The Nordic ski team is just getting warmed up this season, which began with the Bates Carnival last weekend.
Bowdoin finished 10th among Nordic teams in the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association, but the event also doubled as the Broomball Cup—the Maine State Collegiate championship—in which the team finished third behind Bates and Colby.
Captain Spencer Eusden '12 said that the Polar Bears experienced "difficulty with the soft snow conditions on the course."
He said that the light snow accumulation so far this season has restricted members from practicing with the increased tempo and light-footed ski technique that is required to combat these conditions.
Eusden was the top male Polar Bear finisher at the event in both the freestyle and mass start races, and earned All-State recognition. Kaitlynn Miller '14 was Bowdoin's fastest female in both events.
Bowdoin is working on "drafting, aggressive transitioning, and skiing efficiently in a pack," coach Nate Alsobrook explained, "which can add up to trim a lot of time."
This weekend, the Polar Bears will compete in the University of New Hampshire Carnival, which Alsobrook sees as a big test for the team. It is composed of two very different races: a short classic sprint race on Friday and a long freestyle race on Saturday.
-Compiled by Rachel Gladstone.