Winter break is often a time spent with family to rest and recover. But for athletes, it is also a time to prepare for the season and to ramp up the intensity of practice.

Because each sport has its own attendance policy,  the number of practices over break and the ability to miss these practices varies.

Junior Clarice Pertel said that the girls indoor track team has a strict attendance policy that becomes more lenient during winter break.

“For indoor track,  during winter break you can leave with your family and not have any problems. But if you are in town, you are required to go to practice,” Pertel said. “February break is different because not everyone makes it to All-States, so only some people practice. But in general, missing practice is not allowed.”

According to Pertel, training over winter break has the same intensity as training during the regular season.

“I don’t think anyone loses motivation,” Pertel said. “I think it’s just a smaller atmosphere because a lot of people do go away.”

The ski team does not train over winter break, and they do not start their season until after break. However, Lobon said many still train with other teams so they do not lose their competitive edge.

“We hadn’t started competing up to that point, and many of us on the team, including myself, do ski training with teams up north,” Lobon said.

According to senior Ariel Cohen, the boys on the swim team are allowed to go on vacation during winter break as long as they do not exceed their absence maximum.

“We have a 10 absences penalty where if you miss more than 10 days of practice throughout the season, including winter break, you don’t get credit for the season,” Cohen said. “So the people who leave get their absences reported, but nobody usually goes over 10.”

According to Cohen, there are disadvantages to leaving during breaks.

“I’m usually someone who leaves for winter break, so when I come back I feel like I’m in about the same shape as when I left while everyone else is ready to take off,” Cohen said.

Winter break for the boys swim team is seen as a time to maximize improvement.

“I think it’s the point in the season in which we improve the most,” Cohen said. “Winter break training has the hardest practices of the year.”