Okemo Mountain School's student-athlete, Connie Brogden, spent last week competing in Park City at the USSA Junior Freestyle/Freeskiing Nationals. It is quite the accomplishment to even qualify for the event, however, Connie didn't just show up, she competed to the best of her ability.  Connie took home the Gold for the Overall Slopestyle and 2nd in the Overall Halfpipe, with a 1st place finish for U18s. Everyone at OMS is so proud of you, Connie!

Connie Brogden coming in 2nd in the Overall Halfpipe USSA Junior Nationals Freestyle/Freeskiing competition 

Connie Brogden coming in 1st in the Overall Slopestyle USSA Junior Freestyle/Freeskiing competition

OMS snowboarders Samantha Skoler, Margie Black, and Anna Valentine competed in the third Toyota Rev Tour halfpipe stop in Park City, Utah today. The girls all rode really well and were boosting in finals. Sammy Skoler (14 years old), placed 15th and rode really well in her first Rev Tour event. Margie Black (15 yrs old), narrowly missed the top 6 ladies finals and placed 7th. OMS senior and US Rookie Team member, Anna Valentine, blew away the field and took the top spot on the podium!  Congrats to Anna, Margie, and Sammy for killing it out there!!

Anna Valentine taking the Gold!

We held the 8th Annual Okemo Mountain School Winter Festival last Saturday, February 17th at Willie Dunn's. Before the event even started, we had raised over $30,000 from our gracious donors (See full list below), many of which are regular supporters of OMS. 

We would also like to thank all of the restaurant donors for their delicious appetizers and those that donated silent auction items! By the end of the event, with the support from our donors, along with the money we raised on our silent auction items and ticket sales, we have raised over $50,000 in support of our student-athletes. This event is one of our biggest fundraisers and we couldn't do it without everyone that donates and comes to the event.

Thank you for all you do and continue to do to support our Okemo Mountain School student-athletes! 

Mark your calendars for the 9th Annual Okemo Mountain School Winter Festival on February 16th, 2019!

2017 Donors:

World Cup Crystal Globe Donors:

The Mueller Family, Okemo Mountain Resort

Olympic Gold Medal Donors:

The Young Family, William Raveis Vermont Properties and Development, Inc., Mary W. Davis Realtor & Associates, Inc., The Goodrich-Kasperzik Family

Olympic Silver Medal Donors:

The Kelleher Family, The Maggiore Family, The Monks Family, The Stein Family

Olympic Bronze Medal Donors:

The Lovejoy Family, The Nelson Family, The Tobin Family, The Yurkerwich Family, Sotheby’s

Okemo and OMS alum are ripping it up in USCSA collegiate ski racing! The goal of many OMS students is to be able to compete at the collegiate level and it is great to see that many of you have achieved this dream! So great to see so many of you still at it!

Pictured are: Greg Murray(Clarkson), Kathryn Graham(St Anselm), Mike and Dolores White(UCONN), Libby McCusker, Ryan Riley(Both Clarkson), Jonah Glickman(UMASS), Brian Chambers, Aiden Riley and Taylor Ludl (UCONN) at the McConnell Division race at Pat's Peak a couple of weeks ago

Pictured are: Morgan Dawkins (William and Hobart Smith), Elise Michaels (Cornell), Ryan Skinner (Cornell), Simon Ludl (SUNY Binghamton), and Sean Giannotto (Cornell) at a MidEast Division race at Greek Peak this past weekend.

It is with a heavy heart that we report the loss of dear friend, coach, and long time Okemo community member, Jeff Mallia. Jeff coached hundreds of Okemo athletes to great success for 17 years. He touched the lives of so many and will be dearly missed by all!

Calling hours will be on Wednesday 1/31 from 5-7 pm at the Jones Funeral Home in Schenectady, NY and a Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday 2/1 from 3-6 pm at the Edison Gold Club in Rexford, NY.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesunion-albany/obituary.aspx?n=jeffrey-j-mallia&pid=188012874&

Photo L to R: Charlie Pierro, Jeff Malia, Robert Best, Lori Ford, and Peter Kravitz

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The holidays are quickly approaching and it is time to do the holiday scramble to find last minute gifts! Let us make it a little bit easier on you by offering some OMS swag for the whole family. 

Please see the below price list and pictures of many of our items. You can place an order by emailing info@okemomountainschool.org or just stop by OMS, 10am-6pm midweek. However, the school will be shut down for holiday break starting on December 20th.

Happy Holidays from everyone at OMS!
 

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OMS SWAG PRICE LIST:

OMS Beanies $25

Skida Alpine Neckwarmer $26

Skida Tour Neckwarmer $20

Skida Headbands $20

Big Truck Hats $35

Water Bottles $25

Moscow Mule Mugs $25

Blankets $35

Coffee Mugs $10

 

Yesterday we welcomed the Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce to our new facility for our official ribbon cutting!

Tonight from 7-9PM, we are hosting our 8th Annual Okemo Mountain School Board of Directors' Reception Open House here at OMS (53 Main Street) in our new Fitness Facility.

There is much to celebrate this season! First and foremost, we are thrilled to announce that we have taken occupancy of the main portion our new Fitness Facility and that we will celebrate its grand opening at this reception! We will be gathering in the new Fitness Facility for this event - please use the entrance on the right hand side of the new building.

We hope to see you there!

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Winter is coming! Gear up for the cold months at the OMS Ski and Snowboard Swap. This is the best place to get new and used equipment at great prices! Hope to see you at the Swap at the Okemo Clocktower Base Lodge on Nov 17 from 4-7 pm, Nov 18th from 9-5, and Nov 19th from 9-1.

We will be in by Thanksgiving and as a bonus our original building is also getting a facelift! Lots of excitement as we head into the 2017-2018 Winter Term! Can’t wait for all of the student-athletes to arrive Monday and see what’s new here at OMS!

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A special thanks to OMARA for allowing our coaches to further their education in the sport we all know and love!!

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Northern Ski Works manager Tom Favro recently spoke with us from the local shop's boot lab on the importance of custom boot fitting for young athletes. 

Norhtern Ski Works, Race Boots

Congratulations to OMS Athlete Carolina de Buy Wenniger on being named to the 2018 Vermont Alpine Racing Association (VARA) Team! Well done!!

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By Mariel Meringolo, Head of School

I am pleased to announce a new partnership with Castleton University's Exercise Science Program that we are piloting this winter.  This partnership will provide OMS an assistant strength and conditioning coach each winter who is a recent graduate or a current upperclassmen student intern.  This coach will work under Jet Robbins, OMS Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, and Chris Hurka, Alpine Program Director.  The coach will work with all ages and disciplines during each mid-week conditioning period.  He or she will assist all coaches with the implementation of our strength and conditioning program.  Not only will the intern coach be able to provide additional supervision and assistance to our student-athletes, they also will bring with them the most up-to-date academic information in the area of exercise science.  We believe that this partnership will create better conditioning outcomes for our student-athletes.

“I am so excited to get to meet and work with all of the athletes at Okemo Mountain School! I can’t wait to share my knowledge about fitness and training with them while also getting to learn from them along the way as well.”

— Maresa Bowen

Our first intern, Maresa Bowen, will begin working with us in January following her December graduation.  Maresa will be earning her bachelor's degree in Health and Exercise Science and has studied many relevant topics such as Kinesiology, Clinical Exercise Testing and Prescription, and Nutrient Metabolism and Athletic Performance.  Maresa was born in Rutland, VT.  Growing up in Vermont, she has always been an avid lover of the outdoors, enjoying hiking, running, snow-shoeing, and fishing. Maresa grew up playing and coaching basketball through high school and college, but has also become involved with other sports as she’s gotten older, such as tennis and snowboarding. She is a certified Personal Trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine, a fitness enthusiast, and loves to cook.

So many OMS alum featured in this Clarkson University video...how many can you name?? Consider supporting them through their collegiate ski team!

Please consider donating to the Clarkson University Alpine Ski Team for the Lets CU Give fundraising campaign. All proceeds go directly to growing our program. Link to give: http://gvcmp.us/gqqtxa

Randy Haskell, the Service Manager at Boot Pro in Ludlow, recently shared some common sense tips for outfitting U12/U14 alpine skiers with the correct skis and gear. 

This video is about BootProSpecVideo

60 Second Box Jump
F: Siofra Murdoch 63
M: Will Marra 70

F: Lydia Kelleher 61
M: Aidan Riley 68

F: Katie Killian 60
M: Carver Provance 67

20m Shuttle Run (Beep Test)
F: Maggie Beardsley 12.3
M: Connor Visnic 14.2

F: Siofra Murdoch 11.1
M: Brennan Hynes 13.1

F: Elise Michaels 10.7
M: Sean Sullivan 12.9

Join us at the beautiful Tater Hill Golf Course on Saturday, September 16th for the 7th Annual Okemo Mountain School Benefit Golf Tournament.

Check in and lunch begins at noon, shotgun start at 1 pm. Entry fee is $130 for an individual and $475 for a foursome. The entry fee includes the green fee, a cart, tee prizes, lunch, and a post tournament beer or glass of wine. All proceeds will go towards the OMS Annual Fund to help keep tuition low for all students. There will be tons of individual and team prizes, raffle, silent auction and more!

We are thrilled to announce that construction on the OMS Fitness Facility is underway and Wright Construction is back at work.  They are satisfied with how all of the work already completed weathered the almost 3 year hiatus, and they are excited to be going full steam ahead again!  Wright Construction will be working hard all summer long to get us into the building by the late Fall in time for all of our student-athletes to return this Winter!

Check out our Facebook page for updates in the coming weeks!  We can’t wait to see the building finally take shape!

Congratulations Anna Valentine! Anna, an OMS snowboarder, was invited to the 2017-2018 US Rookie Team for Half Pipe. She was one of only two women invited to join this elite team. Each athlete accepting their nomination to U.S. Snowboard Team receives world class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine and high performance staff, and education opportunities.

Anna’s hard work, positive attitude, and dedication to excellence is an inspiration to all of us- congrats Anna!

Learn more at US Snowboarding>