HI DEVO families!

I hope vacation week has been good to you all so far! This snow has been incredible!! Really great to see so many familiar DEVO faces up at the hill. We’re all really excited to start skiing with your kiddos this weekend! The Skiway is in great shape—Holt’s Mountain is hopefully going to open tomorrow morning.

Just a few “house keeping” details as we start our season together, lots of info here, so please be sure to read it. If you live in Lyme you know the town police are very serious about people speeding through town enroute to the mountain. We have been asked to remind families to be respectful of the posted speed limits. Thanks.

This weekend 12/30-31st is our first weekend! 8:45-12pm @ The Dartmouth Skiway.
**** MEET IN THE LODGE, upstairs, in the non-fireplace side

Training Day Routine – Please plan to arrive around 8:30-8:35am, so that you have time to pick up a ticket and get your child settled in the lodge. Arriving early allows kids to get ready in a low pressure environment, socialize with their friends, and put all their gear on at their own pace. The DEVO crew will meet inside the lodge to get into our groups around 8:50 (lift doesn’t open until 9) and we will meet back inside at 12pmish. IF YOU MEET YOUR CHILD OUTSIDE, PLEASE be sure to tell the coaches you’re taking them. Thanks! We head to the lift at 9am so if for some reason you run late please wait at the bottom of the lift until one of the groups comes around from their first run. This gets tricky when both lifts are open so best to just not be late.
***Please be sure your child knows where their snack and bag are for when we come for a break. It would be great if they had a healthy snack and drink to help fuel them through our morning. Thank you!

Attendance – Time on snow and mileage is the single most important factor in improving at this age. However, skiing is an individual sport and we encourage the kids to attend as many days as they want or don’t want, but hope they will always be excited to attend training. We meet come rain, shine, cold, or snow and we will not cancel training, unless the Skiway is closed. If there is inclement weather you can use your own judgment as to whether to attend or not. I just ask that you let me know ASAP if your child wont be with us so I can plan coaching staff, thanks.

Groups – Once the season has started our goal is to establish groups based on a combination of age, aggressiveness, speed of travel, and social dynamics. While your kids may not have the same coach everyday they will have the same group of coaches throughout the winter. We will try to keep our group size to around 8-10 kids with 2-3 coaches.

Clothing and Equipment – being warm and dry is essential if we want to have fun while skiing. Please be sure your child’s helmet fits properly and that goggles fit the helmet (no gap between the top of goggle and helmet), a warm jacket, ski pants, gloves or mittens, neck warmer, and appropriate layers for the conditions are critical. It is also important to make sure boots and socks start the day warm and dry, and it is important to dry out ski boots each night. This best way to dry a boot is to either invest in a boot dryer or remove the liner and place near a heat source for the night. Today’s boots are designed to work best with one thin pair of polypro or wool socks , and kids should have at least one pair of socks that are just for skiing (preferably two pair with one for Saturday and one for Sunday). IMPORTANT – Be sure to have your kids wait and put their ski socks on when they are putting their ski boots on for the day. Wearing ski socks to the mountain in shoes or snow boots will lead to cold feet and unhappy skiers. Skis should be tuned on a regular bases to get them reasonably sharp. More on tuning to come.

Calendar — Be sure to check the calendar on the FS website. Our schedule is posted for the season. Should anything need to change I will let you all know and will update the calendar. Our two race dates are on it—Whaleback will be January 28th and Suicide 6 will be March 4th. These are two very FUN, relaxed events. More info to come about registering

I’m really looking forward to the weekend!

Happy Skiing!

Kristin Fauci
DEVO Head Coach

Wow–what a fun gathering it was at the Skiway last weekend! The kids hiked all the way up Thomas on Winslow and back down!! What a great accomplishment!! We then had a blast working our way through the obstacle course–running through breakaway gates, jumping over mini-hurdles, doing a core workout and other fun activities.  Thank you to Heidi Trimarco, Anna and Cecilia’s mom, as well as to Emma Cottage, Lucas and Harrison’s (u10) mom, for the FUN pictures that capture the pure joy on the kids’ faces!

This Sunday is our third and final dryland gathering. We will be meeting at 1-3pm @ Thompson Arena in Hanover and hiking Velvet Rocks on the AT.   Hope to see you all there!

Hi All,

Welcome to the 2017-2018 season of Ford Sayre DEVO Alpine Race program. It was nice to see many of you at our first dryland gathering today! It was really great to be with the kids!
Just a few reminders as our season gets started: First and most important, communication throughout the season will primarily be through email and blog. I will post information weekly about the upcoming weekends plans, schedule, weather, etc.. To receive a notification when I post something new to the blog you will need to subscribe. The link to the blog is on the Ford Sayre website as well as below. Once on the blog page click “subscribe”. You should then get an email to confirm. You do not need to subscribe to view the blog but I recommend it.

In terms of the season schedule I have created a google calendar which you can access via the DEVO blog and the Ford Sayre website. Our entire season schedule is up—but I guarantee it will change, however I will make sure it is always current and accurate.

Important upcoming dates:

NOVEMBER DRYLAND: We do three dryland sessions with the first one this Sunday November 5th from 1 to 3 pm. We will meet on the soccer field at the Richmond Middle School in Hanover. Plan is to do a quick intro then jog over to the Ray School to kick around the soccer ball and explore an obstacle course of balance beams. These gatherings are a great way for the coaches to get to know the kids and for them and you to get to know us. We will also meet on Sunday the 12th AT THE DARTMOUTH SKIWAY (more info to come soon!) and then on Sunday the 19th from 1-3pm at the Richmond Middle School

On Snow Training: If it works well for your family to get out on snow together before our “official” season starts Saturday December 30th, great! I will be emailing you all once the Skiway opens for the season to let you know when I will be up there (my daughter Emma is a U10 this year, so we’ll be around). It would be great to ski together a bit. Some of the other coaches may be up there too! STARTING 12/30, we will meet Saturday/Sundays 8:45am-12pm–Meet inside, upstairs in the lodge at 8:45-12ish. Lift opens at 9am. Please get there in time for your child to use the bathroom, get lift ticket and put gear on. Be sure they know where their skis/bag/snack all are. Meet inside for both start to day and end of day. Depending on weather/conditions, we’ll come in for snack/bathroom breaks.

Before we get on snow – Make sure your child’s equipment is ready to go and your Skiway pass is purchased. Please be sure that boots fit the feet and skis, and everything is appropriately sized and in good safe condition. If you need any help or have questions please let me know.

Equipment needs – A helmet, boots, skis, and poles that fit and are appropriate to their size (IF YOUR CHILD DIDNT USE POLES LAST SEASON, PLEASE DONT SEND THEM WITH THEM ON THE FIRST WEEKEND, it may take time until they’re using them properly and that’s OKAY!). There are a number of excellent ski shops in the Upper Valley who have both special purchase and lease programs. Omer’s & Bob’s in Lebanon, Golf & Ski in West Lebanon, Henderson’s in Quechee, and Skinners out near Sunapee, can outfit your child with most anything they might need. Artech in Enfield is a great resource for all your ski tuning equipment needs. The coaches are also happy to provide advice. If you ever have any questions about whether or not a certain piece of equipment is right for your child please don’t hesitate to send me an email.

Tuning and waxing:. Skis need to be tuned and waxed to start the year and then regularly tuned throughout the season (typically once for every 3-4 days of skiing). We plan to organize an early season ski tuning clinic for parents who are new to ski tuning to help you get started.

Lots more information to come. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to send me an email. We have an amazing group of coaches and we are all looking forward to a great season!