Hi there!
I’m sure you loyal followers of the blog have been dying to know the answer to the one question we’ve been asking since NCAAs (half of it!) last spring: Race? Here at SLU we’ve been asking ourselves the same. The constantly changing world of a pandemic makes for a constantly changing upcoming race season. For now, here is an update on what the EISA racing circuit will likely look like for SLU.
PLEASE NOTE: this is unofficial! We are just athletes reading league updates around the circuit and speculating what we’ll be able to safely do while abiding by local, state, and national COVID guidelines. The information in this blog post is likely to change throughout the coming weeks and months.
New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
On October 8th, the NESCAC announced they are cancelling all winter season sports competitions. This announcement still allows for practices and individual institutions to organize outside competition at their discretion. What this means for Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Middlebury, and Williams skiing remains dependent on their institutional, local, and state guidelines on travel and competition. That being said, with almost half of the EISA schools’ other sports not competing, a traditional EISA carnival season is already not looking promising.
Ivy League
Similarly, the Ivy League (governing Dartmouth and Harvard) announced they are cancelling all intercollegiate winter sports competitions. Based on the announcement, it appears that athletics practices would be permitted, but travel for races seems to be out of the question for these schools. If the EISA is able to put together races (even unofficially), it seems Dartmouth and Harvard would be sitting these out for the year.
Liberty League
On November 9th, the Liberty League (in which most St. Lawrence University athletics competes) cancelled all winter sports competition and championship events. While this announcement does not specifically cancel the nordic ski season (as we compete in an outside league, the EISA), it does mean that holding athletic events will require stricter guidelines. Also important to note in this announcement is that smaller scale and unofficial events are not prohibited by the Liberty League so long as they are sufficiently safe. Within University guidelines, staying overnight for races will likely pose too much of a COVID exposure risk. For SLU Skiing, we will likely be limited to racing within realistic day driving distance (New York State and Vermont).
Vermont State
With a recent rise in COVID cases, the state of Vermont is implementing stricter guidelines that prohibit all recreational sports activities, likely impacting UVM, Middlebury, and St. Mike’s ability to practice or race for the foreseeable future. A stricter 7-14 day quarantine rule will also prevent out of state schools from travelling into Vermont to race and prevent UVM, Middlebury, or St. Mike’s from travelling out of state to race. Looks like we will have to get by without Craftsbury or Rikert this year :(
New York State
New York State recently relaxed travel restrictions regarding entering and exiting the state. Now, travelers from contiguous states (Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) are exempt from quarantine and testing rules according to Forward NY guidelines. In theory, this would allow schools from these states to come to New York to race. However, as we’ve already mentioned, these schools are under restrictions of their own to prevent this from happening.
Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA)
With all that said, the EISA has yet to make an official decision regarding this season’s races. As of now, the EISA plans to hold five single-day races starting later in the winter season. These races are scheduled for Fridays to avoid some of the weekend-warrior crowds. Based on what we have discussed, there are some clear quarantine and travel issues given current guidelines, but the current EISA schedule is as follows:
1/29, St. Michael’s/Sleepy Hollow, VT: 5k/10k classic
2/5, Colby/Quarry Road, ME: 10k/15k skate
2/12, St. Lawrence/Lake Placid, NY: 5k/10k classic
2/19, UNH/Jackson, NH: 15k/20k skate
2/26, UVM/Sleepy Hollow, VT: 5k/10k classic
3/10-3/13, NCAA Championships/Jackson, NH
National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA)
The NCAA has yet to make a formal decision on winter sports. NCAA national championships are still on, with UNH picking up the bid to host at Jackson (as Middlebury, by new Vermont restrictions, will be unable to host at Rikert). Given the current COVID-19 climate, it will certainly be a smaller affair, with talk about how to qualify (with most schools unable to participate in standard EISA races) still underway. Saying anything more than this feels like gambling, so I’ll stop. See the NCAA’s Covid page for more resources and information.
“Final” Verdict
So, where does all this leave us? For SLU, with other winter sports teams on hold for competition, and many EISA schools looking at limited participation, it is looking like local racing is most likely. For the beginning of the season, we will likely be doing some local time trials at Higley Flow. It is our hope to be able to race/time trial with Clarkson University and Paul Smith's College ski teams during the early season, or travel to Mt. Van Hoevenberg for other open race opportunities should they arise. In the late season, we hope to follow the currently scheduled EISA and NCAA races during late January, February, and March should travel restrictions and institutional guidelines allow it. Within the coming weeks this prediction may change drastically. Regardless, as we said when we arrived in the fall, we’re going to keep crushing hard workouts and preparing for racing, if only to be thankful to participate in this sport we all know and love so well.
That’s all for now. For more reading on collegiate skiing across the country, see this great article written by Minnesota man Luke Brown. Thanks for tuning in and we will talk again soon!
Until then, keep those hips forward,
Charlie Reinhardt ‘23
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