Stride’s annual fundraiser was held at Two Brothers Lounge (thank you Two Brothers) on March 14, 2013. Attendees included mentors from the Middlebury College women’s basketball team and women’s cross country ski team, who received a big round of applause for their key contribution to Stride’s Sisters in Sport and Snow Stars programs. Raffle items included a giant teddy bear from Vermont Teddy Bear that was won by Jesse Otis who gratefully gave the bear to his sister Kenene!

Thank you to all of our sponsors and supporters. Stride’s programs could not run without you!

Here’s a link to a slideshow of the party.

The Saint Michael’s College women’s basketball team paid a surprise visit to Winooski Middle School yesterday (January 30) to cheer on their Sisters in Sport mentees. The girls had a great time and the Middle School girls were extremely surprised to see them there! Below are a few pictures of the event:

Saint Michael's College women's basketball team players pose for a photo with their Sisters in Sport mentees on 1-30-13.

Saint Michael's College women's basketball team players cheer on their Sisters in Sport mentees at Winooski Middle School on 1-30-13.

Each of the Saint Micheal's College women's basketball players waves a sign for her mentee, cheering the Winooski Middle School team on.

This past Friday, the St Mikes Women’s Basketball team headed down to Winooski Middle School to help run some drills during a practice of theirs, as part of the Sisters in Sport program. The girls from Winooski were very excited to have them come help out. The practice went great and everyone enjoyed themselves a lot. Below are a couple of pictures taken during the practice.

St Mikes will be heading down to Winooski to cheer on the grade 7 Basketball team at their game this Wednesday at 3:30pm. Everyone is looking forward to it!

An interesting article published in the Times Argus about the Frozen Onion Winter Bike Race taking place in Montpelier on February 3rd 2013. All proceeds will go to the Moxie Sparks program. Click here to view the article!

Last monday was the second meeting of the Snow Stars Nordic Program. Six Snow Stars Nordic skiers went off to Rikert with Middlebury College Nordic Skiing mentors.

The weather was great and the girls had a blast.

Everyone is looking forward to the next Mentoring session which will hopefully take place on January 28th!

As part of the Stride Sisters in Sport program, the Middlebury Union Middle School attended and cheered on the Middlebury College women’s basketball team. The MUMS grade 7 and 8 basketball teams watched as the Middlebury Panthers beat the Albany College of Pharmacy 75 – 28. The Panthers dominated the game offensively with a bunch of 3 point shots, meanwhile defensively, held them to a mere 28 points. The game was very exciting and the MUMS girls really enjoyed themselves. After the game, the girls even got to take a picture with the College Team.

Great News! On Sunday, February 3^rd 2013, there will be another Frozen Onion race in Montpelier.  This is the second race of the series. The first race proved to be an exciting event and we cannot wait for this one. All proceeds benefit Stride’s Moxie Sparks mountain biking mentoring program. We are very excited to see everyone on the 3^rd. You can be a part of the race as well by either volunteering or by racing. Registration begins at 9:30am on the day of the event. For more information, please visit the Frozen Onion website http://www.onionriver.com/events-results/ors-events/frozen-onion-series/.

Registration: $20 for pre-registration on Bikereg.com; $25 day of. Registration includes the race, a raffle ticket, and post-race chow

Time: All races start at 11:00am for all classes.

Course: A lung-burning loop begins at the New Shelter, heading around the Tower and back with a 1, 2 or 3 lap option (or more by popular request!) on your choice of bicycle.  Exact distance will be determined by course conditions.  Please note, these are SPECIAL events, mountain biking is not allowed on the Hubbard Park trails at any other time.

As you can see from the pictures, the weather at the Snow Bowl has been spectacular! The Snow Stars Nordic and Snow Stars Alpine programs have both been running very smoothly. On this past Sunday, Ellen and Ileigh took the time to practice after Ileigh finished up with classed. Ileigh is new to the Snow Stars Alpine program this winter. She will be participating in a 6-week lesson program at the Snow Bowl. Thanks to sponsors Ski Haus, Kombi Gloves and the Snow Bowl.

I’m so excited to announce a new mentoring program in mountain biking called Moxie Sparks. Stride has partnered with Mountain Moxie, a women’s mountain biking team, and Little Bellas, a non-profit that runs mountain bike clinics for girls. Together we have created a mentoring program that takes place at Catamount Family Outdoor Center in Williston, Vt.
This summer is our pilot program and we are sponsoring three Moxie Sparks riders who participate in the Little Bellas program on Sundays and then have one-on-one mentoring rides with their Mountain Moxie team mentors. The program happens in June and again in August.
What’s so cool about this program is how three women’s organizations have come together, each with different strengths, to create a wonderful opportunity for girls who would not otherwise get the chance to get outdoors and experience the fun, thrills and camaraderie of mountain biking.

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.