First Night @ Stowe

Hi Everyone,

We had a good first evening here at the Stowe Dryland Camp. After dinner we took to the Rec Path on our skates, just to shake out any kinks. With 8 days of camp (6 in the past) we are able to take our time on the front end as well as back end, while still filling the week with all of the activity and movement of years past. A little swimming in pretty frigid conditions (the water may be a little colder than usual this week), and then our first game of capture the fox took us to snack time and then bed. 11:00 now, and hopefully a few shut eyes getting the rest they need.

The full time staff (whom some of you met today during registration) has me excited and extremely pleased that the camp is in good hands. Matt Maloney joins us from Stratton Mountain School for the third year in a row (4 out of the last five). The dimension he adds will continue to take the camp in the right direction. My wife Erin is back after missing last year (Anderson was born in June last summer). Its great to be able to share this with her, because we both love working with children and this atmosphere is very healthy for your children as well as the staff. Kelsey Levine recently graduated from Williams College, where she will return this coming winter as the Assistant Coach. During her collegiate career, Kelsey competed at the NCAA Div I Championships a few times and is very familiar with what it takes to succeed at a very high level. She will act as a roaming counselor, working with each group throughout the week. Josh Underwood is our Athletic Trainer for the week, ensuring that all of our bumps and bruises will be in good hands.

Adele Priestley is going to be a first-year student at Colby College, and she is the counselor for Austria. Jim Ryan is also going to be a first-year at Colby, and he is the counselor for Norway. Eric Barthold, a junior at Colby College, is back for his second year and is the counselor for France. Ben Manter, counselor for Canada, is going into his senior year at Bates College. Ben competed at the Div I NCAA Championships last winter, earning All-American after finishing 10th in the slalom. Justin Sperry, a sophomore at Colby, is back as the counselor for United States.

Great group, and so far a great group of campers. We'll have fun tomorrow, and Matt and I will look to update the blog throughout the day.

Thanks again for sending your children to join us for a fun packed week.
Danny Noyes