Skiing, snowboarding lessons

ORONO – The Orono Parks and Recreation Department is accepting registrations for its 2008 skiing and snowboarding lessons.

Snowboarding and downhill skiing lessons will be held Wednesdays, Jan. 16-Feb. 6, at Hermon Mountain.

Snowboarding is $85 for Orono residents and $95 for nonresidents. The activity is open to those in grades four through seven.

Ski lessons are $75 for Orono residents and $85 for others, and the class is open to second- through seventh-graders.

Fees for snowboarding and downhill ski lessons include transportation and equipment rental if needed. Both programs have a minimum and maximum enrollment, and early registration is recommended. For information, call the recreation office at 866-5065.

Gliders ski club

ORONO – The Orono Parks and Recreation Department is accepting registrations for its Black Bear Gliders ski club. Join Cid Dyjak and Ann Ross to learn classic and skate ski.

Participants may meet next to the Orono municipal ice rink at 3:30 p.m. Fridays starting Jan. 11. The fee for the program is $30 per person or $50 per family, up to five members. For information, call Cid at 866-7282 or the recreation office at 866-5065.

Benefit skiathon

Enjoy a free day of skiing or riding at Sunday River. Join Maine Handicapped Skiing, a year-round adaptive recreational program, for its annual skiathon on Saturday, March 29. In 2007, Maine Handicapped Skiing raised more than $348,000 in pledges at the one-day event.

Skiathon participants help keep Maine Handicapped Skiing free of charge to the 250 students involved in the program.

The program began operation during the winter of 1982 with one staff member and eight students. The first skiathon was in 1986 and raised $38,000 in pledges. Today the program runs year-round, welcoming individuals with physical disabilities to enjoy Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, cycling, golf and paddling.

Even with growth in numbers and programs, Maine Handicapped Skiing remains the largest free adaptive recreation program in the east, due in a large part to the proceeds raised at the skiathon.

To register a team or join an existing team, call 800-639-7770. Visit www.skimhs.org for information.

Those interested in serving as a team captain, should call to reserve a spot at the team captains’ meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Grand Summit Hotel in Bethel for a light breakfast, pep talk and a lift ticket for that day. Call 800-639-7770 by Thursday, Jan. 10.