Mt. Institute Race Series

1999 Season

Minutes of the Fall 1998 Ski Coaches Meeting
held at Eaglebrook School, 11/17/98

 

  1. Welcome to the 1998-1999 Season
    1. Convened 7:00 p.m.
    2. Introductions
    3. Those in attendance
      1. Academy of Charlemont - Jon Lynes
      2. Bement School - Brett Morrison, Colleen Teasdale Filler
      3. Cushing Academy - Mike LeBel
      4. Deerfield Academy - Marc Dancer, Chrissy Nichols
      5. Eaglebrook School - Christopher Loftus, Jack Shea
      6. Miss Hall's School - Mike Dugan
      7. Mohawk Regional HS - David Chula
      8. Northfield Mt. Herman School - Greg Leeds, Carrie Killeen
      9. Taft School - Matt Blanton, Rebecca Loud
      10. Williston Northampton School - Melissa Wockley, Edward Hing
  2. Agenda Items
    1. We need to find a new co-commissioner
      1. Chris Loftus gave a brief job description
      2. Marc Dancer mentioned some of the duties involved by other coaches during a race
      3. Mike Dugan mentioned the difficulties with being the only coach for his team and therefore cannot commit to a major position in the league
      4. Greg Leeds of NMH volunteered to be co-commissioner
      5. Those present unanimously accepted his offer
    2. Head Gatekeeper
      1. Mike LeBel of Cushing Academy volunteered to be head gatekeeper
      2. Those present unanimously accepted his offer
    3. Race Dates
      1. There was little debate as to the scheduled 5 races.
        1. Friday 1/8 GS,GS
        2. Wednesday 1/13 SL,GS
        3. Wednesday 1/20 GS,SL
        4. Wednesday 1/27 SL,GS
        5. Wednesday 2/3 GS, GS
      2. There was much discussion about the rain date, fun race, and awards
      3. The Awards Ceremony would be more meaningful if all the participants were present. Thus it was decided to have the Awards Ceremony directly after the final race that counts in the series.
      4. The initial rain date arguments were familiar
        1. No rain date on 2/10 because of the Prep School Championships
        2. No rain date on 2/17 because of the Presidents Week Holiday for public Schools
      5. This year the public school ski championships are on Wednesday, 2/24.
        1. Thus Wednesday 2/24 is not the optimal rain date
      6. Other suggestions included:
        1. Saturday 2/27 at Eaglebrook or Berkshire East
        2. Some other Saturday after a race cancellation, hosted by Eaglebrook
      7. It was left that Wednesday 2/24 would be the rain date hosted by Eaglebrook while we considered other rain dates after consulting Berkshire East.
    4. Fees
      1. Fees will remain at $80 per team entered
    5. Teams
      1. There was a discussion about combining teams with small numbers to help keep the schools ski program alive. It was decided that this was not in the spirit of the league and that they should compete as Independents.
      2. It has come to the commissioner's attention that there will be a independent skier at the JV level
      3. The "Movement Rule" between a school's teams was voted out.
      4. With Mt. Tom closed, there may need to be some cooperation regarding training runs
    6. Course Maintenance
      1. The feeling was that Berkshire East's work force would be diminished this winter. Therefore more volunteerism would be required by everyone on race days.
      2. New By-law:
        1. Each team should send the 1st and 2nd seeds back up the mountain to slip the course during the running of the 3rd and 4th seeds of the opposite gender's run. They should report to the assistant starter for guidance.
    7. Misc.
      1. With a flurry of action, the league's constitution and by-laws were being removed and appended. Marc Dancer felt that this was a bit sudden without first looking at existing rules in the constitution. Thus a task force will be formed to review the constitution and by-laws of the Mount Institute Race Series.
  3. Adjourned 9:00 p.m.