End of Season Gathering
June 6, 2023
EMXC Juniors recently enjoyed a well-deserved social gathering to celebrate another amazing year of training, adventures and competition. The evening was filled with delicious food, fun activities that allowed the athletes to demonstrate their sporting skills outside of skiing (basketball, corn hole, badminton and volleyball), a very valuable clothing swap, and bittersweet farewells to departing coaches, seniors and other long-time ski families who are moving on.
The team said special farewells to three of our dedicated coaches and volunteers. Coach Victor will be remembered for his numerous years of dedication to EMXC coaching and race support. We will also remember Victor for the interesting training and physiology study that many athletes participated in as part of Victor's recently-completed PhD research, his propensity for tall tales (told with a masterful, serious face), as well as for his straightforward and honest way of telling athletes, "You're weak. Build more muscle."
Coach Bob dedicated years upon years of coaching to the club (starting back when the club was still known as CSU Juniors... back when our current head coach and assistant coaches were juniors themselves!). Bob was an amazing coach, with the special skill of being able to transform young athletes who were relatively new to roller skiing, into skiers who were ready for the technical demands of the on-snow ski season. He was instrumental in preparing our newest athletes for the rigorous training and racing that lay ahead. And, we can't forget Bob's stories...he had a tale for every situation, and athletes, parents and coaches all loved talking with him. He will be missed!
Finally, EMXC said farewell to Alex Appleby, our longtime parent volunteer who served most recently as the Club Manager. It must be noted that club leadership is fairly certain that Alex has worn almost every volunteer hat that exists within the EMXC organization at one point or another. He has been absolutely instrumental in keeping the club on track, which was especially challenging during the CSU/EMXC transition, COVID, and multiple on-boardings of new Head Coaches. We will miss your happy, calm, cool and collected way of doing business, Alex!
We won't ever forget all the Seniors that are leaving us: Abby, Anna, Clara, Emily, Evie, Greg, Jonah, Kaden, Mirra, Sam and Sophia. We're having a hard time imagining next winter without your leadership, inspiration and laughter. We look forward to seeing you at Weston during your winter break, or at a future race, or perhaps on the MSA trails someday. Best wishes for an exciting adventure next year!
Special thanks to the Lake Family for hosting an amazing outdoor potluck gathering on a beautiful Spring evening! Additional thanks to Tamara Bekefi for organizing a very successful clothing swap, and appreciation to all the families who took time out of already busy schedules to create a fun EMXC community event!
