About the Team:
The Bowdoin Alpine Team competes in the USCSA Reynolds division alongside other Maine schools Bates, Colby, U-Maine Farmington, and U-Maine Orono.  Despite its relatively small size, the Reynolds division has a wide breadth of athletes—from competitive, experienced racers to those who just want to give the sport a try.  The Bowdoin Alpine Team joined the USCSA (United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association) in 2012 and has seen significant growth in size and scope since then.

During the fall semester, we run weekly dryland training sessions in the Buck Fitness Center to prepare for the season, which starts in mid-January.  Athletes have the option to come back to school one week early to compete in the first two races of the season and get some training in before the start of the spring semester.  Once the second semester begins, we start up practices twice a week after classes at nearby ski area Lost Valley.  The schedule varies year to year, but typically we have one to two races every weekend until the Eastern regional competitions, which takes place around the middle of March.

Due to the nature of USCSA skiing, the Bowdoin Alpine Team has a wide range of athletes, ranging from FIS-level skiers to those who began skiing in college.  We accommodate all levels of skiers, and welcome anybody from the Bowdoin community to join the team.

The Bowdoin Alpine Team is getting ready to hit the slopes this year after a strong 2017 season.  As the season neared its end, the team was neck and neck with rival school U-Maine Orono for the top spot in the USCSA Reynolds division, and it came down to the last race at home mountain Lost Valley.  Unfortunately, the UBears came up short and just barely missed qualifying for the USCSA Eastern regional championships as a team.  Emma Landes ’19 led the female Bears on the season, and Kyle Polson ’19 led the team on the men’s side.  Landes barely missed qualifying for the championships as an individual by one spot, and Polson advanced as the Reynold’s division male qualifier.  At Easterns, Polson narrowly missed qualifying for the USCSA national championships by one position to a rival skier from the Thompson division.

This fall, the team has already begun to prepare for the upcoming season.  With weekly dryland training sessions and several early season trips up to Sunday River and Sugarloaf, the Bowdoin Alpine Team is ready to charge into the 2018 season in full force, looking to qualify for the Eastern Regional Championships as a team for the first time since 2014.

The Bowdoin Alpine Team this winter returned to the slopes again as an official club after an 11-year hiatus. In its first official season, the team qualified for its first USCSA Eastern Collegiate Skiing Championships, held at Mt. Abrams Feb 22-23.

This was a particularly sweet victory for a team that has had a trying past. The alpine ski club in 2001 was nixed as a varsity team for financial reasons, according to Alex Fogarty ’13.

Missing the slopes, a group of students came together in 2009, led by Duncan Masland ’11 and Fogarty, and tried once again to charter an alpine ski club. The College at the time couldn’t support it, so “rather than taking no for an answer,” Fogarty says, “Duncan and I incorporated a company and filed for non-profit status. [Under the name] Polar Skiing, we ran an independent team who competed in the College racing league (USCSA) against Bowdoin’s rival schools.”

The program was successful, and the team didn’t lose sight of its ultimate goal: “to bring ski racing back to Bowdoin,” Fogarty says. This December, after approaching President Barry Mills and receiving his support, the team brought alpine skiing under the Bowdoin name once again.

Next year the team will be lead by Alex Daniels ’14, with the assistance of Christa Villari ’15 and Josh Friedman ’15. Fogarty credits Masland, Hannah Levy ’12 and Katherine O’Brien ’12 with helping strengthe Polar Skiing. “We also owe many thanks to Daniel Schmoll ’13, Joshua Givant ’13 and Johnny Bohorquez ’13, our graduating seniors,” Fogarty adds.

The team’s individual highlights this year:

Women
– Hannah Sherman ’15, 7th, Mt. Abrams slalom, Jan. 26
– Alex Fogarty ’13, 3rd, Lost Valley slalom, Feb. 3
– Adriana Pellegrini ’15, 12th, Lost Valley slalom, Feb. 3
– Christa Villari ’15 , 4th, Titcomb Mountain dual giant slalom, Feb. 17
– Sivana Barron ’15 and Liz Carew ’15 tied for 11th, Mt. Abrams giant slalom, Jan. 27

Men
– Alex Daniels ’14, 3rd, Mt. Abrams slalom, Jan. 26
– Alex Butler ’14, 17th and Alex Cheston ’16 18th, Mt. Abrams slalom, Jan. 26
– Josh Givant ’13, 14th, Mt. Abrams giant slalom, Jan. 27
– Josh Friedman ’15, 11th, Lost Valley slalom, Feb. 3
– Jerrod Dobkin ’15, 11th, Lost Valley, slalom, Feb. 3
– Danny Schmoll ’13, 8th, Lost Valley, slalom, Feb. 3
– Johnny Bohorquez ’13, 12th, Lost Valley, slalom, Feb. 3