Testification!

2013

This is the week each year when I'm usually hanging out with tens of thousands of my friends in the  desert, listening to Tipper (to paraphrase Sparky). Naturally, that's not happening this year, so I'm here in town where you'd think I'd have reconnected with most or all of our team by now, since they're all back in Anchorage and doing their thing.  But of course Coronavirus interfered with that, too, and the only Seawolf I've seen so far is Espen, whom I found out on the Chester Creek trail, doing double-pole rollerski sprints one evening last week.

My first contact with two of our new freshmen came last night during call-in public testimony for the Board of Regents. It was a little weird to hear their voices for the first time, not in person, but over the speakerphone as they laid out the reasons why the University shouldn't cut the Ski Team. It was a nice surprise, early in the testimony, to hear Karly Coyne come on the line.  About an hour later, Tuva Bygrave managed to get through. I was impressed with both of their speeches, and I'm looking forward to meeting them... someday. 

Freshmen Karly and Tuva weren't the only ones to testify, though.  I think the Ski Team had a good night, and we made our point quite strongly. A lot of people from the community took the time to call in and support out team and, honestly, it was really heartwarming. Eliska Albrigtsen, UAF's head coach, called in to say that UAF needs UAA here to compete against. Ski coach Grethe Hansen called in to say that her cousin Sarah had been a successful UAA skier and had inspired her. Morten Kjerland called in to make the case that we have a plan that's far better and more economical than the one that's been proposed by the Athletic Director. Jay Hermanson called in to support the team. His son Eli is a sophomore on the Montana State team and one of the nicest guys you'll meet out there at our RMISA races. He always makes a point to say hello to me every time I see him, and asks how our team is doing. I first met Eli when we went to Greenland together for Arctic Winter games in 2014. Jay pointed out that Eli was seriously thinking about joining the Seawolves instead of the Bobcats, but wouldn't have even considered UAA if the Ski Team were cut. 

Sparky Anderson called in, of course, because he's the mastermind and driving force behind this whole thing, and Anna Berecz called in to reiterate our plan of action and our proposal. Jana Weinberger, University of Colorado's head coach, called in to say that UAA's continued membership was critical to the sustainability of the RMISA. Crystal Enkvist called in, on behalf of both herself and her husband, because Urban was out volunteering at their daughter Annika's school. She recounted meeting Urban when he was a member of the Seawolf Ski Team in the late '80's and early '90's. Ed Strabel called in, for the second time this week, to support our team. Ed has been one of the biggest supporters of skiing in Southcentral Alaska for decades, from Bartlett High School to Colony High School, to Hatcher Pass and Government Peak, with everything from grooming to fundraising to coaching and serving on every board of directors you can imagine, Ed has been doing it all for many, many years. He's also supplied our UAA Ski Team with a steady supply of RMISA points in the form of his sons, both of whom skied for UAA and both of whom are still both heavily involved as coaches, groomers, and supporters of Southcentral skiing. And the infrastructure in The Valley is critical to our team's success; we do our most important October and November training on the trails that Ed built, maintains and grooms.

Georgia Burgess, a Seawolf senior and team captain called in to give her opinion. Didrik Nielsen called in to support our proposal, as did Diana Stram and Lin Hinderman from Girdwood. Lin is up there in the stratosphere with Ed Strabel in terms of influence in Alaska skiing as an athlete, a coach, administrator, organizer and race official. Lin got involved in Alaska skiing in the early 1970's and has been heavily immersed in it ever since. Former US Ski Team member and UAA assistant alpine coach Alex Von Wichman called in. Kevin Donley, whose two children are in high school and are considering competing in college, called in to support us, as did Hilltop Ski Area's John DeHaven.  World Champion hockey player Zoe Hickel called in from Ohio where she's coaching NCAA hockey to support Seawolf Skiing and Hockey, and a little later on her Mom, Christy Hickel called in. Christy's program, SPYDER Youth, has gotten literally thousands of kids into skiing and other sports through their offerings over the years. 

Finally, it was nice to hear Tuva Granoien call in.  The last time I heard her voice was last May when she and her teammates dropped by my place to say good-bye for the summer.  I'm looking forward to reconnecting with Tuva as soon as they let the team get back together for group training!

Thank you to all who called in!  I think there were far more skiing supporters who were lined up in the queue and didn't get a chance to speak. The Ski Team really appreciates your efforts, even if you didn't get through.  The Board of Regents is scheduled to make a decision on this issue in less than ten days. Whether you got through to testify yesterday or not, please don't be shy about e-mailing your comments to the Board of Regents.  Our plan for keeping the Ski Team makes fiscal sense. It saves the University money and we're confident it's the best way forward. If you agree, please don't keep it a secret. Let the Board of Regents know your opinion!

2013