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Head Coach: Ian Gillis
Assistant Coaches: Wendy Flannery, Michael Townsend
20/21 Alpine Ski Roster
Hampden Academy
2020/2021 Alpine Ski Season Summary
By: Coach Ian Gillis
I applaud our athletes. This season was uncertain, unpredictable and filled with challenges. We started the season late without a real guarantee that we would actually race. Mother nature delivered a tough blow wiping out our snow pack over Christmas, giving us another 3 weeks of everyone’s favorite – DRYLAND training. Luckily MPA pushed our season out another month and we were able to get a full season of racing in. The Conference goal was for every Team to get 6 races in. This meant that our MPA Coaches representative was constantly adjusting the schedule to balance out races.
Despite a record long Dryland session, little natural snow and the ever-looming threat of COVID cancellations we did manage to get 9 regular season races in – 4 Giant Slalom and 5 Slaloms and 2 each from our Home hill Hermon. Normally we get 10 races in.
The Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Championship Race was our culminating event this season since MPA determined that a State Meet presented too much of a COVID risk. At KVACs Hampden Women took 6th place and Hampden Men came in 5th place. Ella Baldwin placed 9th in Slalom and KJ Morse placed 9th in Giant Slalom.
What these statistics do not show is the resiliency of our athletes. Our race schedule changed every Friday for the following week. We wore masks ALL the time. We booted up and changed on the bus and stayed out of the lodges. We kept our distance from other teams. They raced and got back on the bus to change and head home. As one coach said – our athletes maintained all the COVID protocols with a smile under their masks because they knew their season was at risk. This was not a ‘normal’ season, however, through it all our team laughed and supported one another.
At the end of each Alpine season, The Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference creates two notional teams comprised of the best athletes across the conference – as a way to recognize the top Alpine Athletes in our Conference. Four Hampden Athletes were nominated for the All-Conference Team by various Coaches in the conference. At the post-season meeting – Three were voted onto the KVAC ALL-Conference Teams.
Hampden Academy should be proud of accomplishments of our athletes in a very challenging year.
To the Following Student Athletes named to the KVAC Alpine Ski All Conference Team:
Ella Baldwin:Girls First Team
Meghan Cyr: Girls Second Team
KJ Morse: Boys Second Team
All sports schedules with practice and game times can be found on Athletic Webpage under "Games and Practice Schedule".