Students get to try X-C skiing

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — Last week students at SeDoMoCha Middle School were scheduled to have the opportunity to try their hand at cross country skiing in teacher Jenn Savage’s physical education and health classes. A mid-week warmup and heavy rains ended up washing away most of the snow on the athletic fields behind the school, forcing classes meeting later in the week to instead take part in some ski training exercises in the multipurpose room.

    IMAGE SKIING — Grade 7 students, from left, Reginald Johnston, Liza Dulac and Harley Knowles head up the court, mimicking the motions a cross country skier would make on the trail.

    Lauren Jacobs, Healthy Hometowns coach for central Maine, explained the organization is a program of the Maine Winter Sports Center, which over the last near decade and a half has been dedicated to creating a healthier, more active outdoor lifestyle throughout Maine.

    “We go to schools and communities around the state promoting outdoor sports such as skiing and snowshoeing and running in the spring,” she said. Jacobs, who was joined at SeDoMoCha for the week by program volunteer and longtime skier Stan Wass, said a trailer includes enough skis, boots and poles to equip about 70 skiers and is brought around to introduce the sport to those who may have never tried it before. Jacobs said the trailer was recently in Millinocket and is scheduled to go to Farmington after being in Dover-Foxcroft.

    A seventh-grade class that met on the morning of Feb. 1 was one of the groups that was unable to try skiing behind SeDoMoCha. Instead the students met with Jacobs inside as Savage explained the guest instructor was with Healthy Hometowns and how the organization would be letting the pupils ski on the snow if the campus was still covered.

    “Unfortunately due to the rain we are unable to go outside and cross country ski,” Savage said. “Keep in mind cross country skiers train all year long, so these are some of the things skiers do to keep in shape.”

    “What we are hoping to do is at the end of March have the trailer again,” Savage added, mentioning about half of the classes were unable to go skiing.

    With the 11 students gathered in a circle Jacobs said, “The thing about cross country skiers is we practice year-round. There are lots of things we do in the off-season, we run, we bike, we roller ski, we do a lot of strength work and a lot of balance work.”

    LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT … — SeDoMoCha Middle School seventh-graders, Dylan Faloon, left, and Nick Cavanaugh go through an exercise replicating skate skiing during a physical education class on Feb. 1. The Healthy Hometowns program had provided equipment for students to try their hand at cross country skiing, but unusually mild weather and rain mid-week washed away most of the snow on the Dover-Foxcroft campus and classes meeting later on instead went through ski exercises indoors.

    Jacobs said there are two types of cross country skiing, classic where “skis stay side by side in little grooves of snow” and “the other is called skate skiing, which is exactly what it sounds like — skating on skis.”

    “We are going to do some exercises that mimic motions we do when skiing,” she said, as Jacobs and the students moved their arms as if to propel themselves with a single and double poles, balanced on one leg and performed a tuck hold or squat. With the skate skiing they hopped from side to side and “every time you hop I want you to swing like you are double poling,” Jacobs said.

    The session with Jacobs included several games such as a modified version of musical chairs with spots on the floor instead of places to sit and the individual left out performing star jumps — leaping from a crouched position in a manner similar to a jumping jack — while the others ran around the perimeter. On snow the students would have been skiing instead of running on foot, and Jacobs said the next game would be really fun on skis.

    In “giants, wizards and elves” half of the group tries to tag their counterparts, who try to flee to a safety area, after meeting in the middle. “Keep in mind folks they are doing this on skis,” Savage reminded her students.

    Jacobs concluded the class by leading the students through some cool-down stretches reminiscent of what skiers would do after a day on the trails.

    In addition to thanking Jacobs and Wass for their time spent at SeDoMoCha, Savage also acknowledged Blake Smith. Smith, who is vice chair of the RSU 68 school board, made arrangements for use of a snowmobile to pull a track setter of Wass’ around on the school fields, which set skiing routes for the students before rain washed away the work that was done.

    GEAR TRAILER — The Healthy Hometowns trailer has enough equipment to outfit about 70 skiers. While all SeDoMoCha Middle School students were not all able to ski outside last week, they may have the opportunity to try the activity next month.