“They grow so fast at this age,” was a common refrain as parents helped their kids in and out of different sized cross country ski boots on Wednesday, November 11, at the YMCA in Damariscotta. Volunteers from Hidden Valley Nature Center (HVNC) shuffled back and forth with different sizes of boots to try, or held skis and poles upright against kids to find the correct length. Grinning kids clutched their new ski gear as they left the YMCA, ready for a long winter of cross country skiing and fun.

Meaghan Hamblett, executive director at the CLC YMCA, described it by saying “The front door was revolving the entire time HVNC was here.”

These were the sights and sounds at both of HVNC’s Ski Lease Fit Sessions. So far, nearly ninety kids ages 5-14, have been outfitted with quality cross country skis, poles, and boots. They’ll take the gear home and use it wherever they can for the entire season. At the end of winter they’ll return the equipment to HVNC, saving families from the hassle of buying expensive skis and boots only to have to get rid of them a year later when their child has outgrown them.

This program, in its fourth year at HVNC, is made possible by the Maine Winter Sports Center who supplies the equipment. HVNC maintains the equipment and administers the lease program in the region. Similar lease programs exist in other parts of the state, but HVNC has created the single largest lease “hub” in the state.

“We love this program because it provides an affordable way for local kids to try cross country skiing, many for the first time,” says HVNC volunteer Kristin Stone. When Stone helped start the lease program at HVNC just four years ago they leased only about twenty sets. In four years, the program has more than quadrupled.

“There’s clearly a demand for access to affordable opportunities like this,” according to Stone.

HVNC will offer one more Ski Lease Fit Session on Saturday December 5 from 9 a.m. to noon at HVNC in Jefferson. The supply is limited and will be leased on a first come first serve basis. Check hvnc.org for updates, but as of right now there are no more ski packages available for kids under four and a half feet tall.

More information available online at www.hvnc.org, info@hvnc.org, or call 207-200-8840.