Celebrating the Inaugural Season of The Podium Project
In March, our ski community’s greatest supporters and champions from Sugarloaf, Carrabassett Valley Academy, Colby College, the Sugarloaf Ski Club, and the University of Maine Farmington came together to celebrate the inaugural season of The Podium Project at Sugarloaf Mountain. The Podium Project is a collaborative vision launched in 2022 to provide optimal training opportunities to athletes by offering a centralized training venue and dedicated surface lift that results in more time on snow.
In March, our ski community’s greatest supporters and champions from Sugarloaf, Carrabassett Valley Academy, Colby College, the Sugarloaf Ski Club, and the University of Maine Farmington came together to celebrate the inaugural season of The Podium Project at Sugarloaf Mountain. The Podium Project is a collaborative vision launched in 2022 to provide optimal training opportunities to athletes by offering a centralized training venue and dedicated surface lift that results in more time on snow. “The T-bar operated flawlessly; I haven't seen a new surface lift operate as well in the first phase of operation," said Kirk Dwyer, CVA Special Projects/Alpine Program Director. "We are so appreciative of Sugarloaf’s consistent operation of the lift and the cooperation and support we received from mountain operations all season. The lift operators were great and the grooming was consistently excellent." "The T-bar and additional training space made a world of difference for the Weekend Program athlete's ability to train and reduced their presence in the lift lines," Dwyer continued. The Project included the widening of Competition Hill to allow for up to six slalom courses and/or three giant slaloms plus the B Mogul course and airbag jump. "Even when it was most heavily utilized on weekends, with the speed lowered for the younger athletes, the uphill capacity of the lift handled our numbers well," Dwyer stated. For full-time athletes and the college teams, operation of the T-bar at 2.5 meters per second (lower than full speed) generally eliminated any lift line and allowed all the training athletes could handle within a traditional 2-2.5 hour training blocks. "Above all we are so appreciative of the spirit of partnership and coordination we felt with Sugarloaf all season long” Dwyer concluded. Together we are fostering friendships, instilling a lifelong love of winter sports, and supporting competitive athletes of all ages. Thank you to the many donors and volunteers who made this 40+ year dream come true. |
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