Abdow wins giant slalom at Francis Piché Invitational |
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Alex Abdow won the giant slalom at the Francis Piché Invitational Event on March 17 and 18. Reminder Publications submitted photo
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March 26, 2012
LACONIA, N.H. — Ten-year-old Alex Abdow was one of four junior ski racers from Western Massachusetts to qualify for the Francis Piché Invitational Event on March 17 and 18 at the Gunstock Mountain Resort and he won the giant slalom (GS) event.
For almost 50 years, the Francis Piché Invitational Event has been the de facto championship event of eastern junior ski racing.
Abdow, who was representing the Southern Vermont Council (SVC) in his age group (U12, J5s), completed his first run with a time of 43.54 seconds. His second run finish time was 45.77, which sealed his first place position with a combined time of 1:29.31. This is his second year racing and his first championship event. Abdow is the only SVC skier to win this event in more than 15 years.
Other area racers included Abdow's twin sister Lauren A. Abdow, 10, who finished in the top 10 her first run, and Madelyn Corsetti, 10, from Longmeadow and Grace C. Crochiere, 9, of Wilbraham. The four represented the SVC in their age group (J5s) along with 15 others from their home mountain through the Stratton Training Center in Stratton Mountain, Vt., where they train.
Abdow and his teammates competed against racers from nine eastern states including Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and the Southern Alpine Racing Association consisting of Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. All competed for individual and team awards in two runs of GS and individual awards for slalom.
All invited racers qualified in their home (training) state for this United States Ski and Snowboard Association sanctioned event by placing in the top of their age groups in their state racing associations' events.
The race is essentially an Eastern Championships for racers in age groups from 9 to 14. Teams of racers competed individually and by state for medals and for a state team title.
The annual race commemorates the life of local Winnipesaukee figure Francis Piché, who was an accomplished skier, racer and youth coach at the Belknap Recreation Area — now Gunstock Mountain Resort — in the late 1930s. 
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