Life in the Pact
Written by GRP Skier Margie Freed
The only Craftsbury life I have known is life in The Pact. Hi, I’m Margie and as a new member to the Green Racing Project ski team I haven’t yet experienced Craftsbury in its ‘normal’ capacity, but have heard stories to help me understand how much goes on when the Outdoor Center is full of activity.
Although I would have liked to experience the Center during a summer at its full capacity, living in The Pact has actually made it a nice transition to GRP life. Joining a new team creates a lot of new experiences all at once, including meeting new teammates, moving into a new house, and training in a new location. Doing so in the midst of a global pandemic added to that change, especially when I couldn’t even give new teammates and coaches that awkward “nice to meet you” handshake. So having to start with an initial quarantine actually made it an easy transition since that made the steps of joining a new team occur in stages.
Getting out for some safe, socially distant fun!
I drove out to Vermont after spending most of March and April at home in Minnesota and lived in a quarantine cabin on the Craftsbury campus with others arriving at the same time also joining The Pact. It was pretty exciting when I found out my quarantine-mates were my friends Lina and Michaela. After our designated time in quarantine, we moved into the ski house and began team workouts. Emerging from quarantine is an odd way to join a team, but having The Pact made it much easier because it eliminated the need to try and figure out the team’s “unwritten rules” regarding social distancing, mask wearing, etc.
Fundamentals to a skier’s life here in Craftsbury aren’t too different from other summer training I’ve done. We have access to good training, strong coaching, and fun teammates just like normal. We are still able to adventure for distance workouts, with my favorite being our runs on the Long Trail. Although we aren’t able to share meals in the dining hall, the dining hall staff still provides our meals, saving us trips to the grocery store, and the Craftsbury General Store has curbside pickup in case we are in need of some Ben and Jerry’s. The only major difference I notice is the addition of masks and the extra precautions around strangers, but given the risks of not doing this, I gladly welcome this inconvenience to help our team and community stay safe.
Life in the Pact, or as I prefer to call it, the ‘bubble’ to sound cool like the NBA, is not so bad. We have plenty of people to hang out with; with all the GRP skiers, biathletes, and rowers means our pod is pretty big. Having large birthday party gatherings is fun and easy when everyone is in the same household. I didn’t know many people on the team before joining the GRP and being in the same bubble has almost made it easier and enjoyable to get to know them.
Although I’m bummed to not be able to go on fun weekend trips to visit friends or see new areas around the East coast, I have been pleasantly surprised with how much there is to do locally. With so many people in the bubble it’s not too hard to find someone willing to join in for a fun activity. I enjoy relaxing afternoons on a lakeside beach or just scrolling through my phone when I’ve got a strong internet connection.
Picking strawberries for the COC dining hall with the GRP rowing team!
Around the Center we are able to work in the gardens, help younger skiers with BKL practices, and help the community in other ways while wearing masks and giving space to those outside the bubble. It is disappointing that I can’t yet interact closely with all the great staff members I hear so much about, but for now a masked introduction will have to do. All the community involvement at a distance seems normal to me because life in The Pact is all I know.
With all of the COVID-19 illness around the world, our GRP bubble is actually a great place to be as an athlete, especially with a mix of athletes from different disciplines, so I can’t have too many complaints. I’m sure I speak for my teammates and bubblemates when I say it’s great to have the resources we do, and the commitment by the team and the Outdoor Center to keep ourselves and others safe while continuing to perform our “job” of summer training as best as we possibly can.