Recreation & Sports section
Last year the inaugural Tulip Trot 5K had over 250 enthusiastic runners and walkers. Please help us make this year’s event even bigger and better! Come out rain, mud and/or shine and support the Green Street School PTO while you walk or run down neighborhood streets and scenic woodland trails. Let’s get out and moving to celebrate the springing of spring!
The fourth annual is set for Sunday, June 8, 2014. The Tour is a set of scenic farm-to-farm bicycle rides tailored to most levels of ability, with 15-mile, 30-mile and 60-mile routes. There is also a five-mile walking option.
This year, organizers have added two new routes, 15 and 30 miles in length, both designed to be suitable for beginner to intermediate riders with moderate skills and strength. Both of these rides include rolling hills on paved roads, and a long stretch of relatively level dirt road along the Green River.
All of the routes begin and end at Lilac Ridge Farm in West Brattleboro, and feature incredible views, farm and woodland terrain, New England villages (one with a covered bridge), and much more.
The tour is part of the annual Strolling of the Heifers Weekend, which takes place June 6-7-8 in the heart of New England — Brattleboro, Vermont. The centerpieces of the weekend are the world-famous Strolling of the Heifers Parade and the Slow Living Expo, both on Saturday, June 7. Come for the Parade and Expo, and stay for the Tour!
My personal interest in Cameroon goes all the way back to 7th grade, when I had to write a report on this west African country. Ever since then, I have kept up on the news on Cameroon, and that includes their world cup team, the Indomitable Lions. , this year they are combining the famous German defensive love of precision, with the fast run and attack strategic style more commonly adopted by African teams. The combination is proving powerful.
Competition Slated for February 15 and 16 in Brattleboro, Vermont
BRATTLEBORO, VT. – The Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition slated for February 15 and 16, 2014 in Brattleboro, Vermont will feature more than 40 of the world’s top jumpers from the US, Europe and Canada. One contender is Chris Lamb of the Andover Outing Club, who won the 2010 and 2013 Harris Hill competitions and holds the hill record for the longest jump, 335 feet. Lamb says he’s looking forward to competing at Harris Hill and retiring the Fred Harris Trophy. The Fred Harris Trophy has only been retired five times.
Lamb is only one of a number world-class jumpers who have competed at Harris Hill—some as recently as last year. Of the recently announced male members of the U.S. Olympic ski jumping team all have competed at Harris Hill. This includes Nick Alexander, Nick Fairall, Peter Frenette and Anders Johnson.
Club and Tournament Scrabble is more than just a pastime. Like chess and bridge, it is played as a competitive sport all over the English-speaking world. Brattleboro is fast becoming a hotbed of Scrabble players, with a weekly club session and a developing group of friends who take the game seriously (while alllowing room for laughter and orientation of newbies.
Like any competitive game, there are fundamentals and preparation involved with becoming a top player. I am committed to promoting the game and to helping folks who wish to dive more deeply into the fascinating world of club and tournament play to improve their skills and become a part of this vibrant community.
A Scrabble Club meets every Thursday night beginning at 6:00 PM at the Marlboro College Grad Center on Vernon Street. We are an eclectic group of word nerds who play the game as it is played in a tournament setting, yet value and support newcomers in their exploration of Scrabble beyond the dining room table or cell phone.
If I’ve piqued your curiosity and you don’t mind finding out how much you DON’T know about Scrabble, we invite you to bring that curiosity along with your sense of humor to our club.
Here’s a story about a project underway in China to build the world’s largest skatepark.
The size of four football fields.
Iyengar Yoga classes start this week in Brattleboro and Saxtons River, taught by veteran teacher Chris Beach. Chris has been practicing Iyengar Yoga for 27 years and teaching for 16 years. He has studied in Pune, India, with the Iyengar family four times and is a student of a wide range of senior teachers including Patricia Walden, Manouso Manos, and Gloria Goldberg. He is certified at the Intermediate Junior III level.
The Brattleboro Outing Club (BOC) Tennis is offering a free Labor Day Mixer and Barbecue that will be fun for the whole family. Instructors will arrange doubles for anyone of any age and skill level who wants to play This event is a fun activity for anyone with an interest in tennis. This is also a great way to find out more about the BOC Tennis community. The event will be held on September 2 at the BOC Tennis Community at 202 Cedar Street from 10am to 2pm.
The grill will be offering free hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, and soft drinks.
The joy of winning the Connecticut River Valley Baseball League championship for the second straight year turned to shock and sadness for the Claremont Cardinals and the rest of the league as Cardinal catcher Jon Ferrero was fatally injured and outfielder Justin Pierce was seriously injured in a pickup truck crash in the players’ hometown of Woodstock, Vt. The accident occurred just hours after the Cardinals defeated the Walpole Wild Blue to win the CRVBL Cup.
“The Connecticut River Valley Baseball League is so saddened by this accident up in Woodstock, ” said Gary Dennis, league coordinator for the CRVBL and manager of the Walpole Wild Blue. “The Cardinals are a bunch of great guys and good ball players. It was our honor to play against them on Sunday…our hearts go out to Jon and Justin’s friends and families and the rest of the Claremont ball club.”
The Connecticut River Valley Baseball League will crown its 2013 champion this weekend as the four town teams that won first round playoff series will face off at the Walpole baseball complex. The semi-final 9-inning games start on Saturday at 1:00 as the regular season leader Chester/Saxtons Crush play the defending champion Claremont Cardinals, while the league’s newest team, the Sunapee Old Lakers, take on the Walpole Wild Blue. The winners of the 9-inning semifinals will meet Sunday at 1:00 for the CRVBL Cup.
The Connecticut River Valley Baseball League begins its 2013 postseason Friday night at 6:30 when the Walpole Wild Blue take on the Keene Black Dawgs at the Walpole baseball complex in the first game of a best of three quarterfinal series. Three other series will also be held throughout the weekend. Two of those series begin on Saturday, when the Putney Fossils host the defending champion Claremont Cardinals in a 1:00 p.m. game at Dummerston Field; and the Sunapee Old Lakers take the Newport Polar Bears at 4:30 in Sunapee.
Brattleboro, Vt. — The Harris Hill Ski Jump committee, which manages the annual Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition in Brattleboro, was awarded Jumping/Nordic Combined Club of the Year at the 2013 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA) Congress. The annual USSA Congress awards not only clubs but coaches, athletes and resorts who display exemplary service to the sports of skiing and snowboarding.
Peter Graves, former Putney resident, Harris Hill committee member and snowsports announcer, and currently Communications Director for USA Ski Jumping, accepted the award on behalf of the organization at the Congress which was held in Park City, Utah in late May.
The Connecticut River Valley Baseball League wraps up the 2013 regular season this weekend with all eight adult town teams in action with playoff seedings and matchups at stake. The action begins on Friday evening at 6:30 in Claremont as the defending league champion Cardinals host the Walpole Wild Blue. The two teams are currently tied for second place with records of 8 wins and four losses. Sunday morning at 10, the Putney Fossils and Brattleboro River Rats meet at Dummerston Field, and a win for Putney could move them ahead of the Newport Polar Bears in the playoff seeding. The regular season wraps up with a pair of games at 11 a.m. Sunday as Claremont hosts the Sunapee Old Lakers at Barnes Park while the Keene Black Dawgs take on Walpole at Keene State College.
PUTNEY, CLAREMONT AND WALPOLE LATEST CRVBL WINNERS
By Kevin McElhinney, CRVBL
With the Connecticut River Valley Baseball League playoffs less than three weeks away, the Putney Fossils, the Claremont Cardinals and the Walpole Wild Blue all scored important regular season victories
in recent action.
At Dummerston Field, Putney benefitted from eight strong innings by starting pitcher Dave Guadalupe, as the Fossils beat the Sunapee Old Lakers, 8 to 4. Guadalupe gave up just one earned run on five hits before giving way to Richard Bissell who earned the save. Offensively, catcher Steve Stanley knocked in four runs on three hits, Brandon Reilly tripled, scored three runs and stole two bases while shortstop Nick Garcia went two for four, stole two bases and drove in a run.
Trail closure under I-91 bridge, July 29-Aug. 2 and August 5-6
Attention West River Trail users: The area under the I-91 bridge will be temporarily closed from Monday, July 29 to Friday, August 2 due to utility conduit work. From immediately north of the bridge, the trail will be open. To access the trail north of the bridge, use the access from Rice Farm Road (go up Route 30, cross the Iron Bridge, take a right, past the Nature Conservancy trailhead, and look for the chain across the northern end of the West River Trail, on the right.)
CHESTER/SAXTONS , WALPOLE, CLAREMONT AND BRATTLEBORO TAKE LATEST CRVBL GAMES
With all teams in the Connecticut River Valley Baseball League in action over the last few days, the Chester/Saxtons Crush, the Walpole Wild Blue, the Claremont Cardinals and the Brattleboro River Rats emerged victorious.
The first place Chester/Saxtons Crrush lived up to its name with an 11 to 3 win over the Putney Fossils. Andrew Robbins of the Crush hit a solo home run and pitchers Scott Renfro and Nick Wirkkala combined to allow Putney seven hits. Defending league champion Claremont relied on the pitching of Andrew Sullivan and the hitting of second baseman John Grainger in its 9 to 2 victory over the Newport Polar Bears.
BRATTLEBORO PICKS UP FIRST WIN OF YEAR OVER NEWPORT
By Kevin McElhinney, CRVBL
The Brattleboro River Rats moved into the win column for the first time this season with a 7-2 victory over the Newport Polar Bears in recent Connecticut River Valley Baseball League action.
River Rats pitcher Todd Bell threw a complete game for the win, allowing just one earned run on six hits while striking out eight. At the plate, Bell drove in two runs. Other stars on offense included shortstop Michael Chevalier and third baseman Brian Benjamin, who each had three hits. Left fielder Caleb Record went two for four with an RBI, first baseman John Waitekus and right fielder Thomas Mauger each drove in a run while catcher Sunny Lucas scored two runs and second baseman Abe Klein scored twice and stole a base.
I’m posting on behalf of James, a 13-year-old I tutor part time. He really loves playing Magic the Gathering and is really good at it. He’s looking for more kids to play Magic with, roughly ages 11 to 15, and/or a local Magic group to join. (That is, in Brattleboro – we know about the Greenfield one).
Please message me, or tell me how to get in touch with you, if you know of any Magic groups or 11-15 year old Magic enthuiasts who would be interesting in meeting me and James downtown somewhere (gazebo on the common? Tea Lounge?) to play Magic. (I don’t play, btw. :))
And spread the word!
Thanks!!!
CLAREMONT BEATS BRATTLEBORO IN CRVBL ACTION
By Kevin McElhinney, CRVBL
The defending Connecticut River Valley Baseball League champion Claremont Cardinals held off a surprisingly strong effort by the winless Brattleboro River Rats and came out with a 6 to 3 victory in recent CRVBL action.
The game at Claremont’s Barnes Park featured strong pitching by Claremont’s Mike Wells and Brattleboro’s Todd Bell, both of whom pitched complete games. Cardinal third baseman Justin Pierce singled, doubled, scored a run and drove in two more, while John Waitekus of the River Rats went three for three with a pair of RBI.
