Ben Jacobs, of Damariscotta, was the top eight-year-old in the J5 program for boys 8-10 in the Sugarloaf Mountain Resort and Carrabassett Valley Academy (SCVA) ski racing program. His best finish of the season was fourth at Shawnee Peak in the giant slalom.
The big goal of the age group is to be one of the top six competitors in the 8-10 age group to qualify for Team Maine and compete in the Francis Piche race at Gunstock. The top six are usually 10-year-olds who have competed for two or three years.
Jacobs has competed at Saddleback, Shawnee Peak and Titcombe Mountain, as well as Sugarloaf. He has participated in a season-long program at Sugarloaf since he was three. This was his first year competing in alpine racing.
The SCVA program pairs 8-19-year-olds with a coach on weekends and vacations from December to March. “We want children to enjoy skiing, so that they want to ski for the rest of their lives,” the SCVA website states.
The goals of the program are to keep alpine training fun for everyone to promote life long participation in skiing; to teach solid skiing skills; to maintain intensity and scope of training for those who desire to reach the highest level of competition; and to develop a sense of camaraderie. The ultimate goal is develop world class competitors, like Kristen Clark, Bode Miller and Seth Westcott.
Competitors are trained in four skiing disciplines, including slalom, giant slalom, super G and downhill. Participants in the SCVA program work on skiing techniques, gate training and technical skills. “The importance of perfecting the basics of skiing before focusing on a heavy concentration of gate training is the philosophy established by the U.S. Ski Team,” their website states.
