New England weather in recent years has put to question its long-standing reputation of being brutally cold and snowy. But what does this mean for the sports that rely on conditions that come with the winters of our past?
Background
Global warming is making winters across the state increasingly warm, posing challenges for winter sports. Shorter snow and ice seasons make it more difficult to train and compete for junior varsity teams that often rely on town facilities. As conditions continue to shift, preserving these sports is becoming a growing concern.
According to a recent study written by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Massachusetts has warmed by approximately 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the beginning of the 20th century. An article published in the Providence Journal showed that the state’s number of hot days has been considerably above the long-term average since 2010, and Boston finished out 2021 as the hottest year on record.
According to a spring 2024 study conducted by Professors at the University of Waterloo and the University of Innsbruck, Austria, which assessed more than 220 ski areas across four major United States regional ski markets (Northeast, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific West), the average ski season length in the Northeast from 1960 to 1979 was 122 days. In the past two decades, it has shortened to 115 days, and the number of ski-compliant days has continued to decrease despite the artificial creation of snow. In the northeast, this number is expected to further decrease by an additional 10 to 29 days by 2050.
These climate change effects put the future of winter sports such as ice hockey, Nordic skiing and Alpine skiing at risk. The high school’s teams have been experiencing major difficulties due to the weather conditions in recent years. However, this year’s season has served as a respite from warming winters. The teams are taking advantage of this year’s cold winter, as the current temperatures are below the recorded averages of temperatures for these months compared to the past few years.
Effects on Ice Hockey Teams
The varsity ice hockey teams at the high school are able to practice at various indoor ice rinks, such as Roxbury Latin School, Bentley University and John Ryan Arena in Watertown. However, unlike the varsity teams, the junior varsity (JV) teams, which practice together, have a majority of their practices at the outdoor Larz Anderson Ice Rink. Girls JV hockey coach Jillian Kelley said the combined teams practice Monday through Thursday, after school, at Larz Anderson, given weather compliance.
Kelley said that on days when the ice is too wet or not frozen enough, the team is forced to cancel their practices. According to Kelley, with the Larz Anderson rink having recently installed a new generator, the ice can remain frozen at higher atmospheric temperatures, but the weather still poses difficulties. Before the December break, the team was only able to hold two practices due to the warm weather and was even forced to cancel a game.
“With JV hockey, if things get canceled, there’s no backup plan,” Kelley said.
Kelley also said that because Brookline does not have its own indoor ice rink facility, there is nowhere for the team to go when the weather does not cooperate.
On sunny days, the coaches must assess the safety of the rink given the puddles. Sometimes, they decide that the rink is too melted, and practices or games must be canceled, said Kelley.
Even if the temperature is very cold, the sun can create puddles in the corners of the rink that need to be avoided by the players for their safety.
“The sun plays a huge factor; I don’t think that people think about that. If it’s 30 degrees out but the sun is beaming, we can still play, but in the corners in which the sun is beaming, we have to put a cone there and say, ‘Hey, try to stay away from that’,” Kelley said.
Kelley said she has concerns about the continuation of the high school’s JV hockey teams.
“Every year Larz Anderson is up in the air,” Kelley said. “We’ve had confidence in the past years. It’s like, ‘Okay, it’s going to open now, but what about in five years?’ The future of the program is definitely concerning for both JV boys and girls.”
Kelley said the weather and the effect it will have on the future of the program is upsetting, especially on a no-cut “learn to skate” team such as the high school’s JV programs. Being a no-cut sport brings opportunities to many athletes of any level or aspiration to learn a new sport, and enjoy the community that comes with it. With their program highly reliant on environmental stability and cold weather, the future of the program relies on a solution.
“It’s very rare to have 35 girls on a hockey team, and so it’s challenging for me to see the weather, especially with environmental changes happening, and it being warmer year-round up in the Northeast nowadays,” Kelley said. “Unless there’s a solution to be found soon as to how to manage an outdoor rink or to find an indoor rink, what will happen to us is definitely a little unsettling.”
Effects on Alpine Ski Teams
The high school’s alpine ski team has been facing difficulties with the weather as well. An upside for them is that they are able to produce artificial snow at their practice locations: Ski Ward in Shrewsbury, and Blue Hills in Canton. The production of artificial snow provides security for the skiers that there will be snow for them to ski on, although the condition of the snow is often not ideal.
Keith Carson, head coach of the Alpine ski team, said that being able to ski at the mountain four days a week is an anomaly they are grateful to experience this year, and is a direct result of the year’s colder temperatures and the greater snowfall.
When the temperatures are too warm, their mountains are not able to make or maintain enough snow for skiing. Without snow, Carson said the team must have practices off the mountain and is unable to race.
“We try to get 12 races in a year. Two years ago, we barely got 10 races in and it was a real struggle because of the warmer weather, the rain and the lack of snow,” Carson said.
One of the most difficult aspects for the team is the erratic nature of the weather that is a result of climate change. It often creates unfavorable conditions for skiing, which are sometimes not suitable for racing.
“If it snows and then it rains on top of that, it either melts and then all the snow washes down the hill. If it rains, then the temperature drops suddenly and that freezes to ice, which is challenging too,” Carson said.
While this season’s weather has been compliant with the ski team’s schedule, Carson said he is still concerned about the program’s future.
“There were times when I started to wonder how much longer we were going to have a Brookline ski team,” Carson said. “It’s great to be around skiers and to be with the ski team, and it would really be unfortunate if we didn’t have that in the future.”
Effects on Nordic Ski Teams
The Nordic ski team has had unique difficulties with the warmer weather. Head coach, Simon Rakov of the Nordic ski team said there is only one course that all the Boston area schools go to, the Weston Ski course, so the course is inevitably teeming with people.
“Down into Rhode Island, but mostly Eastern Massachusetts, every single school that is in this area goes [to the Weston ski course],” Rakov said. “It’s the only place to go. We have a community there, but then it’s also used by all the clubs.”
This is largely due to the lack of snow in alternate locations that are not able to produce snow. In the past, golf courses, such as Brookline’s Robert T. Lynch Municipal Golf Course, would open for cross-country skiing, according to Rakov. However, in the past few years, only the Weston ski course has been open, and the town of Brookline’s grooming machine, intended to be used to create smooth ski paths on the golf course, has not left its storage closet.
Rakov said the abundance of skiers at the Weston ski course poses many difficulties for the team.
“I had to find a little spot to do some technique work with the team, and it was off to the side; it was a small space. The crowding and the lack of snow are just a bad combination,” Rakov said.
Rakov said they have to do more dryland training, and while it is good for the development of Nordic skiers, skiing is more beneficial. Dryland training consists of a lot of strength exercises for the core and legs. The purpose of dry land training is to be able to ski better and safer said Rakov.
The largest adjustment the team has had to make also had statewide implications. For many years, the State Race was held in Western Massachusetts. However, in the past few years, there has not been enough snow to host them, and the MIAA has been forced to migrate the state-level race further North to the state of Vermont at Prospect Mountain in Woodford, where there are adequate amounts of snow.
This year, the Nordic ski team has not had to cancel any of their races. While the Weston ski course has not had much natural snow, it has been making artificial snow and was able to completely cover the course this year when needed. Rakov said this has been very beneficial for all the skiers.
Despite the good conditions this season, Rakov is concerned about the future of the sport, and the high school’s future.
“We are just seeing New England winters getting more and more warm, and it’s definitely a major concern for the sport,” said Rakov. “It’s a question of what can be done about it?”
Concern for the Future
While climate change continues to threaten winter sports in New England with shorter, warmer winters, this year’s colder weather has brought a much-needed respite. The high school’s hockey, Alpine ski and Nordic ski teams have all benefited from the below-average temperatures, allowing for more consistent training and competition.
This season serves as a reminder of the importance of cold winters for various athletic communities at the high school. Although the long-term future of these teams remains uncertain, this year’s weather has allowed teams to train and compete in good conditions.
“[Alpine ski is] one of the few sports where the boys and girls train together and race at the same time,” Carson said. “It’s a great team environment, and it would be really unfortunate if, because of climate change or erratic weather, it starts to disappear.”