End of May Practice

Today was an air rifle/games practice. It was interesting with the rain, but overall went very well. We started off with some jogging, pick-ups, and active stretching. Then we followed with an amazingly intense game of speedball! After that we did some shooting with the air rifles, which was fantastic until the rain came and we had to take cover inside. Since we were stuck indoors, we watched Jackson and Chester's biathlon video made for a school school project, which was well done and very funny. Even with the rain, spirits were high and everyone had fun. 

Southern Maine Biathlon Club end of the Season Wrap-up, Potluck, Meeting Extravaganza

Potluck 
Abby James Eileen
Kids Thank You
Eileen Gary Mike Tiki Amy 
Getting food 
Molly
Carrie Caitlyn Sarah Olivia 
Tim Haley Oliver Mitchell 
Carter Sam Chester Jackson Tom

Sunday evening was the first annual SMBC end of the season potluck. There was a slideshow, delicious food, and lots of enthusiastic athletes and families. We also had a few special guests join up. Gary Colliander, MWSC biathlon coach and US National B team coach, James Upham, US National development coach, Eileen Carey, MWSC program director, and Abby Weissman, from NENSA all came to the potluck and answered questions, talked about nordic and biathlon, and and also talked about athlete's futures in biathlon. Gary Eileen Abby and James, it was great to have you!  

Thank you Joel, Mike and Tiki for a wonderful season. Thank you Ted for organizing the cafeteria and projector, Molly for organizing the event, and all athletes and families for supporting the club. 

If anyone not get a club sign-up form, Joel still has lots of them! His email is joelhinshaw@yahoo.com. The summer schedule and news will be posted on the website soon, so keep your eyes open! www.somainebiathlon.com. There is more information about Maine Coast Nordic at www.coastalnordic.org and www.mainecoastnordic.blogspot.com. 

We had a fantastic turn out on Sunday, and next year we hope for it to be even better. Keep spreading the word! 

End of the Season Potluck

On Sunday May 3, 5.30 pm at Yarmouth High School, there will be an SMBC potluck. There will be a slide-show, dinner (please bring a dish), and we will be going over finances, the upcoming calendar and 2009/2010 events. This should be really fun, so bring your family and any one else you think might be interested in joining the club! Email Molly Susla at hsusla@aol.com with any questions. See you there!

US Nationals in Fort Kent (Sunday)

On Sunday we headed back over to the Tenth Mountain Center for the last time. The club fore-ran the courses. Jackson and Chester competed in the mass start. They skied 7.5 K and shot four times. They both competed in the Senior Boys division again, Chester finishing first and Jackson finishing second. It was a tough day for them both, with lots of penalty laps for Jackson and some epic wipe-outs for Chester, but both boys finished grinning with a huge boost of confidence. After the racing, the SMBC kids got to meet with more biathlon idols, Tracy and Lanny Barnes, and BethAnn Chamberlain. It was awesome for the kids to be able to meet these athletes and everyone was very excited. Unfortunately, Mike's van got a flat tire on the way home, but other than that everyone made it home in one piece. Thank you so much Joel, Mike, Tiki, and Gary for being excellent coaches and organizing everything. And thank you so much parents who cooked us awesome meals and kept everything organized, and drivers, we couldn't have done it without you! Also thank you Eliza and Jackson for helping with some of the photos. If anyone has good photos please send them to me! thumphries3@gmail.com.
JB, Caitlyn, Alex, Olivia, Sarah, and Carrie- I called Stride and the wrapper is NOT edible. I was right!

US Nationals and Citizens Race on Saturday

Louisa and Amy on the podium
Chester and Jackson
Tim tired after his race
Juan skiing
Henry skiing
Kellan battling it out with little brother Ethan
Sophia
Greta shooting
Sam shooting
Louisa shooting
Sam in the pursuit race with Sean close behind him
The cheering crew!
Sarah
Katrina, Olivia, and Carrie on the podium
Sophia on the podium
Henry and Mary Becker
Bjorn
Tom and Tara
Braden

Saturday morning were the pursuit races. The club split up into groups again, and fore-ran the courses. Sam Humphries competed in the Youth Men's division, and skied five 2K loops. He shot two times prone and two times standing. Sam finished 8th. In the afternoon there were the citizens races. We had one skier, Sophia Laukli, compete in the Moose division with air rifles, and finished second. She looked fantastic! We also had club members in the youth air rifle race, youth .22 race, and adults .22 race. Everyone had an awesome time and did very well. For girl's air rifles, Olivia Conrad won, followed by Carrie Adams and Katrina Laukli. Juan Mesones came third for the boys. For .22's Chester Jacobs won, followed by Tom Sullivan and Jackson Hall. For girls, Tara Humphries came third. Amy Laukli came second for women, and Louisa Moore came third. Everyone tried their best, and performed very well. For dinner, some stayed in the cabins and some went to the banquet at UMFK. At the banquet SMBC kids all got posters signed by biathlete idol Russell Currier. It was another great day, and everyone got lots of sun.

Fort Kent (Friday)

Braden, Henry, Tim, and Mitchell eating dinner
JB
Mitchell shooting
Alex shooting
Chester and Jackson
Carrie watching shooting
Tiki using the scope
Olivia and Alex
Ethan
Kellan shooting
Caitlyn and Sarah on the range
Sam shooting
Amy shooting
Mike Hanes
MWSC coach Gary Colliander and Ian Moore

Friday morning we headed up to the Tenth mountain center. We did lots of free-skiing and practice shooting. It was a beautiful day, and everyone had a blast. We went back to the cabins for lunch, and headed over to Madawaska for the afternoon to ski. Everyone came home with rosie cheeks and a smile on their face.

US Nationals in Fort Kent (Thursday)

Jackson and Chester on the podium
Olivia and Alex
Mike and JB
Mrs. Becker
Tom pretty hyped up at dinner
Mike at dinner
Chester going up a hill
Tim in the big snow hole he made
Jackson in the sprint
Sam climbing a big hill
the range
Sam and two buddies from Minnesota
Chester and Jackson before their race

We arrived in Fort Kent late Wednesday night, and awoke early Thursday morning to breakfast in the "man-cave". Once we got to the Tenth Mountain Center, the club split up into groups and fore-ran the different courses. Thursday was the sprint race. Sam Humphries raced in the Youth Men's division, and finished 6th. He skied three 2.5 K loops, and shot one time prone and one time standing. Jackson Hall and Chester Jacobs raced in the Senior Boys division. Jackson finished first, and Chester finished second. They were supposed to ski three 2K loops, but instead skied three 2.5 k loops, making the race 7.5 K instead of 6. Oops! They shot once prone and once standing as well. It was their first real biathlon. Congratulations Sam, Chester, and Jackson! Thursday evening we had a big group dinner in one of the cabins. Everyone was riled up and excited from a great day in the sun.