The Maine Principals Association has made several changes to winter sports sites and schedules, including the approval of a proposal to extend the skiing season by two weeks.

Other changes involve new sites for the gymnastics and Class A boys and girls swimming state championship meets.

The MPA voted to stretch out the skiing season at its Nov. 16 general meeting.

The season started on Nov. 20 and will wrap up with the New England championships on March 10, two weeks later than previous seasons. The extension will be in place for two years.

The reason for the extension is that many schools start practice with the rest of the winter sports in November but don’t have enough snow to ski until after Christmas.

The state championship dates will stay the same (Feb. 19-21 for Classes A and C, Feb. 22-24 for Class B).

The MPA is encouraging leagues around the state to hold their championships between states and New Englands. But the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference, Mountain Valley Conference and Penobscot Valley Conference have all decided to hold their championships before states.

The PVC is holding its meet before states so that skiers who qualify for the Junior Olympics in March don’t have to choose between that meet and the league meet, and because the league coaches have typically made out their state teams based on PVC results.

The state gymnastics championship meet has been moved from Belfast High to Biddeford High. The Feb. 17 date remains the same.

Belfast principal Ron Gleason, a member of the MPA’s gymnastics committee, said he wanted to host the meet but when the committee met he hadn’t found a replacement for Lions coach Sherrye Macleod, who left to take a job in another district. Belfast has hired a new coach, Valerie Jackson, but Gleason didn’t want her to be saddled with organizing a state meet in her first year at the school.

The Class A girls swim meet, which was originally going to be held at Cape Elizabeth High School on Feb. 19, has been moved to Bowdoin College in Brunswick because of worries that Cape didn’t have the capacity to handle all of the competitors and spectators that turn out for the girls’ meet. The girls teams tend to be larger than the boys. The site for that day’s Class B girls (UMaine at Orono) remains the same.

On Feb. 17 the Class A boys will swim at Cape Elizabeth instead of Bowdoin. The Class B boys will compete at Bates College in Lewiston that day.

MABC accepting all-star names

Varsity boys and girls basketball coaches can now submit names to the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches for the 24th McDonald’s Senior All-Star nomination ballot. Each school can submit up to three names, and all three must be seniors. Coaches can fax names to Brenda Beckwith at 465-3199. The deadline is Dec. 15.

Trafton, Jones earn awards

Region I consists of all of the New England states. A panel of New England coaches determines the coaching award every year.

Trafton, who led the Mustangs to their second-straight Class D title this year, will now be considered by a national panel for the national Coach of the Year award.

Jones’ award nominates him Monmouth boys soccer coach Gary Trafton has been named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Region I Coach of the Year for small schools, and Waterville’s Rick Jones was named large school Maine Coach of the Year.

for regional consideration. The Panthers went undefeated this year en route to a state Class A crown.

Milk Mustache candidates sought

The fourth annual Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year program is taking applications from high school student-athletes for one of 25 scholarships and a chance to appear in a special milk mustache ad.

Applicants must be high school seniors who participated in a sports during the 2000-2001 school year. Winners will be selected based on academic performance, athletic excellence, leadership skills and community service. A panel of celebrity judges, including Cal Ripken Jr., Pete Sampras, Mia Hamm, Kurt Warner and Tony Hawk, will pick the winners.

One winner each from 25 geographic regions will win a $7,500 scholarship and an appearance in the ad. Official nomination kits are available at www.whymilk.com. Entries must be postmarked on or before March 16, 2001 and received by March 28, 2001. Finalists will be named in June.