The Martha's Vineyard Times

Young Islanders ski to success in 2011-12 season

By Ralph Stewart
March 21, 2012

Photo courtesy of Andrea Flaherty

Anna Flaherty whisks past a gate at Jiminy Peak in Hancock during the 2011-12 season. [More Photos]

Anna Flaherty, a freshman at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, and Patrick Flaherty, an Oak Bluffs School 4th grader, each had successful ski seasons as members of the Berkshire East ski race team in Charlemont.

Anna and Patrick are members of the Tri-State Racing Association (Conn., Mass., R.I.) and the United States Ski Association (USSA), which enables them to compete against other racers in their age group, J3 and J5 respectively.

Nine-year-old Patrick was a new member of Tri-State and USSA for the 2011-12 season and competed in three races with respectable finishes at Berkshire East, Butternut, and the Eaglebrook School.

Patrick's older sister, Anna, 14, finished consistently well in the top five to top 10 in all races this season. With two second-place finishes in the Tri-State Championships, held at Jiminy Peak, she qualified for the Eastern National Finals and Junior Olympics Qualifier at Killington Ski Area the weekend of March 9, 10, 11.

Competing at a higher level of competition against New England J3 ski racers in both giant slalom and slalom, Anna placed 18th and 20th respectively out of 67 racers in front of all other tri-state competitors.