Ski Club guides Elementary Schoolers to skiing success
The After School Ski Club of Nome Elementary School closed out their season last Friday with a day on the trails and a pizza party.
The club is in its fourth year and is part of the Nome Nordic Community Ski Program and a member of the Nome Winter Sports Association, who helped provide the 53 participating third, fourth and fifth graders in the club with skis and gear.
Director and Lead Coach Keith Conger has been teaching skiing in Nome for years and is one of the founders of the Nome Winter Sports Association in 2010, along with Mitch Erickson. After passing the torch of teaching the Nome-Beltz Middle and High School team to Rosa Wright, Conger decided to return to the younger grades to lay the foundation of ski knowledge. A volunteer director, Conger sees value in the club beyond skill development.
“I don’t see as many kids playing out as I used to,” Conger said. “My number one goal is to increase participation in outdoor winter sports.”
Beginning the last week of January, with the help of six volunteer coaches, every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday different age groups would meet and “look for interesting places to ski,” teaching kids to navigate the terrain of Nome. Moreover, the club aims to teach self-reliance, teamwork and compassion, Conger said.
This year a grant from Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation allowed the Nome Nordic Community Ski Program to buy a trail groomer for the first time, providing smooth trails and an easier learning platform for the elementary kids.
Conger hopes to grow the club with more practices and volunteers in the future, strengthening the appreciation of winter sports in the region. “There’s an incredible history of skiing in Western Alaska,” he added.
CLUES ACROSS
1. Midway between south and southeast
4. For each
7. Airborne (abbr.)
10. Photographs
11. They __
12. It’s important in respiration (abbr.)
13. Monetary unit
15. Cool!
16. A son of Jacob
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23. Agent of one’s downfall
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59. Class of escort aircraft carrier
60. To what degree
61. Buzzing insect
Previous Puzzle Answers
62. The human foot
63. “The Leftovers” actress Dowd
64. A place to stay
65. Sun up in New York
CLUES DOWN
1. An involuntary muscular contraction
2. Earnest
3. Cuts out surgically
4. Can’t move
5. Baseball stat
6. British soldier
7. Traditional medicine plants
8. Political party controlled by managers
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32. Indigenous person in parts of Asia
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43. Remove cover
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47. Distinctive practice
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58. Founding Father Franklin