How can we help Bend's Mountainview High School Nordic Team

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How can we help Bend's Mountain View High School Nordic Team?

Did you know that High School kids today must pay to play? Sports like baseball and football are partially funded by our home-owner tax dollars, but students still must pay $130 for each sport. The kids who want to learn to Nordic ski receive no funding from the school district and must do fundraising to cover team expenses that are not covered by their participation fees.

Today, all high school sports require students to pay a sports participation fee of $130. The difference between a funded sport (football) and a non-funded sport (ski team), is that the school district pays coaches' salaries for funded sports (out of a fund that is different from the fund that receives the participation fees.). All the ski team coaches are volunteers, and all money paid by their parents and from community donations goes to the team's expenses. None goes to coaches' salaries. Of course, the cost of football fields and gymnasiums for basketball, etc. are built in costs that the school district pays for some of their funded school sports. The schools use the pooled money they collect from the participation fees in all sports to cover expenses for each sport, such as uniforms and athletic equipment. This means that money collected from soccer, for example, is pooled with money collected for football--and used for soccer uniforms as well as football gear.

Mt. View High School’s Nordic Ski Team Index:
Number of students on MVHS’s 2005-06 Nordic Ski Team: 56
Percentage of the team who are skiing on used equipment donated by members of the community: 33%
Number of team members who are new to the team for the 2005-06 season: 29
Percentage of new students who have no cross country skiing experience: 70%
Percentage of new students who have no Nordic ski racing experience: 93%
Percentage of the ski team who will wear school uniforms (purchased by parent group): 100%
Percentage of the ski team who will be bussed to each sanctioned ski race: 100%
Percentage of the team expenses that are covered by the $130 participation fee: 50%
Amount of money from the Bend LaPine School District that supports this program: $0
Amount of money paid to any coach or other assistants for their work with this program: $0
Minimum number of hours donated by volunteer head coach during 4-month season: 200 hrs
Number of volunteer assistant coaches who donate from 50-200 hrs per season: 6
Number of racers from this team that represented their school at the 2005 state championships: 40

This team relies on community donations (equipment and cash) to help keep the participation costs low enough that any student at MVHS who wants to try this sport has the opportunity to do so. The property taxes of Bend residents contribute to the costs of providing the traditional high school sports of football, basketball etc., but these taxes do not defray any of the costs of giving high school students access to the sport of cross-country skiing.

If you would like to promote cross country skiing by supporting this team (knowing that every penny donated goes directly to team expenses), please copy and paste the sponsorship letter below:
--Jinny Martin

December 2005

To Whom It May Concern:

The Mountain View High School Nordic Ski Team is asking for financial support for the 2005-2006 season. The team is a non-funded school sport with no paid staff at any level of the program. Your financial support will help us make this program available to any student who wants to try cross country ski racing. Last year 50 students were on this team. The team’s expenses include transportation, uniforms, and scholarships for those who can not afford the sports participation fee.

Please consider donations for as little as $10 and, of course, as large an amount as you like. Any amount of donation is welcome. Fill out this form and attach it to your check to receive a receipt for your donation.

Make checks payable to: MVHS Nordic Ski Team and mail them to: Sarah Swaney
MVHS Nordic Team Treasurer
62515 Stenkamp Road, Bend, OR 9770l

We appreciate your support.