The OMARA Meeting that was postponed from December 3rd has a new date and location.

We will now be meeting at 6:00 PM at Willie Dunn’s Grille (at the Okemo Valley Golf Club) on January 7, 2012!

Click Here for Directions to Willie Dunn’s

I know not all of you were planning on making the trip up this weekend, especially those of you who do not have programs meeting this weekend.

J1 & J2’s & J3’s will meet at 8:00 AM by the A/B Quads on Saturday and Sunday.

The Council & Freestyle teams are on a similar schedule.

The mountain will be opening with VERY LIMITED TERRAIN.

Skiing at appropriate speeds for the situation are strongly encouraged by the staff and Ski Patrol. Please be courteous to others.

Our groups will be on the hill until about 10:00 AM each day. They will be freeskiing only.

Okemo will be opening Thursday at 9:00 AM.

Spread the word!

Thank you and have a great Thanksgiving!

Whether you are joining us for the first time this season, or working on your second (or third) decade, we have been working hard to make Okemo Competitions and OMARA one of the best and biggest skiing, riding and freeski programs in the country.

We have some changes for 2011-12 and here’s a quick, and incomplete, rundown of them.

Freestyle Skiers and Snowboards will be pleased to find the park on Timberline has moved to Blackout.  The lift access via the Black Ridge Triple and The Pull will dramatically improve the number of laps you can make in a day.

This opens Timberline back up for your cruising pleasure.  It also means Race Arena will be returning to Bull Run.  Actually, it will start on Lift Line and curve back to Bull Run and finishing just above the base of the A Quad.  Kudos to the Okemo crews who are moving the snowmaking tower, clearing trees and moving some dirt around for us to make this happen!

New to the cast of coaches this year is Bruce Johnston, he will be heading up the J3′s as well as serving as our Head Coach.  Bruce comes to us full of energy and ready to go for the season!

Photos of our events will be taken, once again, by Donald Dill.  He’s been the photographer of our events for quite some time.  With the departure of Photos by Reflex, Donald will be handling the photos himself.  All of them will be available on Donald’s web page at smugmug.  The direct link is here: http://tootsie.smugmug.com/

That is all for now, stay tuned for more updates!

Think Snow!

It was a great day for golf and we had 11 teams come out in support of On Hill Technology for the OMARA Programs.  It was a great time for all of the skiers and riders to show off their golfing talents (or lack thereof) and enjoy an afternoon of sunshine and dinner on the deck!

Here are the results from the 1st Annual OMARA Golf Tournament held at Tater Hill Golf Club!

1st Place – 59

Mike White, Ed White, Joe Sullivan, John D’Allesandro

2nd Place – 63

Steve Anderson, Jeff LaMura, Lenny Laquinto

T-3rd Place – 67

Maureen Blum, Alex Blum, Nick Blum, Denise Michaels

T-3rd Place

Rob Weber, Jim Whalen, Sue Whalen, Greg Towle

Closest to Pin

Men: Jeff LaMura

Ladies: Wendy Neal

Longest Drive

Men: Alex Blum

Ladies: Isabelle Chobor

 In conjunction with Fit Day, we are doing a FitNESS Day on Saturday, September 17th from 9 am – 11:30 am.  The location will be in the Jackson Gore Courtyard or the Ice House (in case of rain).  This session will be run by Bruce Johnston, the new OMS Athletic Program Director and J3 coach, but is open to anyone of any age in the Okemo Competition Program – alpine, freestyle, or snowboard athletes.  We will conduct a fun and light workout with some mock physical testing and balance and agility work that applies to all winter sports.  Athletes should wear sneakers and comfortable clothes and bring a water bottle.  This is not a mandatory session, but will be a lot of fun!
 
On Sunday, September 18thwe will be having our annual Fit Day in the Jackson Gore Courtyard from 9 am – 1 pm.  There will be this year’s newest alpine and freestyle skiing equipment on display with boots available to try on.  Many local shops will also be there through whom you will be able to place equipment orders for the upcoming season and take advantage of competition pricing, which represents a significant savings.  The snowboard program will have a separate fit session later in the fall.  If you have any questions regarding equipment for your child, please contact his/her respective coach or Bruce Johnston or Mariel Meringolo are always available to help.

The following athletes still have mugs in the Competition Center:

Freestyle

Maggie Bonnet (2010 & 2011)

Megan Ellmaker

Delia Whyte

Snowboard

Jason Stein

Ginger Brown

Emmit Ellmaker

Council

James Sanderson

Campbell Ashman

Mackenzie Laurion

Connor Marschke

Kristina Bonnet

Sophie Norton

DEVO

Eliza Scher

Sarah Bonnet

Carly Schoudel

J3

Ryan Riley

Robert Whyte

Nick Chobor

Kelsey Tague

Chase Jaye

Julia Davis

J1/J2

Nick Chobor

Jill Murray

Thank you for another fantastic year on the snow!  As the season thinks about switching over to Spring and eventually Summer, and we all dust off our golf clubs, lacrosse sticks and soccer cleats, I just want to pass along a couple of messages.

First, Thank You!!! to all of you who volunteered throughout the season, whether it was coaching, race crew, registration, scoreboard duty, bib collection, bib sorting, all of your efforts are appreciated and help make this program run as smoothly as it can!

It was a busy year to say the least, as a team, we hosted 21 separate competitions spanning 39 separate days; not including our 11 weeks of Innkeepers Racing, 5 Hopefuls Races and 12 Club Races hosted in the NASTAR Race Arena.

One Saturday, between the Ross Series Race on Wardance, The Gatorade Free Flow Tour on Nor’ Easter and a Hopefuls Race on NASTAR, I figured out we had over 350 athletes competing on 3 trails at the same time!

We also had some strong showings on the younger end of the spectrum.  The Hopefuls Program grew to 107 skiers this year, topping 100 for the first time!  And the DEVO’s, whose 2 teams never lost this year,  logged in with another 75 athletes!  Add in the Council Team’s 45 racers, who won the bean pot early and took it back for the Summer!, and you have 217 racers under 13!

Freestyle saw the youth trend continue.  Our “B Games” in late January was one of our bigger fields of the season and was a great event for all the competitors involved.  The Fresh Start Program saw almost a dozen new, young faces get into the mix.

The Okemo Mountain Snowboard Team saw a bunch of success as well.  We had 12 riders qualify for USASA Nationals and 9 will be attending!  We also saw an influx of young, talented riders, so much so, that we have added the OMST Groms Program for next season!  This program is designed specifically for younger riders as we hope to build a strong base for successful riders down the road!

Again, Thank You to all of you for a great season!!!!

That’s all for me for the season!

See you all out on the first tee!

Don’t forget about our Annual Seasonal Awards Party and Fun Race on Wardance this Saturday the 26th!

We will be grilling up burgers and dogs out by the Yurt and running a Duals Course on Wardance!

So kids, bring your parents by and show off those skills you’ve been learning all year by beating them down the hill!

We will also be handing out awards for season-long accomplishments in each program!

All the fun will get started mid-morning and the food and awards will begin around lunch!
Thank you for a great season!!!

Thank you to all our scoreboard sponsors!

www.cotaoil.com

Benson’s Chevrolet, Ludlow, Vermont

www.bensonschevy.com

Tony Ciufo Inc., Ludlow, Vermont

www.tonyciufo.com

A Catered Affair, Ludlow, Vermont

www.acateredaffairvt.com

Lori Ford Custom Outdoor Gear, Plymouth, NH

www.facebook.com/pages/LoriFord-Custom-Outdoor-Gear

Poli Mortgage Group, Norwood, MA

www.polimortgage.com

Scoreboard proceeds will fund OMARA athelete scholarships.  Please support our sponsors!  If you see them, or know them,  please say Thank You!