gdhl.org

"You are receiving this e-mail because" you've been receiving the GDHL e-mails and/or my e-mails to participants in the adult gate training program, and we have exciting news to share. As you know, Mark Reidl and some of the other recent members of the GDHL committee are taking a well-earned break from some of their committee responsibilities. Mark will continue to work with our sponsors, great swag being one of the highlights of his leadership.

As I suspect is often the case with volunteer groups, a change in committee membership has brought new enthusiasms and priorities. In this case, Byron Darlison has brought considerable talent and energy and, with a lot of technical work from Rob Mathers, has created a fabulous new forum for communicating to our adult racing community. We are delighted to bring you gdhl.org. It will be the home for information regarding GDHL, interclub and other masters racing. In co-operation with the Craigleith Snow School, it will also bring you information about adult race training programs. During the season, weekly newsletters will be sent to subscribers from the news blog section of the site. (If you've received this directly, you're already a subscriber. If someone forwarded it to you, or you want to change your details, go to the newsletter signup in the top right corner of the home page of the site.)

**This hasn't been a walk in the park for Byron!**

So please explore the site. The technology of the site is such that it automatically adjusts the display to suit the equipment with which you're viewing it. In it you will find:

the full story on GDHL, including how teams are made up, rankings assigned etc.
a survey requesting your input on how bib numbers are assigned and season end scoring adjustments are made
the inside scoop on interclub racing, including the mysteries of the scoring system
some very subjective thoughts on equipment for interclub racing
hints of even more to come in the future, including a very cool interactive GDHL results data base that Rob Mathers has built and that will be used for communicating results in the future!

While you're browsing, please think of things you would like us to add and things you may be able to contribute. A Greg Lee page is in the works, and we would love to have more photos and history of adult racing at Craigleith. (Woody, send us those Club championship results from 1989 that you've got in your bottom drawer!)

Members of the GDHL committee are also working with the Snow School on some exciting enhancements to our training program, and news of those and other developments will be the subject of more newsletters between now and when the snow flies. In case you missed Jeff Dawson's recent e-mail, here are some key objectives of the Snow School for the upcoming season:

Working closer with the GDHL committee to provide training times that are convenient and provide preparation for the coming race
Hire additional coaches, reducing the athlete/coach ratio
Jacques Reid has been hired and will guide the overall delivery of the day's technical agenda, and work to have all coaches in line with the theme and objective
Continue to develop the use of video and improve feedback
Offer a wider variety of hills to train on and a choice of environments to train in, when hill space permits i.e. Gates and stubbies side by side
Have a coach available at GDHL races to help Adult Gate Training participants with their course inspection
Put our Chrono Split timing system to better use
Improved communications with the group so that we get continuous feedback to ensure we are meeting the training objective.

See our new motto below :-)

Late Season Results

Club championship results are posted on our site. The day brought a mix of expected and unexpected successes and the season's debut of James McLeod, who showed a bit of rust, but much of the old flair. Hopefully we will see more of him next year.

The following weekend saw the Provincial Masters individual championships at Osler. Results are also posted on the site. Doreen Davenport, Allan LaChance, Jeff Sutherland and Greg Cavers represented Craigleith. Doreen, Allan and Greg swept the SL, GS and combined gold medals in their age groups, with Greg also taking third place overall. Jeff won the SL in his age group, but was edged out in the GS and overall by some guy from Montana, who may never be seen again.

The Canadian Masters championships were held in late March at Nakiska. To quote from the Alpine Ontario newsletter, "Other medal winners were ... Jeff Sutherland (3 Gold). Jeff skied brilliantly at all races, leaving nothing on the hill. His “leave nothing back” attitude provided excitement but also unfortunately a DNF in the 2nd run of the slalom." Apparently the DNF cost him the overall championship. A big collection of daily results can be downloaded from a link in the newsletter.

Self Improvement

Rob Cassels has provided this link to Ted Ligety's blog entry describing part of the reason for his GS success this past season. He says that he was able to turn the new 35 metre radius skis as tightly as the old 27 metre skis by getting an extra seven degrees of edge angle. Judging by the image to the left, he had best hope the radius doesn't get any longer, as it doesn't seem there is any more edge angle to be had.

Here is an article regarding mental preparation in the starting area, something you can work on over the summer. Read how just forcing a smile may make you faster!

Fashion and Social News

Below left is Carrie wearing the Breakout down jacket and Thrill pants. This was taken the day after the Nik Zoricic Dawn 'til Dusk Challenge, in which all participants were attired in jeans. I understand Carrie bought her jeans at an advantageous price shortly before the event. Although notably aerodynamic in their fit, they were apparently not colour fast, which for some reason led me to imagine that while Elizabeth Taylor was famous for violet eyes, Carrie was fearful of indigo thighs.

Fast forward to a sunny day in June at Cobble Beach (the site of Carrie's first date with Sarunas), to find Carrie in another white outfit, making vows in Lithuanian and dancing and smiling all evening long. Sarunas's brother, in his role of best man, recounted his many days fishing with Sarunas and drew a witty comparison between Carrie and a trophy fish. The precise line was "a catch worthy of mounting." I was unable to observe the mother of the bride or the elderly Lithuanian relatives at this point in the proceedings, but most of the audience seemed to think this was pretty funny. I hasten to add that Carrie looked way better than any stuffed fish I've ever seen. See for yourself below!

**"Signed, Sealed, Delivered," 1 June 2013**

Diversions

A lady about 8 months pregnant got on a bus. She noticed the man opposite her was smiling at her. She immediately moved to another seat. This time the smile turned into a grin, so she moved again. The man seemed more amused. When on the fourth move, the man burst out laughing, she complained to the driver and he had the man arrested.

The case came up in court and the judge asked the man (about 20 years old) what he had to say for himself. The man replied, "Well your Honor, it was like this...when the lady got on the bus, I couldn't help but notice her condition. She sat down under a sign that said, ‘The Double Mint Twins are coming' and I grinned. Then she moved and sat under a sign that said, 'Logan's Liniment will reduce the swelling,' and I had to smile. Then she placed herself under a deodorant sign that said, 'William's Big Stick Did the Trick,' and I could hardly contain myself. But, Your Honor, when she moved the fourth time and sat under a sign that said, 'Goodyear Rubber could have prevented this Accident!' .... I just lost it!"

That's it for now. Let us know your ideas through the survey mentioned above or by email. We'll be back in touch with news for next season over the coming months. In the meantime, enjoy your dryland training and other summer pursuits, and be safe!

James Mathers

**But hopefully no good deed goes unrewarded!**