December 1, 2008

The early storm stretched from Winter Park, which received more than 19 inches of powder, to Steamboat, which received 18 inches. The multi-day storm brought 16 inches of fresh snow to Aspen and 15 to Silverton. Eldora, Wolf Creek and Crested Butte all received 13 inches of powder and 12 inches fell at Telluride. At Snowmass the storm left more than half of a foot of new snow.

As snow continues to fall, more Colorado ski and snowboard resorts open and are able to offer more terrain. Echo Mountain hosted a pre-opening snowboard competition on Saturday that drew more than 100 competitors and spectators. Echo Mountain, Sunlight Mountain Resort and Monarch Mountain, with 12 inches of fresh snow, are scheduled to open on December 5th, and Howelsen Hill on December 6th. Powderhorn, with eight inches of new snow, is slated to open on December 11th, and both Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk are set to open on December 13th. SolVista Basin will plan to open on December 17th. Ski Cooper and Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort, which received nearly nine inches from the storm, will welcome skiers and riders later in the month.

Introducing the Aspen/Snowmass Luggage Express - With many airlines now charging extra for bags, skiers and snowboarders traveling to Aspen/Snowmass can skip the hassle and cost of taking their bags to the airport. The resort has partnered with UPS to create Aspens Snowmass Luggage Express.

Ship ahead of time and your bags will be delivered right to your hotel. In addition to saving money and hassle, you’ll also appreciate the peace-of-mind that comes with knowing your gear is waiting for you when you arrive.

To find a women’s snowboard or ski program in your area visit our camp/clinic finder.
 

If you need some tips for getting into the game (whether watching or playing), be sure to review our Football Basics and Football Lingo.  By now, we’re sure you know that football is definitely not just for guys so don’t miss out on a second of fun.

Enjoy your day and be sure to make time to tell the people you love how thankful you are that they’re in your life.

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

November 19, 2008

Olympic champions Natalie Coughlin and Michael Phelps were the big winners at the event, which was hosted by Bob Costas and celebrated the accomplishments of the totally awesome 2008 Olympic Swim Team.

Coughlin won top honors on the women’s side, taking home the Female Athlete of the Year trophy. Coughlin earned six medals at the Olympics – one gold, two silver, and three bronze, becoming the first woman in any sport, to win six medals in one Olympiad. In 2008, Coughlin broke the 100m back world record three times and set a total of 11 American records.

“This was a great year,” Coughlin said. “This year was really special with so many records being broken and I’m really glad to have been a part of it.”

Phelps’ record-setting performance in Beijing earned him three Golden Goggle Awards at USA Swimming’s annual banquet including Male Athlete of the Year and Male Performance of the Year.

Women’s swimmer Rebecca Soni was honored with two Golden Goggle awards, the Breakout Performer of the Year Award and the Female Performance of the Year Award for her stellar performance in the 200m breast at the Olympics in 2008. The USC senior took home a total of three Olympic medals in Beijing, a gold in the 200m breast and silvers in the 100m breast and 400m medley relay. Soni broke the world record in the 200m breast, and defeated heavy favorite Leisel Jones of Australia to win her first gold.

Dara Torres, 41, who won three silver medals at the Beijing Olympics, said at the New York banquet  that if she can stay healthy, she hopes to race at the world championships next summer.

Among the celebrity guests in attendance tonight were Donald Trump, Tiki Barber, David Blaine, Ana Ortiz (”Ugly Betty’), Heather Matarazzo, as well as Olympic legends Summer Sanders, Pablo Morales, Gary Hall Jr., Lenny Krayzelburg, Jenny Thompson, and Rowdy Gaines.

In other swim news, the AP reports that Katie Hoff is now training with Michael Phelps’s coach, Golden Goggle winner Bob Bowman, who has returned to the North Baltimore Aquatic Club after four years at the University of Michagan:

Swimmer Katie Hoff has changed coaches after a disappointing Olympics in which the six-time world champion failed to win a gold medal in a half dozen events.

November 13, 2008

Well we’re not historians by any stretch of the imagination but with Thanksgiving right around the corner, we got to thinking about the first females to arrive in the New World. With a little help from Google, old textbooks, and friendly teachers we cobbled together the following:

In 1620, nearly 100 passengers boarded the Mayflower for one of the most important journeys in history. As with all great adventures, the journey was fraught with hardship and danger. The ship carried about 51 men, 22 boys, 20 women, and 11 girls.

By any definition, the girls onboard the Mayflower were Pretty Tough. Some of the passengers included:

Mary Chilton
At the age of 13, Mary came with her parents on the Mayflower. Legend has it that Mary Chilton was the first female ashore at Plymouth. There is no contemporary recording of the event, but there are also no competing claims. Mary Chilton’s landing on Plymouth Rock is celebrated in Bacon’s The Landing of the Pilgrims, painted in 1877 on exhibit at Pilgrim Hall Museum.

Her father was one of the first who died after the ship had anchored off Provincetown Harbor. Her mother also died sometime later the first winter, orphaning her in the New World.

Mary Chilton went on to marry John Winslow around 1627 and they had 10 children.

Constance Hopkins
Constance, also 13, came with her father Stephen, step-mother Elizabeth, brother Giles, and step-sister Damaris on the Mayflower. Her younger brother, Oceanus, was born while the Mayflower was at sea, so she probably spent a lot of time taking care of her mother’s needs. Oceanus did not survive long, however, and apparently died by 1623. Constance’s future husband, Nicholas Snow, arrived on the ship Anne in 1623.

(more…)

We hope you all had as much fun on Halloween as the WNT. The team went all out in celebration of the holiday and of Riley Rampone’s third birthday. We can’t properly put the party - which included bobbing for apples and an eyeball pinata - into words, so pictures will have to do…

Marian Dalmy fulfills her childhood dream of being on the Wheaties Box
Tash Kai’s interpretation of a referee

Can you guess who’s behind the masks??
Foxxy = Boxxy

More pics

1. You Know You’re a Softball Player When.. 

2. Addicted to Softball 

3. Save Olympic Softball

4.  I Absolutely Love Softball

5. Fastpitch Softball = Love 

6. USA Softball

7. I’m Proud of My Softball Tan Lines 

Finding a way to get girls involved in golf at early age is a good thing. Yeah - the pink may be overkill but in 10 years when we’re interviewing the next girl golf superstar she may well say, “my passion for golf started when my parents bought me Barbie golf clubs for my birthday.”

According to the National Golf Foundation, there are approximately 4.8 million junior golfers in the U.S. ages 6 to 17 and, of those, nearly two million are young females.  So there are plenty of young Annika wanna-bees out there that might be willing to trade up from a Barbie doll, to a Barbie driver.

It seems, however, that Paula Creamer may be a more appropriate role model for aspiring girl golfers than Barbie.  She does loves pink and all.  Now if Paula had HER name on a set of clubs, we’d be sure to buy them. Until then, it’s Barbie taking pink to the green.

Along the same lines, there are a number of organizations using golf to teach life skills to youngsters is the aim of many groups, among them:

The First Tee:  In 47 states and five international sites and largely for children 8-18, it has 1.5 million participants ( www.thefirsttee.org).

The First Tee National School Program: Designed to introduce elementary school students to golf in physical education classes, it’s operating in 1,600 schools ( www.thefirstteensp.org).

LPGA-USGA Girls Golf: Golf pros work with community leaders to introduce the sport to girls 7-17. The nationwide program is available at nearly 200 locations( girlsgolfonline.org).

June 30, 2008 - Did you know the National Women’s Football Association is currently hosting playoffs? Last weekend, several teams advanced to the second round of playoffs. The Columbus Comets will travel to the Philadelphia Phoenix; the H’Town Cyclones to the St. Louis Slam; the West Michigan Mayhem to the New York Nemesis; and the Kentucky Karma to the Los Angeles Amazons.

The Kentucky Karma beat the Pensacola Power to advance to the second round of playoffs last Saturday. That gives Kentucky ONE WEEK to prepare for the Los Angeles Amazons. Not only does the Karma need airplane tickets and hotel rooms, they also need to do this during a holiday weekend. This is a daunting task for this unbelievable team. With gas prices high and travel accommodations desperate, the Karma is asking for help. Here’s where YOU can help.

The Kentucky Karma are currently seeking donations, large or small, via paypal.

If you would like to donate money to the KY Karma Los Angeles trip, please use www.PayPal.com and send to account wwwebby@yahoo.com

If you are not comfortable with using PayPal, please contact KY Karma General Manager Geoff Webb @ 502-640-3935 or email at wwwebby@yahoo.com
-or-
KY Karma owner, Tom Hawkins @ 502-773-2607 or email at mshtlh@bellsouth.net

**For additional information on all playoff games in the NWFA go to www.womensfootballcentral.com.

These ladies deserve a trip to the playoffs. Please help them out in their time of need!