This year, the Malad High School Baseball team is defending their State Championship title.
“It’s tough to be the State Champions because every one is shooting at you,” said Dennis Evans, Varsity’s head coach.
Seven senior baseball players graduated last year including six varsity starters — Skyler Thorpe, pitcher; Bubba Crump, outfielder; Jeremy McClellan, center fielder; Tyrell Hubbard, shortstop; Cody Hess, third baseman; Chase Nieffenegger, outfielder and Ruben Ramirez, junior varsity right fielder.
“Last year’s seniors were exceptional athletes but, more importantly, exceptional young men who set a great example for the younger players,” said Bobby Green, Varsity’s assistant coach. “I don’t think the team has missed a beat as these younger players have come up in a good JV system and learned from the graduating seniors as well.”
“We are a really young team and a lot of the players haven’t normally batted against these older pitchers but we’re doing well,” said Bracken Gibbs, senior pitcher. “We’ve all played together since we were younger and we really haven’t missed a beat.”
The team lost five games so far this season. All losses were to higher districts. Malad played two teams from their district and won both games.
“Last year we had only three losses at this point but we didn’t lose any after that,” Evans said.
To help defend their state title, the team is working harder on hitting and defense.
“Our defense has been letting us down,” Evans said. “In practices we’ve tried to focus more on our weaknesses. Last year we didn’t have very many...we’re working harder on getting better.”
Baseball 2A District Championships are scheduled for May 2 and May 5. Once the district’s first and second place have been awarded they are sent to play in the State Championship. State is in Orophino, Idaho this year on May 18 and 19.
“Our goal every year is a State Championship,” Green said. “We have high hopes for this team.”
“I think we’ll do just fine at State,” Gibbs said. “We’ve already played a lot of the teams that we’ll see at state and we played really well against them.”
Monday, April 23, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Distinguished Young Womens
The Malad Distinguished Young Woman program will not happen this year due to a lack of participants in the program.
DYW is a program that allows high school juniors to compete for college scholarship money. The program’s motto is, “Be healthy, be physically fit and drug free; be involved, serve your community; be studious, stay in school; be ambitious, set and achieve goals; be responsible, live by moral and ethical principles.”
“I loved doing DYW,” said Moriah Ihler, last year’s first alternate. “It mainly helped me with my interviewing skills and helped me get a resume together. Because I am a people person, DYW helped me bring that out in my interviews.”
Only three girls signed up for the program this year — Heidi Hannah, Stephani Treasure and Nicole Hubbard. The girls attempted to recruit more participants for the program but were unsuccessful.
“We just didn’t have enough local interest,” said Jamie Hess, a committee member. “We had three girls sign up and we have to have a minimum of five.”
If the girls still wanted to compete to earn scholarship money, they could have registered online for the Idaho At-Large program. This is a competition for girls in Idaho that don’t have the opportunity to compete in the DYW. The winners from the Idaho At-Large will receive scholarship money and then go on to state with the other girls in DYW.
“A girl from American Falls Idaho went to state as an ‘at-large,’ she was the winner in three categories and one of the top-10 finalists,” said Sandra Thomas, the Malad DYW Chairperson. “She was the only one if not one of the few from her year... just think, if she had decided not to do the ‘at-large,’ she would have missed out on winning scholarship money and also the experiences.”
Because there will not be a DYW program in Malad this year, the committee has decided to have a program to honor past, present and future DYW participants. Carlie Stewart, last year’s winner, will be the MC.
“It will be a fund raiser, we will run it kind of like a program,” Thomas said. “We will have a ‘minnie miss’ routine with girls of Malad Middle School to help inspire younger girls to participate when their year comes.”
Committee members have asked people throughout town to show their talents in this program. There will be dance, guitar, piano and other talents performed that night.
“We’re having people perform talents that have previous DYW experience or people that have been taught by DYW participants,” Hess said. “We are hoping the performers will give a positive reflection upon the DYW.”
The winners of last year’s DYW will present their “forget-me-nots” at the program and Stewart will depart as last year’s winner. The program is scheduled for April 28.
“We’re hoping people will listen and understand that it is not a beauty pageant and that girls have a lot to learn from this.” Thomas said.
DYW is a program that allows high school juniors to compete for college scholarship money. The program’s motto is, “Be healthy, be physically fit and drug free; be involved, serve your community; be studious, stay in school; be ambitious, set and achieve goals; be responsible, live by moral and ethical principles.”
“I loved doing DYW,” said Moriah Ihler, last year’s first alternate. “It mainly helped me with my interviewing skills and helped me get a resume together. Because I am a people person, DYW helped me bring that out in my interviews.”
Only three girls signed up for the program this year — Heidi Hannah, Stephani Treasure and Nicole Hubbard. The girls attempted to recruit more participants for the program but were unsuccessful.
“We just didn’t have enough local interest,” said Jamie Hess, a committee member. “We had three girls sign up and we have to have a minimum of five.”
If the girls still wanted to compete to earn scholarship money, they could have registered online for the Idaho At-Large program. This is a competition for girls in Idaho that don’t have the opportunity to compete in the DYW. The winners from the Idaho At-Large will receive scholarship money and then go on to state with the other girls in DYW.
“A girl from American Falls Idaho went to state as an ‘at-large,’ she was the winner in three categories and one of the top-10 finalists,” said Sandra Thomas, the Malad DYW Chairperson. “She was the only one if not one of the few from her year... just think, if she had decided not to do the ‘at-large,’ she would have missed out on winning scholarship money and also the experiences.”
Because there will not be a DYW program in Malad this year, the committee has decided to have a program to honor past, present and future DYW participants. Carlie Stewart, last year’s winner, will be the MC.
“It will be a fund raiser, we will run it kind of like a program,” Thomas said. “We will have a ‘minnie miss’ routine with girls of Malad Middle School to help inspire younger girls to participate when their year comes.”
Committee members have asked people throughout town to show their talents in this program. There will be dance, guitar, piano and other talents performed that night.
“We’re having people perform talents that have previous DYW experience or people that have been taught by DYW participants,” Hess said. “We are hoping the performers will give a positive reflection upon the DYW.”
The winners of last year’s DYW will present their “forget-me-nots” at the program and Stewart will depart as last year’s winner. The program is scheduled for April 28.
“We’re hoping people will listen and understand that it is not a beauty pageant and that girls have a lot to learn from this.” Thomas said.
Student Council Elections
Malad High School Student Council Elections are beginning this week.
Candidates up for election include: Braxton Davis for President; Wesley Peterson and Stephani Treasure for Vice President; Nicona Broadus and Meaghen Brown for Secretary; McKenzie Willie for Historian; Carson McClain and Cole Finder for Business Manager; Heidi Hannah and Katie Neal for Head Cheerleader.
Student Council considered having the candidates make a campaign video with their election speeches. Instead of having candidates present speeches in front of the student body, they would just run the videos for the voters to see.
In the end, Student Council decided against the videos. According to Shannon Davis, Student Council Advisor, they felt the candidates should “feel the pressure” of standing before the student body to give their speeches.
“We had discussed the possibility of doing videos to ensure that there were no borderline behaviors or content in the speeches, but after talking to the student council we made an arrangement with the administration to have candidates pre-present their speeches, and they must do the exact same speech for the student body at the assemblies,” said Jacob Stevens, current Student Body President.
Offices with more than two candidates running are required to present a preliminary speech Tuesday, April 24. The speeches cannot be longer than three minutes. If a candidate has any planned participation from the audience, that candidate will be disqualified. The speech must strictly be a speech and nothing else. This goes for all speeches within the Student Council Elections, not just the preliminaries. Final election speeches will be held on Thursday, April 26 in the High School gym.
Those running are required to create a poster. Each candidate will be given eight feet of paper. This paper cannot be cut into smaller pieces. The candidate's poster will sell them as officer. They must include their proposal for the upcoming homecoming year, a resume and a current letter of recommendation. Posters will be hung before school Monday, April 23.
According to Malad High School Counselor Irene Alder, students are not willing to take responsibility and become the leaders of the rest of the student body.
“We had to postpone elections for one week because we couldn’t fill the ballot,” Alder said. “Don’t like something, don’t just gripe, run for an office and make a difference.”
Candidates up for election include: Braxton Davis for President; Wesley Peterson and Stephani Treasure for Vice President; Nicona Broadus and Meaghen Brown for Secretary; McKenzie Willie for Historian; Carson McClain and Cole Finder for Business Manager; Heidi Hannah and Katie Neal for Head Cheerleader.
Student Council considered having the candidates make a campaign video with their election speeches. Instead of having candidates present speeches in front of the student body, they would just run the videos for the voters to see.
In the end, Student Council decided against the videos. According to Shannon Davis, Student Council Advisor, they felt the candidates should “feel the pressure” of standing before the student body to give their speeches.
“We had discussed the possibility of doing videos to ensure that there were no borderline behaviors or content in the speeches, but after talking to the student council we made an arrangement with the administration to have candidates pre-present their speeches, and they must do the exact same speech for the student body at the assemblies,” said Jacob Stevens, current Student Body President.
Offices with more than two candidates running are required to present a preliminary speech Tuesday, April 24. The speeches cannot be longer than three minutes. If a candidate has any planned participation from the audience, that candidate will be disqualified. The speech must strictly be a speech and nothing else. This goes for all speeches within the Student Council Elections, not just the preliminaries. Final election speeches will be held on Thursday, April 26 in the High School gym.
Those running are required to create a poster. Each candidate will be given eight feet of paper. This paper cannot be cut into smaller pieces. The candidate's poster will sell them as officer. They must include their proposal for the upcoming homecoming year, a resume and a current letter of recommendation. Posters will be hung before school Monday, April 23.
According to Malad High School Counselor Irene Alder, students are not willing to take responsibility and become the leaders of the rest of the student body.
“We had to postpone elections for one week because we couldn’t fill the ballot,” Alder said. “Don’t like something, don’t just gripe, run for an office and make a difference.”
Road Block
A road on Malad Summit that connects the two main roads has been blocked with large boulders by court order. Year round summit residents feel this is hazardous and want the road cleared.
Myron Jones, past owner of the blocked off property, attempted to get a petition to get the rocks removed and for the county to take over so the public can have access to that road.
“I wanted to do an eminent domain but they’re afraid of getting into a law suit so I had to stop,” Jones said.
Eminent domain happens when the county takes over a private road for public use.
Before the property was sold, the road was a legal public right-of-way through that area. In the ‘60s and ‘70s the, Cattleman’s Association used that road to run cattle. When Jones sold the property to the Mitchell family, the public right-of-way went unnoticed. Mitchell did know that road was frequently used but chose to ignore it.
There was a law suit between Mitchell and Jones. Mitchell wanted control of that road because his property line extends beyond the road. There were gates placed at the upper and lower parts of the property, blocking the road from public use. The court ordered the upper gate to be opened and large rocks to be placed on the road of the lower part.
“It cost nearly $10,000 for the Mitchell’s to get the road shut and they are only here part time,” said Don Allen, a permanent resident.
According to residents, this road has been a legal right-of-way since before the ‘70s and legally the judge should have never ordered it blocked.
“It’s sad because that road’s been accessed since I was a kid,” said Craig Sorensen, another permanent resident. “I remember that road when I was a child 50 years ago. It was always open for the public. There’s no reason that should have been declared closed to the public.”
Residents would like the road opened for safety reasons such as fire, crime and emergency response.
“If there were any dangers in this place that block off the one road we have, then we’ve got no way out,” Sorensen said.
“If something happens and someone needs to get out, it isn’t a matter of tearing a gate down, it’s huge boulders that we can’t go over,” Allen said.
A few years ago the fire and police department responded to a 911 call on the summit. They were told to take the route through the blocked off road. The emergency responders were not aware of the blocking and had to find an alternative route. This took them an extra 30 minutes to get to the disaster.
“They responded thinking this road was open and they had to turn around to get to the disaster,” Sorensen said. “If there was a life in danger, they would have been dead.”
According to Bill Denkers, secretary of the Malad Summit East Home Owners Association, the road should also be used for various community purposes such as Boy Scout hikes and cattle movement.
“As far as we know, those that are not supportive are individuals that are part time residents,” said Denkers. “Their excuse for putting in the rocks is so that four-wheelers cannot go up there and yet they drive them through there all the time.”
“I think it’s a neighbor thing and we should all get together, get an attorney and try to overturn the judge’s decision,” Jones said. “We’re just trying to get the road opened so everyone can use it.”
Myron Jones, past owner of the blocked off property, attempted to get a petition to get the rocks removed and for the county to take over so the public can have access to that road.
“I wanted to do an eminent domain but they’re afraid of getting into a law suit so I had to stop,” Jones said.
Eminent domain happens when the county takes over a private road for public use.
Before the property was sold, the road was a legal public right-of-way through that area. In the ‘60s and ‘70s the, Cattleman’s Association used that road to run cattle. When Jones sold the property to the Mitchell family, the public right-of-way went unnoticed. Mitchell did know that road was frequently used but chose to ignore it.
There was a law suit between Mitchell and Jones. Mitchell wanted control of that road because his property line extends beyond the road. There were gates placed at the upper and lower parts of the property, blocking the road from public use. The court ordered the upper gate to be opened and large rocks to be placed on the road of the lower part.
“It cost nearly $10,000 for the Mitchell’s to get the road shut and they are only here part time,” said Don Allen, a permanent resident.
According to residents, this road has been a legal right-of-way since before the ‘70s and legally the judge should have never ordered it blocked.
“It’s sad because that road’s been accessed since I was a kid,” said Craig Sorensen, another permanent resident. “I remember that road when I was a child 50 years ago. It was always open for the public. There’s no reason that should have been declared closed to the public.”
Residents would like the road opened for safety reasons such as fire, crime and emergency response.
“If there were any dangers in this place that block off the one road we have, then we’ve got no way out,” Sorensen said.
“If something happens and someone needs to get out, it isn’t a matter of tearing a gate down, it’s huge boulders that we can’t go over,” Allen said.
A few years ago the fire and police department responded to a 911 call on the summit. They were told to take the route through the blocked off road. The emergency responders were not aware of the blocking and had to find an alternative route. This took them an extra 30 minutes to get to the disaster.
“They responded thinking this road was open and they had to turn around to get to the disaster,” Sorensen said. “If there was a life in danger, they would have been dead.”
According to Bill Denkers, secretary of the Malad Summit East Home Owners Association, the road should also be used for various community purposes such as Boy Scout hikes and cattle movement.
“As far as we know, those that are not supportive are individuals that are part time residents,” said Denkers. “Their excuse for putting in the rocks is so that four-wheelers cannot go up there and yet they drive them through there all the time.”
“I think it’s a neighbor thing and we should all get together, get an attorney and try to overturn the judge’s decision,” Jones said. “We’re just trying to get the road opened so everyone can use it.”
Friday, April 13, 2012
5k Fund Raiser
There was a 5k fund raiser held at the Malad Total Gym, April 7 for Chalyce Young, a citizen of Malad Idaho with Melanoma cancer.
More than $3,000 was raised in efforts to help the cost of Young’s medical bills.
“We handed her a check for just more than $3,000 from the 5k but people have given us money since that didn’t participate but still wanted to help,” said Tori Green, co-owner of Total Gym.
The event began at 10:30 a.m. and went till noon. It cost $20 to run in the 5k — about 3.1 miles. The 5k started at the Total Gym and went throughout town.
“I really thought it was cool because there was so many people and so many kids that came out to help support,” said Sadie Sweeten, a runner in the event. “It gave me motivation to go out and run. That’s just the way Malad is. We’re a pretty tight net.”
“For me it was just proof of how much support a small town has,” said Nicona Venable, a runner in the event. “People showed up whether they could run or just walk in it.”
Young has stage four Melanoma cancer. It started in her lymph nodes and spread to her lung where it has worsened. She has had many treatments on her lung to help shrink the cancer, instead the cancer has grown.
She is currently at the intensive-care unit in University of Utah Hospital for a severe chemotherapy treatment. This will be the third type of treatment that has been tried.
“This is kind of the last effort to treat the cancer,” said Amanda Brown, friend of Young.
Young is married to Lon Young and is a mother of two small children — Kason, 5 and Shaylie, 2.
“Chalyce is the kind of person where you go to her house to help cheer her up and you leave feeling cheered up,” Brown said. “She will put a smile on her face and always ask people how they are rather than say how she is. She’s just an amazing person.”
More than $3,000 was raised in efforts to help the cost of Young’s medical bills.
“We handed her a check for just more than $3,000 from the 5k but people have given us money since that didn’t participate but still wanted to help,” said Tori Green, co-owner of Total Gym.
The event began at 10:30 a.m. and went till noon. It cost $20 to run in the 5k — about 3.1 miles. The 5k started at the Total Gym and went throughout town.
“I really thought it was cool because there was so many people and so many kids that came out to help support,” said Sadie Sweeten, a runner in the event. “It gave me motivation to go out and run. That’s just the way Malad is. We’re a pretty tight net.”
“For me it was just proof of how much support a small town has,” said Nicona Venable, a runner in the event. “People showed up whether they could run or just walk in it.”
Young has stage four Melanoma cancer. It started in her lymph nodes and spread to her lung where it has worsened. She has had many treatments on her lung to help shrink the cancer, instead the cancer has grown.
She is currently at the intensive-care unit in University of Utah Hospital for a severe chemotherapy treatment. This will be the third type of treatment that has been tried.
“This is kind of the last effort to treat the cancer,” said Amanda Brown, friend of Young.
Young is married to Lon Young and is a mother of two small children — Kason, 5 and Shaylie, 2.
“Chalyce is the kind of person where you go to her house to help cheer her up and you leave feeling cheered up,” Brown said. “She will put a smile on her face and always ask people how they are rather than say how she is. She’s just an amazing person.”
Malad Valley Welsh Festival
The Malad Valley Welsh Festival takes place on the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday of every June. This year it falls on June 28-30.
“Today Malad Valley has the largest per capita concentration of people of Welsh ancestry outside the country of Wales itself,” said Jean Thomas, the Welsh Festival chairperson. “For that reason, many residents of the Valley wanted to reestablish their Welsh roots. In 2005, after a 90 year break, this annual cultural event, now called the Malad Valley Welsh Festival, once again became a reality,”
Thursday is Family History Day. Ladder Day Saint family historians from Salt Lake City will hold a workshop at the LDS Stake Center. The workshop specializes in Welsh, Irish and English family history and offers lunch to those who attend.
Friday, food stalls and homemade craft booths are set up in the city park. That afternoon at the park, the senior citizen center will host a community lunch.
Later that night, four musical performances will perform at the amphitheater in the city park: a women's choral group called Reflections; the Malad community choral group, run by Ralph Bennett; the elementary 4th grade choir and another youth choir.
There will be speakers at the amphitheater Friday and Saturday talking about Welsh history. Dr. Ron Dennis will speak on the persecution that drove people to the Malad Valley. Lucie Washbern will play the harp then speak on why the harp is important in Welsh history. Erin Thomas, a collage professor from California, wrote a book about the area in Wales where most of the ancestors from Malad are from. She will present her book and then have a book signing. Debra Baldwin, a part time professor at Utah State University, will teach a workshop in the Welsh language.
“My favorite part of the festival is the speakers,” Jean Thomas said. “I always learn brand new information that I never knew.”
The following activities will be available to the public throughout Friday and Saturday. There will be a quilt show at the Senior Citizen Center sponsored by the Oneida Quilters Association. The Iron Door Play House will show a film festival of Welsh documentaries. The Oneida Pioneer Museum is open and Luke Waldron will be conducting tours of the Osmond cabin where Olive May Osmond was raised. Pedigree charts and family heirlooms from 15 of the original Welsh pioneer families are displayed in the cultural hall of the LDS 2nd Ward building and tours of the 130-year-old Presbyterian church are held.
Saturday morning the festival committee will host a community breakfast at the city park. Also that morning, a Biathlon will take place in town, organized by Bobby Summers.
All day musicians and dancers will perform on the amphitheater in the park. Celtic musicians called Leaping Lulu are playing along with two other bands. Traditional Celtic dance groups from Boise and Logan will perform and a piano duet concert is also scheduled to happen later that day.
“Every year there are new singers performing, people presenting and dancers dancing,” said Debbie Horsley, Welsh Festival committee member. “It makes every year better than the last one.”
A horse drawn wagon ride takes tourists to historical sites throughout Malad for the duration of Saturday. Rob and Sherrie Wangsgard will drive the wagon ride while Larry Thomas and two other town historians take turns narrating.
“We love meeting all of the fun people and kids that are back visiting and have old family stories about the town to tell,” Sherry Wangsgard said.
There will also be heritage and pioneer games for kids to learn and play all day. The games are sponsored by the Malad Middle School Math Counts Club — supervised by Tracy Ward and Kathy Atkinson.
To wrap up the festival, a male vocal concert is held at the Presbyterian church on Sunday.
Each year the festival committee tries to spread word of the event by local radio, magazines and newspapers. This year they are trying to branch out to media around Salt Lake City in the hope that more people will attend the event.
The record of people to attend the festival is 1800. Last year only 1400 people attended. This year, the committee hopes to have more people come than ever before.
“Today Malad Valley has the largest per capita concentration of people of Welsh ancestry outside the country of Wales itself,” said Jean Thomas, the Welsh Festival chairperson. “For that reason, many residents of the Valley wanted to reestablish their Welsh roots. In 2005, after a 90 year break, this annual cultural event, now called the Malad Valley Welsh Festival, once again became a reality,”
Thursday is Family History Day. Ladder Day Saint family historians from Salt Lake City will hold a workshop at the LDS Stake Center. The workshop specializes in Welsh, Irish and English family history and offers lunch to those who attend.
Friday, food stalls and homemade craft booths are set up in the city park. That afternoon at the park, the senior citizen center will host a community lunch.
Later that night, four musical performances will perform at the amphitheater in the city park: a women's choral group called Reflections; the Malad community choral group, run by Ralph Bennett; the elementary 4th grade choir and another youth choir.
There will be speakers at the amphitheater Friday and Saturday talking about Welsh history. Dr. Ron Dennis will speak on the persecution that drove people to the Malad Valley. Lucie Washbern will play the harp then speak on why the harp is important in Welsh history. Erin Thomas, a collage professor from California, wrote a book about the area in Wales where most of the ancestors from Malad are from. She will present her book and then have a book signing. Debra Baldwin, a part time professor at Utah State University, will teach a workshop in the Welsh language.
“My favorite part of the festival is the speakers,” Jean Thomas said. “I always learn brand new information that I never knew.”
The following activities will be available to the public throughout Friday and Saturday. There will be a quilt show at the Senior Citizen Center sponsored by the Oneida Quilters Association. The Iron Door Play House will show a film festival of Welsh documentaries. The Oneida Pioneer Museum is open and Luke Waldron will be conducting tours of the Osmond cabin where Olive May Osmond was raised. Pedigree charts and family heirlooms from 15 of the original Welsh pioneer families are displayed in the cultural hall of the LDS 2nd Ward building and tours of the 130-year-old Presbyterian church are held.
Saturday morning the festival committee will host a community breakfast at the city park. Also that morning, a Biathlon will take place in town, organized by Bobby Summers.
All day musicians and dancers will perform on the amphitheater in the park. Celtic musicians called Leaping Lulu are playing along with two other bands. Traditional Celtic dance groups from Boise and Logan will perform and a piano duet concert is also scheduled to happen later that day.
“Every year there are new singers performing, people presenting and dancers dancing,” said Debbie Horsley, Welsh Festival committee member. “It makes every year better than the last one.”
A horse drawn wagon ride takes tourists to historical sites throughout Malad for the duration of Saturday. Rob and Sherrie Wangsgard will drive the wagon ride while Larry Thomas and two other town historians take turns narrating.
“We love meeting all of the fun people and kids that are back visiting and have old family stories about the town to tell,” Sherry Wangsgard said.
There will also be heritage and pioneer games for kids to learn and play all day. The games are sponsored by the Malad Middle School Math Counts Club — supervised by Tracy Ward and Kathy Atkinson.
To wrap up the festival, a male vocal concert is held at the Presbyterian church on Sunday.
Each year the festival committee tries to spread word of the event by local radio, magazines and newspapers. This year they are trying to branch out to media around Salt Lake City in the hope that more people will attend the event.
The record of people to attend the festival is 1800. Last year only 1400 people attended. This year, the committee hopes to have more people come than ever before.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Malad Biggest Loser Competition
Overall Schwartz lost 30.6 pounds in the competition and plans to lose that much more.
“I am halfway to what my goal weight is,” Schwartz said. “I still have 25 to 30 pounds left to go.”
Schwartz won a prize basket that had $586 worth of gifts. The basket contained things like: a one year membership card to the local gym; a 10 punch pass for aerobics, some jewelry; protein bars and fruit; gift certificates for a hair cut and color and facial.
Halfway through the competition, Schwartz hurt her leg by tearing her meniscus in a Zumba class. She was on crutches for three weeks but still found ways to exercise.
“I was told I couldn’t do anything leg bearing...I did what I could but it was hard,” Schwartz said.
According to Schwartz, the experience of the Malad Biggest Loser was wonderful and very educational.
“I really enjoyed the experience, getting to know the other ladies and the trainers. It was very informational as well,” Schwartz said. “I am going to continue doing what we learned because it is a life time change. Whatever you do has to be something you do for the rest of your life.”
The Malad version of the Biggest Loser was different from the original Biggest loser competition.
There were 20 people that participated in the event and all were women. The contestants were separated into two teams -- the black team and the red team. The trainers of the teams were Bethany Peacock -- red, and Jillene Daniels -- black.
“The trainers were awesome and really worked hard,” said Jackie Stayner, a contestant. “They gave us goals and different challenges that kept it interesting and fun.”
Each week the participants worked out on their own and on Saturdays they did what was called “last chance workout.” This is where the competitors would get together at the local gym and work out together.
A trainer from out of town was asked to come work with the women for a “special workout” once a month.
“For one of our special workouts Moses Kinikini and his daughter Kaylee Kinikini from NBC’s The Biggest Loser came and worked with us,” said Tori Green, a contestant. “It was the hardest workout I have ever done.”
The participants weighed in every week and once a month took measurements. Each week there were winners from each team and an over all winning team. Unlike the original Biggest Loser competition, no one was voted off or sent out of the competition.
“Nobody was rude or trying to bring each other down, we all boosted each other up and worked hard together,” Schwartz said.
The competition lasted 12 weeks. It started Jan 9, and the last weigh-in was March 31.
“This competition has given me a lot more confidence as to who I am. I can look in the mirror and know that I am worth it. I just feel better, physically and emotionally. It gives you a sense of accomplishment. I feel better about who I am and what I have become,” Schwartz said.
Here is Cinniman Schwartz (in the middle) with Kaylee Kinikini and Moses Kinikini.
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