Welcome to the MARA blog! This is where you’ll find the latest news, information, and stuff we just think is cool or inspirational. Enjoy!
Mark Keiser had a joy for life and the outdoors that was unbounded. When it came to skiing, he wasn’t about “the stuff,” but about the freedom and the rush, the out of body zone right up next to flying that we occasionally get when we are skiing as if in a dream.
Mark and his brother Eric, under the wing of their Dad, Dave, pioneered ski racing in Southern Oregon, traveling every weekend to Mt. Bachelor before Mt. Ashland even existed. The both had very fruitful racing careers. We owe everything to their original vision.
In the late 90′s, Mark’s life was tragically cut short in a work related accident. This weekend we race in his memory.
Don’t worry about your wax, or if you have the latest skis, or the coolest suit, do what Mark did and see if you can fly.
Online Race Application
Welcome to the MARA web page. The previous web page served us well for many years, but this will be much more dynamic. You’ll notice important static page links at the top. On the right hand side you’ll find our recent posts, some external links, various forms and an archive.
The heart of the page though will be the feature board in the middle and the blog accessible in the navigation bar at the top or in the box at the bottom. The blog will feature race announcements, parent education, race results and athlete inspiration. The possibilities are endless. We’ll also be linking to Facebook and Twitter, social media that many people rely more heavily on these days.
The Shakespeare Cup will run Saturday and Sunday, February 12 and 13. Giant Slalom will run on Saturday and Slalom on Sunday. A link to registration can be found below. See you there!
Assuming that the snow continues to cooperate and Mt. Ashland re-opens Thursday, the MARA season will start this weekend.
Masters athletes start Friday. Sunday EVO athletes start Sunday at 9:30. All other athletes start Saturday.
All Juniors (U18/U16/U14) meet at 9:00 at the base of Windsor. All other race athletes (U12/U10) meet outside the locker room at 9:00. All EVO athletes meet outside the lodge at 9:30.
Keep your fingers crossed that it continues to snow!
Due to the late season start, the Shakespeare Cup has been postponed. All other races, so far, remain as scheduled. Keep an eye out for the new date. The Phil Holocek GS/SL is scheduled on February 4/5.
Mt. Ashland recently decided to temporarily close due to insufficient snow levels. They have allowed us to push back the start of the season one week, but still offer a full season. We’ll just finish a week later. Even though the weather is out of our control, a few wishes for snow can’t hurt. 
Holiday Camp starts tomorrow, Wednesday, and runs through this Saturday. The hours are 10-3 and remember lunch is unsupervised. It is included in the program fees for all 13 week athletes. Six week EVO athletes can enroll for $160. See you on the mountain!
Even though MARA is a good value on an hourly basis compared to many of the other activities kids do these days, it is still expensive. So, new this year, MARA is offering several opportunities to fund raise your program fees!
We are going to start with one now, offer another at the beginning of the ski season and a third in the spring, to set you up for next season!
First things first. We’ll start with Chico Bags. These are wonderful reusable shopping bags that fold up into a little pouch for easy storage! They are machine washable and most of them are made from recycled plastic bottles! With our pending bag ban, these bags are easy to sell. Plus, most of us are eager to help our environment! For each bag you sell you will earn nearly 50% of the sale price (a little goes for shipping costs) towards your individual program fees.
Go to….
http://www.chicobag.com/t-fundraising.aspx
and CLICK ON…
download entire fundraising packet – High Resolution (Ideal for Printing)
>>It is about halfway down the page<<
This will download a PDF paper about the bags, the types available and an order form. Print it in color and you can see and show the wide variety of bags and designs available.
Here are the details you need to know for MARA….
Hand in your order form and ALL the money or checks made out to MARA to Christopher Rose by December 1, 2011. Call Christopher or Cheryl at 541-702-2044 and they will make arrangements to meet you!
The dollar amount of the profit earned for your sales will be emailed to you, along with your remaining balance due for program fees, before the deadline for MARA registration on December 10th.
Think of this like being a retailer of Chico Bags without having to spend a penny on start-up costs or inventory. Pre-sell the bags at retail and the difference between the price you sell it for and the wholesale cost plus shipping will be credited towards your fees in advance! No investment required!
We’ve got almost a month before the sign up deadline and two more events to go before the season is over. With some creative salesmanship, you’ll be able to make a pretty big dent in this year’s fees and maybe even get a jump on next year.
