From our COO-Peter Stokloza
 

• BBTS and Waterville Valley had a very eventful weekend-  the Preston Cup, Women’s FIS Races and the first Mitey Mites race.  Athletes, coaches and parents were all very busy.  I want to congratulate all the BBTS athletes who competed.

• I would like to give a special recognition to Hilary McCloy a former WVA and US Ski team Alumni.  Hilary won the Women’s TD BankNorth Slalom Race on Sunday and placed 2^nd in the GS held on Tuesday.  A former Nor-Am champion, it was great to see her skiing so well! Hilary is a senior at the University of Vermont.

• Good luck to all our athletes competing this week.  Travel safe and always do your best and represent yourself, your family and BBTS with pride.  We look forward to hearing about some special performances from all of our skiers and riders.

Go Fast, Be safe

Pete
 

From the Desk of Director of Development and Communications-Sharon Schmidt

• Monday, January 16-Don’t miss an exciting tribute to our US Ski Team members Hannah Kearney and Tim Preston and a special Olympic send off celebration for Hannah Kearney starting at noon at Waterville Valley Ski Area and culminating in a complimentary Hors d’ Oeuvres Reception and cash bar at Diamond’s Edge North from 3 pm-4:30 pm..  Hannah is an alumna of the BBTS Ski Club.  We hope all club and academy athletes and their families join us in this celebration!  Please stay tuned for details.

From the Desk of the Headmaster-Gary Benedix
 

• Our first semester is rapidly approaching the end and grades will be closing on Friday, January 20^th.   Due to the variations in grading schedules with regards to a few of the schools that we work with, some students will have a slight extension to the semester and those on a trimester will end later in March.  The grade reports will be mailed out during the week of January 23 -27 to both the home schools and parents. Trimester students will get a progress report at this time with their “trimester” grades later in March.

• We look forward to WVA Parents Weekend next weekend.  Today (Thursday) is the last day to RSVP that you are attending.  Among the WVA Parents Weekend activities is the Parent/Faculty Dessert Reception on Friday (January 20) at which we are looking forward to meeting with parents  in our Town Square classroom space next to the Post Office above Aglio Restaurant.  The faculty will be there from 7:00 to 9:00 PM to meet with parents.  It is important to note that we are preparing to have desserts and refreshments and need to know how many people will be there so if you are planning to attend you must contact Sharon Schmidt by the 12^th of this month and send in your payment to her.   Hope to see you there and the rest of WVA Parents Weekend.

• The student athletes at the academy have been very successful at their competitions here in Waterville Valley and on the road.  Please check out the coaches’ reports in this newsletter for those results.  Congratulations to all!

• We will be celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 16^th.  There will be no classes but it will be a training day on the mountain.

• This is a very busy time of the year with all the competitions, training, preparations for midterms, finals and the regular classes.  It is even more so for our seniors who are putting the final touches on their last college applications.  The acceptances are starting to come in and I look forward to passing that information along in future newsletters. 

From our Athletic and Alpine Director-Tom Barbeau
 

• The latest controversy with Bode Miller has caused quite the stir in the ski world. Having read his book I found it to be very thought provoking. He has some excellent insights into sport and life and true to his character, some too far off center. His ideas and actions on drugs and alcohol may seem cool to the younger generation, but only to the dumb ones. These actions will not allow Miller to stay young for long.

• Everything one does to their body and puts into their body leaves a stamp on it. Drugs of any sort may go as far as to damage the DNA which can, therefore, affect one’s children. Miller made a comment earlier this season to the effect that he has seen athletes crippled from sport, but not from performance enhancing drugs. Statements like this are totally irresponsible. In the case of steroids, they will kill, it may take one year or it may take 70 years, but they will get the user. Plus, it is not known where they will pop up in the body and destroy it. Steroids could attack the brain, liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart, or muscles etc…

• Phenomenal athletes such as Miller can make it to the top level of sport even if their passions besides their sport include booze, sex and drugs. It is just that their time at the top will not be as long. Great racing sportsmen such as Ingemar Stenmark and Phil Mahre lasted 15 years, others a lot less due to a variety of reasons (injuries unfortunately, vices). Whatever the passion -  sport, music, math -  there is no room for the bad stuff.

• Please talk to your children about this. A true sportsman has class and performs in a classy manner.

Tom Barbeau

RESULTS:

• J1/2’s Tecnica Cup SL Gunstock – Janet Marley-Mauzy (Brown) 1^st, Katy Belanger 4^th, Haley Wilch 8^th

• J3 Loon Division Qual – Abby Fucigna 1^st, 1^st and 1^st overall, Jamie Crane-Mauzy 2^nd, 2^nd, and 2^nd overall, Amanda Engelhart 5^th, 4^th and 4^th overall, Chelsea Stevens 7^th, 7^th and 7^th overall, Nico Anastasia 5^th, 8^th and 7^th overall, Brennan Smith 6^th, 2^nd and 4^th overall, Carter White 10^th first run and 10^th overall
   

From our Freestyle Director-Nick Preston

Preston Cup Returns to WV with Team Win

• The 2006 Preston Cup Team Trophy was awarded to the WVBBTS after a 6 year drought. In fact, like the curse of the Bambino, ever since this EQS opener was renamed Preston Cup, Coaches Nick and Suzi Preston have watched the team trophy go to Mt. Snow and Sugarloaf. But the strength of the WVBBTS EQS team proved invincible with a sweep of victors across the disciplines of Moguls, Big Air, and Combined.

• Saturday started out perfectly sunny and cold as Nessa Dziemian, an F4, delivered a 21.52 mogul score on her 1^st run, bettering the women’s field of 23 by 2 full points. Newcomer to the program, Hunt Adams, an M4, bested the men’s field of 83 winning on his first run with a score of 19.59.

• Sunday delivered an ideal day for 72 Big Air skiers on a spectacular site, where, once again Nessa won the overall with a 720 helicopter (pretty good for 11 years old). In the men, Brendan Wall placed 1^st overall in a highly competitive match, also with a 720, but of the cork variety.

• As the events totaled up, in the Combined it was (you guessed it) Nessa Dziemian 1^st in the girls, and Nic Dziemian, another M4, placing 1^st in the boys. In fact, the Overall Combined results in the boys included 6 of the top 7! Add all the top 3 age group places together and WVBBTS was the run away winner, nearly doubling the 2^nd place team’s points, our good friends and arch competitors - Mt. Snow.

• A special commendation to Olivia Keating, who stepped up to the plate in her 1^st freestyle meet ever to sweep the Moguls, Big Air, and Combined in the F5 age group. You go girl!!

• Note: The coaching staff is scientifically analyzing the diet, exercise, study habits, music tastes, and preferred pets of the Dziemian family to discover how the heck the kids do it!

• Preston Cup performance summary by WVBBTS skiers:

            Nessa Dziemian: 1^st Overall Moguls, Air and Combined

            Hunt Adams: 1^st Overall Moguls, 6^th Overall Combined

            Brendan Wall: 1^st Overall Big Air, 5^th Overall Combined

            Nic Dziemian: 1^st Overall Combined, 2^nd Overall Big Air, 2^nd M4 Moguls

            Olivia Keating: 1^st F5 Moguls, Big Air, Combined

            Julia Braunstein: 3^rd F3 Big Air and Combined, 4^th F3 Moguls

            Kyle DeGrace: 3^rd Overall Combined

            Tyler Thistle: 3^rd M3 Combined, 4^th M3 Moguls, 4^th Overall Combined

            Jesse Padgett: 3^rd M3 Big Air

            Chase Brooks: 4^th M3 Big Air

            Tiffany Davenport: 5^th F3 Moguls and Big Air

            Cody GeGrace: 4^th M3 Combined

• Congratulations to coaches Dan DiPiro, Wes Preston, Dan Shuffleton, and Eric Horton. You’re outstanding coaching creates this level of skill and performance. I had a pretty good time myself.

Nick Preston

*****Special Announcement*****

• HANNAH KEARNEY and TIM PRESTON will be featured in a very special tribute to our US Team members and a special Olympic send off to Hannah on Monday, January 16^th, from noon to 4:30 PM.
• This program shall feature these two skiers all afternoon. Ski club members, athletes, and the public are all invited to enjoy the company of these two outstanding BBTS athletes, while wishing them ultimate success in Olympic and World Cup competition. More details shall be available, meanwhile, plan to be there!
   

A Few Words from Mike Macomber

• The ECS Mogul Team just finished an extraordinary weekend up in Sunday River.  The Freestyle Team traveled with an amazing 29 athletes to compete last weekend and performed exceptionally.  Our men posted some amazing scores amidst a deep field of Nor-AM Athletes and took out some heavy hitters in the Dual Mogul competition.  Despite a challenging course our men are looking better than ever and are poised for an outstanding season.

• Our women, on the other hand, completely destroyed the field.  Walking away with wins on both days our women dominated the podium with 2^nd place finishes both days as well.  In addition the ladies commanded 5 more places in the top ten between both days.  The Dual Mogul competition was particularly entertaining with our ladies facing each other a record 10 times forcing the ladies to take each other out on more than one occasion.

• The Mogul Team is happy to be home and training this week back at Waterville and looking forward to another productive weekend, this time Sugarloaf USA.

• Women's Singles
• 1^{st  Allie Lee}
• 2^{nd  Kayla Snyderman}
• 5^{th  Kenna Nash}
• 8^{th  Kiki Adams}

• Men's Singles
• 8^{th  Erich Berberich}

• Women's Duals
• 1^{st Kayla Snyderman}
• 2^{nd  Kenna Nash}
• 4^{th  Kiki Adams}
• 5^{th  Allie Lee}
• 6^{th  Sophia Schwartz}

• Men's Duals
• 4^{th  Reed Snyderman}
• 9^{th  Erich Berberich}
• 9^{th  Ross Attardo}

• Waterville Valley Freeride Team Kicks Off the Season With A Bang!!
• (by Jeremy)
• The Boys and Girls traveled to Sunday River for the first of many competitions this season. On the menu for breakfast was halfpipe and concidering the athletes had not skied pipe yet this season they destroyed the flat Sunday River pipe.
   

·         USSA Halfpipe results @ Sunday River 1/6/2006

·         Women                                                                     

·         1-Allison Lee                                                 

• 2-Alicia Cavanaugh                                         
• 3-Sophia Schwartz                                         
• 4-Callie Degrace                                             

·         Men

·         5-Dylan Ferguson

• 6-Michael Clarke
• 7-Andy Hathaway
• 9-Paul James Beauregard
• 10-Will DeBlois

• For lunch the team moved over to the recently built (within the last 30 mins) airsite.  After much waiting and hard work from the WVA and CVA coaches the team threw down an impressive mix of large 360’s and switch tricks.  Sophia and Alicia threw some giant 3’s off the large, while Jeff Kiesel and Andy Hathaway threw some impressive switch 7’s and 9’s.

·         USSA Big Air Results @ Sunday River 1/6/2006

• Women                                                                     
• 1-Sophia Schwartz                                         
• 2-Alicia Cavanaugh                                         

• Men
• 2-Jeff Kiesel
• 3-Andy Hathaway
• 4-Dylan Ferguson
• 6-John Strenio
• 7- Paul Sullivan
• 8- Paul James Beauregard
• 11- Michael Clarke

• Now the team prepares for the 2006 US OPEN @ Vail…we leave next Sunday, so if you see a twin tipper wish them good luck…they’re gonna need it against Tanner Hall and Simon Dumont!!!!
   

From our Snowboard Director-Bill Enos
 

• Timmy wins finals at the Mt. Bachelor Grand Prix slopestyle on Sunday the 8th, way to go Tim-- one slopestyle, one win. Timmy beat out a celebrity packed Snowboard field of pro riders last weekend to win his first major event and bring home some cash. Tim is presently a senior at WVA that we have watched grow for the last three years on and off the snow. This shows that hard work and the right attitude towards competition pays off in the long run.

• On Wednesday I flew out of Oregon and was replaced by coach Sam.  Z, my dog and best friend of 14 years, wasn’t doing so well, so I was off to comfort him.  That morning I called a team meeting to let everyone know what was going on. As I gave them a little pep talk, I had a feeling it was time for someone on our team to do really well at this event. I think my words were-it is time for you to define yourself, sometimes it only takes one event and you are noticed and off. Timmy did it – he defined Himself –the sky’s the limit.  The beauty of giving a pep talk to this group of young riders is that I know in my heart that anyone of those 10 young men could win a Grand Prix on any given day and they will as there as build there confidence.  It is only a matter of time.

• As I flew home I felt alone.  It has been several years since I have traveled alone.  I am usually with 8 to 10 teenagers. The flight attendants usually say to me things like – are all these your responsibility?  -- or --- you must have your hands full!  Well they’re right, it is a lot of responsibility and it is a lot of work.  But those young men are 10 of my closest friends and there is no one in the world other than my wife whom I would rather travel with. 

Z is doing better, hopefully his tumor will heal and I can join my crew again.

• Last weekend:  The racers have put together an old timing device and are having a ball trying to beat their own time and their bodies. The race program is growing in numbers every weekend, we have anywhere between 12 to 20 riders on any given weekend.  Waterville’s own Mikey Trapp will be off to Korea for Junior Worlds at the end of the month.  Mike has been at WVA since the 6th grade and has been working hard for this goal since then.  Once again this shows what hard work and determination can achieve.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Mikey brings home the gold, he’s riding strong.

Bill

• Events:  some of our travel team will be off to Midwest regionals in Michigan to try to secure a spot on the Junior world team for BX  ( Mike Trapp and Matt Conaty) and Half pipe ( Scott K, Timmy Humphreys and Cam Egan)

• Training: In terrain park and racing on High Country

• Injuries; get well soon James Lucas—broken collar bone---- James will be back in 4 to 6 weeks. These things happen.  James is one of our best young riders and a great kid.

• Collin Hart is recovering from an ankle injury.  Collin is coming into his own this year.  He had a strong start and I anticipate an awesome finish.

Student Corner
 

• This reporter found a group of three snowboarders in the Stenmark Room of Waterville Valley Academy.  What caught my attention right away was the difference in ages and sizes of the gentlemen.  Merrick Joyce is a seventh grader at  Memorial Middle School in Laconia, N.H.  He has been a student at Waterville Valley Academy for two years.  Merrick trains for freestyle slopestyle events and alpine snowboard racing events with the WVBBTS team.  His head coach is Bill Enos, but he works with several coaches including Anton Pogue, Aaron Diamond, Sam Harding, Glenn Chapman, Adam Johnson.

• Michael Trapp is a Post Graduate from Hyannis, MA.  He finished his senior year classes earlier in the school year, so he could concentrate on his alpine snowboard racing.  He is attempting to attain a place on the US Snowboard team.   Michael has attended Waterville Valley Academy since he was in sixth grade.

• His WVBBTS snowboard racing coach, Anton Pogue, who has been very successful as an alpine racer in the adult category, was also present.  Michael is preparing to go to Korea for races at the end of the month.  Anton is a very tall young man, originally from Utah.

• Merrick, you just returned from a competition in Stratton, Vermont.  How did you pace?

• “I placed second overall.  A girl had the fastest time of anyone!  She was a lot older than I am.”  I am working on acquiring points to qualify for the Nationals at Lake Tahoe.”

• Mike Trapp, our P.G. Alpine Snowboard Racing Olympic Team hopeful commented, “ Merrick has great potential as an alpine racer.  I have personally taken him under my wing and he is following my line on the slopes.”

• “Merrick also has great freestyle slopestyle potential on the halfpipe.  He is hoping to emulate Tim Humphreys, a champ who just won the Mt.  Bachelor Grand Prix slopestyle.

• Merrick’s best maneuver in halfpipe is the McTwist, an inverted backside 540 degrees.

• Merrick said, “I am working on my spins.  I have perfected the 540 degrees, that is one and a half times around, landing backwards on my board, (hopefully).  Now I’m working on a 720 degrees, two complete revolutions.”

Upcoming Events
 

·         Olympic Send Off Celebration for Hannah Kearney-Monday, January 16-starting at noon outside the BBTS Competition Center-BBTS parents and athletes invited to participate.  Followed by an Apres Ski complimentary Hors d’ Oeuvres Reception and Cash Bar at Diamond’s Edge in Town Square starting at 3 pm.  Stay tuned for details.

·        WVA Parents Weekend-January 20, 21 and 22-There is a wonderful weekend of activities planned for WVA parents and their families starting out with a Faculty/Parent Dessert Reception on Friday evening at our new Town Square Classroom Space, two great days of Freestyle competitions (the Rosemary Bowl) here at Waterville Valley Ski Area and other competitions nearby on Saturday and Sunday during the day, an Hors d’ Oeuvres Reception and Dinner at the Snowy Owl Inn on Saturday evening and Breakfast with the Headmaster at the Silver Fox on Sunday morning.  Please RSVP to Sharon Schmidt with the number of folks attending, your menu choices and payment by January 12.  Click on the following URL for details and a registration form http://www.wvbbts.org/forum/showthread.php?t=109  Please contact Sharon Schmidt with questions at sschmidt@wvbbts.org or at 603-236-4612.

·         WVBBTS Dance for "Kids" of all Ages-Saturday, January 28

o        6:30 pm-8:00 pm

o        Waterville Valley Recreation Center, Noon Peak Road

o        $5 per person/maximum $20 per family

o        Purchase Tickets at the Door

o        Think Tropical/Think Beach!

o        A huge WVBBTS tradition from Mitey Mites on up--don't miss it!