Hi ski race families,
Back to colder temps and great carving and race training conditions. Make sure you put on the extra layer this weekend.
General Programming update:
As you may know, there are no bad conditions when you are a ski racer. When it is super icy, it is perfect for both technical skiing (focused carving and drills on race skis without gates) and gate training. The reason is that the hard snow surface pushes back against the skis with the same forces that the skier is applying. While soft grooming compresses (think squishy, mushy…) under the edging ski which steals energy and performance out of the ski and your efforts to turn.
The catch for hard snow is that you need to have a stiff ski that has enough shape (sidecut) to carve. Then you also need sharp edges ideally 2-4 degrees of side edge angle so that the ski cuts and grips rather than skids and chatters on the firm surface. When you get perfect grippy conditions with the right ski you can put 100% trust in your ski as you continue to turn sharper, creating more energy (centrifugal forces!) that is stored in the bending ski during the turn and then release with a controlled explosion of energy at the end of the turn.
When it is soft powder, we ski racers don’t complain either. We love changing to fat skis and the feeling of the soft snow compressing under our ski. Fat skis work by floating between turns and then compressing the snow until it is firm enough under your ski to bend it, making you turn or bounce. This is the snow pushing back up against your ski!
If the snow was too soft (and deep) then we would not be able to turn. We would just sink rather than float. Next time you are in powder try to bounce along and feel the snow compress under your ski. You are creating your own groomed surface right under your ski. We all are searching for the perfect combination of sinking and floating, and gripping and releasing.
Events:
Tuesday parent sessions had a great turnout last week! We had 3 new intermediate EL parents that had a great introduction to a regular ski race training session. See photo attached below.
These sessions are open to all parents that are intermediate and above skiers. Guaranteed to improve skills and your knowledge of our sport! No special equipment or skills needed! If you have carving skis on firm days and powder skis when there is more than 10cm that is perfect. I will introduce you to how we build our athletes skills both on the groomed runs and off.
$10 drop in fee that is a donation to our team and helps to offset the cost of sending U14 athletes to the International Ski Festival: Whistler Cup. There will be a limit of 7 parents per session this year due to covid and we are requiring that you register here:
Parent Sessions
And fill out a daily wellness check on the Tuesday morning before arriving: Daily Wellness check
Social Media:
Social Media:
Check out whitewater_ski_team_official to see what we are up to!
And on FB at Whitewater Ski Team.
Also check out our gear sharing, find a ski buddy, ask ski racing questions, etc site: also on FB at Whitewater Ski Team Group Members Page this is a private page so you need to ask to be let in.
Upcoming activities:
Watch the recent races:CBC Alpine racing
Behind the scenes:
Thank you for supporting your ski team! The team is looking to fill a silent auction position or positions. To inquire please contact your president: Tedd Robertson and he will direct you presidentwh2oskiteam@gmail.com
See you on the slopes,
Dylan