-Last week, I wrote about the trials and travails of the Leland & Gray boys’ basketball team. The Rebels finally got their first wins of the season with a 48-21 win over Long Trail School on Jan. 14 and a 47-38 victory over Sharon Academy on Jan. 17.
The Leland & Gray girls’ basketball team had many of the same issues that the boys have had this season — namely not enough experience and too many injuries. After 11 straight losses, the Rebel girls broke into the win column on Jan. 22 with a 28-22 road win over the Proctor Phantoms. The victory avenged a 55-48 loss to the Phantoms in Townshend on Jan. 3.
Annabelle Brookes, the Rebels’ lone senior, was the top scorer with 10 points, while Cassie Farley led the 3-9 Phantoms with nine points. The solid defensive effort against Proctor by the Rebels, coupled with Brookes’ leadership now that she is back with the team after missing most of the first half of the season due to injury, bode well for chance for a couple more wins in the weeks ahead.
Change of pace for Bears hoop teams
• The basketball season in Vermont can be a bit of grind, so it is always a good thing to try something new to break up the routine. For the Brattleboro basketball teams, it was a trip to Springfield, Massachusetts to play in the Panini Hoop Hall Invitational on Jan. 17 and 18. Teams from Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut participated in the tourney, with Brattleboro and Burlington representing Vermont in the boys’ bracket, and St. Johnsbury and Brattleboro playing in the girls’ bracket.
The Brattleboro girls lost to Bishop Ludden of Syracuse, New York, 66-51, and were defeated by Ridgefield, Connecticut, 47-36. The Brattleboro boys lost to Westlake, of Thornwood, New York, 76-55, and to the tournament hosts, Springfield International Charter School, 75-72.
While the Brattleboro teams were winless in this tourney, it was a chance to play a couple of high-level teams in the city where basketball was born in 1891. That’s an experience that everyone who played in this tournament will remember.
Harris Hill Ski jump coming up in two weeks
• A Brattleboro winter tradition for more than a century, the 104th Harris Hill Ski Jumping competition is set for Saturday, Feb. 14, and Sunday, Feb. 15. More than 40 of the nation’s up-and-coming junior jumpers, along with European pro jumpers, will launch from New England’s sole Olympic-sized ski jump and soar more than 300 feet in the air at speeds of nearly 60 mph.
Saturday’s and Sunday’s competitions are sanctioned by the United States Ski and Snowboard Association. This year, they will also serve as a qualifying event for the FIS Ski Jumping Junior World Championships to be held in Norway in March. Saturday features the Pepsi Challenge and Sunday’s competition is the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament where a jumper who wins the competition three times retires the famed Winged Ski Trophy.
One athlete is in the running to retire the Trophy, Slovenia’s Uhr Rosar, who took the win in 2024 and 2025. This year will also see the introduction of a women’s Winged Ski Trophy for Sunday’s top jumper. The final competition on each day is a “Target Jump,” awarding a cash prize to the jumper who comes closest to the painted target on the landing hill.
For the Harris Hill Ski Jumping weekend, gates open at 9 a.m. Opening ceremonies start at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday and 11:45 a.m. on Sunday. Visit HarrisHillSkiJump.com for a complete schedule along with a link to tickets, which are now available. Several local businesses offer a discounted rate; see the event website for a complete listing.
Brattleboro Little League annual meeting is Feb. 8
• The annual organizational meeting for the 2026 season of the Brattleboro Little League is Sunday, Feb. 8, at noon at American Legion Post 5 on Linden Street.
League organizers say this meeting “is a great opportunity for us all to have a better understanding on how the league is navigated through the year and ways you could possibly volunteer to help. We are always looking for help with the concession stand and field maintenance, along with umpiring.”
The league says it has almost all of its managers in place for its anticipated teams for the 2026 season, and they will be filling there coaching positions before the season begins. If your are interested in being a manager or a coach for the upcoming season, contact Chad Gundry at gundry333@icloud.com to be put on the list. Those new to the league typically will have to wait for their child to be selected to a team, and then they will have to talk with that manager. Those who are already on a team from last year will have to let their manager know they are interested as well.
Brattleboro Ski Hill needs volunteers
•The Brattleboro Ski Hill at Living Memorial Park is 100% volunteer-run, and they are looking for more volunteers to help keep it running this season.They need 3–4 volunteers per shift, in 2–3 hour blocks, from Thursday evenings through Sunday afternoons.
Opportunities range from serving on the Ski Patrol, to helping load skiers and snowboarders onto the T-bar lift, to selling tickets or hot chocolate at the Base Station.
The mission of the Brattleboro Ski Hill is to make skiing and snowboarding accessible to everyone, with $5 lift tickets and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. To find out how to keep this winter recreation resource alive, email brattleboroskihill@gmail.com for more information.
Jacksonville man wins Vermont Lifetime Hunting and Fishing License Lottery
• Dylan Saladino, 26, of Jacksonville is the lucky winner of the 2025 Vermont Lifetime Hunting and Fishing License Lottery. Saladino will be entitled to hunt and fish in Vermont for free for the rest of his life.
His name was drawn as the winner from among 18,523 Lifetime License Lottery tickets purchased in 2025. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department holds the drawing annually. Proceeds from the $2 tickets brought net sales of $37,046 to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department to support the department’s mission to conserve fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats.
A person can enter Vermont’s Lifetime License Lottery by adding the $2 entry fee when they buy their license on the Fish & Wildlife Department website at vtfishandwildlife.com. They can also enter by applying statewide wherever Vermont hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses are sold, or with a printable application available on the department website. There is no limit on the number of times a person may enter during the year.
Girls on the Run Vermont seeks volunteer coaches for spring program
• Girls on the Run Vermont (GOTRVT) is seeking volunteer coaches in Windham County to help lead its spring program, according to a news release. Girls on the Run is a physical activity-based, positive youth development program that inspires girls in grades 3-9 to be joyful, healthy, and confident. The 10-week program incorporates movement into its curriculum to empower participants to develop critical life skills, build confidence, cultivate positive connections with peers, manage their emotions, and stand up for themselves and others.
Volunteer coaches utilize a curriculum to engage teams of girls in fun, interactive lessons during the spring season that begins the week of March 16 statewide. Teams meet twice a week for 90 minutes and the program culminates with all teams participating in a noncompetitive, celebratory 5K event in Manchester.
Local schools that are still in need of coaches include: Central Elementary in Bellows Falls, Green Street School, St. Michael School, and Hilltop Montessori in Brattleboro; Leland & Gray Union Middle School, NewBrook Elementary in Newfane, and Dummerston, Grafton, Guilford, Marlboro, Townshend, Vernon, Wardsboro, and Westminster elementary schools.
Coaches do not need to be runners, and GOTRVT provides training. All volunteer coaches must complete a background check. GOTRVT also welcomes high school students to volunteer as junior coaches. Visit gotrvt.org/coach for full details or email info@girlsontherunvermont.org. Statewide participant registration opens on Feb. 18. More information about the program, registration and a Participant Interest Form, can be found at gotrvt.org/programs.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 3 of the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl Jan. 22 saw Wayne’s World (12-3) have a 5-0 week to move into first place, followed by Bad Boys and Slo Movers (both 9-6), Lucky 7, Spare Time, and Bowling Stones (all 8-7), Strikers (7-8), Candy Men and Three Strikes (both 5-10), and Serious (4-11).
Nancy Dalzell had the women’s high handicap game (283) and series (696). Jerry Dunham had the men’s high handicap game (300) and series (770), and Bad Boys once again had the high team handicap game (936) and series (2,686).
Kevin Napaver had the men’s high scratch series (740) with games of 259, 257, and 224, while John Walker had a 611 series with games of 222, 198, and 191. Gary Montgomery had a 596 series with a pair of 201 games and a 194 game, Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 517 series with games of 194 and 193, Robert Rigby had a 552 series with a 204 game, and Milt Sherman had a 545 series with games of 198 and 191. Rick Westcott had a 539 series, Peter Deyo had a 522 series with a 216 game, Duane Schillemat had a 516 series, Dunham had a 506 series with a 212 game, and John Laamamen had a 503 series.
Dalzell had the women’s high scratch series (531) and game (228). Debbie Kolpa had a 189 game and Carol Gloski rolled a 188.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at news@commonsnews.org.
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.