Racing Wrap-up, Sponsors, and the Story of Sally

It has been pleasant to compose this without the pressure of having to announce something before it happens.  Among other things, I have been able to mull over at leisure continuing to razz Jeff S. about missing the Interclub finals.

Club Championships

As always, the Club Championships brought out a slightly different field from GDHL and Interclub and some new faces rose to the occasion.  Results are here.  Double gold medalists included Doreen Davenport, Jack and Cathy Weingust, George Hayhurst, Anne Mathers, Allan LaChance, Margaret Isberg, Jeff Sutherland (who didn't lose everything with his week off), Leslie Morgan, Tracy Britnell, Greg Cavers, Kate Veer, Jennifer Callow, James Callow (two of the many Callows in the starting gate), Paul Atkinson, Devon Clarke and Doug Jarvis.  Overall champions were Paul Atkinson and Devon Clarke, with Leslie Morgan and Jeff Sutherland taking the senior titles.

Good to see Doreen back racing!

Among other highlights, Milan Popadich showed fine form in racing to the second fastest combined time in the very deep men's 55 to 59 group despite an absence from racing and training this year.  Rob Bruce had a stellar GS run to claim bronze and join the still prestigious "I beat Al once" club, while Rob Burnes and Trent Winstone went 1, 2 in the 50 to 54 group and joined the "I beat Jeff" club.

Trent Winstone, Rob Burnes and Craig Shibley on the 50 to 54 GS podium

It was fun to watch Paul Atkinson, Chris Barber and Devon Clarke skiing SL on the weekend.  Like jumping back and forth from trampoline to trampoline all the way down the hill.  But you have to make sure that your upper body is leading the way, not popping up.  Devon also participated in Sunday's closing adult gate training Dual SL and was looking like a winner as she vanquished all comers.  (Devon didn't let a seeding system that was less formal than March Madness put her off.)  Jeff Sutherland was looking like the other finalist, putting his usual energy into many successful match-ups.  However, Jeff had handicapped himself by skiing on his GS skis and is never one to pace himself through the many opportunities to run the course.  In the semis against the sneaky fast descendant of L. Patten (aka Jerry Maguire), Jeff took the first round, but may have forgotten the maxim about keeping the upper body ahead of the momentum and as he approached the finish line in what appeared to be a winning second run, he blasted off like a Saturn rocket and returned to earth on his back without the benefit of parachute deployment, leaving Jerry to proceed to the final at his leisure.  Jerry then played the pity card in his first run against Devon, convincing Jacques that a giving him a two gate head start in the second run would make for a closer finish.  As it turned out, Devon was a bit slow out of the start on the second run, giving Jerry almost three gates, and Jerry hung on to claim the title.

Chris Barber and Paul Atkinson in their winning SL suits.

Sponsors

We are very fortunate to have a great group of sponsors for GDHL and I have been tardy in recognizing them this year.  Their contributions ensure that we have a financial cushion with which to operate, and enable us to often be in a position to make a contribution on behalf of the GDHL to the Club's capital investments in racing.  Their logos and links to their websites adorn our newsletter and website and we hope you'll reciprocate the support that they've shown us.

Budget Propane is a family business operating from Gravenhurst, Muskoka, Haliburton and elsewhere in central Ontario.  The patriarch has asked that he not be identified in this forum, but he and his family and embraced and supported ski racing at Craigleith in an epic way, and I trust that those of you who know him with thank him in person.

Pratte International is headed by Michel Pratte, a past national team racer and coach, who has developed an outstanding approach to running race camps over many years.  Many GDHL racers have benefited from Michel's camps in Zermatt, Whistler, Copper Mountain, Sun Peaks and elsewhere.  He has a large team of coaches to call on, including our own Jacques Reid.  The camps are not only great training, but great fun, and well worth a visit.

Squire John's has been a long-time supporter of GDHL and many other things at Craigleith.  They are the "go to" source of race and other ski equipment for many of us, and equally adept at outfitting you for summer cycling at the main shop on Highway 26.  Drop in to see Shane and company and check out the vast array of great stuff they stock!

Side Launch Brewery is a new sponsor of both GDHL and Interclub this year, and is making a big impression as a relative newcomer in the craft brewery space.  Their Collingwood brewery offers Wheat, Pale Ale and Dark Lager.  In addition, those of you who attended the closing GDHL dinner had an opportunity to sample the latest addition to their lineup, a clementine flavoured version of their Pale Ale.  Very nice, but be sure not to confuse it with the Stiegl Radler that some of us are drinking as a convenient way to get a couple of servings of fruit juice.  They come in similar big cans, but Side Launch's version is over 6% alcohol, rather than 2.5%.

Craigleith member Ron Warren is another long time supporter of the Club through his ski distribution enterprise, which features Lange, Dynastar and other top brands.  Lange race boots are ubiquitous, and justifiably so, and the Dynastar master's GS ski, among other Dynastar race skis, remains at the top of every GDHL racer's wish list.

Last but not least, Royal LePage Locations North is a big part of the local real estate scene and a big part of Craigleith.  Led by Craigleith member Desmond von Teichman, the team has ski country covered from offices in Collingwood, Thornbury and Meaford and looks forward to meeting your real estate needs with personal, professional and progressive real estate services.

Diversions

Some of you may have noted Marcel Hirscher winning a World Cup GS at Garmisch in early March by 3.28 seconds, a margin not seen since the days of Ingemar Stenmark.  See here for details and video. Not as elegant to watch as Ted Ligety, but he's trimming the line in a way that was perhaps predicted by Bode Miller when he commented on Ted's dominance at the time of the Sochi Olympics.  Notably, the day before in the shortened Garmisch downhill, if you were a second out you were in 34th place and DFL (49th) was but 1.71 seconds out.

See below for a neat video of Marcel skiing SL in a special setting, with special effects.

The Story of Sally

In writing these missives, I've tried to avoid things that might be characterized as self-aggrandizement.  This hasn't actually been too challenging, as my results have not often offered up much to aggrandize.  So I hope you will forgive this bit being a lot about me, despite the title.  

When I've struggled with my skiing over the years, as improvement hasn't come as quickly as I might hope, I've often attributed it to not having started skiing as a child.  I don't blame my parents for this.  They were born in Scotland and Santa Barbara, not exactly hotbeds of skiing, and church on Sundays was a professional obligation for the Reverend Principal Dr. Donald Mathers.  But recent developments suggest that my gene pool might have included an inferior posterior.  

While attending a Pratte camp in Sun Peaks a year ago November, I suffered a recurrence of the jammed sacroiliac that I've had from time to time in the past.  On going off to see my usual medic, I was passed along to her mat leave substitute.  She didn't actually fix the problem very quickly, but observed that the problem could be due to my gluteal muscles not working properly and failing to provide the desired support for the spine.  This is apparently pretty common.  My fitness guru referred to it as "gluteal amnesia."  Fortunately it wasn't the dreaded buttocks dementia.  

But there was treatment to be had.  I was introduced to Sally Belanger.  (I have come to refer to her as Sally the Ass Teacher, which is a disrespectful way to talk about an accomplished and attractive person, but I think it's kind of catchy.)  You can read her website for the full story of what she does, but in short she taught me to turn down my hip flexors and turn up my glutes for stabilization and other purposes.  This was about a year ago, but the big dividend came when ski season started.  I had asked her whether this training might help to keep me out of the back seat when skiing, by helping me to push / keep my hips forward.  Her cautious optimism proved to be well founded.  No longer did I have to explain to Jacques and Carrie that I wasn't deliberately turning late and skiing low.  

Not having to spend time retrieving oneself from the backseat opens up a whole new world of being able to start implementing all of the things one has been learning about for years and had only occasionally been able to experience.  My story would be even better with a few hundies at the right time, and inconsistency is still evident, but big points at Interclubs and two Club Championship medals are unprecedented in my little world.  Better still, I know that I can now go looking for speed that was previously way out of reach.

I'm not quite sure what the moral of this story is.  All the years of getting ski coaching look like they may finally pay off as I had always hoped, and I look forward to taking advantage of even more coaching, but I think the key to my little jump ahead was Sally's lessons.   So maybe the moral is that if you're frustrated at seemingly not being able to do something, you need to look for an explanation outside the box and then go to work on fixing the problem.

Sayonara

This will be the last "regular" newsletter for a while.  I am hoping to be able to announce an off-season GDHL event in the next little while, but need some committee blessing.  (If you see JF or Byron, tell them I'm looking for 'em.)  If you have suggestions for next season, send us an email. We are particularly keen to keep up the growth in participation by the younger generation and increase the number of female participants.  

Thanks for making it a great season!  Happy Easter, and happy end of season skiing.

Cheers,

James Mathers

Champions All Around

Lots of winners and potential winners to talk about.  Start with the Club championships on Saturday.  Anyone in GDHL is automatically signed up.  Bib pickup is in the South Lodge loft at 8:00.  One run of GS at 10:00 on Big John.  One run of SL at 1:00 on Comet.  Instant gratification with awards on the Base Lodge deck at approximately 3:00.   Last chance to salvage your season or confirm your cred!

Interclub Finals

Craigleith went into Saturday's interclub finals at home, but without Jeff Sutherland, Bebe Zoricic, Glenn Blaylock and Trent Winstone, all of whom were big scorers in last year's championship win, and Jesse Shepherd who was merely the fastest racer overall.  But the team's depth has been such this year that the team filled in, stepped up and won by 34 points, finishing as champions for the fourth straighth season.  In fact, the win was sufficiently decisive that, had the team's top four scorers on the day not shown, the four scores that were dropped under the rules would have been sufficient to keep the team in first place if they'd counted instead.  Results are here.  As in recent years, the team's victory was founded on big results in the heavily populated men's baby boomer age groups.  The return of Allan LaChance after last year's injury resulted in him being the day's high scorer, taking 28 points in winning the 60 to 64 age group, with James Mathers adding 26 for a third place finish.  Jeff Craig and Chris Fregren added 26 and 25 for second and third in the 55 to 59 group, Rob Burnes, Craig Shibley and Ian Latimer were second, third and fourth among the 50 to 54's and Greg Cavers (26 points) and Jerry Patten were first and third in the 45 to 49 group.

Margaret Isberg, Tiana Boyman, Kate Veer, Scott McLorie and Paul Atkinson (26 points) all won their age groups. Paul was also the fastest overall, winning a visit for 12 to the Side Launch Brewing Company.  One imagines Side Launch will offer a more sophisticated experience than the classic O'Keefe brewery tours that provided wheelbarrows for the convenience of visitors who were no longer OK.  George Hayhurst, Mary Riopelle, Daina Dunlop, Paul Woodhouse, Chris Clark, Steve Gailits, Chris Shipton and Pat Brown were the remaining team members.

Thanks to TSB for the following picture of the winners and some young admirers.  Someone from the Glen took some on my camera, but the poor quality suggests a lack of experience photographing winners :)

Four Time Champions!

Many were surprised to learn that Jeff Sutherland, who has a reputation of being willing to go to Calabogie to race in a rainstorm, was away for the weekend.  It was reported that he was visiting museums in New York, perhaps also getting a pedicure after a long season in ski boots.  Suggestions of trading him to Caledon for young talent and future considerations (like never having to drive to Caledon) were, however, quickly dismissed.

The Rest of the Schedule

With the Club championships on Saturday, the final sessions of the nine week program will be wrapped into one big package on Sunday at 9:30.  The day features paneled dual SL for both Saturday and Sunday gate training programs and Al's adult tech group.  Check the board at the National chair for the location.

Before that, Friday training will feature SL in the morning and GS in the afternoon.  Contact Laurel to sign up.

Your coaches look forward to seeing you one last week!

Jacques, Paul and Carrie

See you at the Club!

James Mathers

The End is Nigh!

Lots to talk about before the screen goes dark on racing in just a couple of weekends.  The first order of business is to get your tickets for the GDHL awards dinner right now!  It's this Saturday at 7:00 for 7:30 in the Base Lodge.  Get them before Thursday to be sure the train doesn't leave without you.  Online or at the front desk.  Once you've done that, here's what follows:

• Friday training will be GS at 9:30 and 1:00, subject to enough people signing up instead of going to Men's Day.  Contact Laurel.  
• While you're at it, sign up with Laurel for the Saturday afternoon technical freeskiing ("gateless training") session with Jacques Reid.
• Week 8 of the 9 week program brings GS gate training at 9:30 on each of Saturday and Sunday as well as adult technical training with Allan at the same time.  Check the board at the National chair for gate training locations, and meet Allan there for his sessions.
• The winner take all interclub final is at 1:30 Saturday on Big John.  Cheer on the team as they seek the championship for a fourth straight year in their only home race of the season.

Last Weekend's Racing

Results from Saturday's interclub GS race at Alpine are here.  Conflicts, injury and illness left the team a bit shorthanded, but they put together enough points to clinch the regular season title.  Allan LaChance was the winner in the day's biggest age group, scoring 28 points, while Jeff Sutherland won his age group, got 27 points and was third overall.  Margaret Isberg, Greg Cavers and Chris Shipton all won their age groups, while James Mathers, Jerry Patten, Chris Fregren, Mary Riopelle and George Hayhurst all scored 23 points or more.  Bring on the finals!

The Brads, Sproule and McMullen, get ready to nail the Millennium GS!

GDHL Saturday SL

As noted in the early edition this week, Alec Libert beat the field by almost four seconds.  Greg Cavers and Jeff Sutherland missed their first runs in the service of the interclub team, but finished second and fourth on the strength of "second" runs, while Phil Ruffolo was close behind Greg in third.  Alex Jansons continued his late season return to form with a fifth place, while Dave Raymond and Doug Macmillan tied for sixth and Morgan Rubes continued his run of solid finishes in eighth.  Samantha Higgins was a new face at the top of the women's standings, finishing 17th overall, followed by Brittany Stainer in 19th.  Among the big climbers of the day were usual suspect Brad McMullen (27th from 72nd ranking), Sarah Latimer (33rd from 63), Paul Henschel (34th from 97), Dean Beallor (40th from 85), Brad Sproule (50th from 89) and Tom Cronin (52nd from 92nd).  Gino Gentile, Mansell Nelson, Gord Stein and Brian Athey were hard on their heels with similar sized leaps.

GDHL Sunday GS

It was back to the Millennium start hut on Sunday, but this time with the longer skis and the early left turn.  Alec was only 0.2 seconds ahead of second (Jesse Shepherd) in claiming the win he needed for a second consecutive overall season's championship.  Scott McLorie was third and Phil Ruffolo fourth.  Trent Winstone returned to racing after a nagging injury (that's to say persistent and irritating but not serious, rather than resulting from nagging) and recorded a fine 7th place to match his best GDHL finish in recent years.  Nonetheless, it looks as if the Trent v. Randy trophy will go to Craig Shibley this year, as the two title protagonists have had disappointing seasons.  Jeff Craig had his first GDHL top 10 in 9th place while Jayne Clarke finished 11th overall and first female, to take the women's overall title for 2015.  Kevin Gust, Bryce Conacher and Chris Fregren were big climbers into the top 20.  Brad McMullen (again), Rob Cassels and Rob Bruce were gainers in the next 20 and most of the others mentioned as big climbers on Saturday repeated on Sunday.  

Surfing Opportunities

Sunday also brought out photographers.  Here are samples of Debbie Gust's pics.

Carrie Forerunning in Her FIS-Approved Fur Collared Jacket

Jayne Watched the Forerunners and Got the Line Too!

But the Last Shall Be First (Alec Libert)

A giant box of Debbie's pics from three races can be found here.  And we have a collection of shots from Sunday's race taken by Al Stelnick, that can be found here.

All in all, a lot to keep you occupied between now and Sunday evening.  See you at the Saturday celebration dinner!

James Mathers

Dinners and Winners

Results are now posted on the GDHL site here.  A bit more detail below and much more later in the week.  But key for now is GET YOUR DINNER TICKETS PRONTO!   We need to let the caterer know how many people are coming.  After Thursday you may lose out!  And it's a great evening at a great price:

• Saturday, 28 February (THIS WEEKEND!) at 7:00 pm for drinks and 7:30 for dinner, in the Base Lodge.
• Tickets available online or at the front desk now.
• $45 per person, except $30 per for GDHL racers under 30 and their guests.  HST is extra.
• Coyotes and other non-racers are most welcome!
• Bring your own wine if you pay a $10 corkage fee.  
• Racers who have returned their bibs will get a Squire John's gift card.  This doesn't mean you have the option to keep your bib.  You will get billed some punitive sum if you don't bring it back.  Kylie and Steve will accept returns in the race office.  Consider whether a rinse or a shot of Fabreze is in order.
• Tasteful live background music during the evening.
• Concise but witty remarks from our leaders and awards presenters.
• Complimentary taxi and shuttle service after the event to help you get home safely.

As our treasurer pointed out, if you're 25 or so, you can get a ticket for $30 that comes with a $25 gift card if you've brought your bib back, so that's $5 net.  And as some cynic pointed out, your parents may not notice the bottle missing from the wine cellar or the corkage charge on their Club account, so what could be better than celebrating on Saturday?

Final GDHL Races

The GDHL season ended with a double header bang on the Millennium chair.  Alec Libert sealed the deal in the absence of Chris Barber by recording the needed back to back wins.  He won Saturday's SL by almost four seconds, more than the margin between second and fourteenth places, but won Sunday's GS by only 0.2 seconds.  The result was a one point margin of victory over Chris, four firsts against three firsts and a second.  Meanwhile Jayne Clark went head to head with Brittany Stainer in the women's division.  Jayne's 30th place on Saturday didn't help much, especially compared to Brittany's 19th (after a first run DNF), but Jayne came back with an 11th place on Sunday to take the overall win.

Meanwhile, some racers were able to take advantage of the time in a child's life when watching Dad hurtle down the hill is sufficient entertainment for a Sunday afternoon.

Scott McLorie and family after a big 3rd place on Sunday.  Gord would be pleased!

More later in the week.  Get those ticket orders in!

James Mathers

Updates For a Busy Weekend Upcoming

Here are some more details to add to Monday's message.  There's lots happening, so stay alert!

• Friday training is GS on Landslide at 9:30 and 1:00.  Contact Laurel to sign up.
• Nine week gate training is GS at 9:30 on each of Saturday and Sunday.   It's on Millennium both days.
• Adult tech training is also at 9:30 on Saturday and Sunday.  Meet Al at the National chair.
•  Interclub is GS on Saturday at 1:00 at Alpine.  Regulars should have news from TSB and Glenn concerning team selection, especially details of races needed to qualify for the finals at Craigleith the following weekend. 
• The race department has agreed to reschedule our long SL for Saturday afternoon.  It starts at the top of Millennium, then runs down to and all along Venture and race time is 1:30 pm  to help interclubbers rush back from Alpine.
• The fundraiser is Saturday evening.  See below for more details.
• The final GDHL race is GS on Millennium on Sunday at 1:00. 

 GDHL Dinner

Here's an updated reminder of what's in store.  Numbers must be finalized before the event, so please get your tickets pronto!  

• Saturday, 28 February at 7:00 pm for drinks and 7:30 for dinner, in the Base Lodge.
• Tickets available online or at the front desk now.
• $45 per person, except $30 per for GDHL racers under 30 and their guests.  HST is extra :(
• Coyotes and other non-racers are most welcome!
• Bring your own wine if you pay at $10 corkage fee.  Ghastly reprisals await those flagitious miscreants who don't comply with the fee.
• We need some volunteers to help shuffle tables for the dinner at 5 pm.  Please email us if you can help.
• Racers who have returned their bibs will get a Squire John's gift card. 
• Complimentary taxi and shuttle service will be available after the event to help you get home safely.

Interclub at Caledon

A number of factors contributed to a modest turnout for Saturday's interclub SL at Caledon.  Even the hosts didn't field a full team.  Craigleith's representatives had the highest average per capita score (there's always a bright side to be found) and finished a respectable third in the team standings.  Craig Shibley and Greg Cavers won the two largest age groups of the day, while Jeff Craig was second in his group.  The scores of Margaret Isberg and Kate Veer weren't as high as they would have been with some opposition, and Rob Burnes and Steve Gailits rounded out the Craigleith contingent with solid contributions in big age groups.  Results are here.  This weekend promises a much bigger field as teams prepare for the winner take all final.

"Hoedown" - The Craigleith Athletic Fundraiser

It's this Saturday at 7 in the Base Lodge.  Don’t miss the opportunity to ride a mechanical bull, win some amazing auction items and most importantly, support our competitive athletes (that includes all of us in GDHL) and programming across the alpine racing, snowboard and freestyle disciplines.  All athletes benefit tremendously from the funds that are raised and directed towards infrastructure at the Club such as timing, race equipment, finish huts, display boards etc.   See below for details of the GDHL's contribution to a great auction package, as well as general details for the event.

And if you can't make it to the event, you can still contribute through the online auction here.  Click on the “Bid Now” link below the item, fill in your information (please use the email address that is associated with your Craigleith member account) and give the amount of your bid.  If you get outbid, you will receive a notification email .... then you can bid again. If you have successfully bid on an item at the time of closing, you will be notified by email and the final amount will be added to your Craigleith account.

It's going to be an awesome weekend!  See you at the Club, and keep scrolling for illustrated details.

James Mathers

And The Outdoors Wins :(

BUT WE FIGHT BACK :)  Serious cold prompted cancellation of Sunday's long SL, much to the disappointment of the crowd who enjoyed fabulous preparation in Saturday's training. However, read on for rescheduling details.  But first, the much anticipated details of the GDHL closing dinner that Marlene Jackson is again organizing:

• Saturday, 28 February at 7:00 pm for drinks and 7:30 for dinner, in the Base Lodge.
• Tickets available online or at the front desk, very soon if not now.
• $45 per person, except $30 per for GDHL racers under 30 and their guests.
• Coyotes and other non-racers are most welcome!
• Bring your own wine if you pay at $10 corkage fee.  Ghastly reprisals await those who don't comply with the fee.  
• We need some volunteers to help shuffle tables for the dinner at 5 pm.  Please email us if you can help.
• Racers who have returned their bibs will get a Squire John's gift card.  A great way to tip the scales on that big purchase you've been contemplating at season end prices, or probably get a couple of pairs of nice socks for almost nothing.

Many of us have been following the World Champs with great interest.  Here's another opportunity to take in Ted Ligety's fabulous gold-winning second run in the men's GS.

For a run that was unfortunately less successful and elegant, click here and scroll down to the video block for Lindsey Vonn's second GS run.

So what about that rescheduled long SL you say?  Here's what's planned at the moment for next weekend.  Keep your eyes and ears open for any updates:

• Friday training is GS at 9:30 and 1:00.  Contact Laurel to sign up.
• Nine week gate training is GS at 9:30 on each of Saturday and Sunday.  Check the board at the National chair for location.
• Adult tech training is also at 9:30 on Saturday and Sunday.  Meet Al at the National chair.
• Here's where it gets interesting.  Interclub is GS on Saturday at 1:00 at Alpine.  Watch for news from TSB and Glenn concerning team selection, especially details of races needed to qualify for the finals at Craigleith the following weekend.  
• The race department has agreed to reschedule our long SL for Saturday afternoon.  Unfortunately this seems to be the only possible time.  We will see whether the start time can be set to help interclubbers rush back from Alpine, but it likely won't start before 1:00 pm.
• The racing fundraiser is Saturday evening.  Watch for the great GDHL auction item!
• The final GDHL race is GS on Millennium on Sunday at 1:00.  The overall prizes are still up for grabs and we have the added bonus of seeing whether an otherwise very successful GDHL racer will ski on the wrong side of the last gate for the third straight year.

As an added bonus, here is some video of recollections of classic downhill courses that I found in my surfing.  First the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbuhel.

And the Lauberhorn in Wengen.

Enjoy Family Day.  Sunday's skiing was actually great if you heeded the no exposed flesh rule, and Monday looks to be a bit warmer, maybe.

Have fun,

James Mathers

Women and Children First

Back at it for GDHLers with a tough SL last Sunday.  Details follow, but here's what's up for this long weekend.

• For those getting an early start on the weekend, Friday training is GS at 9:30 and 1:00. Contact Laurel to register.  Alternately, have morning GS training and an afternoon race on Big John at the Track 3 Friends and Family Race Day.  Full details at the end of this message.
• Nine week gate training is SL on Saturday at 9:30 and again at 1:00 in place of the usual Sunday session.  Scheduled for Venture. Check the board at the National chair for any update.
• Adult tech training also has two sessions on Saturday.  Meet Allan at the National chair at 9:30 or 1:00.
• Interclub is SL at Caledon at 1:00 Saturday.  Turnout is a bit light, so there's an opportunity to make your debut and get involved in a great variation on the adult racing theme.  Contact Taylor Simms-Brown.
• Finally, the GDHL race is our final SL of the year, starting at 10 am Sunday, with inspection from 9:15 to 9:45.  It will be a long one, starting from the Millennium gate, running down the track to the top of Venture, then making a hard left and doing short radius the entire length of Venture.  We've asked that the finish line be down low, so look for something in the neighborhood of this past Sunday's finish on Millennium.  Bids for the oxygen concession are now open!

Race Recap

Sunday's SL on Millennium saw Jayne Clarke take advantage of winning bib 10 to post a time that wasn't seriously challenged until Brittany Stainer cut over a second off wearing bib 72.  Samantha Higgins, Kate Veer and Sarah Latimer also posted strong first runs and at one point the live timing showed women holding almost all of the top places in the race, with Jeff Craig being the lone male representative.  Brittany, Jayne, Sam, Kate and Sarah ended up 9th (career GDHL best), 13th, 19th, 22nd and 28th, respectively, while Jeff ended up 15th.  Jeff Sutherland in bib 93 eventually overtook Brittany with what turned into a fifth place finish, then Greg Cavers knocked almost four seconds off Jeff's time, with a characteristically strong showing in a difficult SL course.  Ultimately though, it was the dominant youths of the year, Chris Barber and Alec Libert, who sliced another 2 and 1.5 seconds, respectively, off Greg's time, to push him back to third, and decided that a second run wasn't necessary (an agreement in restraint of competition?).  Full results are here. Other notable showings in a sparser than usual field included Alex (6th) and Andrew Jansons, Allan LaChance (overcoming another case of ski dropsy to finish 8th), Alistair Athey, Ron Statler, Dean Beallor (continuing on the comeback road), Paul Henschel (finding inspiration in becoming a Snow School instructor), Tom Cronin (continuing a steady climb in his first GDHL season), Brad Sproule (I need a rerun on the pic of the two Brads) and Elspeth Gaukrodger.  

Chris Barber has a chance to clinch the season's overall title in this coming Sunday's long SL.  Only Alec Libert has a chance to beat him overall.  On the women's side, Brittany Stainer has taken a one point lead over Jayne Clarke and needs a 26th place or better to improve her best four scores, while Jayne will look to discard a 32nd that resulted from a first run DNF in the Comet SL.  Pen has a pretty healthy lead in the team standings over Birches, with Millennium close behind in third despite carrying 90 points in no-show penalties.  National is fourth and has room for improvement if some inconsistent results can be dropped.

Sunday spectators included Carrie Grinter-Lenauskas, Suzanne Sutherland and their temporarily attentive Bernese mountain dogs.

Meanwhile, at the World Winter Masters Games in Quebec, Craigleith's Dave Jackson took a gold medal in his age class in GS, while Tiana Boyman managed not only age group gold and silver in SL and GS but took bronze in the open women's parallel SL.

Meanwhile, at the FIS World Championships, Phil Brown and the other members of the Canadian team won a silver medal in the team parallel slalom event.  See here for story and video, including footage of Phil's finals matchup with Marcel Hirscher.

Also Ahead

• The Club's racing fundraiser is up on Saturday evening the 21st.  Rumour has it that GDHL will be contributing to a super one-stop-to-greatness auction item. 
• The GDHL closing dinner will be on the following Saturday, the 28th.  Watch for details of ticket sales soon.
• Get ready for the NZ Foundation Dawn to Dusk and Dusk to Dawn events on 14 March.  See the video below.

And don't forget to check out the Track 3 details below.  See you at the Club for a great long weekend!

James Mathers

And Now Back to Work!

I'll get this out in good time to allow for corrections :)  I wish I was being paid as much as Phil Kessel to be in a slump.  

It was a week off competition for all but 21 supporters of the collective pride, but we're back to GDHL with a weekend of SL racing and training.  Here's what's up:

• Friday training is SL at 9:30 am and 1:00 pm.  Contact Laurel to confirm attendance.
• The nine week gate training program is SL at 9:30 am both Saturday and Sunday.  Check the board at the National chair for location.
• The adult tech program is at the same time (9:30 am both Saturday and Sunday).  Meet Al at the National chair.
• And last but not least, GDHL is guess what?  SL on Sunday at 1:00 pm.

Interclub Results

Results are here.    Craigleith's team returned to its winning ways at Saturday's GS at the Peaks.   It was a strong performance across the board, as the 18 racers whose scores counted had at least 22 points each, i.e. at least one place above the middle of their age groups.  (Captain TSB was second in his age group and fifth overall, but his 21 point score was one of those dropped.  Things are tough in our league!)  Paul Atkinson and Chris Barber had the second and third fastest times of the day behind 2010 Olympian Tyler Nella, and Paul was fastest on the second run.  Jeff Sutherland was the highest point scorer of the day, with 27, while winning his age group by more than two seconds, and Allan LaChance was just one point behind him, also winning his age group. Scott McLorie and Patrick Brown were other winners of their age groups, while Craig Shibley, Greg Cavers, Tiana Boyman and Rob Burnes also scored at least 24 points.

Jerry Patten and Jeff Sutherland Enjoy Winning at the Peaks.  Quiz:  What fictional characters were recently portrayed by movie actors whose first names started with J and J?

The next race is SL at Caledon on 14 February.  Always a good time, but the distance makes it difficult for some.  So if you're interested in making your debut for the Club side, contact Taylor Simms-Brown for details.  And by the way, if anyone has room for an experienced banker in nearly new condition, Glenn Blaylock is finding retirement a bit dangerous and his friends are anxious to extend his racing career by sending him back to work.

Keen observers of the GDHL scoring database will note that the points for the first race of the season have been increased by one.  We had one late registrant after the first race, so the maximum points were increased going forward and the retroactive adjustment has now been made.

Diversions

Here's an interesting trailer regarding the famous downhill race at Kitzbuhel.

Don't forget about the Track 3 Friends & Family Race Day.  It's a great way to get the Family Day long weekend started.  Full details in last week's newsletters, or just come within sight of Margaret Isberg.

See you in the start hut!

James Mathers

A Few Clarifications

A couple of changes offer an opportunity for an extra edition this week.

• Jacques' master plan actually calls for SL training on Friday but GS on Saturday and Sunday.  Friday training will be on Comet (get lots of laps) and the weekend training will be on Birches.
• There was some discussion about changing the date of the next GDHL race, which was reflected in the calendar on our website, but the latest and still final word is that the race will be on Sunday afternoon (that's 8 February) on Millennium.  One more adjustment later in the schedule is likely, so keep reading all your email.
• The GDHL awards dinner was originally scheduled for 7 March (which is the date in the printed Club calendar), but has been moved to Saturday 28 February to avoid a conflict with the beginning of March break season.
• Full details of the Track 3 event are at the bottom of this message.

Since you're here, have a look at some impressive Super G from Lindsey Vonn in St. Moritz, winning the last World Cup race before the World Championships.

I was thinking (again) this morning what a strong league the GDHL has become.  People get their 20-something children to join. They bring their friends, or their sisters, and some of them are 15 point SL guys (who bring their fathers).  Then guys in their 30's bring their old racing buddies from 15 years ago, who show signs of shaking off the rust pretty quickly.  People who haven't raced GDHL in a few years come back and show they haven't lost anything.  Forty year olds who haven't raced decide to try and discover they're really good.  Fifty year olds are training like mad.  In this year's Super G, I thought both of my runs were better than my run last year, I was only 7 seconds behind the winner instead of 12, and I finished one place lower in the standings.  But I'm a lot happier about my race than I was last year, and I think everyone is happy, so we must all be doing something right!

Don't forget to check out the Track 3 details below.  See you on the snow!

James Mathers

Gee What a Super Weekend!

The GDHL Super G was longer than the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbuehel and wasn't decided until the last racer down the hill.  But first, what's up for the next super weekend?

• Friday training is SL at 9:30 and 1:00.  Contact Laurel to sign up.
• Nine week program gate training is SL at 9:30 on each of Saturday and Sunday.
• Nine week tech training is also at 9:30 on Saturday and Sunday.  Meet Al at the National chair.
• The first session of "gateless training" with Jacques will take place on Saturday at 1:00. Again,  contact Laurel to sign up.
• The second interclub race of the season is GS at the Peaks on Saturday at 1:00.  Contact Taylor Simms-Brown if you're interested.

Race Recap

Fog resulted in the Hahnenkamm being shortened and a winning time of 58.16. The winning time for our own Super G was 64.14.  Results are here.  That time belonged to Alec Libert, who finished the first run in third place, almost a second back of Chris Barber.  Chris predicted that he could squeeze about four-tenths of a second off his first time.  He actually managed almost five-tenths, which proved to be less than average for the second run, as a quickening track and lessons learned from the first run enabled most racers to make a meaningful improvement.  Last down the track came Alec Libert, who knocked 1.56 seconds off his first run time to beat Chris by 0.11.   That ties them with two wins each on the season, so the season's title seems likely to come down to who can count four bullets at the end.  Remember we have two slaloms left and only one GS, and Chris won the first SL, so Alec will have his work cut out for him.

Alistair, Brian and Andrew Athey

Scott McLorie, Doug Macmillan and Phil Ruffolo rounded out the top five.  Those making big jumps against their rankings to finish in the top 20 included Tom Caswell, Alistair Athey, Jerry Patten, Peter Ardill, Glenn Kilmer (GDHL best 16th), Kevin Gust and Jonathan Price.  Jayne Clarke, Leslie Morgan and Brittany Stainer led the women's results.  Among the noteworthy successes further down the page were John Barber (father of), Brad McMullen, Ray Murakami, Paul Wodehouse, Dean Beallor, Gordon Smith, Gino Gentile (in his inaugural outing in Lycra) and Mansell Nelson. 

Erin, Katie and Elizabeth Worndl are another family trio in the GDHL

Thanks to the hard work of the Coyotes and the relative absence of crash-induced delays, we managed two runs.  Among the biggest beneficiaries of a second look were James Callow (almost 15 seconds faster, after a first run tumble), Morley Forsyth (5.5 seconds), Steve Power (almost 5 seconds) and Gordon Smith, Dave Baran and Elizabeth Worndl (all in the 3 second range).

There's a break from GDHL racing this weekend, before we head to the home stretch (already?), so we can focus on interclub.  If the long wait makes you anxious for results in the following weekend's SL, remember to check out the live timing that will hopefully be available for all GDHL races.  There is now a link to the site in the dropdown "results" tab in the menu bar at gdhl.org.  Although there was a technical problem with the connection from the finish hut during the Super G, the plan is that results will be available with just a few seconds delay during races, and unofficial results will remain on the site afterwards.  Our official database gets updated, usually by Colin Ardill, after we get the results from the Coyotes, which normally happens Sunday evening.  

And by the way, since we now have four races completed, the database is making end of season adjustments for those who have missed races.  The rule is that you get average points from the races you finish, minus 10 points per race, for the races you're short (best four count).  Chris Barber holds a two point lead over Alec Libert in the overall standings, with Jesse Shepherd a further 13 points back, mostly because of a 10 point penalty for one missed race.  Jayne Clarke leads the women's standings by 12 points over Brittany Stainer, despite one DNS, and Kate Veer is third.  Team Pen has a 180 point lead over Birches, but 50 of those points are due to having only two DNS's on the team.  Meanwhile, Millennium is in third despite 110 points in penalties.  So things may change around considerably once the DNS's start getting replaced by finishes.

Brittany Stainer, Carrie Grinter-Lenauskas and Daina Dunlop.  From the North Lodge, Carrie could easily be identified while coaching at the top of Birches.

Other Things to Think About

• We've told you about the cookbook that our friends the Coyotes are offering in support of the Alpine Ontario Para-ski Team.  As part of this weekend's Para Fest at the Club, cookbook copies  will be available in the brown bag room of the Base Lodge on Sunday from 8 until 9, 11 until 12:30 and 2:30 until 3:30.  
• We've also told you about the Track 3 Friends & Family Race Day on Friday, 13 February.  Among other things, there will be gate training and racing opportunities on Big John.  See the full details here.

Diversions

Debbie Gust (nee Callow) has taken some great pix of the Super G and a Big John GS.  Many of them are now loaded on the GDHL site photo gallery here.  

And Morgan Rubes has contributed more video, this time of last weekend's inspection.  See below.

And then see you on the hill!

James Mathers

Important Super G Rules

The Super G is Saturday morning.  The course starts at the top of the Funnel chair, runs along Cruiser to the top of the Comet chair, down Bowie to the bottom of pitch, then along the cross-over past the bottom of Porcupine to the finish by the timing hut on Comet.  Last year, only two racers finished in under one minute, ten seconds, the median time was about 1:21 and quite a few racers were over 1:40.  It's a race that most of us look forward to eagerly, but it requires a lot from the Coyotes and the participants.  Please read and heed the following carefully.  I've included some neat video at the end to get you in the mood after you've absorbed the rules.

1. You must have a helmet with full, hard ear covering.  It may not have a camera or camera mount attached.  Your ski poles must have baskets and may not have slalom guards attached.
2. You must inspect the course or you will not be allowed to race. Inspection is from 9:10 to 9:40, but you must start inspection by 9:30. You must check in with the appropriate race official at the start, who will check you off on the list.  Inspection ends promptly and early in order to allow sufficient time for final course preparation before the race starts.
3. The ski patrol must be on site before racing starts.
4. Only authorized people may be inside the netting that has been erected around the race course. This means racers, officials, coaches, ski patrol and Coyotes. It doesn’t include friends, family and other spectators.
5. Movement on the course will be controlled by race officials using radios. If there is any unauthorized movement on the course, racing will be stopped.
6. Racers will be started at regular intervals. This will likely mean every 30 to 45 seconds, but will be adjusted as appropriate.  The spacing will probably be longer at the start, shorter in the middle and then longer for the last few racers to try to avoid waiting for reruns at the end of the race.
7. If a racer falls, the following racer(s) may be flagged down with a big yellow flag. Watch for "yellow zones" where flagging may happen during your inspection.  If you are flagged, stop racing immediately. You will get a rerun.  Even if you aren't flagged, you should stop if you come upon a crash, and you can ask for a rerun.
8. If you are watching the race and see a racer fall, don’t enter the course. The ski patrol and others will assist as soon as race officials have made sure that the course is clear, for the safety of those assisting. Please spread the word on this to spectators.
9. We hope to be able to complete two runs, but time is limited and this race takes longer to run than usual. Therefore, it may have to end without two runs for everyone who wants them. The ability to offer two runs depends on avoiding delays with inspection, being lucky in avoiding delays for crashes etc. and having the course stay in good condition.

This next part is very important too!

All of the nets that have been erected need to be removed. There are lots and lots of them, and the race would not be run without them. Many of them are supplied by the Nik Zoricic Foundation.  We need help from all racers. Friends and family would be most welcome too. Please stay or return after the race to take down and roll up nets. The Coyotes will direct you about what is to be done with them after that.  We will have hot chocolate and finger food in the finish area as a reward for rollers and afternoon training will not begin until everything is cleaned up.  

On a different note, for those who haven’t done this race before, don’t be too spooked. It is normally a huge amount of fun to ski as fast as you can on a wide open, well prepared and controlled course. Just remember to be in race mode as “taking it easy” may lead to you imitating a runaway train. Also, you might want to leave a second coat at the bottom of the course, as coat carrying will be more difficult than usual.

Thanks for your attention and anticipated co-operation. Now for some video.

The first two videos were taken during last year's Super G with Morgan Rubes's goggle cam.  One is of inspection and the other is Maddy Irwin forerunning.  This is an example of what you can expect this year.

Inspecting the Super G course above, and Maddy Irwin forerunning below

Here is Aksel Lund Svindal training downhill.

Finally highlights from Larissa Yurkiw's first career World Cup podium and from Lindsey Vonn's record setting 63rd World Cup victory.

See you at the start!

James Mathers

Alec Strikes Back

We had 99 starters for Sunday's GS race.  Alec Libert regained his spot at the top of the tables after two weeks of disappointment.  More below, but it's Super G weekend, so timing is everything.  

Here's the Scoop

• The Super G is Saturday morning, starting at the top of the Funnel chair.  There will be a special newsletter with details later this week.  Read it carefully.  Most importantly, if you miss inspection (which may close early) or don't have a helmet with hard ears, you won't be allowed to race.
• Saturday adult gate training is SL and moves to 1:00 pm, or whenever the nets are down from the Super G, whichever is later.  Check the National chair for the location.  Likewise, the Saturday adult tech program will switch to 1:00 pm or later.  Meet Al at the National chair.
• The Snow School adult apres ski is from 2:45 until 4:00 on Saturday in the South Lodge loft.
• Sunday training is back to the usual morning schedule for both gates and tech, starting at 9:30.
• And before all of that, there is lots of midweek training.  It features speed-oriented gate training on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 9:30 and Friday at 1:00, plus gateless training on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.  Pay as you go on the usual Friday pricing arrangements.  Contact Laurel in the Snow School office.

GDHL Race Recap

Results are in the GDHL website database here.  The set was aimed at getting speeds a bit higher in preparation for the Super G, and slick snow assisted with that.  As a result, Alec Libert laid down a smoking 30.83 GS on Big John to lead the way.  Chris Barber, winner of the first two races, slipped to second, followed closely by Jesse Shepherd.  Everyone else got beaten by someone over 40, in the person of Jeff Sutherland, although youth largely prevailed in the top 10.  

The boys of 1989, Alec Libert (1st), Phil Ruffolo (T-6th), Jesse Shepherd (3rd) and Trevor Jackson (T- 6th)

Andrew Athey continued his strong performances, finishing fifth, while Brook Dyson took advantage of an early start draw prize to finish 8th, posting a strong second run as well.  Jerry Patten posted a GDHL career best 15th from his 36th ranking, Kevin Gust continued his history of strong GS performances and Jeff Craig jumped 22 spots above his ranking to finish 19th.  The time gap between Jeff and 53rd place was less than two seconds.  Among those in that gap were Brad McMullen, who is ranked 72 based on last year's rookie season results, when his best finish was 44th, but jumped all the way to 21st with his second run time.  Just behind him was newcomer James Callow, who was dubious when told that his ranking was based on coach Shelley Johnston's prediction of top-30 potential.  If he and brother in law Kevin Gust can figure out how to ski SL, trouble's a comin'.  Brittany Stainer, Kate Veer and Samantha Higgins were there as the top three women.  Also sliding into that tight bunch were Bill Shepherd (32nd from 60th rank), Patrick Galligan (34 from 62), Paul Woodhouse (38 from 69) and Paul Henschel (50 from 97).  Paul H apparently got a good tip on his line during Saturday training.  Finally, Dean Beallor jumped from his 85th ranking to 58th place and Bob Waite continued to cast doubt on sister Cindy's predictions with a 61st place finish.

The forerunner times were: Forerunner 1 - 31.72, Forerunner 2 - 32.36 and Forerunner 3 - 32.54.

Careful observers will note that times have been reconstructed for Jeff Sutherland and Jon Price on their second runs, despite the conditional reruns that they were offered due to some temporary confusion in the finish hut.

Live Timing

Sunday's race brought the first public offering of live timing online for GDHL races.  The Coyotes and friends expect to be able to bring this to you going forward.  The home page for this is  http://livetiming.mectiming.org/.  You can go to this page on your computer, smart phone etc. and click on GDHL races in the listings of past and current races to get the past results or current live timing during a race.  You'll see that the results may not be corrected for timing issues such as occurred on Sunday, so the GDHL database is the official source for scoring.  (The database is usually updated on Sunday evenings after a race.)    

Interclub Results

Saturday saw the first race of the season for the Druxy's Masters Interclub league, a GS at Devil's Glen.  Click for team results and individual results.  Untimely illness and injury left the team two skiers short of complement, resulting in a six point loss to the home team.  (Even one more racer would have led to a comfortable victory, so the team isn't too dismayed.)  Paul Atkinson took overall individual honours on the strength of a smokin' second run, while Kat Zoricic was third fastest woman, Jeff Sutherland was high point scorer of the day and Anne Mathers, Tiana Boyman, Kate Veer and Greg Cavers won their age groups.  Next race is 31 January at the Peaks.

Fashion News

Regular readers will remember that Carrie Grinter-Lenauskas left Spyder when it moved out West, but she is now ensconced with Karbon, which happily has a similar approach to sizing its samples.  Carrie apparently now has some old outfits to clear from her closet, if you like what you've seen on our pages in the past.  Featured below is the Pascal jacket in white with silver fox fur and next year's Conductor pant in white tweed.  In addition, a commercial collaboration with Giro will result in us seeing a wide variety of matching or contrasting helmets and goggles going forward.

Sunday go to racin' clothes

Self Improvement

Sometimes you just can't wait for your natural talent to shine through and a little hardware boost is in order.  Our generous sponsors and good friends at Squires now have a sale on FIS slalom skis and bindings.  Dynastar, Rossignol, Atomic, Fischer and Volkl skis in 155 to 165 lengths, which are regularly race priced at $849.99 to $950 are now on sale for $699.99 (skis only).  Matching bindings are $200 (regularly $250 to $299.99).  These are the real deal.  See here for my insightful commentary on race skis and other equipment.  Also see Squires for demos on some of these skis as well as the Dynastar and Rossi masters' GS race skis that all your competitors have!

Give Back and Get Something in Return

With the money you save on skis, consider a few copies of the Coyotes' cookbook - 131 great recipes and all proceeds go to support the Alpine Ontario Para Race team.  $15 cash or cheque, payable to
"Linda Housser in Trust - Craigleith Coyotes Cookbook."  Contact Linda at 123 Arrowhead Crescent, 706-445-9821 or linda@housser.ca  And don't forget the Track 3 Friends & Family Race Day on Friday, 13 February.  See last week's newsletter for details and watch for more info in coming weeks.

Diversions

Finally, here's an example of what happens when good skiers go to the park side.  Guy should have stuck with racing.  This kind of anarchy and disregard for equipment cannot be tolerated.

More than enough for now!  Be sure to watch for the special Super G edition later this week and read it carefully to avoid heartbreak.

Cheers,

James Mathers

Week 2 Recap

Last Sunday's SL on Comet resulted in some familiar faces at the top, but a big shuffling overall.  More below, but first

Coming Soon to a Hill Near You

• Friday training is GS both morning and afternoon.  Contact Laurel in the Snow School office to sign up.
• Adult gate training program is GS at both 9:30 and 1:00 pm on Saturday.  The latter replaces the usual Sunday morning session.  Check the board at the National chair for location.
• Adult technical race training is at 9:30 Saturday and 1:00 Sunday.  Meet Al at the National chair.
• The first Interclub race is GS at Devil's Glen on Saturday at 1:00 pm.  There may still be a couple of spots on the roster open.  Contact Taylor pronto if you're interested.
• Finally, GDHL is GS on Big John on Sunday at 10:00, with inspection from about 9:15 to 9:45.  (This race was originally scheduled for Millennium.  In a clever ploy to increase our readership, we have engaged the Race Office in discussion concerning other possible schedule changes, so stay tuned.)

Looking farther ahead, three days of speed training start on Wednesday with Jacques Reid, leading up to the GDHL Super G on 24 January.  Check out the schedule for full details and contact Laurel to sign up.  And not too long after that comes the Track 3 race day.

For more information about Track 3 and the Race Day, and to purchase tickets or make a donation, go to www.track3.org.

Now for Sunday's SL.  Chris Barber again led the way.  A bit of digging discloses that, when Chris last had a FIS licence three years ago, he was ranked just outside the top 200 world wide in men's SL.  So it wasn't too surprising to see Chris put on an impressive display of short radius turning, finishing three seconds ahead of Andrew Athey, who still pleased his parents with an apparently surprising fourth place finish, and over five seconds ahead of eighth place.

Chris Barber led the way

But Alec Libert rebounded strongly from a slightly slow season's start, finishing second to Chris and recording the fastest second run and combined time, for those who are counting.  Jesse Shepherd finished third, and treated the crowd to a half-helicopter at the finish of his second run, while Jeff Sutherland led the way for the older generation in fifth and Allan LaChance had an excellent 10th place on his return to GDHL SL.

Brittany Stainer bounced back to the top of the women's standings, overcoming a first run DNF to finish 26th overall, just 0.08 ahead of Kate Veer, while Samantha Higgins was third woman in 29th overall and first race women's winner, Jayne Clarke, was fourth and 32nd.

Samantha Higgins and Jayne Clarke

Doug Jarvis, Tom Caswell, Jerry Patten and Jeff Craig made big jumps compared to their rankings to finish within the top 20, while Steve Jarvis, Sarah Latimer, Alan Shaw, Duncan McEachran, Brad McMullen, Dean Beallor, Mary Riopelle, "the other" Brad Sproule, Elspeth Gaukrodger, Brian Athey, Tom Cronin, Bob Waite, Alex von Schroeter, Morley Forsyth and Cynthia Waite all improved by at least 20 spots over their respective rankings.

Forerunner times were as follows:

Forerunner 1                     46.53
Forerunner 2                     50.52
Forerunner 3                     48.22
Forerunner 4                     46.36
Forerunner 5                     43.30

The last listed was Taylor Simms-Brown, who is resting in the weeds, but obviously no slouch.  Those interested in forerunning future races should contact Doug Jarvis but we will be limiting the number to four per race going forward.  And speaking of Mr. Jarvis, check this out:

Better than those FIS videos any time!

See you on Saturday!

James Mathers

And Then More Kids Showed Up!

Results from Sunday's first GDHL race are here.  (For those new to GDHL, results are posted on gdhl.org as soon as possible after the race. These were available Sunday evening.)  More about the race below, but first

Don't you hate it when someone goes skiing elsewhere and sends you a picture like this of overnight snowfall?

What's Up This Weekend?

• GDHL race is SL on Comet, Sunday with a 1 pm start, inspection from about 12:15 to 12:45. The race schedule on gdhl.org has been updated to specify morning or afternoon for the remaining GDHL race dates, but keep an eye on the schedule as more adjustments of time or place are possible.
• Adult gate training 9 week program begins with SL training at 9:30 on each of Saturday and Sunday.  Check the board at the National chair for location.
• Adult technical race training with Allan Lachance also begins at those times.  Meet at the base of the National chair.
• Friday training with Jacques Reid begins with SL sessions at 9:30 and 1:00.  Contact Laurel in the Club office to sign up.
• Chris Hillier from Sidecut Tuning will be returning to the Club on Sunday to conduct two sessions on ski tuning technique and offer discounts on tuning equipment.  Look for precise time and place to be posted at the Club.

Erin Mielzynski and Mitch Gagnon set the stage for our first SL weekend by scoring top 10's at the Zagreb World Cup race

A Bit of GDHL Administrivia

• If you didn't pick up your GDHL bib last weekend, you can get it from Kylie in the Club race office.
• Doug Jarvis has kindly agreed to co-ordinate forerunners for our GDHL races this season.  We welcome those who are interested in giving a GDHL race a try.  Junior racers trying to upstage their GDHL racing parents are also welcome, but with their coaches' approval.  Contact Doug if you're interested.
• Thanks to our generous sponsors, bidders at the Calcutta etc., we often have some discretionary funds in the GDHL coffers.  Since Sidelaunch Brewing Company has kindly stepped up to slake our collective thirst at social events, we will likely be able to continue our efforts to contribute to racing capital expenses at the Club.  Let us know if you have ideas for improvements.  For example, some of us were thinking about how to get the finish line announcements piped to the start.
• Winners of the draws for preferred starting positions (bibs 10 and 20) may use their slots themselves or transfer them to someone else on mutually agreeable terms.  No actual bibs will be distributed, but the Coyotes have been alerted to expect people in those slots.  Randy Dalton and Glenn McKay were the winners for last Sunday.  The remaining winners are:

RACE 2: SL ON COMET Tom Cronin and Glen Blaylock
RACE 3: GS ON MILLENNIUM Ian Latimer and Brook Dyson
RACE 4: SG ON COMET/BOWIE Britanny Stainer and Jerry Patten
RACE 5: SL ON MILLENNIUM Jayne Clarke and Mary Riopelle
RACE 6: SUPER SL ON MILLENNIUM/VENTURE Gino Gentile and Bellamy Consortium
RACE 7: GS ON BIG JOHN Jeff Sutherland and Duncan McEachran

See above for video of Marcel Hirscher winning the men's SL in Zagreb.  Should GDHL winners get crowns?

Race 1 - GS on Big John

Reading the weather forecast and even slipping the course, few would have predicted that Sunday's race course would hold up well enough to allow many racers to beat their first run times on their second.  That 7 of the top 9 finishers did so is a tribute to the efforts of Geoff Wood and his Coyote crew and, no doubt, a good set from Jacques Reid.

There have always been a few 20-somethings in the GDHL.  Morgan Rubes has raced for many years, starting alongside his father and now no longer being 20-something.  Katie Worndl joined with her father in 2012 and the Jarvis and Latimer progeny came the following year.  However, the word really started to get out last year, as Alec Libert came, saw and conquered every race he started, with Ian Malcolm not far behind.  This year the average age has been brought down even further and Alec's winning streak has come to an abrupt end.  Newcomer Chris Barber rode a smokin' second slide down the hill to victory, winning by almost half a second over first run leader Jesse Shepherd, another of the class of 1989.  Scott McLorie took the last overall podium spot, salvaging a bit of pride on behalf of parents everywhere, even if his offspring aren't of GDHL age.  Alec was left 0.04 outside the podium.  Newcomer Andrew Athey, having been somewhat undersold by his father in ranking interviews, knocked almost 1.5 seconds off his first run to take a fine 9th place, while early leader Craig Shibley (the recipient of bib 10 from teammate Randy Dalton) ended up 10th.  

Craigleith's first daughter, Jayne Clarke, led the way among women, finishing tied with Trent for 13th, just behind Peter Ardill, who improved significantly on his ranking of 38.  Jayne demonstrated that she's ready to challenge last year's female winner, Brittany Stainer, who finished 21st and will be looking forward to repeating last year's SL successes to get back on even terms.  Bryce Conacher, Jerry Patten and Jeff Craig were among others who jumped well up from their rankings, while Kate Veer celebrated her return to the GDHL by just edging out Leslie Morgan among the more experienced female racers.  Farther down the page, Paul Hentschel and Brad Sproule jumped to 59 and 61 from their rankings of 97 and 89 (based on last year's results) and Bob Waite finished 68th after being ranked 96th based on what sister Cyndy said on his entry form.

Interclub Is On The Way

Taylor Simms-Brown reports that there will be a six team interclub league this year, again operating independently of AOA.  Races are on 17 and 31 January and 14, 21 and 28 February, the last one being the finals at Craigleith.  With six teams, the number of starters per team has been reduced slightly from past years, so competition for places will be stiffer than ever.  Contact Taylor for more details.  Glenn Blaylock will be the co-captain this year.

More Chances For Training

• Jacques Reid will be offering gate training and racing "Nastar" style on Thursday evenings beginning on 15 January at Mount St. Louis Moonstone, with video and refreshments following the on-snow action.  A perfect way to break up the drive to Collingwood for Friday training! Details here.
• It's not too soon to start thinking about preparing for the annual Super G, which is less than three weeks away.  Jacques will be offering higher speed gate training sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings and Friday afternoon before the Saturday race and group technical free skiing sessions on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.  Contact Jacques for more details.

More than enough for now.  See you on the hill!

James Mathers

GDHL Start and Team Lists

Thanks to Marlene Jackson for organizing another fabulous Calcutta!  First race is Sunday, GS on Big John.  Inspection is from approximately 9:15 to 9:45 and start is at 10:00.  

Bibs

Those who haven't yet picked up their bibs can do so at the start ramp.  If there isn't someone to hand them out, look for them in the big Dynastar coat carrying pack.

Start List

Click here to see the start list.  You will note that some people have been assigned bibs in the 120's.  We are delighted to have them and are sure they will have so much fun that they will sign up a bit earlier next year :)   Their starting order doesn't reflect their bib numbers, so they will need to review the attached list closely to find their spots in line.  All others please understand that the 120's aren't jumping the line if they start ahead of you.

Team List

Click here for the team list. 

See you at the start!

James Mathers

Opening Time!

Happy New Year everyone!  Thanks to the Craigleith snow making team, the eventual arrival of winter and most importantly Jacques Reid and his team of adult coaches, we've had a great "pre-season."  But now the serious business begins.  Read on for what you need to know about this weekend.

Jayne Clarke and Carrie Grinter-Lenauskas (usually on skis) were part of the coaching team for Christmas Camp

So here's what's up:

• Unless you're reading this before opening of business on Friday morning, the online signup for GDHL is closed.  Latecomers may see Kylie Deacon in the race office.  There is no guarantee that you will be placed on a team at this late date, although it's possible if we need to round out the numbers. Individual racers continue to be welcome however. The ranking, team assembly and bib allocation sub-committee will be meeting on Friday afternoon in a secret location.
• The New Year's adult gate training sessions will be held on a pay as you go basis.  See Laurel Armstrong in the Club office to sign up.  The schedule is SL on Birches at 9:30 am Friday and GS on Big John at 9:30 and 1:00 pm Saturday.
• The first GDHL race of the year is GS on Sunday morning.  Inspection will start around 9:15 and end about 9:45.  Start time is 10:00. The race is on Big John.  
• The Calcutta starts at 5:00 pm Saturday in the South Lodge.  Pick up your bib, meet your teammates, get in on the auctions as detailed below.  New this year, free beer from our newest sponsor, Sidelaunch Brewing Company.
• We have a great list of auction items for the Calcutta, some of which are pictured below.  These include premium Dynastar race skis, Lange race boots with heaters, Toko tuning equipment and trips to Michel Pratte's race training camps in Zermatt and Sun Peaks.  Nothing but the best for the Calcutta patrons!
• We have a new deal at the Calcutta this year for the preferred starting bibs.  Instead of a silent auction, we're having random draws for bibs 10 and 20 in each race.  To participate, just buy a ticket for $20 (one per person) and you're done.  Winning draws can be transferred to another racer, but no racer may use more than one preferred bib each season.
• People who are bidding on anything at the Calcutta must provide their member numbers for billing purposes.  Anyone who buys a team in the auction is responsible for canvassing team members for buyback and providing member numbers for those in a bidding consortium and team members who buy back.
• If you have a friend who would like to try GDHL, we have room for forerunners.  Send an email to the GDHL committee to make arrangements.

Self Improvement

I always find it interesting to hear ideas from different coaches, particularly if they offer opportunities for improvement that don't depend on skiing talent.  Cam Twibble, a past Ontario Ski Team coach who was a special guest coach for the adult Christmas Camp, offered some insights into buckling boots properly.  Cam emphasizes the need to make sure that the upper two buckles are firmly fastened around the ankle and shin, so that full contact between the upper boot and the leg is maintained at all times, maximizing response, while the lower buckles are not too tight around the foot, ensuring that it is not too cramped to be able to fully perform its function in balancing.   Cam will be spending the winter at Craigleith and we may be able to have a few more sessions with him during the nine week program.

Here is a link to an interesting feature from skiracing.com's premium section, describing several drills you can do yourself on snow.  You may have to sign up in order to get access, but it's free to do so for the moment.

Diversions

Finally, here's a documentary of downhill racing, featuring many clips from all eras.  It runs for over an hour, but what I've watched so far is quite interesting.

But don't let it divert you from enjoying a great weekend on the snow!  See you at the Club.

Cheers,

James Mathers

Christmas is Coming, and so are ...

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.  

Lindsey and Winnie the Prize

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

Just a Quickie

The Saturday priority list is now full for the nine week gate training session and the Christmas camp is on the verge of full.  Still room on the Sunday list, and the New Year's camp will now be on a "pay as you play" basis.

See you at the Club soon!

James Mathers

Well, if you didn't get a chance to attend a pre-season race training camp, be sure to get yourself to the Club, as there is ample opportunity to catch up.  Between now and next weekend check in on the webinar concerning concussions that the Club is offering.  Click here to join in.

This weekend was the second of two full-on World Cup weekends in North America.  Great to see Lindsey Vonn back in form, overcoming knee surgeries for two podiums in Lake Louise, and Ted Ligety winning in Beaver Creek despite a broken hand.  See below for videos of Ted and of Lara Gut going one better than Lindsey in the Super G after Lindsey won the second DH.

Winter is Coming!!

Last year, the Club opened on the first weekend of December, which this year is only two weekends away.  Looking out the window, and through other windows onto the world, it's hard not to be a bit optimistic, even as we remember the slow starts of '11 and '12.  If you've suddenly awoken to the reality of the calendar, it's not too late to catch the last week of the Pratte training camp in Sun Peaks, starting next Saturday.  

In the meantime, be sure you've got your GDHL and adult training registrations completed.  The GDHL race calendar is now posted on the GDHL website.  All races are shown as morning starts, but that is temporary, while finishing touches are made on the overall schedule at the Club.  Some will be moved to the afternoon, but the dates and events are fairly firm.  Remember, the nine week program doesn't start until the weekend after the GDHL starts (at the end of the school break), so you will need to sign up for the Christmas or New Year's camps to get some training in before the first race, Goodness knows, we all need training.  Even Ted Ligety has a few setbacks along the way.  Click here for details.  See below for video highlights of the opening World Cup SL races in Levi.

Even more recently, Phil Brown scored two podium finishes in Europa Cup GS races, including a win in the second one.  Click here for details.  Some will remember that Phil arrived in the starting area of our GDHL endurance SL on Partridge a few years ago, just as the event was ending.  The winning time was about 69 seconds.  Phil laid down a 61 without the benefit of inspection or removing his down jacket.  At that time, the suggestion was that Phil was phast, but not quite as quick as Pat Wright, who was burning up the local slopes after himself having won a Europa Cup race.  Phil has, no doubt, learned a couple of things since then, and we invite him to have another try at impressing the GDHL crowd should he be in town on a winter weekend in 2015 :)

Marcel Hirscher didn't win in Levi, but see below for other things he's been up to.

Also heli skiing in Canada.  Click here for a pic.  And here for a short video with a less successful ending.

Enough for now.  Work hard in the gym, enjoy the football games, and hopefully we'll see you on the hill very soon!

Cheers,

James Mathers

Early Bird Rates Fly Away Soon!

Really, you know it makes sense to register for GDHL and training before you go out for Hallowe'en on Friday, and save a handsome sum before prices rise.  Register in the members section of the Club website.  If you need help navigating, check out the guide on the GDHL website!

If you're in need of a little boost to your spirits, check out this FIS video that provides a few highlights from last season:

This past weekend brought the first World Cup races at Soelden.  Congratulations to Phil Brown on a career-best 21st place.  Click here for the story of the race, including video of what Phil's up against.

Phil Brown at Soelden

And while you're on that site, check out another article on the difference between good skiing and fast skiing.  In short, good skiing is seen as 

• Stable
• Balanced
• In control
• Clean turns
• Comfortable
• Predictable
• Programmed
• Safe
• Smooth
• NOT FAST!

Fast skiing is seen as

• On the edge
• Ragged
• Mistake-ridden
• Improvisational
• Risky
• Uncomfortable
• FAST!

Hint:  in order to ski fast (in GDHL), you first have to be able to ski well, starting with training.  Which brings us back to the first message.  Sign up now!  If we're as lucky with the early season as we were last year, opening weekend is barely six weeks away!!  And in the meantime there are lots of Pratte camps for early season training.  Click through on Michel's logo to reach his site and get all of the details.

See you soon,

James Mathers