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Hi all,

I’m Steve Murray, the girls coach at Excel. I think this story missed an important point about the beauty of Eagles League gymnastics in Colorado versus USA Gymnastics.

Eagles league gymnastics is not about upper level gymnastics and winning and glory. Sure, those kids get an opportunity to try gymnastics skills and a level that they are working on for the next USA Gymnastics season and stretch themselves skill ways.

But ...

Eagles and this meet is so much more about the little kid getting one of their first opportunities to perform in front of a crowd and have a “boat load” of fun doing it without worrying about making a mistake. It’s about their first competitive leotard, it’s about having fun and just trying. It’s about going to McDonald’s afterwards and laughing and giggling with their family and friends about all the funny faces they made when they tried to do their routines and forgot a bunch of them along the way.

Eagles League gymnastics is for the middle school age kid that just wants to do gymnastics on a seasonal basis. Coming in with their friends and starting up practice after the mountain closes, practicing one, maybe two days per week for a couple of hours at a time. The great majority of kids at this meet from Excel are from the recreational and beginner competitive level teams that come in one day a week for 1 to 2.5 hours.

Eagles League competes early April through mid June, perfect for the athlete looking for spring sport away from mud season.

Come and watch for a bit, this one is for everyone that loves to see kids go out and try and enjoy themselves.

Thanks,

Steve Murray

— steamboatsteve

Construction downtown

Maybe I am reading the article wrong, but it reads to me quite different than you are all taking it. It sounds to me like the construction company is required per contract to stop work June 30 and return Sept. 1. They are also required to have this job finished by Nov. 12 or they will incur penalties.

What is being discussed is the matter of the city of Steamboat Springs wanting them to delay their project start until Sept. 6 (Rather than Sept. 1) in order to allow for no construction during Labor Day. In order to do this, the city is thinking of paying them overtime so that they can work extra hours to make up for the five days of work they will be missing. So in a sense this “overtime” money would be going to the businesses in Steamboat because the delay in construction would allow the businesses to partake in the Labor Day tourism money.

I know everyone is upset that there is construction at all, but that is not the fault of the people that CDOT hired (this is not a city project, by the way). This company will be required to finish their project by Nov. 12 and at the price that they bid the work for.

Please pay attention to what you are all reading before you get yourselves so worked up!

— SteamboatGirl10

Highway Clean-Up

This article started with a comment about Routt County Clean-Up Day but spent much more time on the community garden. The community garden is a wonderful thing, and I wish I had the time to participate (ah, homegrown tomatoes!) but we need to acknowledge the more than 200 volunteers that came out to clean up our county roads. I have a particular passion about litter and bend over to pick it up whenever given the chance (which is waaaaay to often). Thanks to the slobs who don’t respect our planet for the opportunity to stay limber. My family participates and only had the area from the Stockbridge Transit Center to the library and back. It really didn’t look bad on the surface. We OVERFILLED seven bags of trash, including parts of a computer desk, couch cushions and a transmission for something. Don’t you notice those things are missing?

— mimsgram

Marno makes ski team

■ Good job Marnos, one and all.

— George_Krawzoff

■ Congratulations, Max! You deserve this. Now go show them how it is done.

— BoatNative