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Mountain Creek ends ski season with splash

| 06 Apr 2017 | 02:51
    Others provide a different kind of score for Pond Skimming participants.
    Others provide a different kind of score for Pond Skimming participants.
    ASP at Mt. Creek President Dan Monzo & Snow Sports Director & Trustee Tim Stone training with þÄúSamþÄù.
    ASP at Mt. Creek President Dan Monzo & Snow Sports Director & Trustee Tim Stone training with þÄúSamþÄù.
    Mountain Creek Staffers score the participants in the Pond Skimming competition
    Mountain Creek Staffers score the participants in the Pond Skimming competition
    Sometimes you win at Pond Skimming.
    Sometimes you win at Pond Skimming.
    Sometimes you make a big splash at the 2017 Mountain Creek Pond Skimming Event.
    Sometimes you make a big splash at the 2017 Mountain Creek Pond Skimming Event.
    Adaptive Sports Program Trustee & PSIA Trainer John Swartwood observes training with þÄúSamþÄù on the Sugar Slope.
    Adaptive Sports Program Trustee & PSIA Trainer John Swartwood observes training with þÄúSamþÄù on the Sugar Slope.

VERNON — The 2017 ski season at Mountain Creek came to a fun conclusion on Saturday, March 25th after being open for 88 days starting with skiers and riders enjoying the annual Pond Skimming Contest. The Mountain Creek Ski Resort also had another reason to celebrate. Significant progress was made during the season with the implementation of the Resort’s Adaptive Sports at Mountain Creek program inspired by local special athlete Nick Cerrato’s desire to ski and targeted at providing these special athletes with the opportunity to experience the joy and fun associated with skiing, riding and other recreational activities at the Resort.
Pond skimming is an event that is left for those who are not faint of heart, like to face a challenge and are not afraid of the consequence of failure, which in this event is ending up dunked in a freezing pond if the participant cannot ski/ride down the slope and reach the other side of the pond without getting wet. Those more inclined to less adventurist competitions are not inclined to participate and quietly regard those who do to be a bit crazy. In any event it is a fun event to watch.
Participants are judged by a team of Mountain Creek Staff Judges who score each participant on a 1 to 10 basis based on whether they reach the end of the pond, their form in skimming, costume and other related categories. For those with difficulty counting up the numerical scores another group of judges scores the pond skimming contestants using another method of scoring.
The best performers in the event are awarded by the cheers of the many onlookers while those who experience difficulty reaching the end of the pond or make a dramatic crash may be subjected to the boos from the crowd. Prizes were awarded to those identified by the judges as the best pond skimmers.
While pond skimming may be more fun, the progress made by the Adaptive Sports Program at Mountain Creek to provide special athletes with the opportunity to enjoy skiing and riding was a lot more rewarding. A group of dedicated Mountain Creek, Helen Hays Hospital for Rehabilitation and other dedicated skiers and riders have been working for 4 years to get a program started at the Mountain Creek Resort. During the past year the a non-profit Adaptive Sports Program at Mountain Creek was approved as a non-profit 501(c)(3) with Dan Monzo serving as President, John Whiting, Vice President, Buffy Whiting, Secretary and Treasurer. Other Trustees include Tim Stone from Mountain Creek, Matthew Castelluccio and Eileen Andreassi from the Helen Hays Hospital for Rehabilitation and John Swartwood.
The challenge faced this ski season was to transform the dream of an adaptive program into a reality. This required the identification and training of volunteers to acquire the skills required to provide safe access to the skiing and riding experience. Under the expert guidance Trustee John Swartwood, a certified adaptive PSIA trainer and examiner, volunteers participated in training sessions to master the skills required to provide a safe experience for the participants in the program.To ensure safety the on snow training was carried out using a make-believe special athlete called “Sam”.