A Winter Season for the History Books

There is no question that the 2020-2021 ski and ride season was the most unusual and challenging in the program’s history. A pandemic struck the world and cast life as we know it into doubt. The timeline for getting back to normal was anyone’s guess. Most youth sports and programs were forced to shut down, and many children were unable to participate in the sports that they love and so desperately need for growth and development. When it became clear in the fall that outdoor sports would go on, we counted ourselves among the lucky.

MAC’s Ski & Snowboard program was brought back to life in September, leaving a short window of time to plan for what would undoubtably be a very complicated and challenging season to pull off. Staff and committee members put in countless hours learning COVID-19 rules and guidelines at ski resorts across the Pacific Northwest, and worked especially closely with our resort partner, Mt. Hood Meadows. Programming, which had been grooved and running like clockwork for years, had to be re-imagined, re-written, and re-invented to fit the world’s new requirements.

This season, all meetings and interactions were moved outside on the snow. Athlete drop off and pick up occurred at a specified outside MAC Meeting Area. Time was built in before and after training for coaches to debrief with parents on athlete progress and allow time for questions. Masks or face coverings were required anytime athletes and parents were grouping up with coaches, entering lift lines and mazes, or when unable to spread out from one another in a safe manner. We encouraged families to pack lunches and eat at their vehicles.

Most days our U.S. Ski & Snowboard/FIS Team athletes operated just like summer camps on the glacier, bringing packs with food and water out on hill and taking a break at the top of the training venue each day.

Although we were a little apprehensive as to just how well this “all outside, all the time” stuff would work given Pacific Northwest weather, it turned out to be a beautiful change to the program. We saw parents, athletes, and coaches sitting outside enjoying the weather whatever it was, chatting with one another over a packed sandwich and bottle of water. Although we were physically distanced from each other, in a way, it brought everyone closer together.

At the beginning of the season it wasn’t clear if racing and competitions would go on as planned or if MAC families would be comfortable enough to join us amid such uncertainty. The one thing that the coaching staff, the committee members, and parents all agreed on was that the most important thing was getting athletes on the snow again, doing the sport that they love with their teammates and friends. Parents wanted to see their kids smile and enjoy life again. Coaches wanted to see their athletes continue their development and keep making strides in their skills, competitions or not. If all we ended up doing this year was training and race simulation at home, we’d be happy. As it turned out, we were able to have a modified competition season and get in as much racing and competitions as we would have any other year!

Despite all the programming changes, question marks regarding races and competitions, and the general uncertainty surrounding this unprecedented winter, I was struck by something while going through photos and videos from this season — how normal they all looked! There are photos of coaches teaching their athletes how to jump; pictures of teammates goofing around in the parking lot during lunch or making snow angels on a powder day; a video of the Freeride Team bombing lines down Heather Canyon; and a photo of our U12 Girls team in their race suits, arm in arm posing for the camera at a ski race. I realized that in the face of all the uncertainty, we gave these kids a “normal” ski and ride season. I could not be prouder of this community for coming together to make it happen for the athletes.

—Justin Rackley, MAC Ski & Snowboard program director