tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44240901507574686792024-02-20T23:59:13.951-08:00Olivia ParkerAlpine Ski Racer| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-66681026276844638832013-02-04T07:18:00.000-08:002013-02-04T15:36:28.783-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0nLL0kmmIWELPPDM4jOOHQGUfUMSH-MY_9cKp3RIOYWkAkHW0HIOkT3bJW5ireKAEA4qN4Ff-oV5C0l1fqG5eHbjcfZBZ0FI0hXYQ26oICOcZFEm4_vJGA7MjILdcBvi2Db0vkQ7kD0/s1600/IMG_1218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0nLL0kmmIWELPPDM4jOOHQGUfUMSH-MY_9cKp3RIOYWkAkHW0HIOkT3bJW5ireKAEA4qN4Ff-oV5C0l1fqG5eHbjcfZBZ0FI0hXYQ26oICOcZFEm4_vJGA7MjILdcBvi2Db0vkQ7kD0/s320/IMG_1218.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above the NUSSC First Team BUDS Champions.</td></tr>
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Having been a long time since my last blog
post I have a lot to write about. Firstly back in November on the 9<sup>th</sup>
and 10<sup>th</sup> I competed at BUDS (British University Dry Slope Ski
Championships). In the Slalom I finished 6<sup>th</sup>, this was slightly
disappointing but sets a good challenge for next year. The following day I came
4<sup>th</sup> in the GS, only just missing the podium, but I am very happy
with this result as I surpassed my own expectations. In the Team Dual Slalom
race that afternoon the NUSSC (Newcastle University Ski and Snowboard Club)
First Team, consisting of myself and four boys, won; thus being crowned the
British Dry-Slope Dual Slalom Champions 2012. I decided to celebrate this success
rather extravagantly that night at the BUDS Ball.<br />
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NUSSC have competed in a further two rounds of KINGS since my last post, where the mixed First Team (myself and 4 boys) has
remained unbeaten and the girls team (myself and 3 other girls) have seen
progressive improvement finishing 2<sup>nd</sup> in the December competition.
Unfortunately I will be missing the next KINGS races as I am travelling out to
compete in the English Ski Championships in Bormio on February 16<sup>th</sup>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdpeDcnrNW_ZYhqNWi-FbBvt05x1L77ze7CTSqj0RK03ruSS62it07tNm0LB8DtQwaJB8xvC4biUN-GD52tzlSF69uwI4W31Ey65aL7tV0XmwqxG0giWkC2aPz_ZEfumRak_GZB9SVEuY/s1600/31537_10151223982353237_1862691566_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdpeDcnrNW_ZYhqNWi-FbBvt05x1L77ze7CTSqj0RK03ruSS62it07tNm0LB8DtQwaJB8xvC4biUN-GD52tzlSF69uwI4W31Ey65aL7tV0XmwqxG0giWkC2aPz_ZEfumRak_GZB9SVEuY/s320/31537_10151223982353237_1862691566_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My very fat swollen ankle a couple of days after the fall</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">During Christmas I found out I have been
selected for the ‘BUSC Elite Athlete Squad A-Team’ giving me the chance to be
selected to represent England at the World University Champs. However on
December 23<sup>rd</sup> I sustained an ankle injury whilst out running. I
sprained my anterior talofibular ligament and generally feel pain throughout
with reoccurring swelling every time I exercise. Liz at <a href="http://www.hallamphysiotherapy.co.uk/">Hallam Physiotherapy</a> in
Sheffield initially treated me.
Since returning back to University I received physio at <a href="http://www.newcastlesportsinjury.co.uk/">Newcastle Sports Injury Clinic</a> by Laura; these sessions were paid for through the Universities Elite Athlete Program
which I am very grateful for. Needless
to say this injury has hindered my performance and fitness since, despite
taking measures to speed recovery.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kuqHK3FPrpo8gq9UZRtN9nNIf-FDyx9gp0zzfWpz3G0YMjw5qWRLYrA_-eR1XE0uXafdj2Abxvb6M3Ucr-CDaMm8WAjY1uE_jmJU_Wz3EZ0VY5JngRv4Bk4N4RTkwgAymZ4jI_4NzHU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-01-19+at+00.48.50.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kuqHK3FPrpo8gq9UZRtN9nNIf-FDyx9gp0zzfWpz3G0YMjw5qWRLYrA_-eR1XE0uXafdj2Abxvb6M3Ucr-CDaMm8WAjY1uE_jmJU_Wz3EZ0VY5JngRv4Bk4N4RTkwgAymZ4jI_4NzHU/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-01-19+at+00.48.50.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above and Below are photos from the Chamonix night <br />
Slalom taken by one of the competitors fathers!<br />
His photos can be viewed at <a href="http://www.damia.eu/">www.damia.eu</a> </td></tr>
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A week after my ankle sprain I travelled
out to France with the intention to race in 3 slaloms. The two slaloms at Le
Corbier were cancelled due to FIS failing to homologate the new race piste in
time! This was probably for the best as just getting my ski boot on was too
painful. Having travelled the distance I still raced in the FIS Chamonix Night
Slalom; my performance was under par but I still finished top 30 and 4<sup>th</sup>
GBR. In the photos to the left it is evident I was in quite a bit of pain due to my hilarious facial expressions; it can also be seen that my left ski (left ankle injured) is skidding slightly from the spray of snow.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaG68u5hoIE8liBNsPO2_njhp9d5boXTE76P9C64q3i9bfhRQjmevtsEcCtHO22G5MaEQkFSfsZFRGCiT0QQkweNZwsSoawmO-2xFSOP-7elE8WwDa4OD1MvVIdNIdQwnSxf0xB4hpjM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-01-19+at+00.46.23.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaG68u5hoIE8liBNsPO2_njhp9d5boXTE76P9C64q3i9bfhRQjmevtsEcCtHO22G5MaEQkFSfsZFRGCiT0QQkweNZwsSoawmO-2xFSOP-7elE8WwDa4OD1MvVIdNIdQwnSxf0xB4hpjM/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-01-19+at+00.46.23.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Last Wednesday was the BUISC (British
University Indoor Ski Championships) Northern Qualifying Round. After the first
run I was in second place, just 0.10 of a second behind race leader Jenny
Thomas from SKUM (Manchester Uni). However following the second run I finished
in 3<sup>rd</sup> place due to a brilliant performance from Leeds University Skier Abby Clifford whose combined time from run 1 & 2 gave her the
overall title. The top 12 girls qualified for the BUISC Final in March –where I
hope to finish in a podium position again. The NUSSC First Team finished second
in the dual slalom thus securing a place in the BUISC Final also – hopefully we
can raise the bar and beat Northumbria in the Final!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-9559124485954156982012-10-28T10:54:00.001-07:002016-01-04T08:16:05.883-08:00University<span style="background-color: black;">At the end of September I moved into Castle Leazes Halls to begin a 3 year course of Business Management and Geography at Newcastle University. Having applied in the summer I was delighted to find out two weeks ago that I had been selected for the Elite Athlete Squad - consisting of approximately 20 high performing sports athletes within an array of different sports.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br />
Squad selection criteria is based on past, current and potential performance. The programme is specifically designed to help every athlete reach their full sporting potential whilst maintaining high academic standards. A lecture programme covers topics at a weekly lecture such as sport physiology, nutrition, psychology, injury prevention and management, alongside a tailored strength and conditioning programme. Squad members also receive full medical and physiotherapy screening by a sports physician and a team GB physio - for me this is the 18th November.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br />
In addition to the Elite Athletes group I received a sports scholarship of £750 from Santander paid in small sums throughout this year - this will be extremely useful in terms of paying for competition and training costs and for the purchase of any equipment; it is something I am very grateful for.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br />
Upon Starting University I also joined the ski club - NUSSC - Newcastle University Ski and Snowboard Club of which my two elder sisters were key members prior to gradating this summer. Training is held every Tuesday night at Silksworth Dry Ski Slope in Sunderland (only half an hours drive away!). Re-starting on dry slope after a two year break was fairly daunting, however, over the past couple of weeks I have felt myself really progress and pick up my old form.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br />
Last weekend I competed in NeoSki (North East Open Champs.) held at Silksworth along with 3 other NUSSC members - the following write up summarises out success:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Four of Newcastle's top skiers ventured out to Silksworth artificial slope in Sunderland for the North East Open Championships. This was a three run slalom race, open to all of the ski clubs across the region and there were around 50 skiers entered, including those from school teams right the way up to national squad skiers.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee;">
Under clear blue ski<span class="ecxtext_exposed_hide">...</span></span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee;">
With all our skiers entered making the podium, it was definitely a good day at the office for Team Newcastle and NUSSC!"</span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee;">
(Anon. 2012)</span><br /><span style="color: #eeeeee;">I'll try to get some photos of the brand new strength and conditioning room at the gym for my next post.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">es (something of a novelty for Sunderland!), Jonathan Powell was the first Newcastle racer on the slope and threw the gauntlet down to the rest of the field with a fast run, closely followed by Chris Penrose and Elite Athlete Olivia Parker. Will Cave, racing in what he admitted was not his favourite discipline, was unfortunate to crash out on his first run. Nonetheless, he fought his way down the course on the second and third runs to take third place in the U21 category. Chris and Olivia both got faster and faster with every run: Chris picking up 3rd in the Senior category and 7th overall, and Olivia winning the females race (and taking 8th in the overall classification). But it was Jonathan who set the fastest time of the day on the last run, to win the Championships outright by just over half a second.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">I am filled with a new enthusiasm and determination to improve on dry slope, which is currently a great challenge. My confidence is building week by week and I am very eager to race at BUDs (British Uni Dry Slop Champs) in a few weekends time in Edinburgh. Especially following our great success in the first few rounds of the Kings Races held at Rossendale yesterday, in which the 1st team won and the girls team finished 4th.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">On another note I signed up for the University rowing team purely on a whim in freshers week. Approximately 100 novice girls signed up and undertook a couple of weeks training including circuits, running and the correct technique on ergo machines. This was followed by a selection weekend were 68 girls tried out. The testing consisted of a leg press, to assess strength, and a gruelling session on a schwinn airdyne machine, to measure cardiovascular fitness and mental toughness. I later found out that I have made the top 20 so would be representing Newcastle University Novice Rowers. An accomplishment I am very proud of. I cannot wait to make it out onto the water soon in the next few weeks. It also excites me that rowing training will contribute to my overall fitness and will no doubt benefit my skiing due to the emphasis on leg strength, power, abdominal strength and upper body (the latter being notoriously weak - I once completed only 3 press-ups in a fitness testing a few years ago at a ski camp in NZ!!)</span></span></div>
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| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-2335282458277586412012-09-20T03:33:00.000-07:002016-01-04T08:24:16.039-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0s57M5anuk9k0v8ODguSm8JJiwWLBRBA3e-mvlaMdDaVAqafzo7KRNw7w2VRLU3Mu9Q5Wlo_QNK6WOl_NLUpCOpFBgzQrA0It8IQ-u31lx9fnuQP2x3pH76RyM4bHLuimcHycytwm90/s1600/562887_10150951215513671_1518455137_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0s57M5anuk9k0v8ODguSm8JJiwWLBRBA3e-mvlaMdDaVAqafzo7KRNw7w2VRLU3Mu9Q5Wlo_QNK6WOl_NLUpCOpFBgzQrA0It8IQ-u31lx9fnuQP2x3pH76RyM4bHLuimcHycytwm90/s320/562887_10150951215513671_1518455137_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graduation (Heidi Left and Hannah Right)</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: center;">I've been very complacent when in comes to updating my blog. From April to July I spent a lot of time in the gym trying to increase my overall strength focussing particularly on my leg power and core. Alongside this I worked and caught up with friends.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: center;">On July 20th I headed back out to New Zealand for summer training and races. I arrived late, as I didn't want to miss both my sisters' graduating from University.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: center;">This left me only 9 days of training to prepare for the Wanaka Tech Series (1st-4th August) which I felt was adequate time to get back into the swing of things. We has some great days training both slalom and GS with early morning sessions requiring 5.15am wake ups (welcome to the gruelling side of ski racing although its totally worth it especially when you catch the incredible sunrise!). Following skiing everyday we have recovered at the gym or back at the lodge doing a combination of light spinning, gentle jogs, yoga and agility training - this included one fun afternoon of ladder drills with one eye blindfolded, which is surprisingly difficult as it alters your depth perception.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdo3d2MXWrw6LnajF4ioIjaWQkrTlT01Y3JNgm_Y8lZ0jhNwdjE44Rmb8YxsPgKuB0Q3qYE5YUbmBMcbg_QoiD5agA77QwnOWmCqgmWXMcYOThZPte95o2RN1JkOy6rJ1Aj9YK-B6sCY/s1600/205335_3947317115919_550606747_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdo3d2MXWrw6LnajF4ioIjaWQkrTlT01Y3JNgm_Y8lZ0jhNwdjE44Rmb8YxsPgKuB0Q3qYE5YUbmBMcbg_QoiD5agA77QwnOWmCqgmWXMcYOThZPte95o2RN1JkOy6rJ1Aj9YK-B6sCY/s400/205335_3947317115919_550606747_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Above and Below: two of the many incredible sunrises </span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiLwVj6EAAbsAL-mHrXzTuHfVG6NQyVhrOY6LECoq0h6FbnPXtJOCv13IbFEa2ecljNH5L6dFibZMRmuve-FpZehY0xA5R94qew1gFWu1dy5cOCzMm4L6YuTZ05Z9fH2YWbYJKNBIDP8/s1600/300817_3469002567404_170588003_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiLwVj6EAAbsAL-mHrXzTuHfVG6NQyVhrOY6LECoq0h6FbnPXtJOCv13IbFEa2ecljNH5L6dFibZMRmuve-FpZehY0xA5R94qew1gFWu1dy5cOCzMm4L6YuTZ05Z9fH2YWbYJKNBIDP8/s400/300817_3469002567404_170588003_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2Tvua7TzrCohl44mpqG05ri7ITwIEZ1tI2RsWregQUL8nXh-LnEaE9pn4t_p0beJA4dJW91Zt944659ehdnflCHNybcKWmc9qZusYfjNFf5jA2rqg194aKWVR_QG5UnY48hyphenhyphen46v63rI/s1600/427132_4056099193236_753581458_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2Tvua7TzrCohl44mpqG05ri7ITwIEZ1tI2RsWregQUL8nXh-LnEaE9pn4t_p0beJA4dJW91Zt944659ehdnflCHNybcKWmc9qZusYfjNFf5jA2rqg194aKWVR_QG5UnY48hyphenhyphen46v63rI/s320/427132_4056099193236_753581458_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of my roommates Maddie and I</span></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Much to my benefit the first set of races
were postponed until the 9</span><sup style="text-align: center;">th</sup><span style="text-align: center;">, giving me eight additional days of
training prior to my first races of the 2012/13 season.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVBUrwh2oFgMXdaRcdDtVe_5WTDAl3g-VBdtKJlmRzfrap1A-JHHQxBN7tw8cWnhlrzRtDeAmFqb8G3lwojSyHk5DktToYrSrTXqMFzEVQcMyzjRHs7pkSoBc06Gv3X4DeVSfMQKFrtA/s1600/562749_4031960109774_640928556_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVBUrwh2oFgMXdaRcdDtVe_5WTDAl3g-VBdtKJlmRzfrap1A-JHHQxBN7tw8cWnhlrzRtDeAmFqb8G3lwojSyHk5DktToYrSrTXqMFzEVQcMyzjRHs7pkSoBc06Gv3X4DeVSfMQKFrtA/s320/562749_4031960109774_640928556_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tori Ramona and I</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">On August 6<sup>th</sup> I celebrated my 19<sup>th</sup>
birthday! We trained slalom in the morning in coincidentally out first day of
sun following a series of foggy days plagued with bad visibility. I personally
can’t think of a better way to spend my birthday. Later the girls went out to
‘Amigos’ for a Mexican dinner, where they surprised me with presents and a cake.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">By the time the races approached I was
still feeling slightly unprepared and not as strong as I had felt at the end of
the northern hemisphere season at Easter. Having raced slalom at Cardrona three
times previously however, I was feeling fairly confident despite my usual nerves. On the
first day of slalom I scored an 86 – my personal best. Unfortunately I
straddled on my second run of day two. Regardless I was very happy with my
skiing and felt my confidence returning.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIdotFYR7xCPKAZSoNaKHU7D7OAwQJv6PxSDcRQ7DrPyihLXLDTrv_2AwjW9Abc0F-95mQq7Ufz6akYb50NYkv0Y81t2ZN4XA__sJfsi205cFkORoTo1S4hA431FLsvyms-fsVwK7eQs/s1600/283799_168555253279812_1368813027_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIdotFYR7xCPKAZSoNaKHU7D7OAwQJv6PxSDcRQ7DrPyihLXLDTrv_2AwjW9Abc0F-95mQq7Ufz6akYb50NYkv0Y81t2ZN4XA__sJfsi205cFkORoTo1S4hA431FLsvyms-fsVwK7eQs/s400/283799_168555253279812_1368813027_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cardrona Slalom - photo taken by Martin Barwood</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi086zPv-vwbb51Vj6zbVfGA9ueLsg-1wPN7XxqejTDBgiJuwPMZp2CjGXmZ_nvFEcdloqAyFaO-dZLnUyQbtjKrXw4gEXwqbfH5CazvBbQLlPVt6MIVgwQcZGIV4nrCCJlgk8EtCiNK0/s1600/486399_4526485043001_1115825764_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi086zPv-vwbb51Vj6zbVfGA9ueLsg-1wPN7XxqejTDBgiJuwPMZp2CjGXmZ_nvFEcdloqAyFaO-dZLnUyQbtjKrXw4gEXwqbfH5CazvBbQLlPVt6MIVgwQcZGIV4nrCCJlgk8EtCiNK0/s320/486399_4526485043001_1115825764_n.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tori and Tessa looking positive during</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">second run inspection despite</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">the foggy conditions</span></td></tr>
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Following two days of slalom at Cardrona we
moved onto Giant Slalom. The first day was not particularly successful result wise and my skiing was messy – on run one I misjudged the gate behind a roller
and had to throw my skis sideways in order to make it (accompanied by my usual squeal).
For this mistake I can only blame myself due to a poor inspection or lack of
concentration but all in all I feel my GS has come on leaps and bounds since
this time last year regardless of points and position. Day 2 we woke up to
severe fog; after a sketchy warm up in varying visibility run one commenced. I
finished in the top 30 however was not pleased at all with my skiing. This day
was a reminder that I need to work on my mental approach so that conditions do
not faze my attitude. Much to my relief run two was indeed cancelled as you
could barely make out the second gate from the start area. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Besides from skiing most afternoons we
managed to catch highlights of the majority of Olympic events – I personally
enjoyed watching GB’s successful performance in track cycling and also Tom
Daley winning a bronze medal! </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57bqBhgC6YbHcK8moyzWyiqhD4tDLNWdTtpGXeoGxEKvg1TG4XXgqjaWrGvsdStJmPOfnZe5PUegCalTrLV0_l3F5-6AVtX35MFZS_eZJdEEnIe2fsDaxu54ZJxHVLA9eTccZeaD5bK4/s320/383919_10151161821183582_1289843354_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="238" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Japanese FIS slalom</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57bqBhgC6YbHcK8moyzWyiqhD4tDLNWdTtpGXeoGxEKvg1TG4XXgqjaWrGvsdStJmPOfnZe5PUegCalTrLV0_l3F5-6AVtX35MFZS_eZJdEEnIe2fsDaxu54ZJxHVLA9eTccZeaD5bK4/s1600/383919_10151161821183582_1289843354_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span lang="EN-US">This year the snow was lacking slightly in
comparison to previous years and the weather was generally a lot warmer, with
much rain and fog. One morning our training was delayed by an hour and a half
as freezing rain that fell in the night had caused the chairlift to break down;
it had also created an ice rink in the car park which created a challenge during our daily warmup and stretches!! The poor conditions also
caused grass and rocks to surface at one of the Japanese FIS slalom races at
Coronet Peak – fortunately I chose not to race that day however in the photo you can see what some of our boys experienced!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Fortunately a clear night followed causing
the surface to freeze and the following day I competed in the second of the
Japanese FIS slaloms. I skied fairly tentatively but overall my performance was
neither bad nor good, and the points were somewhat disappointing. This also
described my performance in the two Japanese FIS GS races on August 17<sup>th</sup>
and 18<sup>th</sup>.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFm5_BAL0K6YDA7h4XRBpBw-pVrCY5csICYUNUpU01DAM3W6Zejye63dwSnb4AnkGX4Ucbaj1Mx3FtaRx_MNvHbcm9h8IpaFVZdqjls1gRJmIUmOey0AeWnyF44ITZ7DM2PSstz_n1R8/s1600/531135_10151035141013237_464908046_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFm5_BAL0K6YDA7h4XRBpBw-pVrCY5csICYUNUpU01DAM3W6Zejye63dwSnb4AnkGX4Ucbaj1Mx3FtaRx_MNvHbcm9h8IpaFVZdqjls1gRJmIUmOey0AeWnyF44ITZ7DM2PSstz_n1R8/s400/531135_10151035141013237_464908046_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A very organised girls van with 18 sets of race skis!!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"> I ended my trip with an ANC (Australian New Zealand Cup)
slalom race at Coronet peak on August 21<sup>st</sup> in yet again more fog.
Having skied 8 consecutive days I was feeling a little tired and my first run felt
like a nightmare; I dropped my pole for a section of gates and it all seemed
very messy on injected snow conditions. Time-wise it wasn’t too bad and my
second run was reasonable. I finished 16<sup>th</sup> and scored 105, a decent
score when racing against the liked of Eva-Maria Brem from the Austrian World
Cup team. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The following day I travelled home with a growing
excitement inside of me to get back to Europe and compete in more slalom races
this upcoming season. Once again a huge thanks to all the support I received from
TCRA and in particular the Girls Team coaches Chrissi and Schreder, and of
course to the head coach Guenther Birgmann. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVegGPxr1VERnwFuxfGbwlkP0xrnlCR7_oNcz0tRrWa8AfpZZ7G6Kko8mBsZRd9p45aau36WT1PQyMZd62ogaSguPAeW0TRFeKRmHm8Jx6TL7Y46VMoFEWy9RofA6hBmP_cVoME3qcGs/s1600/547211_4135168649923_161542252_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVegGPxr1VERnwFuxfGbwlkP0xrnlCR7_oNcz0tRrWa8AfpZZ7G6Kko8mBsZRd9p45aau36WT1PQyMZd62ogaSguPAeW0TRFeKRmHm8Jx6TL7Y46VMoFEWy9RofA6hBmP_cVoME3qcGs/s400/547211_4135168649923_161542252_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Myself and Tori Bell at the start of the Cardrona Slalom </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1-4hxiPgyCh02nTFPYZDCJGctIYtJx5JESxuku94U97oWMYA37f7jElX0KxaLovzIVhdI_oYcYQ8hL4Z7qrwGUTrwa3H1AIhS78M5wPtdjp75a6M93O8hjKtJo22APRmZ47TzRm4Kbk/s1600/IMG_0379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1-4hxiPgyCh02nTFPYZDCJGctIYtJx5JESxuku94U97oWMYA37f7jElX0KxaLovzIVhdI_oYcYQ8hL4Z7qrwGUTrwa3H1AIhS78M5wPtdjp75a6M93O8hjKtJo22APRmZ47TzRm4Kbk/s400/IMG_0379.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-80621868485977547952012-05-02T15:28:00.002-07:002012-05-02T15:28:52.784-07:00End Of The SeasonIt's sad to say the season came to an end so quickly as we were greeted with melting snow and high spring temperatures! The season was an emotional rollercoaster (with absurd volumes of shed tears) It has been frustrating at times but overall I thoroughly enjoyed myself!<br />
<br />
I unfortunately drowned my laptop in coffee in mid March and so stopped blogging! But I will upload my remaining videos soon =)| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-81252445519977087772012-03-09T10:34:00.002-08:002012-03-09T10:35:07.440-08:00Long Time No Post...So a lot has happened since my last post. Mid-February I travelled to Bormio, Italy and competed in the English Champs; a highlight of my trip was the Senior Slalom - I scored a 107 bringing my points under 100 finally!! Since then I have trained in Meribel, raced in Le Corbier and Les Menuires and I spent this week resting in Megeve.<br />
<br />
On Wednesday I went to Geneva for the day with Celine for shopping, Starbucks and sushi to take my mind off skiing. Also this week I've had circuit training and weight sessions at the gym and also taken Celines dog Jazz for walks.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Z1eI1rJy0QfwGuYkBAbNdBCh8XkFxARrcaA_ahvqG1vi7his03R7Gq5JRUFQW2R5jpjyt35_sqqFws9516oxdJanbFpaeKSpooXOWsSjymu4_645jtOEHzbIGTD51kh89I_q1eul8X0/s1600/DSC00143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Z1eI1rJy0QfwGuYkBAbNdBCh8XkFxARrcaA_ahvqG1vi7his03R7Gq5JRUFQW2R5jpjyt35_sqqFws9516oxdJanbFpaeKSpooXOWsSjymu4_645jtOEHzbIGTD51kh89I_q1eul8X0/s320/DSC00143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I arrived in Villard de Lans this afternoon for the FIS races tomorrow and Sunday - the weather is expected to be warm again with temperatures above freezing (more ideal for tanning than skiing!!).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-38674414618736323822012-01-31T08:52:00.000-08:002016-01-04T07:55:40.292-08:00The last week spent in Megeve involved a lot of fog, fondues, champagne and snow!! I had a great time with one good slalom race, where I was skiing to my points, which has boosted my confidence for the upcoming races in Les Gets this weekend. Its forecast to be super cold...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNL9P0kq5UcES3fMI21xRE7g2rN6IK3dj1UI6pfJMgltK7HO6j2ONPJ34KSaKJLyeAMBXkkfPkPtzd_cn1BpWU5gIRrjwKtf7gaw48E9vrUv3HZDx5Z6l4uiw2xq-PpZSyZesg4Ry6DIs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-01-31+at+14.26.31.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNL9P0kq5UcES3fMI21xRE7g2rN6IK3dj1UI6pfJMgltK7HO6j2ONPJ34KSaKJLyeAMBXkkfPkPtzd_cn1BpWU5gIRrjwKtf7gaw48E9vrUv3HZDx5Z6l4uiw2xq-PpZSyZesg4Ry6DIs/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-01-31+at+14.26.31.png" width="400" /></a></div>
... not quite sure I can handle -40*C windchill!!!! I'm currently in Les Carroz, where it hasn't stopped snowing, and i'm taking a few days off to rest before I ski some pow =)<br />
<br />
<br />
Unfortunately my camera is broken!!! And so my blog posts have been fairly boring recently! But hopefully I'll have it fixed by next week when I travel to Bormio for the English Championships.| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-21501436507921481852012-01-24T10:38:00.000-08:002016-01-04T08:25:27.432-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Following four races in Villard de Lans I came back to Meribel with Celine for 5 days training in preparation for two GS races at St. Gervais this past weekend (21st&22nd). These were however cancelled because yet again we experienced a huge dump of snow on the friday!!! MORE RACES CANCELLED!!!! Alternatively, instead of travelling to the races on friday afternoon, we stayed in Meribel to watch the ESF slalom race where ESF instructors from many resorts competed. I reversed roles with Fred and became his coach - it really tested my analytical ability and we had some great fun despite it not being a good performance on his behalf.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I then travelled to Megeve where I took the weekend off to relax and recuperate. Yesterday we trained GS in fairly soft snow and this morning we trained Super G. I've never actually trained Super G (as its difficult in terms of safety to organise) and I've only ever raced this discipline a couple of times having always felt nervous, awkward and unsure what to do! Throughout the few runs we took this morning I felt much progression as I lost my negative attitude towards speed and surprisingly had a lot of fun!! Tomorrow is another day of Super G training (weather permitting) before two SG races to be held on thursday and a GS friday in Megeve. I will then race two SL's on saturday and sunday in Combloux before heading to Les Carroz to visit my parents.</span>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-23075446217571143192012-01-09T11:03:00.000-08:002012-01-11T06:27:22.800-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I headed out to Meribel on January 2nd with my parents and best friends family. The weather wasn't ideal for skiing with a huge storm blowing in across the Alps; we experienced non stop snow and poor visibility. Unfortunately this meant my races this weekend in Les Menuires were cancelled! Despite this I had an awesome week, with almost 1.5 metres of fresh snowfall, resulting in lots of powder skiing and hot chocolate stops.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Below: Immy and I with a blown down tree outside our apartment. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zelqGXAKnNazsPL1MUgNtOLE7fjMC9xvBYI-yo2JYIIGDxQjDXKkjVMJUxilVoC8eDXM1TiSuNsK3ZMeRD4VbXhA67pFVZkZ971-CsgaUmvt-CrMUDqjjYocW12NTe3oF2gvUmpcA2w/s1600/DSC00094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zelqGXAKnNazsPL1MUgNtOLE7fjMC9xvBYI-yo2JYIIGDxQjDXKkjVMJUxilVoC8eDXM1TiSuNsK3ZMeRD4VbXhA67pFVZkZ971-CsgaUmvt-CrMUDqjjYocW12NTe3oF2gvUmpcA2w/s320/DSC00094.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Skiing the following day with Immy and India.. wish I had some proper powder skis!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpErZjwgQ0ewzgW4sInqPf0_0GtZk0KF1D-LdWSzRTNanJze-iygAAqEubwM5nJF4bKRcYJ783NAA7Bug9KYeIwwonBCpMgcwszBKiZ8xaIR4tf_Q0uL42jemntNO-UbpZzhQizsfR1uo/s1600/DSC00113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpErZjwgQ0ewzgW4sInqPf0_0GtZk0KF1D-LdWSzRTNanJze-iygAAqEubwM5nJF4bKRcYJ783NAA7Bug9KYeIwwonBCpMgcwszBKiZ8xaIR4tf_Q0uL42jemntNO-UbpZzhQizsfR1uo/s320/DSC00113.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_QfVkP0Ir_4Qbx4J8HUpRzBFvliwUjRWSW4UES939z5lSl9O9ZK_CVYwW8dOqflxn6NoLuTyxedE9fsRTO3DhEb5jSFtBIXhSbuhhFToA5scNaDLRyryTFgvm_-n1gEovXF-wL-SGUg/s1600/DSC00115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_QfVkP0Ir_4Qbx4J8HUpRzBFvliwUjRWSW4UES939z5lSl9O9ZK_CVYwW8dOqflxn6NoLuTyxedE9fsRTO3DhEb5jSFtBIXhSbuhhFToA5scNaDLRyryTFgvm_-n1gEovXF-wL-SGUg/s320/DSC00115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My sister Hannah and I skiing in Les Menuires</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuK4czK-5mm7I17_FSPgPO6GGJgcie9jLxiotXqmxfF57KrCcuInkVUsW6-GhGJ2LUpjq-IHBSfV6ABtB5pjJCIrrWAUf0G335EFqamYX8stonKQ32cLINlOUHqPHIvqb5kVIauxA6v8/s1600/390026_10150474217318671_504363670_8985762_1066985276_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuK4czK-5mm7I17_FSPgPO6GGJgcie9jLxiotXqmxfF57KrCcuInkVUsW6-GhGJ2LUpjq-IHBSfV6ABtB5pjJCIrrWAUf0G335EFqamYX8stonKQ32cLINlOUHqPHIvqb5kVIauxA6v8/s320/390026_10150474217318671_504363670_8985762_1066985276_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This morning I trained GS in Meribel, followed by an afternoon skiing with my schoolfriend Livvy who's out in Val Thorens with her Uni. I'm training again tomorrow and then travelling to Villard de Lans for 4 races. </span></div>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-83253302509814474132011-12-26T09:14:00.000-08:002011-12-26T09:49:46.398-08:00The final 4 days in Canada<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On December19th I did not finish my second run of the GS race. The snow conditions were very soft following the previous days snowfall, and on approximately the fifth gate I was in the back seat and lost control over my skis, there was not much I could do to recover and so that was the end of that day. I had my final GS race on the 20<sup>th</sup> and skied averagely; my FIS points will lower as a result but not significantly. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The following two days we competed in slalom, the part of the trip I had been most looking forward to. There was a very strong field with the best-pointed girl sub 20 (my current points are 101). I started bib 31 both days and on the 21<sup>st </sup>I had a relaxed first run failing to make the top 30 flip which was a disappointment. I was extremely determined to ski better and more aggressively on my second run which would have paid off, however I made a huge error and stayed in by the skin of my teeth – I'd say I lost about 3-4 seconds. It was very frustrating and in hindsight a second run similar to my first would have lead to a point score for me. On the 22<sup>nd</sup> I straddled a vertically towards the end of the pitch on my first run and headed to the airport upset, exhausted and more than ready to come home. Overall I have to say the trip was an extremely fun experience despite little time to really explore Canada! It also taught me that in the lead up to events, I need to take longer breaks as I was truly tired out both physically and mentally. I also established that the pressure of races tends to lead to a poor first run and better second run and this is something I need to address.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHj_X7X9s9m1vNvkISwbiGoK3u-viapC2TUBtzXoF9OpFcjPHzX5EM116U4-6rqdhhkuRfo6Irbh7W1j9EP0xQoNLKdvgMDYBqV-QuHtNxT4vZ9cLDdULaH0TEuQxx5HMMvO11IZHHwU/s1600/IMG_1849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHj_X7X9s9m1vNvkISwbiGoK3u-viapC2TUBtzXoF9OpFcjPHzX5EM116U4-6rqdhhkuRfo6Irbh7W1j9EP0xQoNLKdvgMDYBqV-QuHtNxT4vZ9cLDdULaH0TEuQxx5HMMvO11IZHHwU/s400/IMG_1849.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-46656031307099106662011-12-18T17:32:00.000-08:002011-12-18T17:37:45.983-08:00Days 2-5<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On December 14th & 15th we trained slalom. I was fairly happy with my skiing making me more eager for the upcoming races towards the end of this week. Below is a photo from thursdays training; it is evident that I can get tighter on the gates, taking a more direct line which is currently my main objective. After training we drove about one hour to Banff for some christmas shopping!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4c12-hTnB6A6gd1BXVq0HGzr5__2jDTZGVXczPZao5JgMwQpjJDsoSEzRUTmgzdch92b0t_9gNM3NA2WZPNKgneWWsx9VvYP9nmhgR8ln0pe-WwwCFmmKeRejAe1Z7t23ggMxCs8TZY/s1600/CIMG0907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4c12-hTnB6A6gd1BXVq0HGzr5__2jDTZGVXczPZao5JgMwQpjJDsoSEzRUTmgzdch92b0t_9gNM3NA2WZPNKgneWWsx9VvYP9nmhgR8ln0pe-WwwCFmmKeRejAe1Z7t23ggMxCs8TZY/s400/CIMG0907.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> On the 16th we trained an extremely turny GS course which I have to say was difficult but I was pleased that I managed to train consistently and maintain my form despite the course deteriorating and rutting up. The following day I drew bib 14 for the first of these 6 races in Nakiska. Unfortunately I skied passively on the first run and over turned the top section - leading to a poor time approximately 5 seconds off the leader. I started my second run 5th and skied much better. I was more dynamic and aggressive and it showed as I was 2 seconds behind the winning time. However due to my bad first run I finished 20th overall which I'm not thrilled about. I took the experience of the second run through to Sunday 18th but the race was cancelled due to too much snow. We slipped the course about 6 times and the snow was simply too thick creating a danger hazard so they decided not to run the race. Instead I enjoyed a morning of powder skiing and an afternoon of hockey in the icy carpark! Tomorrow is yet another GS race and I am determined to score. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZ1Ex7pQQDDclopJL7j094u697dE2TMWnyNz8cxlgsNCTcmIxeGKYmcjWVyUFFqLqxqNpad1O_R46p2CjZMpxRDK8qOrAkS0kzDoptW25Jk5tneWPh6s13yzVp3nSh2zLqyBOjxeHiwU/s1600/DSC00040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZ1Ex7pQQDDclopJL7j094u697dE2TMWnyNz8cxlgsNCTcmIxeGKYmcjWVyUFFqLqxqNpad1O_R46p2CjZMpxRDK8qOrAkS0kzDoptW25Jk5tneWPh6s13yzVp3nSh2zLqyBOjxeHiwU/s400/DSC00040.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Above Evie Jojo and I at the top of the race course</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</span></div>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-46263884999762335992011-12-13T17:49:00.000-08:002011-12-13T17:49:05.034-08:00Canada Day 1<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMh6ulcn174Pq1Y_zjisNP6uW9ngeqhdrRfBI_JBrF1sx52ngx7q-9Gyv21d-8V7V0SIc7fPmC_jsAlBQT3f8YYDyqKmyk__WH61SbVBQm1ZEqcYUpoRxc9r5y6NXe0tlmEuwgZDto2ek/s1600/DSC00014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMh6ulcn174Pq1Y_zjisNP6uW9ngeqhdrRfBI_JBrF1sx52ngx7q-9Gyv21d-8V7V0SIc7fPmC_jsAlBQT3f8YYDyqKmyk__WH61SbVBQm1ZEqcYUpoRxc9r5y6NXe0tlmEuwgZDto2ek/s320/DSC00014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAcKkd74JER_kwLL76Xy6S-CSRFJVAWl5B0rgc4XGPNfI-_E0Y8u-i3omjVlGvOwXC4iIzgLgHoXs1IigkM12RdBNzhY3LPBr83xKAAl-ZdWtO0RRuFsmikqXh0JnrNcH1r-OURB17XA/s1600/DSC00015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAcKkd74JER_kwLL76Xy6S-CSRFJVAWl5B0rgc4XGPNfI-_E0Y8u-i3omjVlGvOwXC4iIzgLgHoXs1IigkM12RdBNzhY3LPBr83xKAAl-ZdWtO0RRuFsmikqXh0JnrNcH1r-OURB17XA/s320/DSC00015.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On sunday December 11th, I travelled with Fred from his house near Albertville, to Geneva. I stayed the night with Celine and ate at an incredible Italian Restaurant 'Luigia'. The next morning we flew to London Heathrow where we connected onto our flight to Calgary. The journey was fairly long but we eventually </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">arrived at the Delta </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Lodge in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Kananaskis by 11pm </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">local time. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Today we slept until nine o'clock before heading to the slopes to train Slalom. The snow conditions are great and the scenery is incredible!! We didn't train gates but instead worked on technical drills and just generally became familiar with the mountain and race runs. This afternoon we hit the gym to work on leg strength and core along with some cardio. I've had an awesome day and look forward to training a slalom course tomorrow! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOuK1EdFQzfLP_2zgPGZXRjnhirIxDCcc55Hdlh28xSj3MHAg2sNAL78XGFhg-g_qj9UZcGl-yS5gHBkvOJIoSApFTzH6QzOLWQV1LLTVjOJ5t3-V_UAP92EBd1V0zZMxd94lV87jE3I/s1600/DSC00009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOuK1EdFQzfLP_2zgPGZXRjnhirIxDCcc55Hdlh28xSj3MHAg2sNAL78XGFhg-g_qj9UZcGl-yS5gHBkvOJIoSApFTzH6QzOLWQV1LLTVjOJ5t3-V_UAP92EBd1V0zZMxd94lV87jE3I/s640/DSC00009.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOF6IjXWOmP82O-z4W-8lcPfhDnp0yycLuP2moiDZJRqlQLPpPXAHH_bwaqHvjkFAnDPhYHiPMOdOqMGqrS6uB4NTVLx2gDHGKYO9-_mRHC9LO9qLZ6hkYOgkp5LJ5MKYRcSwqNlnFOE/s1600/DSC00007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"> </span>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-39930760482227756712011-12-03T03:00:00.001-08:002011-12-03T03:00:40.903-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Being the third day of December it makes me realise just how quickly time has passed. Firstly Christmas is only 22 days away, and this morning I ate the third chocolate from the advent calendar my mum posted out to me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On Thursday and Friday I competed in two FIS GS races in Tignes. Being the first of the season I was mentally unprepared and unnecessarily nervous. This poor mental attitude coupled with icy conditions lead to a significant underperformance on my part. On the first day beginning 57<sup>th</sup> I completed my first run with much disappointment; I went on to ski my second run and I simply gave up four gates onto the pitch and DNF’d. I’m sure with a more fighting spirit I could have completed but I was just not in the right mindset. However I came back determined on Friday with bib no 46, yet still I skied far to statically with lacking outside edge pressure. The foggy and windy conditions didn’t help much and overall I have to say that this result does not reflect my current training standard and is therefore very frustrating for me! Obviously I know I can ski much better and I will not let this result deter any further progress, which I know I am more than capable of.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This week I am resting and living with my coach Fred down near Albertville. It’s nice to take my mind off skiing and give my body some recuperation time, along with necessary fitness training. On Sunday 11th I am travelling to Geneva for the night before departing the following day to Canada. Myself, Jojo Carew, Evie Kock, Celine Przedborski and our coaches Christoph and Fred will be flying into Calgary and skiing at Nakiska. Here we will compete in four GS’s and two slaloms following four days training. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a great opportunity in terms of both skiing and also from a cultural viewpoint!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><!--EndFragment-->| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-89534827382791039472011-11-24T07:31:00.000-08:002011-11-24T12:46:07.714-08:00<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On the 20<sup>th</sup>-23<sup>rd</sup> of November I trained two days of Slalom and two days of Giant Slalom with Matthew, on the Champagny run. Despite a lot of constructive criticism and little positive feedback I have started to experience new feelings in Giant Slalom, which is something I am very excited about! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniHLE0pIe0hUqyRGStqG2lUS3iG1Bzk5puNm89OObiQ0bJ3FZNYxSD0PsRVFriH7ZvoPs6D9tSDJesSfqA31tD3o3mmmtcETAPCcsThy1TujTPO0j1jUWkDvuvtuy3BFpGDXDCphCtg8/s1600/DSC05509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniHLE0pIe0hUqyRGStqG2lUS3iG1Bzk5puNm89OObiQ0bJ3FZNYxSD0PsRVFriH7ZvoPs6D9tSDJesSfqA31tD3o3mmmtcETAPCcsThy1TujTPO0j1jUWkDvuvtuy3BFpGDXDCphCtg8/s640/DSC05509.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Athletes from Proctor Academy (New Hampshire, US) have been staying in the same hotel as me this week and kindly invited me to train with them. As I have a four day break I decided to take the opportunity and skied my first day with them today! We trained GS on 3500, a little steeper gradient than Champagny. It was a great day and really interesting to work with different coaches and contrast their feedback with my current objectives. This lunchtime we stopped at Aspen Café for lunch and I greedily chose a waffle with nutella and whipped cream as I felt I deserved a treat! For the next couple of days we will be training slalom and I can’t wait!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To the left is a photo of myself and Mary Denning - She moved from England to Proctor a couple of years ago and its been great catching up with her!</span><o:p></o:p></div>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-19247523827199801672011-11-18T00:28:00.000-08:002011-11-18T00:30:39.112-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So I have two days off now and i'm going to spend the time prepping all my skis and working out in the gym - possibly involving a lot of yoga as my muscles seem fairly tight. On Sunday I start training again with Matthew for four more days! Despite some frustrating training I do seem to be progressing well with the current set up and so I saw no point in swapping coaches to train with Stefan. Furthermore I have really enjoyed training with CJ, Lewis and Elliot (the other brits).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My first set of races were to be held in Val Thorens on the 26th and 27th of November however due to poor snow conditions these have been postponed until December 3rd and 4th - this will mean 5 consecutive days of racing from November 30th-December 4th which could get pretty tiring but i'm still really excited. The weather has been sunny for the past week or so, however there is some much needed snow forecast over the next few days - so fingers crossed those races will go ahead.</span>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-47649083708569515532011-11-07T09:42:00.000-08:002011-11-07T09:43:11.422-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I moved into the Hotel Diva a week ago and it sure has passed slowly plenty of rain, wind, fog and not much else! There has been a change of plan; Stefan is not coming to the resort for at least another week and so it has been organised for me to train with Frederic Covili from tomorrow onwards. He was the Giant Slalom World Cup Champion in 2002, so I know there is an awful lot I can learn from him. Hopefully some good weather will come and visibility won't be a problem.</span>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-70329755268772692422011-11-02T13:19:00.000-07:002011-11-02T13:48:40.831-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVfRzW89gG2a9qZmtOSPizVfyU8M855n9bmEMcvhVxL_rNTJ7F6QGDPkPjT6mC_KELjJnjqN3AYzx07Ae5P0deX3b0rU6-v9KelozVqQJHjKLU_OdJiZMCtgFBafYMmVbaV7FbN2SaAA/s1600/DSC05494+-+Version+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVfRzW89gG2a9qZmtOSPizVfyU8M855n9bmEMcvhVxL_rNTJ7F6QGDPkPjT6mC_KELjJnjqN3AYzx07Ae5P0deX3b0rU6-v9KelozVqQJHjKLU_OdJiZMCtgFBafYMmVbaV7FbN2SaAA/s400/DSC05494+-+Version+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Above is a picture of me and CJ - I joined her group for slalom training on Monday and Tuesday coached by JB Fourrat and Matthew. I now have a five day break until I start training again. I intend to hit the gym and work on my upper body strength and agility - two of my weakest areas! However I have to admit the next few days will also involve a lot of Gossip Girl, reading, learning French and skiing around the mountain with my Ipod. From Monday 7th onwards I will be training with a new coach named Stefan; I will be solely focussing on Giant Slalom as its important for my skiing and I cannot wait! </span>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-60839953828159349962011-10-30T12:57:00.000-07:002011-11-02T13:20:32.571-07:00Tignes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0lmReCVpCwnzjl-83z6b943_jsh5Vd8lkDPDEvupz8lvpXMQ2dLHIyYdA2pQbjwhPAMi_1A9bVlGy4r47MCULe7Was6zCzRP-D5-dfSydl8VrG2EWy9Z4n5gyOHcwLKe2BuAsQyXtrw/s1600/CIMG0768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0lmReCVpCwnzjl-83z6b943_jsh5Vd8lkDPDEvupz8lvpXMQ2dLHIyYdA2pQbjwhPAMi_1A9bVlGy4r47MCULe7Was6zCzRP-D5-dfSydl8VrG2EWy9Z4n5gyOHcwLKe2BuAsQyXtrw/s400/CIMG0768.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I arrived in Tignes on Wednesday October 19th to train with SPSRC – It’s been great to get back on snow! I trained 5 days of slalom in fairly sunny conditions followed by a further 5 days of GS separated by a bad weather day on the 25<sup>th.</sup> I'm currently staying at <a href="http://www.hotelvanoise.com/">The Hotel Vanoise</a>, the managers are great and one of them plays his guitar and sings for us! During these ten days I also had my boots worked on by <a href="http://www.thebootroom.fr/">Jules Mills</a> who has twenty years experience, six of these on the World Cup. I now have much more comfort and greater precision, with my bone-spurs no longer rubbing and further <a href="http://skiing.about.com/od/skigear/f/bootcanting.htm">canting</a>. </span></div>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424090150757468679.post-32324258148348322832011-10-13T14:24:00.000-07:002011-10-13T14:28:47.115-07:00NEW ZEALAND 2011<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -26.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">This summer I endured the 24+ hour journey to New Zealand in order to train with the prestigious Treblecone Race Academy (TCRA) from July 17<sup>th</sup> to September 5<sup>th</sup>. This was my third season in the southern hemisphere with TCRA – the set up as always was extremely professional with highly regarded coaches, dryland trainers, a sports psychologist and physiotherapist.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -35.45pt; margin-right: -26.6pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 35.45pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZahsd_Snit3l39wjB3F7PgIDNXhLxkcjz6qCz85mvmuepfbSnBBFWun6g4Arave_s1JvOAZ6Myr0yrTnK_jrnWNHv5GALJfUMCIyjnKIi23s92Htcz1W8rsTm0rUIsuhFi_tZ6ldEdA/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-13+at+21.47.45.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZahsd_Snit3l39wjB3F7PgIDNXhLxkcjz6qCz85mvmuepfbSnBBFWun6g4Arave_s1JvOAZ6Myr0yrTnK_jrnWNHv5GALJfUMCIyjnKIi23s92Htcz1W8rsTm0rUIsuhFi_tZ6ldEdA/s640/Screen+shot+2011-10-13+at+21.47.45.png" width="640" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I stayed in lodges 15 minutes drive outside of the beautiful town of Wanaka! The first three weeks (FIS ENL camp) consisted of both early and late starts, training GS and slalom at Treblecone and Snow Park – both exceptional venues</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Below </span></o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Left, Snowpark; a more gradual incline, perfect conditions for technical development and confidence building – training here was awesome as it’s a small resort allowing a quick turn around between runs and consistent focus. We were also able to watch free skiers whilst riding up the chairlift which was fun. Right, the view from the top of Treblecone; a more challenging set up down both Main Street and Big Skyte – ideal for early morning starts where the ski patrol opened up the mountain for our use only!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdAwwK2THWr_J0SlI_0IcGKAXCsz-I1sppZNVOrhW3n8ehEFc45_pOsc8toRw3nzGBmlKSyNZY_HLBqhX25Ow7XwrR1xTLFayA3Z_XvB8Sm8KkbVA88cs8DjnOywHI2FJ1d51zaciTiU/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-13+at+22.06.17.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdAwwK2THWr_J0SlI_0IcGKAXCsz-I1sppZNVOrhW3n8ehEFc45_pOsc8toRw3nzGBmlKSyNZY_HLBqhX25Ow7XwrR1xTLFayA3Z_XvB8Sm8KkbVA88cs8DjnOywHI2FJ1d51zaciTiU/s640/Screen+shot+2011-10-13+at+22.06.17.png" width="640" /></span></a><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Skiing was followed by daily visits to the ProActive gym for spinning, yoga, circuit training and progressive muscle relaxation. Additionally much video analysis took place in the evenings, aided by Sprongo whom sponsor TCRA. The training block was followed by the Wanaka Tech Series, which was held in the first week of August. I competed in two GS races and two slalom races at Treblecone and Cardrona. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lvag_LNSPJBHBMXZth42oBt3x-Wc6tV58VTcmkqfm4G7ligDaQ1Yy-8Q6MzbpdfgKht7MZL2Mn0fl7oHlaiVH0s3cuMLcgU2vWMcc6gKJROhfjy5p-S9lV9FUKkDMfyHcbXLnv0vrtM/s1600/282190_2269544504464_1424139775_2692897_502364_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lvag_LNSPJBHBMXZth42oBt3x-Wc6tV58VTcmkqfm4G7ligDaQ1Yy-8Q6MzbpdfgKht7MZL2Mn0fl7oHlaiVH0s3cuMLcgU2vWMcc6gKJROhfjy5p-S9lV9FUKkDMfyHcbXLnv0vrtM/s640/282190_2269544504464_1424139775_2692897_502364_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Above ‘Team E’ (short for Estrogen) at the top of Mt Iron on one of our days off.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">On August 6<sup>th</sup> after the races I celebrated my 18<sup>th</sup> birthday followed by two days off – perfect timing! Throughout the following week we experienced many athlete departures and new arrivals for the significant beginning of the FIS Elite Camp. The remaining ‘Team E girls’ trained six intensive days of slalom at Snow Park with our coaches Nate Fisher and Jessie Neuner. I particularly enjoyed this week, as it was extremely focused and technically progressive, working through drills, stubbies, and combination courses. Additionally I was grateful to be training alongside the Austrian WC Ladies Tech Team – an unforgettable experience and great privilege. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RMPz1Rp72XUP7wKsQBlx06qaivKeksKpEaBBVBBHFKifEEtfJEAC0EpAg-WKJa6vmEpkTGYRXnGeOcgTYpmTbRd2CO-KOac7kiSGRmpW3XCKSjGFkZc7cCtUEF5vDkgM_SADsFOCCjg/s1600/301351_2223265573541_1004761217_2622893_4233599_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RMPz1Rp72XUP7wKsQBlx06qaivKeksKpEaBBVBBHFKifEEtfJEAC0EpAg-WKJa6vmEpkTGYRXnGeOcgTYpmTbRd2CO-KOac7kiSGRmpW3XCKSjGFkZc7cCtUEF5vDkgM_SADsFOCCjg/s400/301351_2223265573541_1004761217_2622893_4233599_n.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I also met the US skier Julia Mancuso up at Treblecone</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">August 19<sup>th</sup> was another significant date for me, I received my A-Level exam results – fortunately I attained the required grades and accepted a place to study Geography and Business Management at Newcastle University 2012. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">A highlight of my trip was the NZ Winter Games at Coronet Peak. I was interviewed with two other British skiers Charlotte Jesse and Florence Bell – little did I know it would end up on NZ national TV!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In addition the photograph below of myself competing in the New Zealand Winter Games Giant Slalom appeared on the respected US gossip website Jezebel</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Mu4KvfUFvyPzSNxdlx0Yu9Wm0JeRtxh-yGZHboxCoJ7lHTbKXB_LHnbqJXy3OTA4UlCZRFUWaYS73qZZmaVTKxmo5KB8J-rbFyffXc6grwIVTP_3B0wpjZ3HMsqDt77TpKURcsMaOP0/s1600/315621_10150263962643404_504418403_7660121_1710340_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="593" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Mu4KvfUFvyPzSNxdlx0Yu9Wm0JeRtxh-yGZHboxCoJ7lHTbKXB_LHnbqJXy3OTA4UlCZRFUWaYS73qZZmaVTKxmo5KB8J-rbFyffXc6grwIVTP_3B0wpjZ3HMsqDt77TpKURcsMaOP0/s640/315621_10150263962643404_504418403_7660121_1710340_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Overall the summer training was a success – I scored my first sub 100 in slalom, which is a promising start to the 2011/2012 season. Towards the end of the FIS elite camp I did not compete as well as hoped in any of the races at Coronet Peak, however I feel this was due to physical tiredness and a poor mental attitude – I was ready to come home and slightly phased by the high standard of competition and injected snow conditions. Once again I set off on the lengthy journey home having thoroughly enjoyed my time in New Zealand – A huge thank you to my coaches and especially the Head coach Guenther Birgmann. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</span></div>| Alpine Ski Racer |http://www.blogger.com/profile/01364694434939406282noreply@blogger.com0