REGION — The Sugarloaf Ski Club awarded a grant of $2000 to the Solon Elementary School Ski Club. The Solon Elementary Ski Club’s mission is to get students outside and active during the winter by introducing them to cross country skiing, a lifetime sport. The money will be used to purchase new Nordic skis and fund trips to Sugarloaf Outdoor Center for lessons and to ski on the cross country ski trails there.

“This money is a game changer,” says Stacey McCluskey, the Solon Elementary Ski Club founder and fifth grade teacher. “During the 2020 school year we were able to buy three new sets of skis, but most of our equipment was used. We didn’t have enough equipment for all the 4th and 5th grade students to ski on the same days. We skied on the snowmobile trails, which were pretty good, but it will be fantastic for our kids to be able to try out groomed ski trails and get some high quality instruction from coaches at the Outdoor Center.”

McCluskey said she’d like to take advantage of nearby Baker Mountain, and in the future expand the ski club to include Alpine skiing as well.

“When I was in elementary school there was a school bus that went to Sugarloaf from North Anson every weekend. It would be great if we could revive something like that again, and Baker Mountain is so close to Solon.”

“Families just don’t have the resources to ski as a family anymore. If we can provide them with some opportunities, they might be able to continue to ski throughout their lives.”