Junior Olympics Stories

5.02.02

Junior Olympics 2002 by Katrina Howe

McCall, Idaho

          Making the New England Junior Olympic Team had been my goal so when the team was announced and I was included, I didn’t know what to expect. I had a great time in Idaho. The other members of the team were awesome companions and made the trip a ton of fun.

          The first day started at Logan Airport in Boston with about 50 athletes gathering and checking in their bags. It seemed to take forever to get all the ski bags checked in and I found myself wondering how it was possible that the airlines made sure that they got all the skis to Idaho but they did. The flights from Boston to Chicago and Chicago to Boise were pretty good with little or no turbulence. We arrived in Idaho in the dark and went strait for pizza in Boise before we headed off in four sixteen-passenger vans for the 2 or 3-hour drive to McCall. When we had arrived in Boise I have to admit that I was a little worried about the fact that there was absolutely no snow anywhere in the city. However, the two-hour drive would bring us deep into snow country and up in elevation to about 5,000 ft. We got to McCall early on Sunday morning and went strait to our rooms and slept through till morning.

          On Sunday the team skied the sprint, 5k and 10k courses that we would be racing on for the remainder of the week. It was really quite a shock to wake up and step outside into 5 degree weather when we’d left New England with no snow on a nice 40 degree, sunny day. In McCall they had at least 2.5 ft. when we got there and about 3.5 ft when we left.

          Monday brought even colder weather but warm sunny in the afternoon for the elimination rounds. I thought our team was very successful but from what I heard from the returning skiers, it wasn’t as good as they had done in years past. The snow conditions were prime and the course was easy, short and flat. I placed better than I expected and was pleased with my performance for the day. After the sprints were finished we all returned to our condo and hotel rooms to retrieve our skis for waxing the wax hanger at the local airport. The airport hanger that our team used housed an old fire engine that was no longer in use so we took great pleasure in trying on the old firemen’s suits, sitting in the seats and climbing on the back. Hannah Dreissigacker has some great pictures of herself dressed in the fireproof attire that we found inside the truck!

          On our off days we skied easy and hung out in the condos watching TV and movies. My classical race on Wednesday was awful and not a highlight of my week but many of the NE skiers had outstanding races and scored some big points for us the Alaska Cup. The weather was wet, snowy and the trees seemed to drop bombs. Ponderosa Park was beautiful and a great site for the races. They did a wonderful job with accurate results and incredible organization of the races, spectators and racers. The skate race on Friday had a better turnout than the classic for me and the weather was great with a temperature that more comfortable and snow conditions that were great. The groomers at the park did a great job on all three days that they hosted races. On Saturday we had the relay races with great turnouts from most of our NE teams. Our team did well with a great fifth place finish despite the fact that I got passed once while skiing the final leg. After the race the J2 boys and girls teams went out onto the courses to cheer for the older NE racers. We had a giant snowball fight and I don’t think anyone managed to come out of the woods without being soaked. The awards dinner and ceremonies were great even though the final results from the week weren’t what the team wanted but Alaska worked hard for their win and deserved it.

          The races brought some new experiences for me and provided a lot of learning and great memories that will last forever. I had never had to check in and have my skis marked before a race so that was definitely something new. The opening ceremonies had great introductions of each team and some good and some not so good speakers. Overall I had an extraordinary time and will never forget my first Junior Olympics because they couldn’t have been better!