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Show Page 12 The Ogden Valley news Volume XXVII Issue VII August 15, 2020 Welcome Back to Snowcrest Jr. High TOUGHEST RACE cont. from page 1 electronic or GPS devices were allowed on the course. In addition to navigation, teams were required to use expedition problem-solving skills in their quest for the finish line. The masterminds of Eco-Challenge Fiji are well-known adventurer Bear Grylls and Mark Burnett. Sylvia Greer is not a stranger to racing under extreme stress and fatigue. She has run over fifty ultra-marathons, fifteen 100-mile races, and five 200+ mile races. In 2016 she was the first female to finish the Colorado 200. And in 2017, she was the first woman to finish the Triple Crown Series of 200’s—a series consisting of the Big Foot 205, Tahoe 206, and Moab 240—all run within a three-month time frame. It was Sylvia’s running background that led her to the Eco-Challenge team named “The Sundance Kids.” Her friend Tiffany McQueen of Huntsville connected her with the three other racers in May, after their original female competitor dropped out. The race would take place in September, and they no longer had a complete team! Deadlines were quickly approaching and they had to decide if they were in or out. “I spent all of 5 minutes thinking about it before I said, ‘Yes!’ An opportunity like this, as unknown as it was, would never come up again. I couldn’t pass it by. I signed a ten-page contract from Bear and Mark, warning me of life and limb loss possibilities, and became an official racer of Team Sundance Kids. For the next four months, training as a team and getting to know each other became priority.” All team members were required to be certified in White Water rafting, Jungle Navigation, Climbing, Sailing, Wilderness First-Aide, and reading Ocean Tide Charts. Once in Fiji, teams had to demonstrate proficiency in all areas before they were allowed to start. “Training for this race became a part-time job. It was incredibly stressful.” Most teams know each other for years, and train for well over a year to get ready. “We had just met, and Fiji would be the first expedition race for all of us. We were Mrs. Hardy, Principal, Snowcrest Jr High learning as we were going!” 801-476-5360 Each team was responsible for getting all of their race gear to Fiji, including bikes, climbing gear, oars, and food. Once in Fiji, teams underwent three days of testing to verify their qualification to even start the race. “It was incredibly stressful with the starting line on the fence. All the things that we had The 2000 U10 Valley All-star girl’s soccer team finished a hot, tough season with a win and been training for and were certified in over the a tie in the “Premier” division of the Weber County Fair tournament. Congratulations to the summer had to be passed off before we could Mountain Chicks and their coaches for their hard work, dedication, and the fun they had together even compete.” as a team. The team was coached by Cindy Baker, Michelle Froerer, and Natalie Shupe. Thankfully, The Sundance Kids passed the skills and gear test, and were given the green light to line up. The first test—of navigation skills—came when teams were given a map to an unknown base camp on the island of Fiji to camp the night before the race. “We got lost for three hours in the van before the race even started! We were not laughing anymore; reality was setting in as we lined up in the jungle just before 5:00 a.m. September 10 to compete in the “World’s Toughest Race.” To say that I was fearful is an understatement! I didn’t have enough pages on me—to track the amount of times I questioned what I was doing, or if I was going to survive this race with my three teammates who I didn’t even know four months ago!” Course details were kept under lock and Some important dates and times to be aware of are: • August 11: 7th grade Orientation 10:30 am12:00 pm (tentative/virtual) • August 24: Back to School Night 3:15 pm7:00 pm (tentative/virtual) • August 26: First Day of school. Early Out Bell Schedule • August 26 -28: Early out bell schedule. School will be dismissed at 12:10 p.m. Registration forms can be accessed online again this year through the Weber School District’s MyWeber website at <http://myweber. wsd.net> Please access this process by logging in using your parent account. Once logged in, follow the promptings and instructions. Please take this opportunity to update emergency contacts for your student. Both the guardian and the student must digitally sign school and district documents to continue the process to connect you with Snowcrest Jr. High’s enrollment information and forms. New Process to Receive Class Schedule - This year, you will be able to print out your own schedule after registration forms have been digitally signed and registration fees have been paid (online payment preferred). Beginning August 5, after electronic signatures and registration payment have been received, the student will be able to log into their portal account to view/print their own class schedule. This new process will take place of a “schedule pick up day” that has been held in August in the past. Schedule change requests will be available through an online form which can be accessed through the “STUDENTS” tab on our school website. We Strongly Urge You to Pre-Pay Enrollment Fees Online - This is found in the last step of the online-registration process and will not show until you have digitally signed all documents. Please return only necessary extra forms to the main office. Please mail them directly to the school: SNOWCREST JR HIGH 2755 N HWY 162 EDEN UT 84310 These forms may include any of the following: • Student Medical Information (update annually). • Fee Waiver Application (found with District forms, if applicable). Must have a copy of last year’s tax return information included or proof of income demonstrating compliance with requirements consistent with state law and school district policies and/or guidelines. If applying for a Fee Waiver: Once the Fee Waiver Application and correct proof of income is received at the school (strongly encouraged to mail this in), your student’s schedule will be released, just as if you had paid online. The school will contact you with the status of your Fee Waiver Application. • Community Council Application • Special Services Form - If applicable (found with District forms; i.e. IEP, 504) • Immunization Records for 7th graders or any current students who need to update immunization records. Please note that the student’s schedule will not be released until required immunizations (or personal exemption) records are updated. Again, we strongly encourage all to pay online instead of coming to the school. Pictures for the yearbook and for student activity cards will be taken September 3. You must meet the school dress code to have your picture taken. Picture packets must be paid on the day of pictures or online through the photography company. Additional information will be coming regarding the opening of school. We are excited to have our schools open and to welcome our students, teachers and staff back. We will be following the Safe Weber Way for reopening. You can learn more about Safe Weber by accessing the following link <https://wsd.net/ covid-19/news/safe-weber> We look forward to a fantastic year! Sincerely, Twenty Years Ago: 2000 Girls Soccer Team Congratulated for Teamwork Mountain Chicks team members include, left to right, front row: Kassie McGonegal, Angela Baker, Morgan Hogge, Jacie Taylor, China Barnes, and Shannon Froerer. Back row: Jennifer Ruby, Audrey Haltli, Megan Brandt, Delanie Griffin, Macey Truett, Kami Shupe and Sierra Froerer. key up until the very moment of go time. The first section was revealed minutes before the start of the race by Bear Grylls himself. “We had 15 minutes to study the map and be on our way. Out in to the ocean we would go. The anticipation was palpable, as we huddled up as a team and made a pinky promise to each other that we would do—whatever humanly possible and in our power—to stick together and finish!” “This was the process for the duration of the race. Only small sections of the racecourse were given to us at a time. If we navigated correctly, it would lead us to the next base camp where we would find our next set of maps and information about what we would be dealing with for the next two to three days. We called these base camps ‘Fools Christmas.’ It was a myriad of emotions arriving at a checkpoint. It felt like Christmas, because we had survived in the jungle, navigated our way across 100’s of miles in the right direction to find camp. Yet, it felt like April Fool’s day as we opened our next set of maps and were given information about what the next two to three days of our lives were going to be filled with! Yes, ‘Fools Christmas.’” The course became progressively harder as the days went on in an effort to weed teams out, and find every possible weakness of each team member. “The course found every competitor’s weakness. Coming in to this race, I knew it was going to be hard, but I had no idea just how hard it would be… until I was in the thick of it—in the literal and emotional sense of the word! “Traveling through the jungle is something that is incredibly hard to prepare for, especially when your team comes from, and trains in the mountains of the Wasatch. How do you train for mud, vines, bugs, humidity, heat, rain, and more MUD! Then to try and move quickly through these elements, to meet cut-off times, is a pressure that mounts hour by hour. With very little time spent sleeping and days and days of absolute physical exertion, on limited essentials like food and water, it is a guaranteed formula for whittling down a team to a dangling thread. And this is exactly how the course was designed to be—to be tested as a team on every scale imaginable. Tedious, meticulous measures were taken to make the race as difficult, yet survivable, as humanly possible. Bear Grylls and Mark Burnette had no idea what to anticipate. What they did know, however, is Eco-Challenge Fiji would mold stories worth telling, and, boy, do I have some stories to tell!” Regarding the race, Greer stated, “I have done some incredible, long, hard races, but nothing could have prepared for the EcoChallenge in Fiji. All aspects of my being were challenged to a degree that I did not know if I would make it (through the race). This race was a once in a time opportunity! I’m excited to re-live it—this time—in the comfort of my own home, knowing that I survived! Watch the premier of Eco-Challenge Fiji on Amazon Prime as early as August 14, 2020. You can watch Sylvia, and the Sundance Kids’ journey unfold as they compete in the “World’s Toughest Race!” Sylvia is an Eden resident who coaches Track at Snowcrest Junior High, and is a fulltime endurance coach for her business Greer Endurance Coaching. For more information, visit <greerendurancecoaching.com> |