All I Want For Christmas

is to make one turn like this

and live through it to turn again!

But before you settle in for a holiday, go through your adult racing checklist:

Are you registered for adult gate training Christmas camp? It starts on the 27th- meet at the National chair at 9:30. Last I heard there were only a few places left. The last day to avoid a 20% surcharge is the 21st (today).
Are you registered for GDHL? The deadline for registration if you want to be on a team is the 28th, although you can still participate as an individual if you register after that date. Every year some guys dilly dally and sometimes GDHL committee members get on the phone to chase them down. But what are they really thinking about you when they call? And what if they don't? Avoid the angst, be proactive and register now! (I will refrain from using this forum to name apparent dilly dalliers, but you can see who has signed up, maybe except for a few recent additions, by checking our website.)
If you're new to GDHL this year, please try to catch up with Randy Dalton or James Mathers before the end of the year. Send us an email or come by a Christmas camp session. We'd like to give you a few practice runs to help us rank you appropriately.
Whether you're new or not, please let us know whether you're coming to the Calcutta. There's no cost, but it will help us with planning. And for participants, while the loot won't be as lavish as last year's, it will be something you will be hard pressed not to use, and you must be there to get yours. RSVP here.
Are you registered for a nine-week training program? The programs start on 4 January. The last date to avoid a 20% surcharge is 29 December. Last I heard, there were only a few places left in the Sunday sessions for both the gate training and technical training programs. As noted in a previous newsletter, we can often accommodate "Sunday people" in the Saturday gate training sessions, but only if space permits.

Holiday Spirit

Those parents who want to live vicariously through their children's racing exploits and think enviously of the Joneses and their over-achieving offspring may think twice when they realize how much it costs to race at the highest levels. So just sign up for adult racing yourself, forget your own kids (or get them to sign up with you if they're of an age) and use some of the money you save to live vicariously through someone else's children, by supporting Phil, Maddy and Morgan. See here for more details.

And in other news regarding ways to contribute and have a good time as well, the Track 3 Friends and Family Race Day will be held at Craigleith on 14 February 2014, to raise funds for the Ontario Track 3 Ski Association for the Disabled. It is an all day event, including lunch, fun races, apres-ski and awards. Track 3 is a volunteer non-profit charitable organization that teaches children and youth with disabilities to downhill ski and snowboard. There are currently over 100 kids on the Track 3 waiting list and money raised at this event will help whittle down that list. For more information about Track 3, visit www.track3.org. More information about the Race Day will appear on the Track 3 site in the near future. Please contact Margaret Isberg if you or anyone you know wants to volunteer at the event (up to 8 volunteer hours for students), or you have prizes to donate to the raffle (modest contributions are welcome).

Watch With Interest

It's good to see Bode Miller back to his old form. Even when he falls he has a certain je ne sais quoi. This recent clip from Val d'Isere doesn't feature the dramatic recovery of the fence skiing episode at Kitzbuhl a few years ago, but a fine effort nonetheless. Click here to watch the whole story of the run from which the image below originated. Wait for the slo-mo at the end.

And here's some neat video of Aksel Lund Svindal at Beaver Creek. It starts off with a bit about picking yourself up after a fall and continues with some very cool vantage points.

I'm told by those lucky enough to have been there that the skiing at the Club is excellent. Hope to see everyone there soon. For now, sign yourself up, sign your friends up and have a happy holiday!

Cheers,

James Mathers