The East-West sports division stretches from the mountains of Western Maine — towns such as Bethel and Rangeley — to islands like Isleboro and VinalHaven on the coast. The travel distances can be daunting, but for small schools like Telstar in Bethel, the long, unconventional trips have become part of the ritual of high school sports.

As Telstar approaches a two-year review of its move into the East-West Conference, administrators and families say the travel can be challenging — but it’s also rewarding.

In a league where teams might cross the state or the sea just to compete, communities rally around each other. Boosters cook breakfasts, island residents provide rides and families turn road games into memorable adventures. The travel isn’t just a burden; it’s becoming a defining part of the small-school sports experience.

For island schools, travel is always complicated.

This month, Vinalhaven’s varsity basketball teams will leave from the coast, play in Greenville, then spend the night at Telstar before their morning match-up on Jan. 17.

“Do they need mats, cots, or air mattresses?” Telstar Athletic Coordinator Gail Wight asked Vinalhaven’s coach. “Don’t worry, they’re used to this,” the coach replied.

Wight hopes to set up a comfortable sleeping space — Telstar’s gym or library — while the Telstar Boosters Club will prepare an early breakfast. Club President Rebekah Howe-Coolidge said they’ll keep it light: the girls tip off at 8 a.m., followed by the boys at 9:30. The games are scheduled early so Vinalhaven can make it back to Rockland in time for the ferry home.

Last season, the boosters paid for hotel rooms for the Telstar basketball team’s trip to Vinalhaven — a trip cut short when high winds canceled the ferry.

“They didn’t end up playing,” Howe-Coolidge said, “but at least they weren’t stranded on the island all night.” The game was rescheduled.

THE COMPETITION

Telstar competes in Class D’s South/East-West alignment, but Wight said the school fills its schedule with “crossover” games, too. This year, the Rebels played Class C Mt. Abram in Salem Township in basketball. Wight schedules triple-headers whenever possible — a junior varsity game followed by girls and boys varsity — to make long trips for either school more efficient. Players can be moved up or down between games if needed, too.

Some seasons require overnights; this one does not, Wight said. But in the fall, Telstar football made a very long trip, a 14-hour round trip bus ride and an overnight stay to compete.

Asked if the travel was worth it, Coach Tim O’Connor, responded, “We won.”

The team continued to win, making it all the way to the finals. Eastern Maine Sports named Telstar’s Alex Dougherty the Male Athlete of the Week during their season of travel, too.

Despite the challenges, some families embrace these remote matchups. For the LaPointe family of Bethel, a 2024 boys soccer game at Vinalhaven became a memorable two-day adventure.

“It was early morning when we got to Rockland for the ferry,” Tom LaPointe, father of three Telstar students, said. “I’d never been there. There’s a long jetty with a lighthouse. There are cliffs, islands, seals — it’s just pretty. It’s an hour on the ferry, but it seems like a few minutes.”

When the ferry docked, island residents were waiting with their vehicles to shuttle visiting players to the soccer field.

“Everyone is experiencing it together — your teammates, parents, friends,” LaPointe said. “Our little Bethel team is suddenly on a ferry looking at an island.”

LaPointe said they turned the trip into a family getaway — he, his wife Cathy, and their children Tommy, Nicholas and Meredith spent the afternoon fishing for bass off the jetty, then headed to Belfast for dinner and a hotel stay before more fishing the next day.

The Rebels won that game. “Vinalhaven is a small island; they don’t have a lot of players,” LaPointe said.

“It’s hard to be competitive when you don’t have a lot of kids. We know — we live it, too,” he said.