GDHL News

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We are Back in the Start Gate!

After two weekends of free skiing and training, we have a busy weekend ahead. For the first time ever, the GDHL is hosting a night race on Saturday, that will have lots to offer you and your family. On Sunday we will have a GS on Big John, in the afternoon to give your legs some time to rest up. The final two races of the of season, are February 12 and 20th.  Full details are on the schedule page of GDHL.org.

It is going to be a fun and busy weekend, and there are a lot of details to cover about the Night Race, so keep reading below. Additionally covered below is:

  • Night Race Details

  • Call for Volunteers

  • End of Year Banquet

  • Some GDHL Race Etiquette

  • Training sessions for this weekend, including how you can take advantage of them!

  • Wrap up of the Interclub races to date, contributed by James Mathers

Night Race - This Saturday 6 PM to 8 PM

This Saturday, February 5th, we will be hosting our first night race. It is a traditional slalom down Little John, under the lights. The race will run from 6 pm to 8 pm, with appetizers on the patio and inside. Beyond the excitement of this being a night race, please note the following;

  1. The race event is open to all Club members! If you are 18+ years of age and would like to try a run through the gates on race evening, you are welcome to join us. Please email Peter Dyson dysonp@gmail.com no later than Friday at 5 pm so that we can get you on our list of participants.  Bib pick up for non GDHL racers will be coordinated by Peter Dyson.

  2. This race is being put on by the GDHL with skeleton race crew staff, and we would love some volunteers. Any old racers, or old race crew, that are free Saturday evening and would like to join in on our fun, please email GDHL@GDHL.org and we will get you into a volunteer role for the evening. The most needed people will be slippers, and course repairers.

The goal of our Saturday race is to turn the GDHL racing into a full family affair, please bring your little ones, along to watch you ski to glory.

End of Year Banquet

The GDHL committee received some great news this week, that we have been given the go-ahead for our annual end-of-year banquet on Saturday March 5th. Obviously, this is within the current provincial health guidelines and there is always potential for change. More details on the banquet will be communicated as we approach March 5th, just make sure you have marked it in your calendar.

Race Etiquette for the GDHL

Yes, we all know that the GDHL is a storied institution with roots to some of the most impressive masters racers on the Niagara Escarpment. And we know that our racing prestige is head and shoulder above adult race programs at other private ski clubs. But our race crew, timing team, and GDHL committee are not all omnipotent. Which means, if you ski out of a racecourse, or straddle a gate, or commit any foul that should rule out, YOU need to report yourself. Please, people, please report your DSQs and DNFs to the GDHL@GDHL.com email, after your race, so that we can keep our finish data clean.

We appreciate the honour you show by reporting these mishaps after the results are posted, but it is a far more efficient process for all, if you self-report immediately following the race. Thank you in advance!

Training Sessions – From Glenn Blaylock

Are you interested in training with Glenn? Great! Saturday training sessions are all booked up, but you can join ad hoc on Friday training. The only requirement is to call to the race office before Thursdays at noon, with your intention to train on that Friday. The race office is very good at making sure the right resources are in the right places. You may be required to fit into the schedule of the coach, by either training in the AM or the PM, all of those details will be provided to you when you call the race office.

Now what will we be training this weekend?

  • Date: Saturday, February 5th

  • Time: 9:00 to 11:30 am

  • Hill: Birches

  • Discipline: Slalom

  • Equipment: Slalom skis and protective equipment: guards for hands, shins and face

  • Coaches: Glenn Blaylock, Greg Roe and Cheryl McConachie

  • Hill and Course Maintenance

  • Before your first run through the gates be sure to inspect and slip the course.

  • During the training session the course will need to be slipped or reset from time to time depending on the conditions.

  • After training it is important we remove the gates and slip the hill by 11:30 am. Please slip the hill wide and the ski tracks as young racers will be training after us.

Weekly Coaching Tip

The Start (Important video below and linked here)

Alpine races are often won or lost at the start.  An effective method of starting is outlined below: 

  1. Place your boots just behind, but not touching, the start wand.

  2. Place your ski pole tips on the hill side of the start wand, about a hand width away from the posts.

  3. Stand up tilting the upper body forward at the waist. Allow your whole body to fall forward when the 5 second countdown starts.

  4. When your upper body is forward of the start wand push back on your poles. Advanced racers will push back with their legs as well, moving the upper body forward even more, before the boots open the start wand. (It is important to note there is no upward movement of the body).

  5. Push your hands forward, raise your chin and skate. Watch for soft snow on the side of the starting area to avoid catching your edges when skating.

For an excellent analysis and demonstration of start technique watch at least the first 5 minutes of this video.

We’re looking forward to another awesome training session. The session is 2.5 hours long providing you lots of time to ski runs out of the course working on technique.

Interclub Update

The latest interclub race involved both triumph and missed opportunity for our intrepid Craigleith representatives. COVID exigencies led to a Friday afternoon start at Devil's Glen. With calm and sunny conditions, it was as nice a minus 18 degree day as one can imagine.

Triumph was evident at the top of the overall leaderboard as Duff Isberg (31.84 seconds), Greg Cavers, Tom Murdison, Scott McLorie, Joey Hill and Chris Shipton swept the top six places, with Jeff Sutherland, Richard Usher-Jones and Allan LaChance joining in to give Craigleith 9 of the top 14 places. Allan, Jeff, Greg and Chris were the highest point scorers on the team, as their results came in the heavily populated baby boomer and just below men's age groups. (We note that Jeff has apparently not fully recovered from his dog walking injury and, for the first time in memory, didn't win his age group. We feel certain this will be rectified soon!)

BUT, interclub is a team sport and a full score sheet requires four women. Kate Veer and Daina Dunlop admirably filled two of those spots, but the Peaks fielded four women and their 17 point margin of victory was supplied by interclub's patriarch, John Hethrington, who scored 21 points as the lone finisher in the men's 85 to 89 age group in a time of 73.23 seconds. The Peaks also swept the men's 80 to 84 age group, scoring a total of 43 points there.

SO, here's an exciting offer for an aspiring female ski racer. Forget all those valuable but time consuming and expensive lessons from Glenn Blaylock and his staff. Just show up to an interclub race and there's a good chance you will at least tie Meg Ryley! Here's how it works. At the previous interclub race, Meg finished 6th overall, beating Scott McLorie and Greg Cavers, among others. But because she was unopposed in her age group, she scored only 21 points. Same as John Hethrington on Friday. We understand that Meg Ryley can't ski interclub on Fridays and leave Megan Peterson to look after MCR Interiors and ski GDHL on weekends, but if you're there the next time this happens, you will very likely get 21 points and make the difference! (We like John Hethrington, but he's been used to losing to Craigleith for the last 10 years, so he'll get over it.)

AND, just when you thought it couldn't get any better, the same offer applies to men if the race is at Caledon! ('Cause we can never get enough guys to go to Caledon.) So, @paultheskiracer, watch for your big chance!!

Next interclub race is Sunday morning at Jozo Weider. Register at https://interclubski.org/signup/ and send an email to captain Taylor Simms-Brown at tsimmsbrown@jascor-intl.com.


A lot to look forward to this weekend. Stay safe as you commute north, and see you Saturday night!

-Doug