Andover Nordic Skiing competed in its first official race of the season on Wednesday, facing off against Proctor
The poor conditions influenced the race, but Andover persevered and managed to enjoy the race.
In an email to The Phillipian, Posie Millet ‘20 wrote, “The race went well! It was very fun and we had great performances all-around, despite having a few members of the team missing due to illness or injury.”
The conditions weren’t great because the temperature was low 40s and it was raining/snowing. Because of all of that, it was pretty slow but I think all in all it was pretty fun,” added Aki Charland ’19.
The course had a few challenging areas, including a steep hill.
Charland said, “This course has this one really steep uphill and so that’s pretty killer. For today’s race, we did three laps of going up that hill three times and it was pretty brutal. You just got to head down and power up that hill.”
Despite the lack of snow on campus, the team still managed to practice and prepare for the races with team runs and workouts, as well as a Saturday trip to Waterville Valley.
“Because we don’t have much snow around here, this Saturday we took a full-team trip to Waterville Valley to practice. We skied for about 4 hours and got some really great training in on snow, which we can’t do here. On Monday and Tuesday, we did some running and bounding to prepare for the challenge of the hills on Proctor’s Classic course,” wrote Millet.
For several racers, this race marked the beginning of their Nordic Skiing careers, yet many of them are improving rapidly, including Hugo Solomon ‘19.
Millet wrote, “Hugo Solomon ’19 entered his first race this week and did really well! It was his first time on Classic skis, so I was impressed at how he was able to jump right in and easily pick up the basic techniques.”
According to Charland, the team could improve its racing with more individual fitness.
“I think just individual fitness [needs to be improved] because I think we do a really good job with team runs while having a good spirit and people who are having a good time. But to just work harder on our fitness, I think, is really the only thing to do,” he said.
For the rest of the season, the team hopes to continue to improve and bond with each other so that everyone enjoys their time on the team.
“Just improve as much as you can. I think, above all, just have a really good time with the team and have a good experience,” said Charland.
Andover will race against Cardigan next Wednesday.
Editor’s Note: Hugo Solomon ’19 is a Video Associate Editor for The Phillipian.
