Nordic News

UVTA presents Lake Morey Skate-a-thon 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015

Enjoy winter’s wonderland on the longest groomed skating trail in the country. See how far you can skate? This annual UVTA fund-raising event is held at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vermont. Pre-register or purchase as gift today!

Nordic skate rentals provided for free as part of registration thanks to Nordic Skater. Registered Skaters also receive hot chocolate, lunch and one raffle ticket. You’ll also receive one additional raffle ticket for some fun prizes for each lap you complete around the skating trail. If you pick up a copy of NH Magazine’s December 2014 edition, you’ll see more about Nordic Skating in New England and beyond.

Special thanks to Lake Morey Resort for hosting and partnering with us on this annual winter celebration! Accommodations are available for attendees of the event at the Lake Morey Resort (tel. 800-423-1211) for the discounted rate of $85/night plus applicable VT taxes. Please mention Lake Morey Skate-a-thon when booking.

Thetford’s Annual Ski & Skate Consignment Sale will take place at Thetford Elementary School on Sunday, December 7th from 12:30 -2:00 pm. This is a great opportunity to obtain quality equipment at an affordable price. Proceeds provide critical support to the Thetford Ski Program.

We accept consignment of Nordic and Alpine ski gear, snowboards, helmets, and ski clothing. Consignment takes place on Saturday, December 6th from 4:00 – 6:00 pm and Sunday December 7th from 9:00 – 11:00 am.

Then Annual Ford Sayre Ski and Winter Sports Sale is happening today from noon to 2 pm at the Richmond School in Hanover, NH.  There are lots of sizes for the whole family at great prices.

If you haven’t heard of us, we are a non-profit organization located in western Maine that operates 4 off-the-grid, backcountry eco-lodges with over 80 miles of people-powered recreational trails. In the winter months (December – March) we groom and track our trails for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing.

Overnight guests at our huts receive two hot meals prepared by our staff using Organic, locally sourced ingredients, as well as a bagged lunch for the trail. All of our lodges feature composting toilets, hot showers, cozy lounge areas and drying rooms to keep you warm and comfortable throughout your adventure.

We offer group discounts, Full-Hut rentals and a variety of guided and unguided adventures for groups of all ages and ability levels. Our Recreation Programming Manager, Lani Cochrane, is a Registered Maine Guide who has been featured in many Outdoor publications, including; Maine Magazine and Women’s Quarterly. Her superior knowledge of the Maine woods and Scenic Waterways make her a huge asset not only to the Maine Huts & Trails team but for the guests coming to visit the huts. Lani can lead your group through our extensive trail network while sharing her love and knowledge of the surrounding area.

This March, 2015, we will be hosting our annual Maine Huts & Trails Marathon and Ski Tour. This is a great opportunity to test your skills in either a competitive environment or on a casual day ski. We will be offering 20K, 40K and 60K race formats with multiple age categories. Come experience the beauty of the western mountains of Maine while exploring the Maine Huts & Trails system.

For more information on Maine Huts & Trails please check us out at www.mainehuts.org or give me a call directly at (207) 265-2400 ext. 110.

“My 4th grader tried to play basketball and soccer last year,” a mom recently told me as we sat around the dinner table after one of my speaking engagements. “It was a nightmare. My son kept getting yelled at by both coaches as we left one game early to race to a game in the other sport. He hated it.”

“I know,” said another. “My 10 year old daughter’s soccer coach told her she had to pick one sport, and start doing additional private training on the side, or he would give away her spot on the team.”

So goes the all too common narrative for American youth these days, an adult driven, hyper competitive race to the top in both academics and athletics that serves the needs of the adults, but rarely the kids. As movies such as “The Race to Nowhere” and recent articles such as this one from the Washington Post point out, while the race has a few winners, the course is littered with the scarred psyches of its participants. We have a generation of children that have been pushed to achieve parental dreams instead of their own, and prodded to do more, more, more and better, better, better. The pressure and anxiety is stealing one thing our kids will never get back; their childhood.

Read the rest of the article at the Changing the Game Project.