April 21, 2009 (Jackson, N.H.) – A group 46 elementary school students in Jackson, N.H., skied at total of 661 laps on a 1.15 kilometer course to raise $4,300 in the Jackson Grammar School SkiAthon which took place on March 12.

The students contributed the money they raised locally to the White Mountain Community Health Center, which helps provide medical services uninsured and under-insured area residents, and internationally to the Panton Hill Rural Fire Brigade in Australia which has been fighting that country’s recent devastating brush fires.

The event was the official culmination of a winter-long Thursday After-School Nordic Ski Program held each week in Jackson. While most of the children continued to x-c ski on the trails in Jackson for several more weeks, the SkiAthon served as a major celebration for kids and their adult chaperones. While the money raised represents a significant achievement, the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation considers the children’s development of regular exercise habits to be an even more important result of the weekly ski program.

This year’s SkiAthon total exceeds last year’s event by 25% and the young skiers averaged almost 15 laps per skier for the two hour period. Four skiers were honored for exceptional performances: Darren Piotrow and PJ Benson tied for the most distance, 32 laps or 36.80 km (a new record), Foster Piotrow skied 31 laps or 35.65 km, and Wilder Byrne – 30 laps or 34.50 km.