MIGHTY MITES - WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
"This is my first race, I’ve never raced before - I’m so 'cited!" exclaimed one of the racers as they set up at the top of the course. For many of our Mighty Mites racers, aged 6-8 (our youngest alpine team!), the World Championships is a chance for them to race against someone for the first time. Each team gets assigned a country that they will represent throughout the day - dressing up in their colors, showing off their flag, and making snacks related to their respective country's culture.
We started off the morning with themed breakfast items brought in by parents. Tables were set up and decorated by country where teammates could sit, snack, apply temporary flag face tattoos, and braid team colors into their hair. The children were then ushered out onto the snow for a quick warm up lap before meeting at McCoy Station for team photos. Two sets were taken - one inside in front of the giant Mammoth Mountain Wooly Mammoth and another outside in front of Mighty Mites team flags.
The entire group gathered at 10 am sharp to begin the parade down Broadway. Ski Patrol closed off the upper trails and Wooly led the way to the top of the run. Each team proceeded to ski down Broadway, in a giant S shape, proudly waving their individual team country flags! Teams hooted and hollered their way through the snow, drawing attention from skiers left and right who pulled over to the side of the run to see what all the fun commotion was all about. With excited parents in tow, the cheering procession made its way down to the bottom of the race course where we broke for lunch.
At 1pm, teams were wrangled to the top of Terry’s, where red and blue courses had been set up. Coaches prepped their kids with last minute advice and nurturing words to comfort their nerves. Ski poles were positioned correctly and eyes diverted from their competitors towards the course ahead. “Blue course ready? Red course ready? GO!” After two runs per team, all of the children met up with their parents and friends at Main Lodge to wait for the race results and awards ceremony. Once the podium was set, Lindsay B made a quick speech and, with the help of team coaches, began presenting awards. The kids gathered in front and cheered on their friends at each presentation. The children ran to the podium and each excitedly accepted their trophies and medals. Individual awards were handed out and, to close the ceremony, team Italy took the gold! After tons of photos, smiling hugs, and promises of leftover cannoli, families went on their way - happily exhausted and excited for the next race.
Check out the MMCF SmugMug page for tons of additional photos from the Mighty Mites World Championships!
And remember that MMCF Members get full access to download any photos from the MMCF SmugMug page - check out the MMCF Photography page for more info.
