SECOND SESSION REGISTRATION
It's time to sign your child up for the 2nd session of Alpine Mitey Mites and the Snowboard Development program! Both programs start the weekend of February 10. All we need is for parents to call or come in to the MBSEF office and tell us your desired training day (Saturday or Sunday) for your child. Credit card payments may be made by VISA or MasterCard. Registration is requested one week prior to the start of these programs so the coaches will have an accurate and complete roster at the start of the session.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Feb 10-11 Sunnyside Pursuit
Feb 20-25 38th Sun Cup
Mar 3 XC Cannon Ball Chili Challenge
Mar 17-24 Western Region JII Olympics

MBSEF'S CONTRIBUTORS

We would like to thank those MBSEF members who responded to our wish list printed in the last Ski Tracks issue. Funds were generously donated by Bev and Rick Francis towards updated timing equipment and by Carol Gyorgyfalvy for new stop watches for our programs. Thank you so much for your contributions! A big THANK YOU also to all of you who sent in donations for the "Friends Fund" at the end of December. This year the campaign raised funds to go towards athlete scholarships. 

GREETINGS from the director
The season just keeps rolling along and the program is building steam as we go! Great news! Kevin Francis, traveling with the US Ski Team in Europe, placed 7th in a FIS DH. The Alpine traveling team has done well in the Speed events at Big Mountain, Montana. Gretchen Glaser won a Downhill, a Super G, and placed 2nd in another Super G. Suki Horton had two 2nd place finishes in the Downhill and a 4th and 6th in the two Super G's. Ashley Thornton placed 4th and 6th in the two Downhill races. The rest of the team improved their FIS points. 

The Mt. Bachelor Open was a successful competition. Several former MBSEF racers, now attending college, returned to help the points. Kris Dauz won 2 GS races, Brian Hanseth placed 2nd in a GS and Radley Clothier finished with a 2nd and 3rd. Morgan Bauhofer finished 1st and 4th and Gretchen Bennett finished 2nd and 4th. Our other athletes had a good time and most improved their points. The J3 Qualifier was moved to Mt. Bachelor due to lack of adequate snow at Brundage Mountain, Idaho. Morgan Bauhofer had 1 win and a 2nd in the SG's. Morgan Degree, Wells Stevenson, Kelly Bickler, Kimiko Elliott, Alex Wieneke, Cameron Brookes, Erica Skatvold and Craig Francis all had finishes in the top 15 of at least one race. All our racers established a point profile, which will help in seeding for future races.

Our Cross Country traveling team has gone to two JO qualifiers at Methow Valley and Anthony Lakes. Isaiah Burkhart, Trent Lowe, Blake Fowles, and Carly Harr have all had JO qualifying times. Isaiah and Trent had a neck to neck exciting race at the Sun Country Criterium, with Trent nosing out Isaiah on the last lap. Trent skied to a 5th place in a freestyle qualifier for Intermountain with all the top JII's from the US there. 

The Mini World Cup is in full swing and we are averaging close to 100 competitors per event. 

We have many upcoming races, including some major events such as the Sunnyside Pursuit and the 38th Annual Sun Cup in February and the Chevy Truck JO II Western Region Alpine Championships in March. We will need a lot of volunteer help for these events. Please add these dates to your calendar and plan to volunteer. We want to maintain our reputation as one of the outstanding race organizations in the US. 

We were all saddened by the death of David Marsh, a former President of Mt. Bachelor. David was a quiet supporter of the Foundation. He was instrumental in establishing our Endowment Fund. He always liked to see Downhill races at Mt. Bachelor. Maybe the West Ridge Downhill should be named the David Marsh Downhill. Thanks to Dave and the Mt. Bachelor team, we have been very fortunate to have full support over the years for our training and racing programs.

See you all skiing soon,

Russ Read
Chairman of the Board

Checkin!! in on the Nordic Q-team
By Chris Wolski. Cross Country Junior Coach

Ask thirteen-year-old Collin Rymer what he thinks about skiing at Wanoga Sno-park and he's liable to tell you exactly how fast he went, screaming down a washboard snowmobile packed hillside, white-knuckle turns and all, without crashing. Charlie Smith or Stuart Smith-Blockley might be more apt to tell you of roaming the fields of natural terrain in search of the perfect kicker. And if you get a chance, check out the names on Zoe Roy's arm cast, not just your average get-well-soon signatures. It is adorned quite colorfully with the names of International World Cup ski racers she met on a recent trip to Park City.

Such is life on the Nordic Q-team, a tight group of young skiers drawn from Central Oregon middle schools. Q-teamers often find themselves in a unique situation, somewhere between that precarious verge of high-school racer stardom and the young skier, tramp around with mom and dad mindset. Practice with the Q-team often combines learning serious technique ski fundamentals while also taking time for hitting jumps and exploring the forest and mountains off-trail. For many on the Q-team, life is full of opportunities. There is basketball, swimming, alpine skiing and snowboarding to be had in their time off the Nordic trails but as long as this talented group of kids continue to have fun on their Nordic skis, we could soon be looking at a new talented field of high school racers. 

The group has shown great progress already this year. First year Nordic skier, Christina Faria, raced her  first five kilometer classic at the Emil Nordeen. She admitted to having a good time doing it, proving that her years on Alpine skis have given her a natural foundation from which she can build her Nordic success. 

We also saw the dynamic cousin duo, Charlie Smith and Joe Madden, lead a blazing team through the Youth obstacle relay on January 14. Charlie's method of grab off the jump was certainly a highlight. 

Look out for the Q-team this winter on the trails. This talented group of junior skiers might soon be tearing it up on the high school race scene.  

Events Director News
(By Linda Snyder)

(By Linda Snyder)

NEW JYTTE WOOL HATS
We have four new colors of Jytte hats for alpine or cross country skiing. Come check them out at the MBSEF office. The hats are $24.

U.S. BANK POLE PEDAL  PADDLE LOGO WINNER

This year's U.S. Bank Pole Pedal Paddle logo contest had 25 fantastic entries. The winner is Casey Crisler, an intern at The Garage, a local design firm. Casey's logo is on display at the Foundation office and the top ten entries are on display at the U.S. Bank branch on Oregon Avenue in Bend.

YURT ALERT!
Anyone who has spent time in the Nordic Center on the weekend knows that we're busting out at the seams in there! Our dream is to have a place where the cross country athletes can change their clothes, lock up their gear and even hold award ceremonies after races. Mt. Bachelor has offered to split the cost of a new yurt with MBSEF, if we can come up with $10,000. If you would like to make a donation to MBSEF, you may use the Donation Form in the 2000/2001 Parent/Athlete Program Manual. Thank you for your consideration and generosity. 

SPRING FUNDRAISERS 
It's time to mark your calendars and start thinking about the upcoming fundraising events. We hope to see everyone there, either participating or volunteering! 

The Mt. Bachelor Corporate Invitational -  March 3-4
 
The Banff Mountain Film Festival! The Festival will be on April 23rd at Pilot Butte Cinemas, three showings at 4:00, 6:30 and 9:00pm. 

The 25th Anniversary U.S. Bank Pole Pedal Paddle - May 19
Entry forms will be available at the MBSEF office and all Oregon U.S. Bank Branches March 1. You will also be able to obtain the information and entry form from the MBSEF web site at www.mbsef.org. 

U.S. Bank Kid's Mini Pole Pedal Paddle -May 20 

FREESTYLE ATHLETE PROFILE
Highlighting Nik Klecker
By Steve Hanson, Head Freestyle Coach

I always marvel at the physical and corresponding ability changes that transpire between the young teen and older teen years. In Nik Klecker's second year on the Freestyle Team, these changes are in full effect. In addition to smoothing out his mogul turns while increasing his speed through the bumps, Nik is hucking huge air on back country hits and in the terrain park. Although the MBSEF Freestyle program is primarily focused on developing the mogul specialist, every member of the Team enjoys jibbing (slang for jumping) the terrain park and half pipe. Consequently, we spend a fair amount of time bump skiing and jibbing. Nik's goals for the 2000/2001 season are split 50/50 between mogul skiing and jumping. For the first half of the season, Nik is focused on earning a spot to Junior Nationals in moguls. In addition to qualifying based upon national points, the Pacific Northwest Division (PNSA) has 3 spots for moguls and 3 spots for dual moguls. Presently, Nik is ranked in the top 3 for dual moguls in PNSA for J1-J5. With 3 events to go, it looks like the Klecker's should be putting aside some travel money to Big Mountain, MT, site for Jr Nationals this year. If Nik does earn a spot, it wouldn't be without some sacrifices. In addition to being very passionate about his skiing, Nik is also a nationally ranked roller hockey goalie. He has had to make some tough choices this season between traveling to roller hockey tournaments or going to mogul competitions. In addition to the great strides in mogul skiing in the past couple years, Nik has also evolved into one of the top jibbers at Mt. Bachelor. This year he has stuck a double front flip and 900. After the mogul ski season is over, I fully expect Nik and Calvin Andrus, winner of the first Slope Style Contest at Mt. Bachelor and member of the Freestyle Team, to push each other to new heights. Nik's goals for the second half of the season include participating in all the Slope style events at Mt. Bachelor, pushing new tricks. Nik is a senior at Bend High School. After graduation his plans include attending COCC and having a long and successful career that enables him to ski for a living.

Russ Read, Chairman
Frank Cammack, Vice-Chairman
Mike Puddy, Vice-Chairman
Bev Francis, Treasurer
Linda Snyder, Secretary
Andrew Balyeat
Randall Barna
Kathy DeGree
Nils Eriksson
Karen Fast
Howard Friedman
Martha Glaser
Ben Husaby
Scott Jacobson
Mike Lafferty
Peter Miller
Dennis Oliphant
Gary Pape'
Doug Ribeca
Jeff Robberson
Christian Schuster
Dean Stevenson

MBSEF MISSION STATEMENT

The Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and support of competitive Alpine, Cross Country, Snowboard and Freestyle race training in Central Oregon. MBSEF provides the opportunity for introductory to advanced levels of race training and competition.

Our main objective is to assist student athletes in achieving their individual athletic, academic and personal goals. The program's guiding philosophy is to encourage academic achievement and promote the positive values of competitive sport: sportsmanship, self-discipline, goal setting, character building and the pursuit of healthy lifetime activities.

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MBSEF Office Phone: (541) 388-0002
MBSEF Office Fax: (541) 388-7848
Volunteer Hotline: (541) 385-1999
Junior Race Center: (541) 382-2607 Ext. 2243
Mt. Bachelor Ski Report: (541) 382-7888