Everyone enjoys the pure aesthetic of powdery snow on the ground.  However, this winter has hardly been a winter at all.

No one takes a liking to blizzards as much as the Maverick snowboarding team—also known as Milford Snow Boardercross (MHS SBX). Unfortunately, southeast Michigan has seen a great lack of snowfall this year, severely hindering the boarders’ competitive season.

The team practices at Alpine Valley Tuesdays and Thursdays at6 p.m., but the riders have faced unfavorable circumstances including cancellations and postponements due to recent weather conditions. On many of the scheduled practice dates, Alpine has failed to open, forcing the riders to wait until the slopes receive adequate snowfall.

“Practices have been modified a lot,” Junior snowboarder Taylor Law said. “The whole season has been moved back a week.”

All Michigan High School Snowboarding Association (MHSSA) teams in the area are suffering similar issues with practice cancellations and race delays.

“The only good thing about it is that everyone’s in the same boat,” Head Coach Tara Johnson said.

MHS SBX has not been able to compete in a meet thus far because more snow is necessary for starting gates to be constructed for when the competitors begin their races.

“Without the snow, we can’t even race,” Junior snowboarder Chloe George said. “It sucks!”

The snowboarders usually race through a boardercross course of more difficult terrain including jumps, turns, and other obstacles. However, inadvertent snow conditions have restricted the team to practicing only downhill racing.

“We’ve had to improvise a lot,” Law explained. “Right now, we don’t have a [boardercross] course at Alpine, so we just go through flags.”

Many Milford riders feel frustrated by the inability to set up a course and the abundance of race rescheduling.

“It has affected the season a ton!” George said. “It feels like the season has yet to start.”

Though the racing season has not officially begun, MHS SBX is projected to do well in upcoming meets. Last year, the boys team took first and the girls team came in second at the State Championship.  Many Maverick riders expect Milford to experience another great season this year.

“I think as a whole team, Milford is looking very well,” George affirmed. “Either way, win or lose, we’ll definitely have fun this season.”

Since the Mavericks have yet to see any MHSSA competition at races this season, it’s difficult to project how well MHS SBX will do at State Finals.

“I won’t be disappointed if we don’t win,” Johnson said. “It’s a grooming year. If we don’t have it this year, I’ll be excited for what’s coming.”

Johnson was shocked to see the young talent that the boys team has. While taking practice time trials, some of the freshmen riders were faster than many upperclassmen.

“I’m really excited about what I’m seeing,” Johnson said. “I just haven’t seen them in race mode.”

 Although the snowboarding team has faced unfortunate circumstances, they remain strongly connected as a team. The snowboarders bond through team waxings in which everyone waxes their boards together.

“[At the waxing parties] we all eat and hang out,” George explained. “We talk about the races and what’s coming up.”

At meets, the riders have plenty of time to get to know one another as they wait to race.

“We will all freeze at the top of Alpine and wait for what seems like hours as every race goes,” George said. “So that’s fun!”

Competition can get tough on the slopes, especially at the meets in which MHS rival school Lakeland attends.

“Our big competition is probably Lakeland,” George stated. “They are very good and want to beat us.”

Though fiercely competitive, snowboarding is a sport that is satisfying for all involved.

“It’s a much different sport than I’ve ever done and it’s hard in my opinion,” George said. “But I’m glad I’ve done it definitely.”

MHSSA remains the only high school snowboard association in the nation. Michigan is the only state that features competitive high school varsity programs in snowboarding. Johnson and the Maverick riders are thrilled to be a part of such a unique opportunity.

“[Snowboarding is] exhilarating, it’s on edge, it’s new,” Johnson stated. “It’s an incredible arena—flying really fast on icy conditions. It’s a lot of intensity.”