Thursday, October 11, 2007

Fwd: [staff list] UMF Receives Libra Grant to Help Develop Alpine Ski Team



Begin forwarded message:

From: "April Mulherin" <April.Mulherin@maine.edu>
Date: October 11, 2007 4:01:34 PM EDT
Subject: [staff list] UMF Receives Libra Grant to Help Develop Alpine Ski Team
Reply-To: "April Mulherin" <April.Mulherin@maine.edu>

UMF Media Release for Immediate Release
#R078-009

CONTACT:
UMF Assistant Director of Media Relations April Mulherin
207-778-7081

*** University of Maine at Farmington Receives Libra Grant to Help Develop
Alpine Ski Team *** 

FARMINGTON, MAINE (October 11, 2007)- University of Maine at Farmington
Director of Athletics, Fitness and Recreation Julie Davis is pleased to
announce that the university has received a grant from the Libra Foundation
to help support the development of an Alpine ski team.

The Libra Foundation is a Maine-based organization that has made significant
contributions to worthy initiatives throughout the state.

UMF has enjoyed a successful student-led ski club in the past, which was
supported by student senate and the ski industries program and volunteer
coach Harry Ricker.  "The Libra grant, combined with funds from UMF's
Student Senate, will allow us to launch the expansion from a student-led
club sport to a more competitive ski team with increased infrastructure and
additional support for coaching," said Davis. "The program will be
accessible to all levels of skiers and will allow us to recruit student
athletes from New England and beyond."

The ski team is currently undergoing dry-land training in anticipation of
the upcoming season, which is scheduled to begin in December. The team will
compete in both Alpine and Nordic disciplines in the United States
Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association's Reynolds Division. The division
was established in 2006 by Ricker and named in honor of Tom Reynolds, UMF
Athletics Hall of Fame inductee. Other institutions in the division include
University of Maine at Orono, University of Maine at Fort Kent, University
of Maine at Presque Isle, and the Bates College "B" team.

According to Ron Bonnevie, UMF Ski Industries instructor, the Reynolds
Division utilizes mountains in western Maine thereby reducing travel and
providing opportunities for other colleges to have access to the region.
"UMF's access to local ski areas is hard to beat.  We have a great slalom
hill 5 minutes from campus (Titcomb Mtn.) for day and night training, with
Sugarloaf, Saddleback, Black Mountain and Sunday River all less than an
hour's drive," said Bonnevie. "It's about as good as it gets throughout
northern New England. These options provide UMF skiers with more quality on
snow training and flexible training times to coordinate with class
schedules."

Not only will the ski team have lifelong benefits for its student athletes,
but it is expected to have positive impacts on the western Maine mountain
region as well. The importance of the economic vitality of the region was
recognized by UMF in its final Libra grant proposal, which highlighted the
university's existing strong partnerships with the area's ski mountains and
outlined future opportunities to strengthen those relationships.

The benefits of the ski team are too long to list according to Leigh
Breidenbach, director of the UMF Ski Industries program. "We are a snow
sports ski state and this Libra grant says we value those activities and
consider it part of our heritage as Mainers," said Breidenbach. "At UMF,
skiing is a passion as much as it is a sport. After graduation, the vast
majority of our skiers stay in Maine. They are lifelong skiers, guaranteed."

# # # 

For more information, contact UMF Director of Athletics, Fitness and
Recreation Julie Davis at 207-778-7264 or jadavis@maine.edu.

===================================================================

Thank you for sharing the good news at UMF, Maine's public liberal arts
college.

Regards,
April Mulherin

April Mulherin
Assistant Director of Media Relations
University of Maine at Farmington
207-778-7081





No comments: