Ray Broomhall

Some skiers have to seek out competition. Ray Broomhall was surrounded by it. With six brothers and four sisters all involved in skiing it was natural that he would ski. But in the forties and fifties there weren’t many lifts to ride so he and his siblings built jumps and climbed the neighborhood slopes in Rumford and Mexico. While he participated in all types of skiing his focus gradually settled in on cross country and jumping.

Through his school years Raymond took part in numerous carnival and school ski team competitions. Following high school he continued to compete in cross country and jumping events. During the sixties he joined his brothers, Robert, Erlon “Bucky”, and Philip “Butch” in cross country and nordic combined events, skiing under the banners of the Chisolm Ski Club of Rumford and the Pineland Ski Club of Andover. In his most recent ski race at the Pineland Skiing and Social Club as part of Andover’s 2004 Bicentennial celebration he finished first in his age group in the five kilometer race.

When he wasn’t competing he was helping to develop young skiers by coaching at the Chisolm Ski Club. With his own children in the sixties he and his wife Judy got involved with the Bill Koch League expanding his volunteer activity. They coached, ran festivals and competition traveling all over New England.

Among the many skiers he coached can be found the names of 40 sent by the club to junior National competition. And out of those came national and international skiers, Jim and Patrick Miller, Jack Lufkin, Frank Ludick, Elizabeth Chenard, Larry Poulin, Elizabeth Carey, and Ann Arsenault.

Coaching at the club wasn’t enough. From 1977-89 and 1980-85 he served as head ski coach at Mexico High School and during those years both girls and boys excelled in cross country. There were a lot of high finishes including the Boys State Championship in 1984 and the Mountain Valley Conference title in 1985.

His coaching expanded to Special Olympics for ten years both at Black Mountain in Rumford and Sugarloaf and he still coordinates a training day for Special Olympians each year to prepare the athletes for the games at Sugarloaf. Returning in high school competition in 1996 he added another five years and more awards as Coed Nordic ski Coach at Mountain Valley High.

For most this would be enough but throughout his adult life Raymond has worked with his brother Chummy to turn Black Mountain into a world class cross country facility. Their work has been rewarded with championships for Black Mountain, 1991 National Biathlon, 1993 and 1999 U.S. Cross Country, 1993 U.S. Masters, 1996 Junior Olympics, and 1999 NCAA cross country championships.

Add to this his work with other championships as chief of course and course preparation at NCAA, World Cup and Olympics and this is only a partial list. He has devoted a lifetime to nordic skiing, working with young skiers and high level competitors, and this devotion has earned Ray Broomhall a place in the Maine Ski Hall of Fame.