Cool Runnings: Stern Competes in the Tuck Winter Carnival
Dave Daly
Issue date: 3/10/09 Section: News
When Will Finkelstein set out to assemble this year's ski and snowboard teams to represent Stern at the Tuck Winter Carnival at Dartmouth, New Hampshire he did not make judgments based on experience. Actually, none of the 6 skiers and 3 snowboarders had ever seen a race course. In fact, one member, Shauna Ginsberg, respectfully bowed out of the race when she realized that she actually did not know how to ski. Instead, the Stern team represented an eager group of Stern enthusiasts serving as NYU ambassadors to bring their own unique flare to Tuck.
The Stern Team and spectators settled into the world renowned 1-star Super 8 Motel in downtown White River Junction, Vermont for the weekend of February 19-22. To prepare for the race, several teammates arrived early to ski at nearby Mount Sunapee, Killington, and Ascutney. With our school's reputation as a superior incubator for potential Winter Olympic champions, we all wanted to be in top form.
The first official event was Tuck's own version of "Beer Blast" they call Tuck Tails. Housed in a beautiful 3-story oak paneled library adorned with wall-sized oil paintings, windows, and a live band, Tuck Tails proved to be quite a change from our romantic basement drinking venue back home. After being greeted with a mandatory ice luge shot, the Stern team began to get acquainted with the other students and size up their competition. The night had an 80's theme and eventually led to Club Electra- a funky dance club complete with an outstanding 80's cover band named "The Awesome" and several bars and dance platforms. It was here that Stern stole the show with a synchronized dance to Michael Jackson's Billy Jean choreographed by Diana Hardeman. Draped in fluorescent sweaters, headbands, and legwarmers, the Stern team danced into the wee early morning hours despite a 9:15am start time for the first race the next morning.
Nerves were running high the morning of the race. One team member who shall remain nameless overslept and was feared to be disqualified. The 6 teams representing our toughest competitor, Dartmouth, arrived in skin tight racing gear with an intimidating array of waxes and potions to enhance their equipment. A quick strategizing session revealed Stern's best option: Just try and stay on the course and finish the race without dying. Soon the racers were off in a side by side dual race course of red and blue flags with a crowd cheering at the finish line. Each ski racer took 2 runs with the best four times per team qualifying for the overall results. The snowboarders also took 2 runs with the top two times qualifying for the team.
The Stern Team and spectators settled into the world renowned 1-star Super 8 Motel in downtown White River Junction, Vermont for the weekend of February 19-22. To prepare for the race, several teammates arrived early to ski at nearby Mount Sunapee, Killington, and Ascutney. With our school's reputation as a superior incubator for potential Winter Olympic champions, we all wanted to be in top form.
The first official event was Tuck's own version of "Beer Blast" they call Tuck Tails. Housed in a beautiful 3-story oak paneled library adorned with wall-sized oil paintings, windows, and a live band, Tuck Tails proved to be quite a change from our romantic basement drinking venue back home. After being greeted with a mandatory ice luge shot, the Stern team began to get acquainted with the other students and size up their competition. The night had an 80's theme and eventually led to Club Electra- a funky dance club complete with an outstanding 80's cover band named "The Awesome" and several bars and dance platforms. It was here that Stern stole the show with a synchronized dance to Michael Jackson's Billy Jean choreographed by Diana Hardeman. Draped in fluorescent sweaters, headbands, and legwarmers, the Stern team danced into the wee early morning hours despite a 9:15am start time for the first race the next morning.
Nerves were running high the morning of the race. One team member who shall remain nameless overslept and was feared to be disqualified. The 6 teams representing our toughest competitor, Dartmouth, arrived in skin tight racing gear with an intimidating array of waxes and potions to enhance their equipment. A quick strategizing session revealed Stern's best option: Just try and stay on the course and finish the race without dying. Soon the racers were off in a side by side dual race course of red and blue flags with a crowd cheering at the finish line. Each ski racer took 2 runs with the best four times per team qualifying for the overall results. The snowboarders also took 2 runs with the top two times qualifying for the team.
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