Remarkably, we've had four weekends of skiing at the Club before Christmas, and we're looking at a great start to the "regular season." Now the cynical among us might suggest that the GDHL has several generous sponsors and we don't really need the registration fees of the chronically late to enroll. And having fewer racers will make for a smoother course and less waiting in the cold. But we remain magnanimous and eager to share the great GDHL experience, and there are still a few days left to sign up for the season. The deal is that you need to sign up by 28 December if you want to be on a team. After that, we'll only take individual entries unless we need to round out the teams. Go to the member page of the Club's website. Remember that the Calcutta is on Saturday 3 January and the first race is the following day. On top of that, Taylor Simms-Brown reports that the interclub league is geared up for a stellar season, with the first of five races on Saturday 17 January.

Meanwhile, in the wider world of skiing, we find Lindsey Vonn winning her 61st World Cup race to draw within one of the women's record of 62 held by Annemarie Moser-Proell.

Obviously Lindsey didn't heed the immortal advice of Bart Simpson.

It's interesting to compare racers from different eras. As best I can determine from the FIS website, Annemarie had approximately 185 World Cup starts over 11 seasons, starting at the age of 16, and finished out of the top 10 only three times, two of which were 12th places. Lindsey has had about 340 World Cup starts in an era of a much more crowded calendar. On her retirement, Annemarie opened a cafe, which she operated for many years. Somehow, I don't see serving schnitzel as a staple of Lindsey's life after skiing!

But before the Calcutta, we have the Christmas and New Year's camps. The schedule for Christmas camp starts on the 27th with SL on Birches for two days, followed by GS on Big John for the last three days of 2014. The New Year's camp will be held on a pay as you play basis, starting with SL on Birches on the morning of 2 January and then offering GS sessions on Big John on the morning and afternoon of the 3rd.

Finally, here is a note from Jacques Reid concerning the coaching staff for the adult race training programs this season:

"I am very excited to announce our staff for the upcoming Adult gate training season.

New to the team this year are Paul Atkinson and Chris Barber. Both are former members of the Ontario Ski Team and have competed internationally vs the worlds best ski racers. Both are graduates of US College Ski Scholarship programs where they continued their careers as skiers. Paul and Chris have been coaching the junior programs for the past few seasons and are looking forward to a new challenge with our program.

Returning:

Carrie Lenauskas will be returning for the 4th season with the program. Carrie brings 12 years of coaching experience and energy to our team for the season.

Glenn Blaylock will be taking on more of a coaching role this season as he has recently completed his Development Level (trained coaching status). We are looking forward to Glenn's wisdom and calm approach to ski racing which will benefit all.

James Mathers will also be returning and will be alternating with Glenn as both will still be training 1 out of 2 sessions. James, as always, brings his passion and will continue his very informative newsletters.

Jacques Reid returns for his second year as lead coach of the program and continues to work for Pratte International ski camps in the off season. When not coaching at Craigleith, Jacques is busy running courses for the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation where he trains and mentors our future coaches.

Al Lachance will be taking on a different role within the adult race program this season.

Al will be working with the Technical free ski/ learn to race program and will have the opportunity to do more free skiing with the members that are wanting to learn the basics of ski racing in a mostly free skiing format.

Al has been instrumental in building the adult race program and has been the driving force behind it for the last 20 or so years. Many of the adults currently involved in the program have "learned the ropes" through Al. Most of the skiers in the program have had the chance to "go for a run" with Al and witnessed his passion and dedication to the technique of alpine skiing.

We feel that this new role will give Al a better opportunity to impart his knowledge onto the skiers in a more conducive skiing environment.

If any of you are wondering about Kevin, he will still be involved with the program. He'll help us set courses and do a bit of training during the season.

Thank you to Al for his dedication towards the adult racing program for all these years!

Regards

Jacques"

Merry Christmas to all! See you on the hill!

James Mathers