Despite common knowledge, there is a room located in the school basement nicknamed “the dungeon.” This space was historically used for the wrestling team, as it contained a small weight room and cushy floor mats. Nowadays, the space is reserved for the nordic ski team during the winter to use as a wax room. Although there is no longer any weight lifting equipment, the team has filled the room with waxing benches and assorted ski equipment.
According to coach Doug Peterson, it’s extremely valuable to have a space solely for the team.
“It’s just incredible,” Peterson said. “Being able to come down here, do core workouts and have our meetings is so important for the team’s success.”
The dungeon looks very different from the rest of the school. There are exposed pipes on the ceiling and concrete walls and floors. The wrestling mats still remain and that is where the team does core workouts. Senior captain Addison Chenvert said there are many unique aspects of the wax room that are part of why this space is so loved.
“I really like the smell of the wax room,” Chenvert said. “I also love all the random things you can find down here.”
Senior captain Thomas Shope said besides the physical parts of the dungeon that make it an important place to the team, the environment is also a significant factor.
“The dungeon is a very special place,” Shope said. “There are a lot of memories that take place here.”
One of the first memories that skiers will have in the dungeon is learning how to wax their own skis. In order to have glide, the skis need to be waxed and scraped every race. The dungeon contains several wax benches that you can clip your ski into and scrape on. Additionally, you can find dozens of varieties of waxes. Chenvert said the team has grown accustomed to operating out of the dungeon as well, before and after practice.
“The dungeon is kind of like our home base,” Chenvert said. “We come here to plan and it is where I get excited about our races.”
Before big races, the team will meet on the wrestling mats to find out line ups, bus times and other race-specific information. Even though the dungeon is such an important space for the nordic ski team, the room isn’t in the best condition. Peterson said the floors are often slippery due to wax shavings littering the floor, and there are frequent drainage issues.
“There is nobody down here to do any maintenance during the off-season,” Peterson said.
Chenvert said despite its flaws, the team loves their wax room and wouldn’t really change anything about it.
“I think it’s pretty perfect the way it is,” Chenvert said. “But it would be fun to incorporate more traditions, like the seniors hand printing the wall at the end of their final season.”
Park nordic returns to competition at the State meet on Feb. 14 at Giants Ridge, in Biwabik MN.
