Recently, the government has opened CEATS (Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, also known as “The Range” to most of us) to civilian use once again. Access requires lots of documentation and permitting…COVID plans, insurance clarification, organizational certification documents, schedules for each and every day of intended use, and more.
MNC has submitted all the necessary paperwork, including scheduling outlines. We are waiting for the National Guard and land management officials to certify and approve our “Short-Term Lease” as it is called. This lease grants use for no more than 30 non-consecutive days in a calendar year along with a fee of $3/day per athlete. We have requested access and use of the rollerski/ski loops and Walker Building beginning in July, with the intent to finish our 30 day span in mid-December.
Our intent is to rollerski 2x per week (Tues/Thurs) in July and August. In the fall, we transition to 1x per week as many of our Junior athletes are only training with the club once per week as they compete in fall sports. We want to ensure a safe, car-free, well-lit rollerski option in the fall and we feel this is arguably the most important and relevant use of the facility.
In the early winter, we will continue to mix 2x per week with some “blackout” weeks such as Thanksgiving. Through careful planning, this will allow us to stretch the 30 day usage through this calendar year. We are unsure currently if the Range will be our home training facility in the midwinter months, but we are pursing options to engage National Guard officials in a dialogue to reassess this new policy.
For now, we’re crossing our fingers for a summer and fall that look more like years past!
