Sunday was sunny and temps were in the 20s, a perfect day for skiing at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl. Snow Stars met with their mentors after class and posed for a photo.
Snow Stars are enrolled in a six week lesson program and each is assigned a “Mountain Buddy” mentor who is a ski instructor who meets with their Snow Star for a hot chocolate or a few runs after class.

This week, three Middlebury College skiers trekked to Rikert with our STRIDE athletes, and got outfitted with gear, courtesy of Mike, John and the whole crew at Bread Loaf. Although the day started out a little cold, it warmed up by the afternoon and we were able to get out for a ski with 6 of the STRIDE athletes, ages 9 to 11. Middlebury skier Keely, along with Harley and Kayli, our veteran Ripton Elementary girls, took off on Battell loop, while ski teamer Emily and STRIDE athlete Rosie took their time and bonded over Emily’s love for Spiderman. Leslie, Hilary, Grace, Autumn and Brenna made it across the field with a few falls, but managed to have a great time while skiing through the new powder.



We’ll be heading up every Monday during J-Term to mentor, and next week we’ll be joined by the rest of the women’s team. Take a look at some pics at

Snow Stars Nordic skiers received their goodie bags on the last day of school before the holiday break. Thanks to our sponsors Addison Outfitters, Kombi gloves, Rikert Ski Touring, Swix, Leigh Mallory, Sabra Davison for helping us outfit our Snow Stars from head to toe.

The girls will ski with mentors from the Middlebury College women’s cross-country ski team on Mondays and participate in Bill Koch League on Saturdays at Rikert Ski Touring in Ripton, Vermont.

The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at the University of Vermont has been closed for circulating a survey that asked the following:
“If you could rape someone who would it be?”

My message to whomever wrote that survey question: Read this survey on sexual violence against women and men released Wednesday by the CDC. Sexual violence is not a joke.

For women:

• High rates of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence were reported by women.
  • Nearly 1 in 5 women has been raped at some time in her life.
  • One in 4 women has been a victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in her lifetime.
  • One in 6 women has experienced stalking victimization during her lifetime in which she felt very fearful or believed that she or someone close to her would be harmed or killed. Much of stalking victimization was facilitated by technology, such as unwanted phone calls and text messages.
• Almost 70 percent of female victims experienced some form of intimate partner violence for the first time before the age of 25.
• Approximately 80 percent of female victims of rape were first raped before age 25.
• Female victims of violence (sexual violence, stalking, intimate partner violence) were significantly more likely to report physical and mental health problems than female non–victims.
• Across all forms of violence (sexual violence, stalking, intimate partner violence), the vast majority of victims knew their perpetrator (often an intimate partner or acquaintance and seldom a stranger).

For men:

• About 1 in 7 men has experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.
• One in 19 men has experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed.
• Almost 53 percent of male victims experienced some form of intimate partner violence for the first time before age of 25
• More than one-quarter of male rape victims were first raped when they were 10 years old or younger.
• Male victims of violence (sexual violence, stalking, intimate partner violence) were significantly more likely to report physical and mental health problems than male non-victims.

See what’s new at Stride. Read our 2011 newsletter.

Sarah Tuff writes a profile of Stride at 10 years. Read the story here: http://vtsports.com/taking-it-all-in-stride-a-groundbreaking-sports-mentoring-program-for-girls-celebrates-10-years

JC Penney pulled a girls’ T shirt off the market today after a storm of consumer protest. Just in time for back-to-school, the retailer managed to market a shirt that completely degrades girls. Augh.

Another faux pas reminiscent of the Nike ad that ultimately motivated me to start Stride. The Nike ad showed middle distance runner Suzy Hamilton in a cabin in the woods and a guy came to the door wielding a chainsaw and wearing a hockey mask. She took off terrified and ran through the woods. The tag line was “Why Nike? Because you’ll live longer.” Viewers were shocked. NBC pulled the ad off the air, but wouldn’t apologize for it.

So here we go again asking the same question. Wasn’t there a woman involved in the process that got this T-shirt to market? If there wasn’t, why not? If there was, why didn’t she recognize what an offensive message the shirt sends or maybe she did but why wasn’t she empowered enough to do something about it?

Emily Stone quipped on my facebook page. “Maybe she was too pretty.” Read the story here

Stride’s 10th Anniversary Party was at Two Brothers Tavern in Middlebury on Thurs. March 24. A good time was had by all! The party celebrated Stride’s partners and mentors for making a positive difference in the lives of girls through sports.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support us. The evening was a huge success. Thank you to those who donated the over-the-top raffle and silent auction prizes — Addison Outfitters, Rossignol and Jason Newell, Chris and Becky Dayton, Giro helmets and Tyler Beck, Barb Woodbury, Escape Sailing Charters and Shelburne Museum. Thank you to Holmes and Beal Jacobs, owners of Two Brothers Tavern for donating the space.

Middlebury Women's Basketball Team mentors enjoy the party!

The band rocked the house.

KC and our youngest guest Kenene.

Larry Novins on candid camera!

Grace, Snow Stars mentor and ace raffle ticket seller.

Leslie Wright tells the crowd how Stride got its start.

Rowan Beck, Stride board member and winter intern Midd student Julia Sisson raffle the prizes.

A deluxe padded ski bag with wheels from Rossignol. Just one of the great prizes. Rossignol skis were also up for grabs!

Last Saturday the MUMS 7th grade basketball team got the chance to cheer on Midd women at their home game versus Connecticut College. The girls used face paint and made posters to show their team spirit.

The MUMS team did their best to cheer the Midd women throughout the game–a close one with Connecticut trailing behind Middlebury after the first and during the second half. Middlebury rallied a great effort in the end to win the game 80-73.

After the game, the Middlebury women had a chance to meet with the MUMS team, thank them for coming, play around a little, and end with a team cheer.

Best of luck to both teams with the rest of the season!

This past Monday was Martin Luther King Day and although it was a national holiday and day off for some, it was great day on for the Snow Stars Nordic program! Founder Leslie Wright was able to join them along with seasoned mentors Dana Tower ’12 and Keeley Levins ’13 and this winter’s intern Julia Sisson ’12. Equipped with the recent snowfall, all the skiers had a fun time on the trails working on double poling, striding and their downhill tucks.