AUGUST E-SPILLWAY NEWSLETTER |
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Summer greetings from Sugarloaf!
We are looking forward to ringing in our 41st year by welcoming 75 students back to campus later this month on Fall Registration Day, which will be held on Sunday, August 28th. Please refer to the Parent Information Document for more details. We can’t wait to see you there!
It’s been a busy summer for our student-athletes. A number of our Alpine athletes trained at Big Snow American Dream in New Jersey, focusing on slalom skills and technical free ski drills. Another group of older alpine athletes departed last week for Corralco, Chile, where they are focusing on establishing the technical foundation for the season through drills, technical work, and directed free skiing. Our Freestyle Mogul athletes started their summer with on-snow training at Whistler, then moved to Water Ramps training at Lake Placid, where they focused on performing inverted and off-axis maneuvers, with the goal of qualifying to take new maneuvers to snow for the 2022-2023 ski season. Our Freestyle Freeski and Snowboard Park athletes traveled to Maximise in Quebec to practice new tricks in a low-consequence environment using air bags and trampolines. Athletes in all disciplines have been taking advantage of the summer months to make fitness gains in preparation for the season ahead.
Back here at the Loaf it was business as usual- from our maintenance staff working hard to ready our campus for the Fall, to renovating apartments at the Capricorn to house additional staff, to welcoming several new staff members to the Big Dog team. In addition, the Podium Project construction is on schedule up on the mountain and fundraising continues to ensure the new training venues are ready this coming season. It’s been a busy summer but a great one!
I look forward to seeing everyone again soon and making our 41st year at CVA the best one yet!
Best,
Kate Webber Punderson ’89
Head of School
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Trail Work and Construction Starting This Month! |
For years, we’ve dreamt of expanding the training and race venue on Competition Hill and installing a surface lift for our athletes. We’ve looked forward to more training lanes, quicker turnaround times, increased snowmaking capacity, and early-season access to on-snow training. Now our dreams are being realized!
The Podium Project is well under way! All permitting is in place to begin trail widening, installation of the T-bar, and automated snowmaking. Doppelmayr® has delivered the t-bar towers and components. Snowmaking equipment is starting to be staged near the Jean Luce Building. The fully-automated SMI Polecat Fan guns should be arriving next week! Trail work will begin on August 15th and, once the sight lines are cleared for the surveyors, Fall Line Construction, LLC can begin the installation of the t-bar and snowmaking equipment; this process is likely to begin at the end of August. If you're out on the hill over the next few weeks, pop on by to see the progress!
Fundraising continues to progress nicely with a recent $25,000 grant award from the Killington World Cup Foundation, with a matching $25,000 donation from a friend of the foundation. Collaborative fundraising with our training partners continues with great enthusiasm. We are expecting significant progress from these efforts in the coming weeks.
The training venue transformations, that you'll start to see later this month, are funded through The Podium Project campaign, with donations from our generous supporters. For more information on The Podium Project campaign, click here.
Naming opportunities still exist at the On-Hill Donor Plaque ($2,500) and T-bar ($10,000-$25,000) levels. Are you ready to "Raise the Bar" for student-athletes?
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Introducing Our New Teachers |
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Mel will be joining the team this year as a teacher in the Humanities Department. He will also be assisting College Counselor, Jenny Wiltse-McClure in providing college counseling services and will work as a tutor in the Academic Success Program. Mel will live in Murfey Hall and will serve as the Boys' Dorm Head. |
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Sierra will be joining the team this year as a teacher in both the Humanities and Math Departments. She will also tutor in the Academic Success Program. |
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Peter will be joining the team this year as a teacher in the Humanities Department. He will also tutor in the Academic Success Program. Peter will be residing in Murfey Hall with his family. |
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Introducing Our New Coaches |
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Richard will be joining the team this year as an Alpine Coach. |
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Mark, CVA alumni Class of 2012, will be joining the team this year as the Freeski Head Coach. |
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Hank will be joining the team this year as a Freestyle Coach. |
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Colin will be joining the team this year as a Boardercross Coach. |
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Jonathan will be joining the team this year as the Snowboard Weekend Program Manager. |
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Getting the "Golden" Ticket |
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Congratulations to Boden Gerry ‘24 and Brady Harvie ‘24 on being selected for U.S. Snowboard Project Gold.
Their athletic achievements in the 2022 competitive season qualified them to train with U.S. Snowboard National Team coaching staff at this progressive development camp, which brings together the top junior athletes in the country.
The camp will take place in Park City, Utah at the end of August.
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Introducing Our New Staff |
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Lydia will be joining the team this year as our Director of Enrollment. |
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A Big DoG "Thank you!" from CVA |
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Thank you for supporting the 2021-22 Annual Fund at CVA!
June 30, 2022 marked 40 years of Annual Fund success. We want to express our sincerest gratitude to you - the CVA community. With the support and enthusiasm of parents, alumni, and friends, the CVA experience is stronger than ever.
Your support helps us build a thriving community that supports our student-athletes. On behalf of everyone at CVA, thank you for showing your commitment. We hope you take great pride in knowing that you play a major role in the continued success of CVA.
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Congratulations to Andrew Willihan '02, for being awarded 2022 USCSA Coach of the Year for exemplifying all the qualities of a great coach during the 2021/2022 season. Andrew is the Director of Snow Sports and Head Men's & Women's Alpine Skiing Coach for the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF). |
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Congratulations to CVA alum, Forest Carey '94, for being named the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Coach of the Year, as well as Alpine Coach of the Year. This marks his fourth time receiving the alpine honor.
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Families can get ahead of the fall season rush and order team jackets and apparel during the summer. |
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Team Jackets Available Now! |
The CVA Team Store through SYNC Performance is now open. New for the 2022/23 season, ALL team jackets are available now through the SYNC Store. Small sizes are limited, so order your jackets early, while supplies last. You can also shop recently-updated designs of dryland training gear including shirts, hoodies, joggers, and more. |
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We are continuing our partnership with Wight's Sporting Goods to offer you high-quality, CVA-branded apparel. Shop recently-updated designs of sweatshirts, t-shirts, vests, pullovers, hats, and accessories. New store opening Monday, August 15th. Check your email for details. |
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Become a part of the Big Dog team. |
Enjoy working with an elite ski and snowboard academy nestled in the mountains of Western Maine? Join a team committed to helping student athletes thrive! |
Carrabassett Valley Academy (CVA) is now hiring for the following positions:
- Alpine Coach
- Snowboarding Coach
- Freestyle Moguls Coach
- Ski Cross Development Team Coach
- Ski Cross Weekend Program Coach
- Strength & Conditioning Coach
- Maintenance/Custodial
Enjoy great benefits, including no-cost, on-campus housing and meals for full-time employees.
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Opportunities range from full-time, year-round to part-time, seasonal employment. Full job descriptions can be found on our website. For more information, contact Kate Punderson by email at kpunderson@gocva.com or by phone at
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Virginia H “Ginny” Bousum passed away on the 29th of May.
She was an integral part of the Sugarloaf and CVA community. Ginny became involved in the Sugarloaf Ski School in the 1970s and continued to teach until the age of 80, with over 40 years as a certified professional. She was very involved with the Sugarloaf Ski Club, and its scholarship program King's Kids, serving as the Club President for the past several years. She was very proud of her work establishing Carrabassett Valley Academy (CVA) and for the local skiers the club scholarship was able to help.
We are so grateful to Ginny for her commitment to CVA, the Sugarloaf Ski Club, and the greater Sugarloaf community. She will be dearly missed.
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3197 Carrabassett Drive
Carrabassett Valley, ME 04947
Phone: (207) 237-2250
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