Mount Hotham Racing Squad

Following the previous update, the athletes completed a high-intensity GS training block at Norquay. Given the volume of training with technical focuses both inside and out of the gates up until early last week, a shift from technique-based goals to tactical approaches was due for most athletes. In essence, this allows the athlete to concentrate more on concepts such as which line to take, how much and where to pressure the ski during the turn, and where speed can be built through the course. Course inspection strategies were discussed to enable athletes to put these concepts into practice at the up and coming Lake Louise races.

A full race simulation was conducted on Thursday, 18^th January at Norquay, leading into the race weekend. This involved two high-intensity, timed runs. The concept of a race simulation is for the athletes to experience the intensity and nerves of competition as often as possible, whilst keeping good focus on both technical and tactical aspects of their skiing. It also allows time to experiment with arousal/stimulation levels before racing, to determine the fastest individual mind-set for the athlete to compete in. This race simulation was followed by an afternoon of GS gate training which sent the athletes into the race weekend with confidence.

Friday morning, 19^th January was spent at Lake Louise, where the athletes developed a feel for the race hill and consolidated their GS focuses through a tech free ski. With a need to keep fatigue levels to a minimum before race weekend, the team visited the amazing Chateau Lake Louise for some sight-seeing and ice-skating on the lake itself— a uniquely Canadian experience which all of the athletes enjoyed incredibly.

Saturday included two one-run GS races, held on the runs of Juniper and Men’s Downhill at Lake Louise. The athletes all competed extremely well, with results that surprised most of the Canadian contingent. Podium placers from MHRS included Djoeke Hoedemaker (K1 division; 1^st, 2^nd) and Duane Dinham (K2 division, 3^rd), with great results from the rest of the team as well. Official results can be viewed at www.acapoints.ca.

Sunday, 21^st January provided all of the camp athletes with their first Kombi race experience. Once again, the race format was two one-run races. Similar to the Kombi races at C.O.P in December, these races utilised a combination of slalom stubbies, GS gates and Super G gates. Unlike the race in December, the focus for this race was on a longer arc, with athletes competing on GS boards, which allowed them to get a taste of Super G before the up and coming Speed Camp at Panorama. Speeds were clocked by the RCMP (Canadian Police) at a given point on the course. Average speed amongst the competitors was 80km/h, with a highest recorded speed of 91km/h.

Once again, great results were posted by the Hotham athletes with podium places awarded to Djoeke Hoedemaker (K1 division; 1^st), Aimee Blackshaw (K2 division; 3^rd), Duane Dinham (K2 division; 1^st, 2^nd) and Hugh Brooks (K2 division; 3^rd, 3^rd). Official results can be viewed at www.acapoints.ca.

The following day was spent travelling to Panorama, where the athletes will be spending the next week. The Panorama Speed Camp will involve most K2 teams from around Alberta, utilising the safety and terrain features supplied by Panorama specifically for Super G training and racing.

Tuesday’s training involved all-mountain freeskiing skills, with a strong focus on bumps. Using Panorama’s 1100 metre vertical drop, endurance and stamina were needed, especially in the extensive ungroomed terrain that the resort offers. The day enabled athletes to relax and rediscover the joys of freeskiing, the love for the sport and unearth vital balance and recovery skills necessary for the following week.

The past two days have seen the athletes introduced to the concept of speed. Wednesday morning was spent getting used to the longer skis for many, and switching techniques and tactics to suit the longer, faster Super G turn. The afternoon allowed the athletes to run a full-length Super G course, which incorporated rolling terrain and two purpose-built jumps. After a thorough course inspection, the athletes ran the course with great focus and aggression (albeit with a few nerves).

A morning Super G gates session was conducted on the 25^th January, which built upon the technical and tactical focuses from the previous days. This was followed by an afternoon session of slalom gates—this switch from long skis to short, and vice-versa is paramount to promoting adaptability in the athletes, especially with the upcoming “combined” race, of which the format is a single run of Super G combined with a single run of slalom.

With the camp drawing near to finishing, the athletes, although showing some signs of the intense program, have kept up with great motivation and enthusiasm

On Saturday 20^th Jan, I spent the day training at Nakiska with the Alberta Masters Group. SG was the order of the day for both morning and afternoon sessions.

Thoroughly enjoyed both sessions, though on my ski's a little on the short side. Many thanks to Jeff Books for organising this session, and thanks to Claudio, Ozzie, Nat for making me welcome.

For details on the Alberta Masters please go to http://www.albertaalpine.ca/masters/

Following the previous camp update, the athletes completed a very productive week of GS training at Kimberley. GS time trials gave the training a competitive edge, and heightened the training intensity. It gave the athletes an opportunity to simulate race environments, and to find their ideal tactical approaches to skiing in these conditions.

The completion of the Kimberley block wrapped up the first camp, with three of the athletes departing the country. The remaining athletes were billeted out to families involved with Jeff’s club, Paskapoo, for a rest over the new year. This allowed them time to explore Calgary, as well as to experience a different culture by living with Canadian families.

The beginning of the new year saw our new chaperones (Monique Hoedemaker and Julie Dinham) and the remaining athletes arrive within a few days of each other. With the new arrivals settling in and exploring the town of Canmore and its surroundings, the established team trained Slalom with Paskapoo at C.O.P. With only three athletes, this time was used for intensive one-on-one coaching, which resulted in great productivity. The afternoon was spent at the Bob Niven High Performance Training Centre, playing a number of fun and competitive indoor hockey and soccer games with the Paskapoo athletes and coaches.

The next two days were spent at Nakiska for a GS block, with a strong emphasis on transferring the skills learnt on Slalom skis into the long arc. The afternoon saw the transference of these skills into a race setting, with an emphasis on more tactical awareness in the gates. The new arrivals spent the day finding their feet, regaining balance and building confidence with Trent Kaufman, an addition to the coaching staff for the second camp. The following day provided an extremely productive morning session of GS tech free ski, and an attempted afternoon of GS gates, which had to be cancelled due to dangerous conditions. The gate training was substituted by a GS tech free ski on the more sheltered areas of the mountain.

The scheduled day of all-mountain free skiing was cut short because of chairlift closures due to high winds at Sunshine. Unfortunately, this was discovered after we were already on the hill, boots almost on our feet. So the move was made to Norquay for a GS tech free ski in the morning, to utilise the great groomers that the resort has to offer. The afternoon was spent free skiing, with the focus being predominantly on going hard and fast.

The scheduled day off was spent sleeping in, having a big breakfast, tuning skis, and visiting Banff for shopping and a nice meal in the evening.

We are now in the midst of a Slalom block at Norquay, where the new athletes have made the transition into gates with remarkable ease and very good results. The productivity of Tuesday’s training was phenomenal, with some great changes made by athletes across the board.

A quick round of stats for the second camp (starting January 2^nd). We have skied:

It has been a fantastic start to the second camp, and I must thank all who have helped make it so- our “Ladies of Leisure” Monique and Julie, the coaching staff of Trent and Jeff, and especially to the athletes, who have proved to have great motivation and willingness to help at any given opportunity.

Following the last instalment, the first race of the season was held at C.O.P in Calgary, hosted by Jeff's club, Paskapoo Alpine Race Team.

One athlete was not able to compete due to sickness. This did not overshadow the other athletes' efforts over the weekend. Cold conditions (for the Aussies, anyway) and some time delays tested the athletes' mental strength and patience on the first day, which consisted of a two run slalom race.

The girls had a strong focus on tactical approaches to race day, rather than just focusing on results-based performances. This ranged from warm-up and inspection tactics to experiments with race-start stimulation levels. This type of approach early on in the athletes' racing career will ensure greater success later, allowing them to explore and discover how to better their race performances for the future.

The second race held on the Sunday was the first of its kind ever held in Canada. The "Kombi" race combines the three disciplines of slalom, GS and SG into one course, using a combination of stubby gates, full slalom gates, and panelled GS gates. Given the demands on the athletes to be diverse and adaptive in such a course, the Hotham athletes all performed technically well, maintaining focus on their objectives.

Following a restful day off, the athletes were able to let loose with a day of all-mountain freeskiing at Sunshine. With a top-up of 5-8cm the previous night, the cover was perfect to explore some new off-piste terrain. The significance of all-mountain freeskiing cannot be understated—it is fundamental to not only furthering the athletes' abilities as ski racers, but also for them to keep an on-going interest and passion for the sport.

The rest of the week was spent training at Norquay, before heading to Kimberley for a week-long camp over Christmas. Kimberley has proved to be a secret gem in a remote region of British Columbia, offering some extremely fun and varying terrain with good cover.

Christmas day was spent exploring the mostly-closed township of Kimberley, opening Kris-Kringle presents, playing card games, and feasting on a brilliant Christmas lunch/dinner prepared by Annie Buckland, our incredible chaperone.

The next few days will be spent with the Paskapoo Race Team in Kimberley for a GS camp, although with the amount of snow falling at the moment, it is looking like there may be a stronger focus on powder skiing!

The first camp wraps up very shortly, and I must say that time has flown since I arrived in Canada. I am looking forward to having all of the new athletes over here (as well as another coach!), and am determined to see the second camp produce the same success, from both an on- and off-snow perspective, as the first.

Welcome to the first annual ‘MHRS Canada Camp’. Based in western Canada; the beautiful town of Canmore; Alberta is located just outside of Banff on the Trans Canada highway; Canmore is nestled in the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains.

The Canmore / Banff area presents the perfect northern winter training opportunity with access to some of the best training and free ski terrain in the world.

The accommodation is booked, the training lanes reserved, the team vans rented, the snow is falling and the training plan is in place. All set to go for a productive, enjoyable and memorable Canadian training experience.