KHS News Details

KENNEBUNK, Maine - The Kennebunk High School ski team has received a significant boost from the Tommy McNamara Charitable Foundation (TMCF), securing $16,000 for team racing suits that will help equalize competition and improve team unity.

The matching speed suits cost $500 each.

KHS Junior Caroline “CC” Good, who spearheaded the donation request, said the matching speed suits will help the team compete more effectively. 

"When it comes to ski racing, everything just comes down to a point of a second," Good said. "Being able to have speed suits for everyone just helps everyone gain more confidence and look the same."

Coach Jonathan Young, who also teaches math at KHS, said he was surprised when Good initially told him about the donation.

“As we got closer to ski season, she’s showing up with proofs and taking the whole team through the process of choosing the right design,” Young said. “I continue to be completely impressed by CC and the kids on the team.”

Young said the donation coincides with increased excitement around the team, which has become competitive in recent years.

“There’s a buzz, for sure,” Young said. “Even some of the other schools in our area have noticed how much we are improving. Even the mountain (where we practice) commented on how different we look when we’re hitting the slopes, and that always makes us feel better to hear the race department say something like that.”

The racing suits will help address financial challenges that have traditionally made ski racing expensive for individual athletes. Each student must typically purchase their own ski pass and racing equipment, which can cost hundreds of dollars.

“I want to thank the Tommy McNamara Foundation for everything they’ve done for us,” Good said. “To provide the amount of money they did for our speed suits is just amazing.”

“The TMCF mission is to develop recreational facilities and to financially support recreational and sports programs for the youth of our community,” said TMCF President Tom McNamara. “This opportunity is clearly aligned with our mission and we were very impressed with how CC took the initiative to seek funding for the speed suits. We wish the KHS Ski Team the best of luck for a great season this year.”

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About the Tommy McNamara Charitable Foundation
The Tommy McNamara Charitable Foundation (TMCF) was founded in 2013 to pay tribute to Tommy McNamara, a young man from the Kennebunk community who passed away tragically in 2012. The TMCF mission is to raise funds to develop and maintain quality recreational and sports facilities for the enjoyment of the youth of the Kennebunk/Kennebunkport community, something Tommy was passionate about. The Tommy McNamara Whiffle Ball Field in the Lower Village of Kennebunk is the anchor of the foundation. The field, at the foundation’s founding, was unplayable, and over the last 4 years has become the heart of the Kennebunk/Kennebunkport Little League program for the T-ballers in the community.