed, Sam Tarling will return to his roots to begin his professional career. The Maine native and 2011 NCAA 10 k freestyle champion for Dartmouth College will again race in the white and blue of Maine Winter Sports Center next season.
(UPDATED) Kris Freeman, three-time U.S. Olympian in cross-country skiing and member of the U.S. Ski Team since 2002, was not renominated to the national team roster for the 2013-2014 season. Freeman said USST coaches notified him this week of the news, citing limited medal potential at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. "For whatever reason the USST no longer believes in me," he said.
Kris Freeman was ready for the Tour to be over sooner than he could get out of Europe. Afterward, the US Ski Team veteran headed home, where he spent a full week recovering then building back up to normal. Before picking things up again in Davos, Switzerland, Freeman won two domestic marathons and is feeling primed for the World Cup and World Championships.
The Maine Winter Sports Center is pleased to announce that the 2013 10th Mountain Division Junior Nordic and Biathlon Championships will be hosted by Augusta Trails and the 10th Mountain Ski Club, respectively.
Last winter, a number of relatively young American athletes catapulted their way to top-ten World Cup results in nordic disciplines – often very much to their own surprise, and certainly to the surprise of European commentators. One of those was Stockholm, Maine’s Russell Currier, who, joining the biathlon circuit halfway through the season, had a breakout performance in his second race of that weekend. In a sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, 24-year-old Currier started...
Note: This is the third preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Maine Winter Sports Center Olympic Development Teams Coaches: Will Sweetser (cross-country), Seth Hubbard (biathlon), Amber Dodge (development), TBD (wax tech, intern) Roster: Cross-country: Kris Freeman (U.S....
On Tuesday morning at its headquarters in Freeport, Maine, L.L. Bean presented Maine Winter Sports Center with a $1 million commitment to its Healthy Hometowns program. The gift is part of the outdoor company’s 100th anniversary celebration, which also included a $1 million grant to the National Parks Foundation and $500,000 that has already gone towards the creation of new athletic fields in Freeport. The goal of all three gifts is to make enjoyment of...
Maine Winter Sports Center and Big Rock Ski Area are pleased to announce an opportunity for early season skiing during Thanksgiving week. The exact opening day will depend on weather but will occur as early in the week as possible. Big Rock will be making snow all around the base of their mountain, thus allowing cross-country skiers access to at least 1 kilometer of groomed trail. In addition, Maine Winter Sports Center coaching staff will...
(Note: this is first in a series of interviews with the coaches and staff of the U.S. biathlon team.) When Per Nilsson took over head coaching duties for the U.S. biathlon team after the 2006 Olympic Games, the U.S. men had already begun a slow ascent in the nations cup standings, climbing from 20th place in 2003 to 15th after Torino. With Nilsson’s help, the rise has continued: the men have now finished either 10th...
Will Sweetser and Mike Smith Named Division Heads. David Chamberlain joins staff.
With just a few weeks at home in the county we are yet again preparing for travel, this time to Canmore, Alberta where the senior athletes have trials races for the December World Cups and IBU races. For the rest of the team it will serve as some solid on-snow (hopefully) training before heading to Minnesota in December for our first Nor-Am Cup races of the ’10-’11 season. October took us to Midway, Utah for...
In its continuing effort to aid the development of American cross country ski racers, the National Cross-Country Ski Education Foundation (NCCSEF) will help send a contingent of U.S. athletes to Finnish Lapland in November. Comprised of nine athletes from the NCCSEF subsidized trip, a Craftsbury Green Racing Program contingent and U.S. Ski Team athletes, over 20 Americans will test their fitness and speed against some of the strongest athletes from Finland, Estonia, northern Sweden, Russia, Belarus,...
More than 150 training days, countless kilometers of rollerskiing, and dozens of loads of dirty laundry: A summer and fall’s worth of preparation will be put to the test in just over two weeks, when the U.S. Ski Team (USST) makes its departure for Europe. All seven members will fly to Finland on November 7 for a weekend of tune-up racing north of the Arctic Circle in Muonio. From there, the squad will part ways,...
AUGUSTA, Maine – Presque Isle, Maine, will get a World Cup weekend of its own next winter, officials announced Wednesday morning. In a press conference at Maine Governor John Baldacci’s office, Nordic Heritage Sport Club Chairman Tim Vernon said that his organization would be stepping up to the plate to host a second World Cup weekend in Northern Maine, to go along with a previously-scheduled race in Fort Kent. The competition now set for Presque...
Everyone’s excited about the three-day mini-tour at the 2010 SuperTour Finals, and why not? Featuring a mass start classic race, a classic sprint, and an uphill climb, the event has something for everyone: sprinters and distance specialists, climbers and all-rounders, fans, and the media. The only ones who might have reservations are the coaches, since they have to wax all the skis and tackle the logistics. But a survey of those here in Fort Kent...