Aosta Race Academy and Impulse Racing

Back to Base

2012-01-30T19:57:00.000Z

After nearly a week in Les Crosets for the Welsh Alpine Champs, it was back to our base in Aosta late on Saturday.
Sunday saw a days rest for both athletes and coaches with today being business as usual on the hill in Pila.

Getting up this morning, it was cloudy at our place and in the valley but, as we headed up in the gondola for a days slalom freeskiing, we moved above the clouds to a very cold but clear day.
We've had some new snow over the last day or so which has refreshed the pistes and, with the cold temperatures, we had great conditions for training today.

With the cloud moving up the hill and more snow coming in just after lunch, we headed down. It's snowing lightly now at our base at 1250m, so hopefully there'll be some more up at Pila.

Meanwhile, we still have coaches working with the group of Aussie servicemen and women racing at the Combined services in Meribel and with Lambrook and Halliford schools competing at the schoolboys races in Meiringen. Further info and reports on these events in the next few days.

Mixed fortunes in a week of racing

2012-01-27T14:42:00.000Z

This week has been pretty busy starting with two races at home in PILA on Saturday and Sunday.

The Slalom on Saturday saw some good skiing but none of our guys able to make both runs. That, unfortunately, is ski racing.

Cormac during course inspection for the slalom in Pila

Sunday saw a better day in the GS with both Cormac and Jack getting their best FIS points scores for that discipline.

We then headed over to Champery/Les Crosets for the Welsh Alpine Champs. With a great days slalom training on Monday, we then had the FIS GS race on Tuesday. Unfortunately, with a big delay for timing issues, we lost the second run for the boys as the TD believed that the light wasn't sufficient. This was very disappointing as several coaches believed that the light was good enough to run the boys down the second run.

The FIS Slalom was a better event but, again, our boys failed to finish! So we got our FIS racers to take some experience from forerunning the BASS races on Thursday (Sl) and today (GS). This gave them valuable experience in a race scenario which, hopefully, will help with our next races.

Les Crosets a couple of days ago

It's now back to base in Aosta for training whilst Finlay heads off to Meiringen for the Schoolboys races where Harri will be coaching Halliford School and Lambrook school teams.

Meanwhile, the Australian Defence team did well in Tignes at the RN champs with several podiums for both the men and women, including two golds for one of the male racers, Dan. They are currently training in Meribel ahead of the combined services champs next week.

Aussies, Jamaicans, Irish and some Brit trainees!!

2012-01-15T15:09:00.000Z

This is a long overdue update, mainly due to a very busy start to the season with huge snowfalls, broken vehicles, delayed opening of resorts etc.

View from the top of Pila today with Mont Blanc on the left and the Matterhorn on the right

The first two weeks of the season, up to and including BARSC, were absolutely hectic, with huge snowfalls (leading to some amazing powder days), one of our vehicles breaking down (now sorted) and almost being snowed into our accommodation.
The BARSC champs saw us pick up several podiums with Max Wheatman, Alex Fitzpatrick, Ed Fenton-Fowler and Two of our Irish Contingent, Erin Flynn and Emily Ainsworth and our Jamaican representative, Chelcie Bird.

The Anglo Scottish races saw one of our Children, Finlay Davies pick up 2nd place in the GS.

The bottom of our road a couple of weeks ago

Sometimes it can go a bit wrong in the powder!

This last two weeks saw us hosting training for the Australian Defence Alpine Snowsports Association. A group of 20 Aussie servicemen and women over here for 5 weeks, including the Royal Navy and Combined Services Champs. A great two weeks was had by this group, working with ski coach Brian Byrne and Boarding coach Donnie Macleod. Donnie has taken weeks out of his own Business in Davos - Synergy Snowsports. They've now gone on to race in Tignes, then Meribel, so good luck to those guys.

Some of the Aussie Defence Team with coaches Donnie and Brian (Centre)

So it's now back to business as usual here at the academy with several trainees and amazing training conditions this week, we feel we've chosen our base resort of Pila well and are looking forward to the rest of the season here.

Overdue update and a trip to Italy.

2011-11-13T17:55:00.001Z

I've not put a post up since the end of our first week in Tignes, with one group just finished and we were waiting for another.

Well, the second weeks group arrived and were mainly made up of Irish trainees (19 of them!) out on a selection camp for the World Schools Champs (being held in Gressoney, Aosta, In March).

We had a good few days of GS training with some improvements being made by the guys, once we'd sorted out some of the kit. We had 50kg guys turning up with 140 flex boots! At least we had Jules from the Boot Room (Chamonix) up here and on hand to help with the boot issues.

Coaches Harri, Euan and Brian with Trainee George

The planned slalom training didn't happen due to the glacier being stormbound on that day so the guys left on November 6th having done some worthwhile GS.

The storms that shut the glacier brought us some fresh, and very welcome, snow for a few days off and a bit of R & R for me.

So after a few days relaxing and free skiing, we headed off to Aosta to check out our base for the winter and to have a sneaky trip to the Milan International Motorcycle show which is the biggest of it's kind with a lot of new models on display and some great displays outside the halls.

Firstly though, we stayed in the centre of Aosta in the Hotel Europe which was very nice.

Aosta town hall - taken with Photsynth

After a nice meal we were set for the trip to Milan, via our base which is looking good for the winter, sitting up above Aosta town with some amazing views (below) and still only 10 minutes from the main Pila Gondola!

So today was back to business as usual with some SG training on the glacier in preparation for the 2 mens SG races this week and a DH on Friday. We've got one athlete out so he's pretty spoilt as far as training and feedback are concerned.

At the end of the week it's off to Ireland for a few days to shadow a coaching course for me, then back out here to Tignes where, hopefully, we may see snow start to fall in the villages.

Great Conditions and training in Tignes!

2011-10-30T11:55:00.000Z

This last week has seen the first block of training for us up on the Grand Motte in Tignes.

With a reasonably small group for week one of 14 and 3 coaches, we had an awesome weeks training with only one day lost due to high winds on the glacier. The rest of the week saw mainly sunny skies and great snow with only one morning starting in the cloud.

One morning starting in the cloud

One or two courses!!

The conditions worked in the athletes favour, meaning some great work being done, leading to meaningful improvement for all of those training here.
Yesterday saw the departure of the first group and arrival of a small number who are training over the weekend. This morning, we headed up to set slalom for just two trainees and were asked to team up with another club. It turns out they only have two trainees but they're some of the best in their region. The Comite Du Mont Blanc. This gave our guys something to aim for!

Looking down on this mornings course

Panorama of the course using Photosynth

Next group arrive tomorrow with 19 trainees from Ireland and two more coaches so it's going to be a busy week, with more snow forecast for mid week to refresh the glacier we're looking forward to it!

New Kit Arrivals

2011-10-11T18:08:00.000+01:00

In the last few days we've had a load of new kit arrive for the season.

On Saturday, we picked up a load of brushgrip bases to replace the screw in's on most of our gates. This will make our coaches job easier this winter, and make setting much quicker with no keying in. Thanks to Ski Bitz for these and the discount they're offering for Impulse club members.

Then yesterday, a few boxes of Skis and boots for the coaching staff arrived making us a happy bunch.

A BIG thanks to the guys at Head UK for this lot. Not just race skis in there either. There's a few 'toys'.

Still lots to do before we travel out to the mountains later in the month, including setting up for the London SKi and Board Show at Earls Court next week - Come and visit us on Stand J1 (The Valle D'Aosta Stand), just as you walk into the exhibition hall. We'll also be in Birmingham, the following week at the British Ski + Board Show!

Irish Champs Bursary Winners.

2011-10-04T12:33:00.000+01:00

We've just come back from Kilternan, near Dublin, where we attended the Irish Champs.

We've been at these races for a number of years now and this time, we gave away two bursaries to Irish racers, 1 male and one female.

In order to give all the Irish racers a chance, these prizes were drawn, rather than given to winners of categories.

The two lucky winners were:

Emily Ainsworth and Alex Doogan. These guys won a weeks training package with us over the winter.

There was some great racing at the weekend, despite the weather!

We struggled to see the top of the slope through the fog and rain for the dual on Saturday!

With rain ALL day on Saturday and even some fog later in the day, the Dual slalom was interesting as you couldn't se the top of the slope from the bottom!

The rain eased off overnight and it was reasonably dry on Sunday, with low cloud visible over Dublin bay from the top of the hill.

Cloudy over Dublin Bay

The Mens race on Sunday saw what was probably the tights finish we've seen this summer with only 5 hundredths of a second seperating the top 3.

Tom Hales, 1 hundredth ahead of Gerard Flahive who was 4 hundredths ahead of Andrew Watson.

The slope itself is set in some great countryside and, even with the wet weather, it was a great weekend.

Views from around the slope

Some of the Irish lads modelling the events t shirts

New Training Kit Designs

2011-09-30T09:50:00.000+01:00

Today we received the designs for our new catsuits, training jackets and shorts. It was great to se our designs on the new kit just ahead of our trip over to Ireland for their Champs this weekend.

We think they look great. They're now available to order so contact us if you're interested. We will be organising an evening at Hemel to try sizing.

Catsuit back

Catsuit front

Softshell Front

Softshell Back

Looking Forward to the Irish Champs Weekend

2011-09-28T19:16:00.000+01:00

This weekend is the last big race of the artificial slope season at Kilternan, Ireland.

We're joint sponsors of the event with The Great Outdoors who have been sponsoring the event since forever! We're giving away 2 training bursaries to Irish racers. This is a continuation of the long association we have with Irish racing, in fact, this will be the 17th year that Phil has attended the event!

T shirts for all competitors

Good luck to all of our racers in Ireland this weekend and those racing at the Ersa Champs at Hemel.

Congratulations to our Bursary winners!

2011-09-05T12:51:00.000+01:00

This weekend was the All England Championships, held at Norfolk ski club.
Aosta Race Academy Sponsored the event, giving away four bursaries as prizes.

It was a great day with a really good turnout making for some great racing. The first course was set by Sally Bartlett which saw quite a few of the field have problems. The second course was set by Impulse and ARA head coach, Phil Brown. This course initially looked easier than the first but proved to be as tricky for several athletes.

The ARA bursaries were presented after the main prize giving. Phil presented the main awards followed by these. The prizes were drawn from start numbers. We think this gives the racers an equal chance of winning and opens the chance up to more athletes.
Our winners were:
Mini Girls - Megan Skipper from Norfolk
Mini Boys - Thomas Reidy from Norfolk
Ch and Jnr Girls - Ella Ward from Chill Factore
Ch and Jnr Boys - Simon Wilkins from Telford

The above athletes can look forward to a weeks training out at our base in Aosta this season!

Phil Presenting the main prizes

L-R: Ella Ward, Megan Skipper with their award, Phil Brown

A nice touch! The ARA logo on all of the trophies in recognition of our sponsorship

Landgraaf day 2

2011-08-28T21:14:00.000+01:00

Today we got into some gates, albeit stubbies. I've not seen so many teams here at one time before. There were six lanes in use for most of the day with a new start ramp servicing one of the lanes. This was above the snow start ramp that is there for the rest of the summer.

So, we had a tech session first thing followed by a couple of hours in the stubby course on the medium injected part of the hill. This was great training after the tech sessions we've been running over the last day and a bit with some interesting changes to the trainees skiing from previously.

We finished with a short tech session to build on what we'd seen in the gates.
Tomorrow will see a a get session in the morning, a short tech session then we'll be on our way back to the UK.
We've got another Landgraaf camp next month for a couple of days and there are a few places left on it.

Back Into The Big Freezer

2011-08-27T21:52:00.000+01:00

Today was the first day of our Bank Holiday camp at Landgraaf. It's our second trip here this season but there are no races this time.
There are a shed load of teams here though, including the Savoie girls team and the Swiss EC mens team - great to watch for our guys.

Loads of team vans and extra containers for ski tuning!

So, we worked on about 5.5 hours of tech over the day with some good improvements for all athletes. Tomorrow sees a short tech session to build on this, followed by a gate session with stubbies to take the improvements into the course.

All in all, a good day today and we're looking forward to tomorrow to see how the guys fare in the stubbies. The training side of the hill looks good with 2 rollers now set on it to give the guys a little extra challenge. Should be great fun!

Aosta Academy Trainee Picks Up Awards!

2011-08-24T17:25:00.002+01:00

Impulse and ARA trainee Finlay Davies has just picked up a place on the Gifted and Talented programme at his regions Multi Skills Academy.

Fin was selected by his school, along with around 250 children from his region to attend 2 assessment mornings where he was selected, along with only 16 others to go forward in the programme.

Fin believes all the work he has put in for his skiing was a major factor in this achievement.

From here, Fin will attend further sessions later in the year where he’ll perform tasks such as those featured on the MSA website here.

It’s a great milestone for Fin as he moves up to secondary school and gets ready for the season ahead. His preparation has been has gone well with skills and drills on the indoor yielding some great results (see below).

Finlay with His Trophies

The final round of the British Indoor Grand Prix Series finished at Castleford (Leeds) recently with Fin entering the race on the same points in the series as his nearest competitor going into the last race of the series.

The pressure was on and there were also some other racers in the mix who could turn the results up side down (Ryan McCann over from Austria) and British Team member Scott Buchan. However, due to the points, the fight for the title was between Nathan and Fin.

Fin only had to beat Breeze to claim the series title but put on in immense push and ended up winning on the Saturday.

Results here

The next day the pressure was off - the championship title was in the bag (and the cheque for £100!).
With this in mind whatever happen in Sundays race, which was for the British Indoor Championship title, was a bonus.

Fin again put in 2 blinding runs beating his competition by two tenths overall to win the title.

ARA programme director Phil Brown said 'This reinforces what our athletes can achieve with the continuity of our program and the hard work that they perform in order to achieve their goals. We expect to see more of our athletes moving in this direction as we become established at our new base over the coming season'.

For more information on Fin or the other athletes from Aosta Race Academy, visit www.aostaraceacademy.co.uk

Roundup On The Irish Summer Camp

2011-08-23T10:47:00.000+01:00

The camp finished on Saturday but we've not been able to get this final blog uploaded until now.
What can we say, another really great camp this summer with a great group of trainees who were really engaged with what they were doing.

The camp ran with mainly technical training, only introducing stubby gates on the penultimate day of the four day camp and full gates on the final day. We used a reference task with video on day one and then re did this on the last day. When we combined the video from day one and the final day, the results were really obvious for the athletes to see and there were some great improvements.

The final afternoon saw us running a dual slalom to give the group a little competition and fun to finish the camp on.

All in all, it was a great camp to work on and thanks to The Ski Club of Ireland for organising it, Brian Byrne for coaching, Head skis and Bartletts for supplying some test skis for the trainees.

Next for us is a camp in Landgraaf this coming bank holiday weekend.

Back in the Emerald Isle

2011-08-18T18:53:00.000+01:00

This week we are back at Kilternan and the Ski Club of Ireland for the second time this year. This time it's our annual trip to run the summer camp on the dry slope over here.

Working with local coach Brian Byrne, we've got a mixed group of athletes with some coming from the club and some from the schools training that we came over for earlier this year so most of them are trainees that we've worked with previously, some for many years.

Today was the second day of the camp and we're running until Saturday. We've been working on slow drills to take the athletes back and work on their fundamental skiing. After 2 days we're already seeing great improvements and the guys are all really engaged with what we're doing which makes it really enjoyable to do.

The setting here is great with views from the top over Dublin bay and the disused golf course next to the slope is hope to several deer that we see on most days here. The weather has held well so far with a great sunny day yesterday and the threat of rain today that didn't materialise. I'm not sure that our luck with the weather will remain right through the camp, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

The deer on the old golf course

Fitness!

The View Over Dublin Bay From The Top Of The Sope

Back To The Dry Slope!

2011-08-13T20:12:00.000+01:00

It was out of the fridge and onto the mat yesterday with a training day at Gloucester with their club.
It's a while since I've been to the slope and it was interesting to see it a little shorter, but with some great start ramps at the top.

It was a warm day but, fortunately, the slope is well served with a mist system so the smell of burning base wasn't too prevalent!
With a small group, we ran with drills for the morning and beginning of the afternoon, putting what was learnt into some stubby courses and eventually full gates.
All the trainees seemed to take some improvement from the day which was proven when some of them competed in the summer league race today at the slope. With teams from Torquay, Avon, Midlands ski club and Gloucester itself.

The racing has a great format with 2 timed runs in the morning and then all racers put into groups of four to run a dual slalom. The groups are organised from the mornings runs with similar times for all for members of the group. This makes for some close and exciting dual slalom racing.

Hopefully we'll be back here for some more training later in the summer.

Well, off to Ireland on Tuesday to run the annual Ski Club Of Ireland Summer Camp so the next blog will be from the emerald isle.

Head Camp at Hemel - Last Day

2011-08-11T22:27:00.000+01:00

Well, the last day of this camp today, and what a great day it was! The guys were working on various drills to improve their lateral seperation with great success.
Just before lunch, the slope staff set a tight course of brush gates, not dissimilar to the course of stubbies we used yesterday afternoon.
When asked if our racers would ski this course to start building a rut line, we needed no further encouragement. The group showed great improvement over previous days and had a great session.

Some of the group outside the centre

This afternoon saw the training step up a little. The slope has had a roller on one side for some time now but this was made a little more extreme last night, in preparation for the freestyle sessions tonight and tomorrow.

This allowed us to have some fun with setting, using the terrain to allow the trainees to increase their versatility in the course. With the quite sharp drop off after the roller It made for some inventive course setting.

That's it for our camps at Hemel this summer. I'll be at Gloucester tomorrow and then a summer camp in Kilternan (Dublin) next week.

Then it's out to landgraaf for the August Bank Holiday to get 3 days training in on the awesome 500m indoor slope.

Head Summer Camp Day Two and Three

2011-08-10T18:34:00.000+01:00

We've just finished day three of the Head Indoor Camp here at the Snowcentre, Hemel Hempstead.

Yesterday we ran with the theme of stance with the trainees skiing with wide feet, narrow feet, forward and aft to find the most efficient stance for the individuals and we had some breakthroughs with a few of them.

Today saw us working on rotational skills with skidding, 360's and spinning in pairs and more. These skills are often lost or not built on in the early stages of skiing, in part due to the equipment that we now ski on but they are essential skills, especially with the equipment changes coming in at FIS level in the 2012-13 season.

This afternoon we set a stubby 'suicide' course to build on the rotational skills from the morning, followed by a corridor of standard gates to see if the work we've done so far is paying off. It would appear, from the skiing today, that it is.

Tomorrow is the last day of the camp and we'll be working on individual issues with the trainees.

Head Summer Camp Day One

2011-08-08T22:56:00.000+01:00

Today was the first day of our first camp in collaboration with Head skis. It all began at the Snowcentre this morning.

Paul and Matt from Head

We had Head skis and Bartletts arrive first thing with a collection of next seasons slalom skis for the trainees to test. Then came the trainees and coaches. So we began with the athletes working through the morning on some balance drills - following this through up to lunchtime.

We then took the drills from this morning into some stubby gate courses to see if the trainees could carry the skills developed earlier.
One the lads managed to incur the wrath of the slope patrol and find himself on the receiving end of a shovel full of snow! That's what happens when you throw snow at the wrong person!

After a good session on the hill, we took the athletes out for some fitness and games to loosen them up and finish the day. The dodgeball always proves very popular.

The camp runs up until Thursday and we still have a couple of places left for later in the week.

Looking Toward Next Weeks Camp....Only 3 Places Left!

2011-08-04T11:09:00.000+01:00

The Hemel ARA camp finished yesterday with a group of very happy trainees.

After 3 days of drills, stubbies, gates and some fitness and games, we said goodbye to this weeks trainees and now look forward to next weeks camp at the Snowcentre in association with Head skis and Bartletts.

The camp will run from Monday through to Thursday. we will have next seasons Head skis for testing, there will also be some head goodies for the trainees attending and Bartletts will have an offer on the Head equipment exclusively for athletes on the camp.

We only have 3 places left on this camp so, if you want some great summer training and access to deals on the new seasons Head kit, book on through our website.

August Indoor Camp - Day One

2011-08-01T22:51:00.000+01:00

Today saw the start of our second indoor camp of the summer with a mixture of trainees from different clubs at Hemel with us.

We started the morning with work on the athletes stance using some drills with our brushes and this set the tone for the rest of the day with lots of work on their stance and balance, looking to achieve a good uniform ski width within the courses.

With our own lane from the start, we had plenty of space for the drills and later, we were able to work on the whole slope. The guys got a lot out of this and once we'd done on the hill, we braved the high temperatures and headed out to the fields for some fitness and games with a new take on dodgeball being the favourite amongst the trainees.

Hopefully the weather will hold for the next two days for our fitness sessions!

Glacier Camp Finishes, Indoor Camps About To Start

2011-07-31T17:51:00.000+01:00

Friday saw our last day on the Grande Motte in Tignes and we had amazing conditions with an inversion and a beautiful sunny day at the top.

Awesome conditions for SL

So, after a great mornings training slalom where all the trainees showed good improvement, we headed off the hill, packed up and drove back to the UK, dropping trainees off on the way.

We've now got an indoor camp running this week at Hemel for three days followed by our Head camp from the 8-11 with test skis from Head and some Head goodies for those attending. Ski Bartlett will be offering a deal to racers on the camp as well. There are still a few places left if you want some training and try next seasons Head skis!

Changing weather!

2011-07-27T21:38:00.000+01:00

Yesterday saw the last day of our GS training block with blue skies, sunshine, cold temperatures and snow that wouldn't have been out of place in the winter!

So finishing the GS on a good note with some great improvements made over the previous days. and an afternoon of kayaking and paddle boarding on the lake with some of the guys discovering that the water was very cold!!

This morning was a different story altogether with heavy cloud shrouding the glacier from first thing. We had a later start for a light day of slalom tech work. The snow conditions were good but visibility was changeable to say the least. At one point, it was absolutely dumping with snow.

As I write this, we are looking at a day of slalom tomorrow but it's been raining in Val Claret for several hours now so there may be a bit too much snow on the glacier for setting. Never mind, I'm sure we'll get plenty out of the day regardless.

Winter Conditions in July!

2011-07-25T20:44:00.000+01:00

No blog yesterday as we didn't get onto the mountain. We woke to snow almost as far down as Val Claret but high winds which closed the mountain. Frustrating as it brightened up later but the wind didn't die down.

So after changing, we went for a run round the lake followed by a core and legs session, the results of which were being felt this morning!
The Aeroski gondola was open so we headed up to the top to find the winds were still pretty strong there.

Today was very different, sunny but very cold with some wind but amazing snow for July saw us running GS on Champagny, pretty much having the piste to ourselves with a quick turnaround we got a great mornings training in with the guys taking what they had worked on over the past few days and putting it into the gates.

Here's hoping for more of the same tomorrow!!

Summer Glacier Camp Update

2011-07-22T21:13:00.000+01:00

Well, today was day 2 on the Grande Motte in Tignes, with very different conditions from yesterday - Blue skies and sunshine with some of the best snow I've seen on a glacier in recent summers!

The guys spent the morning on some tech work for their GS, making the most of the conditions and getting some great improvements which we'll continue to work on for the next few days.
Afternoon saw a light fitness and core session in Le Lac where we watched the airbag set up and the water jump going on!
Tignes is such a busy place in the summer with loads of activities going on when you're off the hill.

News through today that Impulse member Matt Thompson, currently on the British Junior Team, picked up his new race skis yesterday and has a couple of pairs of Svindals and Jansruds from last season! Let's hope they help him continue his success from last season.

Winter Plans Coming Together

2011-07-17T18:39:00.000+01:00

What a busy weekend!

A trip to Ireland yesterday to help with schools training then finalising our accommodation details for this winter in Aosta.

For a while now we have been looking at accommodation from which to run the Aosta Race Academy and are happy to announce that we have found a great base for our first season in Aosta.
We will be staying in an old farmhouse that has been converted into apartments, giving us a very flexible set up for our trainees and the option to increase our capacity on race weeks and training weeks prior to the big races.

The location is just outside Aosta town, giving us easy access to the Pila gondola for training and also well placed for travel from the valley to races elsewhere. we're just over an hour from Turin and less than 2 hours from Geneva and Milan. Dedicated catering staff will work to feed the trainees and staff with a menu devised for our athletes.

We will have availability for training from 10 Dec through until after the British Champs in April.
please contact us for further details.

www.aostaraceacademy.co.uk
phil@impulse-racing.co.uk

Olympian and British Team Members Join Coaching Team For This Weeks Camp

2011-07-17T11:18:00.001+01:00

We're very please to announce that, joining our coaching team for this weeks indoor camp at The Snowcentre, Hemel Hempstead will be British Team member and Olympian Ed Drake British Team member Matt Thompson.

Ed Drake competing in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics

Ed has been on the Team for several years and has competed at World Cup and Olympic events over that period.

Matt Thompson at the British Champs 2011
Picture courtesy of Racer Ready

Matt has raced with Impulse for many years and is on the British Team for the second season.

These guys will be bringing their knowledge and experience to our set up for those training this week.

Matt will be with us for the three days and Ed joins us for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ready for a busy few weeks

2011-07-15T16:37:00.000+01:00

As this blog is written, we are getting ready for a busy few weeks over the summer.
Next week sees us at the Snowcentre, Hemel for the first of our indoor camps

Straight from here, we head out to Tignes for a 10 day training camp on the glacier with loads of other activities thrown in for good measure.

After a couple days rest, we're back at Hemel for another 3 day camp. This time we have a slightly longer period of r & r before the Head camp at Hemel, where trainees can try out next years Head kit as well as receive some goodies from Head during the week.

Work continues on the winter programme and base with some news due soon so watch this space!!

Summer Sorted - Big Thank you to Head Skis

2011-07-07T15:59:00.000+01:00

Well, all of our summer indoor camps and the glacier camp in Tignes are looking good for numbers.
This week we firmed up details for the HEAD camp in August.

We'll have next seasons race skis for testing on this camp which runs from the 8-11 August. There'll also be goodies for all trainees such as T shirts and Heads Bling ski ties as seen on the World Cup last season.

A big thank you to Head Skis for all their cooperation and support over the last two seasons and ,hopefully, ongoing as we move into our Italian base this season in Aosta. We've got hold of a pair of their 'Motorhead' skis - the smallest of this series at 94mm underfoot and one of the best all mountain skis we've used.

We have very few places left on this camp and it promises to be a great opportunity with Skiers from the Head camp coming along during the week. Bookings can be made on our website.

We have two other camps at Hemel before the Head camp, punctuated with our summer glacier camp to Tignes, giving a great opportunity to hone your skills in the middle of the summer!

Then we have a break before travelling out to Landgraaf in the Netherlands for training weekend in late August and late September - A great facility to keep the skiing sharp before the season kicks off with October glacier training.

Strong Club Racing in the South West

2011-06-28T11:22:00.000+01:00

Lat night we visited Torquay Ski Club to see some great training at a strong club, members of which had taken quite a few podiums at the Celtic Cup during the past weekend.
It was good to see training at this very well kept facility with good numbers on a warm Monday evening.

Torquay has a strong pedigree of producing great racers and national team members such as the Brown brothers (Rob, Sam and Tom) and their current top racer, Jai Geyer who is a member of the British Alpine team. It was good to see the man responsible for much of this, Ron Batley, at the centre. Ron is no longer coaching but the head coach, Chris Tonge, is continuing this legacy.
We are hoping to do some work in the future with the club and some of it's members so will be watching these racers with some interest.

A Busy Weekend and Kent Schools Winners

2011-06-13T10:52:00.000+01:00

Well, we started the weekend early on Saturday at Milton Keynes for the Club National race there.
Impulse members did well in this race with the results below (amongst others).

Matt Thompson - 1st J2 and 1st Overall
James Grant - 2nd J2
Thomas Grant - 2nd J1

Well done to all Impulse racers at MK this weekend at the CN and the GP.

On Sunday attended and sponsored the Kent Schools Championships, giving out prizes of places on our indoor camps to two lucky athletes. The prizes were given on a bib number draw to make the chance of winning equal to all racers.
Our winners were:

Girls - Natalie Falshaw
Boys - James Fowles

Natalie and James will be joining us later in the summer for their training prizes.

We'll be at Manchester next weekend for both the club national and the grand prix races.

A Busy Summer So Far!

2011-06-09T10:01:00.000+01:00

Well, we've been back from the mountains for over a month now and we've been pretty busy with setting up for next season and attending events all over the UK and the BASS race in Landgraaf over the bank holiday weekend, where several trainees achieved excellent results.

Looking up the 500m slope at Landgraaf

This weekend sees us attending the Milton Keynes Club National race on Saturday, helping with setting and helping our trainees prepare for the GP on Sunday.

On Sunday, we will be sponsoring the Kent Schools Championship at Bromley in association with our winter base, Aosta Race Academy. We will be giving away places on our indoor camps to a few lucky racers.

So good luck to all of our trainees racing over this weekend and we'll see some of you at MK and Bromley.

Landgraaf!!!

2011-05-27T20:36:00.000+01:00

So, we're in Holland, at Landgraaf and training for the BASS races which are running over the bank holiday.

We arrived on Wednesday evening after the short drive from Calais, trained on Thursday and today with 5 trainees. Tomorrow, we have a few more joining us to bring in a total of 10 racers with Gerard and myself coaching.

View up the FIS slope

The deal with the hotel and centre is that we get a shed set up for ski prep and time on the slope for training in gates and free skiing.

The tuning shed

'Bieber' tuning

Training

So tomorrow brings more training on the hill with gate sessions in the morning and afternoon, then races on Sunday and Monday - watch this space for further details and information.

Aosta Race Academy Update

2011-05-07T12:14:00.000+01:00

As some of you will know, we are well on our way with our new venture in Italy, the Aosta Race Academy.

We are very lucky to be working with Expedient Marketing the regions tourist board in setting up this venture. We will be working closely with them and also with the resort of Pila which is where most of our training will be based.
The last few months have been very busy with setting everything up but it is now all coming together with a new website for the academy coming online in the next few days, deals being brokered with sponsors and partner organisations. We still have our existing sponsors and partners on board, in fact Head skis are becoming more involved, running indoor camps with us this summer in the uk.

Our programme has already kicked off with the athletes already signed up and we'll be running our first fitness weekend in early June. From there, the athletes will have their fitness goals set out for the summer in preparation for the season ahead.

We'll have more updates on the academy and on Impulses summer activities through the next few months.

British Senior and Junior Champs round up

2011-04-05T21:30:00.000+01:00

Well, we're now into the British Children's races in Meribel and the Scottish Champs in Courchevel but todays blog is an update on the British Champs which finished yesterday.

With varied weather, the champs ran well and we only lost the NJC downhill and the NJC girls GS due to the weather and conditions. It's a shame when we lose any races from the program but, given the conditions and weather this season, we were fortunate to get the races that we did.

One of the many early starts

The conditions meant a lot of early starts in order to get the best of the snow and to make the races as fair as possible for all entrants. So, with the 6.45 lifts open and 7.00 inspections, most races were done before the tourists had come out for the day!

Unfortunately, yesterday saw rain and low cloud which brought problems for the girls gs as the cloud was in over much of the course an, with this not moving, the race was cancelled after several hours of waiting.

The boys sl, however, actually benefitted from the wet conditions with the salt on the course made the track work well for the race. It was no fun standing there in the rain and the hill looked rough but a good race came out of it.

Rough looking conditions for the slalom in the rain

Very brown!!

Just below are a few of the results achieved by impulse racers over the champs:

Sam Fairbairn - 2nd Brit in the junior sl

Richard Goldsworthy - 3rd Brit in the junior sl

Sam and Richard on the podium

Matt Thompson:

1st in Junior dh

1st non team in dh
1st under 18 in dh
2nd in senior dh
3rd in senior sc
1st under 18 in sc
2nd junior in super g
3rd junior in sl
2nd overall in senior champs
1st under 18 overall in senior champs
1st overall non team member in senior champs
1st overall in junior champs
1st overall junior 2

Matt Thompson making one of his many podium appearances at the champs

It's not all work out here in Meribel though. One of our trainees celebrated his birthday today and the boys bought what can only be described as a firework to put on his cake!!!

Is there a fire extinguisher handy?!

Another 3 days of racing left now and a report will be blogged later in the week.

Super Combined completed!

2011-03-31T21:20:00.000+01:00

With a very early morning, we went to inspect the super g at dawn. This was to ensure that we got the best of conditions and best chance to complete the race.

Inspection at dawn!

The early start paid off and we got a good race out of it, completing the race meant that we had the junior super g and the super combined in the bag.

Impulse athletes had mixed fortunes with 3 going out at different parts of the course but 2 completing. Elliot completed the super g, dropping his points in the process and Matt Thompson was 3rd Bit in the sg (2nd junior) and 3rd Brit (1st junior) in the super combined, giving him 2 junior titles so far.

Matt Thompson picking up his prizes for the super g and super combi

Rain this afternoon but should be clear tonight and the mens national champs slalom tomorrow.

Change of Schedule

2011-03-30T20:09:00.000+01:00

Well, as expected, this morning arrived with the rain still falling at village level, meaning that the junior downhill was cancelled. This was good news for Impulse member Matt Thompson as it meant the junior results would be taken from yesterdays senior race, giving Matt the British Junior downhill title!

Matt Thompson on his way to the British Junior Downhill title
(Picture Courtesy of Racer Ready)

With the DH cancelled, came the decision to run the slalom leg of the super combined. The organisers got to work setting, and salting, the courses on the Meribel stade. The rain was easing by now and would soon stop. Inspection had to be made from outside the course to give the salt some time to work on the snow.

The race itself was very good, considering the conditions and the snow held up well. Our trainees performed well with Matt Jessop moving up to 33rd from a start number of 50, Ed Fenton-Fowler was unlucky at number 71 and fell about 20 gates down. Sam Fairbairn finished in 26th, making the top 30 flip for the super g run but was subsequently disqualified for incorrect passage of a gate which was a great shame as it was his run of the season so far!

Matt Thompson continued his successful run with 12th overall, 3rd Brit and 1st Brit junior. This gives him a good position in the super g tomorrow to capitalise on and, hopefully remain in this position (at least).

Early starts all round for a 7am inspection for the super g leg tomorrow. Here's hoping for another good race.

Slalom Training whilst the Downhill is on

2011-03-29T20:53:00.000+01:00

Today we woke to clear blue skies and colder temperatures (initially), so the Downhill training run went ahead, followed by the first Downhill race.
None of the guys training with us were competing but one Impulse member, Matt Thompson, was second Brit and first British Junior in the race, scoring his best FIS points for DH in the process!!

Elsewhere on the hill, we were training slalom. We had great conditions but it did warm up very quickly. The guys all skied well for most of the morning but we had to finish in the gates by 11.30 as the snow was deteriorating quickly by that time.

Tomorrow should be the second Downhill but we currently have rain and the forecast for tomorrow is not good. There is the possibility that they will run the slalom leg of the super combined if conditions prove too severe to run the DH. We'll see what tomorrow brings. If there are no races, we shall continue with some more slalom training.

DH Training Cancelled but new snow!!

2011-03-28T20:01:00.000+01:00

The downhill training was cancelled as we got out of bed this morning! None of our group were due to race, hence the later start but the others, who had got onto the hill for 7am, were disappointed.
We headed up high this morning with GS skis. No Gate training today but some technical training.
We found some good fresh snow above about 1800m, so the rain that we had for many hours yesterday turned to snow higher up.

The top of the Saulire, looking towards Courcheval this morning

After about two hours with the GS skis, the temperatures and high humidity started having a detrimental effect on the snow so we went and grabbed the SL skis for a couple of runs until the snow really changed, so we decided to call it a day and head back to prep skis for SL gate training tomorrow morning.

Meribel 2011: The British Champs

2011-03-27T14:09:00.000+01:00

Back in Meribel again!! for the British champs. With warm weather and poor snow conditions the norm for the races here at this time of year, this season has not seen a change to what we expect.
I skied on Friday and we came off the hill at 11.30 as it had become so soft.
So it was with trepidation that we got up for a 7am inspection on todays national champs super g. We were pleasantly surprised with colder temperatures and harder snow than expected.

The sun rising on our first of many early starts

The race start was dropped from it's usual place due to the previous weeks conditions and, with a depleted team due to the timing of these races against school holidays, we had 3 finishers out of four to start, with two of the guys, Sam Fairbairn and Ed Fenton-Fowler scoring their best FIS points so far!!

Slightly brown on the start pitch

Tomorrow should see the downhill training but it has started raining at village altitude this afternoon.

None of our trainees are taking part in the downhill so we have two days training and potentially a rest day before our next race which should be the junior super G and super combined on Thursday (conditions allowing).

Interschools champs, Les Houches

2011-03-14T18:07:00.000Z

3rd day in Les Houches today and first day of the races.

We've had 2 excellent days training here looking after teams from Surbiton High School, Kings College School and Sandown Park, amongst others - 24 trainees in total for these four days.
Today saw the first MInis GS with us grabbing two podiums from Abi Bruce and Toby Case there.
The girls slalom saw our girls improving their BASS points and the junior slalom saw another podium from Matt Jessop.

The boys GS was a little disappointing insofar as the second run had to me cancelled due to the soft conditions.

Tomorrow is the Boys sl, girls gs and second minis gs, so fingers crossed for some more podiums!!

SIGB Ski test in Bormio

2011-03-02T18:44:00.000Z

After the English Champs here in Bormio, I've been spending a few days at the SIGB ski test. catching up with some friends, skiing on some of next years kit and generally chilling out.

There are some interesting developments in the skis - The race skis remain largely unchanged, save for some graphics but there are some different directions taken by the manufacturers.
Salomon have the BBR. A ski which has a lot in common (shape-wise) with old surfboards. It has a wide but soft tip and a narrow, stiff tail. It works ok on the piste, if a little flappy at speed but is a little better when the going is softer off piste.
Head have a deal with the management of the rock group, Motorhead and have 4 skis aimed at all mountain and named after Motorhead albums. I've been skiing the 'Rock and Roll' which has proved to be a great ski both on and off the piste.

Motorhead Rock and Rolls by Head

Today was my last of three days on the hill for the test and the weather has been amazing for all three with great conditions for testing.

A little off piste testing

Tomorrow sees me leaving Bormio to drive to Geneva then back to the UK for a few days rest.

The next trip will be out to the Interschools races in Les Houches with several schools and some of our regular trainees, following this will be the Aiglon cup in Villars so still plenty of the season left, even though we're now in March.

English champs - podiums and wrap up

2011-02-28T22:41:00.000Z

Well, the races finished on Friday - Apologies for the delay in updating but the internet connection has not been ideal to say the least.
Impulse picked up several podiums at the champs including those by the following racers:
Matt Thompson
Charlotte Jesse

All of our Junior racers achieved points improvements over the week, to their credit and we had one child racer, Tom Grant, who achieved 19th place in the Childrens super g from a start number in the nineties and in his first super g race.

Well done to all of the racers with us for the last week or two weeks.

No racing now until the Interschools in a couple of weeks. I'm just working at the SIGB ski test in Bormio this week and having a bit of fun.

English Champs, Bormio

2011-02-22T16:56:00.000Z

A few days here so far. No blogs up to now due to internet issues.

Sunday saw the NJR slalom with Impulse having 9 boys and 1 girl racing. Conditions were variable, with the cloud and snow closing in for run two. The course was fairly choppy for run two and all but one of our guys completed, scoring reasonable points scores. Most weren't happy with their performance as they could have made better scores but, on the whole, a good day for the team.
Monday was the NJR GS. Fortunes were similar to the slalom with the second run becoming pretty bumpy. The team all did pretty well again with points improvements for most of the them.

Today we held the FIS super g. The course was set fast and was great for those racing. The snow didn't run amazingly fast but was very grippy, catching a few people out. Impulse had a couple of first places. Judy Reid won the masters and Matt Thompson was first British competitor.

FIS GS, Childrens GS and Minis GS are all running tomorrow, so reports on these in the next blog.

EYOF Boys Slalom and end of competition

2011-02-18T23:18:00.000Z

The boys raced slalom yesterday and had mixed fortunes. Starting wit bib number 76 and 82 respectively, both Hubert and Sean went out of the gate pretty positively on the first run.
Hubert hip slid in the middle section of the course but got up and continued to make it into 62nd position. Sean hooked a tip about half way down, unfortunately finishing his race there.
The 2nd run saw Hubert move up to 42nd place. A pretty good move from start number 76!

The guys had no competition today so we had a rest day and went to watch the ice hockey final between Finland and Russia. The Russians won on sudden death in extra time after a full time score of 1-1. That was unfortunate for the fins as they had played a better game generally.
Tonight saw the closing ceremony with Victoria Bell carrying the flag for Ireland.
Tomorrow sees us travel down to Bormio for the start of the English Champs for a week. Next blog on Sunday.

EYOF - Boys GS and Girls Slalom

2011-02-16T20:00:00.000Z

Yesterday saw the boys GS race her in Liberec. The Irish boys started the day well with start numbers of 70 and 78, finishing the first run in the 60's so moving up a few places.
Unfortunately, they had issues on run two, Sean got caught on his inside ski and on the slick race piste there was no coming back. Hubert started well but had an issue with his ski as it pre released on some judder ruts so a disappointing day all round.

Today was girls slalom and Tori started with bib number 75 and finished the first run in 58th. A good performance on a very icy piste. In fact it was difficult to get an edge when inspecting, never mind racing!
second run saw her move up to 48th spot and a decent finish for the only Irish female competitor.

Tomorrow sees the boys slalom and final event for us here. The boys go numbers 76 and 82 so lets hope for some good moves up the field.

Girls GS day at the EYOF

2011-02-14T20:19:00.000Z

Yesterday was a rest day after a late arrival on Saturday. The opening ceremony was last night, with the lighting of the Olympic torch.

Today was the first day on the hill and the girls GS day.
Only one competitor for us as Kristen injured her knee training last week. Tori went at no. 70 on run one and completed respectably in 62nd place, hoping to improve further on run two. The piste was pretty slick and rock hard so it took some guts to attack but those who did were rewarded with decent results (if they stayed in!). Tori headed out on run two and was going well up toward the first terrain break, where her ski pre released, brining her challenge to a premature end unfortunately.

Tomorrow sees the boys GS with Hubert and Sean competing with bib numbers 70 and 78. Good luck to them for their race.

Irish Team EYOF training

2011-02-12T14:26:00.000Z

Last Monday saw my departure from Turkey. Three flights to get to Geneva and then up to Les Houches for the training week to precede the European Youth Olympics.
Training with the four athletes over the week in near perfect training conditions each morning should be good preparation for the event in Liberec, Czech starting from tomorrow.
A big thanks to BSA for their help in running this camp from their base in Les Houches.

Penultimate day in Turkey

2011-02-05T06:52:00.000Z

Blogging from the cafe by the race piste prior to todays ladies slalom.

Beautiful sunshine out there today but still very cold. Very similar conditions to the ladies GS a couple of days ago meaning the girls have had the best of the conditions so far. A stark contrast to yesterday when we arrived to find cloud, light snow and flat light for the boys GS.

This made yesterdays race a challenge to say the least. Out of two Irish boys, only one made the second run. The GB boys fared better, only losing one of five on run one.

Girls GS Day

The boys had a tougher time on run two, with the conditions softening, creating ruts which weren't visible due to the flat light. This caused most of the boys later in the field to make mistakes. There were a few fallers but Team Irelands athlete completed, as did all but one of the remaining GB racers.

Start Area For Mens GS

Impulse Racing Partner - Head Skis

Two more days of racing with the womens SL today and the mens SL tomorrow, followed by the closing ceremony.
I'll be reporting on the next two days events on Monday whilst sitting at either Ankara or Istanbul airport on my way back to more traditional ski racing venues.

Turkey!!

2011-02-03T04:23:00.002Z

Well, we’re on our third day here at the Universiade in Erzurum and we’ve managed 3 runs between the other races. Only the one piste open and that’s being raced on so, on Tuesday, we managed to have a ski above the combi sl for 3 runs.

Conditions on the hill have improved immensely with clear skies bringing sunshine and baltic temperatures (Glad I have my boot heaters!) which has the race piste in great conditions. My guys from Ireland don’t race until their GS on Friday so I’ve been up on the hill watching the races. Today was the super g leg of the super combi. Tomorrow sees the girls GS.

Hopefully the conditions will remain good until the end of the races on Sunday.

World Uni Winter Games - Erzurum, Turkey

2011-01-31T20:51:00.000Z

Well, first full day here today after a couple of flights over from Geneva, a tight connection in Istanbul (which we made but, apparently, our luggage didn't) and a late night.
The impulse athletes are having a rest and I'm looking after some of the Irish Alpine athletes here.
There's racing on at the moment but our guys aren't participating until Friday when the technical events start.
Unfortunately, a lack of decent snow cover is preventing any worthwhile training as the only decent piste is the one being used to race on so we're trying to occupy our days with other activities.
Tomorrow we should get on the hill above the Super combi slalom start for a few runs though.

The new ski jump towers built specifically for the event

The athletes village is on a huge university campus with most wintersports being represented. The Turkish seem to have spent a great deal of money in preparing for these games.
Hopefully, the snow will improve as the week goes on and we should get some training ahead of the tech races.

Final post from the Welsh Champs!!

2011-01-29T21:00:00.000Z

We've had the BASS races over the last couple of days and Impulse athletes have been very successful in these with podium places form the following over the two races:
Richard Goldsworthy
Elliot Simpson
Judy Reid
Max Wheatman
Mike Seaman

The camp in Les Crosets has been excellent with the races going particularly well despite the worry last week about the warm temperatures. It got colder just in time!
News is that the races will be the same time and place next season, so we'll be taking a group of athletes again to what is proving to be a very enjoyable and beneficial set of races.

Welsh Champs FIS races

2011-01-26T20:43:00.000Z

The last two days have seen the Impulse athletes making some good point scores at the Welsh Alpine champs in Champerey/Les Crosets on the Portes Du Soleil.

Yesterday was the GS with nearly all the athletes improving their points or achieving personal best results. The weather has been great for both days with hard snow and blue skies.

Todays slalom saw mixed fortunes with two of our guys coming out in some tough courses but those who stayed in were rewarded with decent points results including 2 athletes scoring their first sub 100 finishes.

Tomorrow is the first of two BASS races which we're taking part in for race practice to prepare for the English Champs in a few weeks time.

Another Great Days Training in Les Crosets

2011-01-24T13:44:00.000Z

As the title says, another great day. Sunshine, blue sky and awesome snow for training GS.
We had a slightly earlier start and ran through to lunchtime. All of the group started off a little rusty (it's the first time on GS this season for a few of them). But we were seeing some really sweet runs by later in the session.
All good preparation for the first race of the Welsh Alpine Champs tomorrow. 9am inspection with a 10am start.
This afternoon is taken up with ski prep for the morning, followed by a game of ultimate with the other training groups which should raise some banter.

Great Sl Training Day

2011-01-23T20:31:00.000Z

Today again saw low temperatures (very welcome) and sunshine. We were up on the same training piste along with several groups today.
Our juniors trained in the same course as Ambition (thanks Marc) for the morning, up to about 1 o'clock. It was quite a tough morning for the few that arrived only yesterday but there was some good improvements made through the session.
Tomorrow sees GS training in preparation for the first race (GS) on Tuesday.

Weather Change Brings Great Training

2011-01-22T22:00:00.000Z

The weather change has brought some great conditions with it for training over the last couple of days. We had light snow overnight on Thursday but the biggest change is the temperature. This has given us some great, hard snow to set and train on.
Yesterday, we ran GS with Dragons and the Welsh team in the morning and free skied the race hill in the afternoon.
Today saw slalom training, also with the Welsh in bright but cold conditions.
The rest of the training group arrived tonight so a full complement to train slalom in the morning.

The Welsh Champ Races are Definitely On!

2011-01-20T21:27:00.000Z

After a few warm days, winter is back! much colder temperatures and snow all afternoon.
We had a day off training today ready for when the other athletes arrive.

We went up on the hill today to check the snow depth on the race piste with the head of the pisteurs in order to ascertain whether the races can go ahead and the result is YES!
With the snow depth good enough on the race hill an temperatures due to remain well below freezing an even some more snow on the way, the races should run well and to schedule, starting on Tuesday.

For us, tomorrow sees GS gate training with Dragons and the Welsh Squad.

Snowy view toward the race hill

The Snow Arrived!!

2011-01-19T17:00:00.000Z

Well, for a little while it snowed but temperatures were much colder today with cloud (and light snow) moving in and out which meant that, due to variable visibility, it was a slalom tech day.
We were on the hill for a few hours in very variable conditions visibility-wise although it got a little brighter for an hour or so this afternoon, so we nipped over for a few runs in Avoriaz and Lindarets.

No pictures today, every time I got the camera out, the cloud came in!!

Champerey/Les Crosets day 3

2011-01-18T20:30:00.000Z

Definitely an improvement with the snow and the temperatures this morning, giving us the opportunity to get some good GS tech work done before lunch, including a few cheeky runs in a course set above Lindarets, towards Morzine, by the local club.

The sun then came out and it got warmer again, turning the snow on a lot of the pistes a bit spring like and not really useful for training, so freeskiing across lots of terrain for a couple of hours followed by ski prep before dinner.

Day 2 Champerey/Les Crosets

2011-01-17T21:02:00.000Z

This morning saw some GS tech training up on the GS hill where the Welsh Champs should be held next week.

The GS hill as seen from the GS start

The Snow was excellent this morning and great for running GS turns down that hill. We spent a couple of hours on that with video feedback then, after a short break, went for a bit of a tour. Over to Chatel, Avoriaz, down to Champoussin (very soft and patchy). then back to Les Crosets.

The temperatures are remaining unseasonably warm but a change is on it's way apparently. If the temperatures drop, we should get the races off with little issue.

Champerey/Les Crosets for the Welsh Alpine Champs

2011-01-16T20:40:00.000Z

We arrived in Les Crosets for a weeks training ahead of the Welsh Alpines yesterday.
The slalom piste is looking a bit sad at the moment but, apparently, the slalom is going to be held on the GS piste so hopefully it will be good.

Slalom piste this morning

Today was a free ski day and we travelled around a bit, hitting Avoriaz, Lindarets and Super Chatel. we didn't want to go any lower as it was spring conditions with temperatures above freezing for most of the day unfortunately. Great tanning weather but not so good for the snow.

Temperatures are due to drop later in the week and bring in some snow.
Tomorrow is a GS tech day on the race hill so should be good, til it warms up!

End of the BARSC Champs!

2011-01-08T13:16:00.001Z

No blog yesterday, unfortunately one of our athletes had a fall which necessitated a trip to Aosta hospital. Everything is ok and we've now left resort for a week off.
All in all, a good camp with several podiums from what was a small group of athletes.
Training recommences on the 15th of Jan in Les Crosets ready for the Welsh Champs the week after so probably no posts now until the 15th.
Below are a few pictures from the BARSC Champs, courtesy of Shana's dad, Danny.

More success for Minis in Champoluc

2011-01-06T21:11:00.000Z

Today saw the second childrens GS and the second minis race on the race piste above Frachey here in Champoluc.
Again, our minis did well with Abi Bruce winning the girls race. Unfortunately, Shana had a problem high on the course which caused her to lose some time which was a shame as she skied the bottom of the course really well.
The afternoon saw some light snow and more is forecast overnight so it may be an interesting slalom tomorrow for the children.

Shana (3rd) and Abi (2nd)

First Childrens and Minis Race of the Season

2011-01-05T20:48:00.001Z

Today saw the Childrens and Minis GS race in Champoluc. It's an additional GS for the kids as the SG was cancelled and is therefore not the championship GS. This is pretty fortunate as the only child we have racing didn't have the best day but we can look toward tomorrow for improvements.
The minis on the other hand did very well. Shana Danenbergsons, who has been training with us since all week, came third and Abi Bruce, who has joined us after racing with our group in Les Houches, came second.
This makes 5 podiums over 3 days. Not a bad result so far, given the small number of athletes we're currently working with!

Mixed Fortunes In Champoluc

2011-01-04T20:47:00.000Z

Today saw the FIS slalom here in Champoluc. The weather was the same as yesterday (but a little colder!).
This meant that the conditions for the SL were excellent and the track held up very well.
We had two challenging courses and, unfortunately, run one saw only four of our six boys finish with Matt and Jack both falling victim the the fast rhythm changes of the course.
Run two started well with Max Wheatman going first as he'd made the flip in 15th place. he put down a great run until 6 gates from the end where he skied wide, giving us a bit of a moment but he held on to finish. Sam and Elliot went next but both struggled with the numerous rhythm changes and failed to finish. Ed followed and managed to finish, scoring his first FIS SL points.
With only 16 of the field finishing both runs, it proved to be a tough day. Max Wheatman was pleased to get his first place in Jun 2 of the Brits.

Max on the Podium

Good result in Champoluc for Impulse

2011-01-03T20:49:00.000Z

Today saw our guys take part in the FIS GS here at the BARSC Champs in Champoluc with some success.
Out of six racers, five finished both runs with Max Wheatman losing a ski to a pre release on run one.
Of the finishers, all of the guys scored an improvement to their FIS points with Sam Stephens and Elliot Simpson coming second and third respectively in the junior two category.
The race ran pretty smoothly and the conditions held up well for the race, partly due to the fact that it was very cold.
Looking forward to a good SL race tomorrow on what is proving to be a good race piste.

The course, from my viewpoint in the trees!

Sam and Elliot with their medals

Last day of training for the FIS races in Champoluc

2011-01-02T20:54:00.000Z

Today saw another afternoons GS training in readiness for the BARSC FIS GS tomorrow. All 6 of our guys were consolidating their skiing and looking pretty good.
The race tomorrow should give our guys a good opportunity to improve their points and get better starts later in the season.
Checking out the race piste we found the snow to be in good condition prior to the race and likely to hold up pretty well.
Skis done, trainees asleep - hopefully some good results to report tomorrow.

GS Training for the BARSC

2011-01-01T17:36:00.000Z

Day 4 in Champoluc and today was as sunny as we've had. With the temperatures remaining cold, the training hill was in excellent condition for our GS training.
This is the first day that we've been able to set in the morning as the local club had the day off and we made the most of it, teaming up with another club to set a 30+ gate course.
All of our trainees were ironing out little issues as this is the first GS training they've done since October so the morning was pretty productive.
Working with 6 juniors, 1 mini and 2 coaches proved to be beneficial to the athletes and the runs after our break were considerably improved from the earlier training.
GS training again tomorrow, followed by 2 days of FIS racing.

Anglo Scottish Champs Training

2011-01-01T17:22:00.000Z

It was the last day of training in Les Houches for the Anglo Scottish races today and we have to say a special thanks to BSA for all the help in setting the early morning training up and bussing the trainees up so that the training could start before the lifts are open.
The coaching team of Colin, Will and Dave have reported good quality training for the past for days in readiness for the races tomorrow and Monday.

Good luck to all the Impulse trainees in Les Houches!

Champoluc!

2010-12-31T17:40:00.000Z

No posts for a couple of days since arriving in Champoluc due to issues with internet.

We arrived on Tuesday with freeskiing on Wednesday.

Wednesday - It hasn’t snowed for a while here but there’s still a fair amount of soft snow and powder around for playing in (balance and coordination work!).

Thursday saw another sunny day with later start and tech work, followed by slalom gate training above Champoluc after lunch. As the races have been moved, we’re having to train after the local club which means after lunch. This has given us the opportunity to do tech work first then gate training.

Today was another day of slalom gate training following on from tech work prior to lunch on a great piste in the sun. The boys are skiing well and are prepared for the slalom. With tomorrow being new years day, we have the training piste from lifts opening so we’ll be out early in the morning. That means possibly muted celebrations tonight but it’ll be worth it for a good mornings training.

Happy new year to everyone!

Powder Slalom!!

2010-12-18T12:10:00.000Z

Yesterday saw the slalom event of the ISSC races. We awoke to about 20cm of fresh snow in the village.
This was over 30cm at the level where the race was to take place.
Unfortunately, the communication between the race organisers (BaseCamp) and the ESF who were setting the course was not particularly good and the course set was completely unsuitable for the conditions and skiing ability of most of the field meaning that there were a lot of issues with racers falling, not finishing and generally struggling.
The Surbiton girls performed pretty well with Emma coming 3rd after the first run.
The second run was set (Much better set than run one) but the conditions were far from ideal and with the chief of race falling whilst slipping the course and having to be stretchered off, the 2nd run was cancelled.
This meant that the parallel slalom was to be run on one of the pistes at village level for safety reasons.
With the visibility and conditions far better lower down, this promised to be more successful than the earlier slalom.
Unfortunately, the organisers were not too good at seeding the teams and the Surbiton girls were seeded in a group with the other top girls team and lost that particular race meaning they did not progress to the knockout stages.
Despite this, the group were very successful given that all but one had not raced on snow prior to this competition. The one race that had experience, won the overall girls title.

Now to return to the UK for Christmas and then out for the BARSC and Anglo Scottish races on Dec 28th. (If I can get back...currently delayed at Geneva due to the snow in the uk!)

Success for Surbiton

2010-12-16T18:23:00.001Z

No Post yesterday as the entire internet system in LDA was down. We had a free ski day so that the Surbiton Girls were relaxed and ready for todays GS race.
Today, the ISSC races started with the GS and the girls did get some great results. Emma was fastest Girl and 2nd overall, Amelia was 2nd girl and 3rd overall and Meriel was 4th Girl. This is pretty good, considering that Emma is the only girl with us to have raced before. It looks like the training in Tignes in October paid off!
We also believe that the girls were the fastest girls school team and seem to have done very well overall as a school but these results are not released yet. we'll find out at prizegiving tomorrow evening.
Tomorrow brings the slalom and parallel slalom so hopefully we can build on todays excellent results.

Giant Slalom Training In The Sun

2010-12-13T21:44:00.000Z

Today was another clear (and cold) day with perfect conditions for training.
GS today wit the Surbiton girls building on the skills from their October camp in readiness for the races later in the week. The way they're skiing, we're hoping for some success in the races.
Gerard took a one run break from coaching to have a run in the course, much to the amusement of the cameraman - Gerard GS Run
A brief free ski after lunch, followed by ski prep for slalom tomorrow.

Another windy day in Deux Alpes

2010-12-10T21:16:00.000Z

This morning started badly - high winds meaning that most of the lifts were closed. Only a couple of lifts at village level were open and they were packed! So we were pretty pleased when the village chair opened to get us up to the area where we've been training.
It was a bit of a trek to get there but we got set and started slalom training just before lunch. I don't know whether it was the shedload of drills we did during the morning but the guys skied the best they had all week! Very pleasing for their last day of this camp...and the wind died down for the training.

Slalom training

Perfect Conditions

2010-12-09T21:26:00.000Z

Today brought much colder temperatures and hard snow which was more conducive to slalom training after the soft snow of yesterday.
The day started with the cloud coming in and out but after a while the cloud disappeared completely, leaving us able to get some good quality training in.
Tomorrow is the last day for this group so fingers crossed for another good day.

Sl training

At Last!!

2010-12-07T20:20:00.000Z

We finally got up onto the mountain today (in dry-ish conditions) to get on with some technical work ahead of any gate training for slalom which we've planned for the week.
Snow was still a bit wet lower down and soft higher up but we found a piste in the middle that was firm enough to facilitate the training we wanted to do.
So gates tomorrow, as long as conditions allow!

Tech work 7 Dec 2010

Wet and windy!!

2010-12-06T16:17:00.002Z

After the high winds closing most of the mountain yesterday, when I woke up today, It was pouring with rain. It hasn't stooped all day in the village. We ventured up the gondola and it was snowing much higher up. After about 3 runs we called it a day as the rain lower down was relentless. Temperatures are set to fall again mid-week, and with a bit of luck there won’t be too much damage to the lower slopes. Hopefully will be better tomorrow and we can get to training.

wind starts play in Deux Alpes

2010-12-05T21:31:00.001Z

Well, the first day in Deux Alpes did not go as planned, High winds and snow caused the mountain to be shut and just the nursery runs open, what to do?
Hire some boards and make fools of ourselves! that was hard work, but fun.

see how we did here: Beginner Boarding in Deux Alpes

Brass Monkey Weather in Tignes

2010-12-02T21:09:00.000Z

In Tignes this week running a course called 'Taste of Race' for Inspired To Ski.
The week has gone very well with a bit of everything weather-wise. Yesterday was snowing and had been for over 24 hours.
Today it cleared and was sunny, giving us a beautiful day and great snow for training. The only common denominator all week has been the cold. it's pretty baltic here!
1 more day of the course left then off to Deux Alpes for an Impulse training week.

View from the glacier today

Late shift in Hemsedal

2010-11-24T19:38:00.000Z

Late start today for the slalom leg of the super combi.
We were up on the hill at 14.00 for a few runs through the warm up courses, followed by a 15.30 inspection as it started to get dark.
Inspecting what was a very open course on a pretty flat slalom hill. We weren't too surprised to be called out to re inspect the boys course as some gates were over the 13m maximum. So, two inspections and a long wait whilst the girls run was completed.
A lack of copies of the start list caused confusion at the boys start and delays. Despite this Matt managed a pretty tidy run (even with his pole breaking on the top gates). As I write, we're still waiting for the results to be collated.
That's the camp in Norway nearly done and we fly home tomorrow afternoon. Next training camp will be 4-11 December in Les Deux Alpes.

Hemsedal Super G races

2010-11-23T19:57:00.000Z

2 Super G races in Hemsedal today. The second one was part of a super combi with the slalom to run tomorrow.
As with the other races on this camp, we've been teaming up with the Scottish team and Ambition, so, with 6 coaches on course, we had all the gates covered with video and feedback.
Matt got his outside ski caught on the pitch in race one and made a recovery but this made him late coming onto the flat. The result was ok considering this.
Race two was much better with Matt skiing strongly to complete well.
Onto the SL tomorrow afternoon, giving us a well deserved lie in after the 6 am wake up and 10 hours on the hill today.

The race hill at 7am