 Poster: A snowHead
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This report on the races at Wycombe over the weekend....
http://www.natives.co.uk/news/2004/06/03wyco.htm
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| The Spring Bank Holiday normally sees the heavens open and outdoor activities forgotten. Over the two days the weather gods held off sufficiently during the individual races to allow some close racing. Wycombe, the longest dry slope in England, hosted these races and the majority of the top dry slope racers from across the country were in attendance. With top Racers from as far a field as Scotland and Wales an international flavour was brought to the proceedings. |
Any snowHead dry slope racers? How seriously do the top racers take the summer dry slope series? I'm curious, because the Women's Champ at Wycombe was Sega Fairweather, a good little 14 year old skier I saw in Méribel at the British Children's Championships, and third place went to Harriet Steggles (who I think is only 12 or 13).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My son raced the previous day in the Club National. There were more skiers than in the International I think. The Wycombe International is an odd race, I don't think it's part of the dry slope series, it's an add on. The Grand Prix races are the mains series. Many skiers take dry slope seriously, as it's their main chance to race, they don't get much opportunity to race on snow. Chemmy Alcott was a dry slope skier, this is possibly why her technique is so strong. Now that there's a possibility of racing on snow in England at Snowzone some kids are giving up dry slope, as it takes time to adjust each time between snow and plastic, but in the past it's been the only way without moving to live in the snow for all or part of the year.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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PG, I can't speak about now, but when I was training the Stainforth team we took it very seriously. It was a route through to the team without having to spend a fortune on ski-ing holidays. Most of the kids in our club came from not very well-off families, and it was the only way for them to prove themselves. The seniors were generally a little less serious, but we always raced hard. Nick Fellowes used to race on plastic after he'd retired from snow, and Ive even seen Conrad out there!
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PG, When you say "top racers" I presume you mean the top racers on snow? IMHO, they should only take plastic seriously up to the age of around 12 or 13, depending on body size. Up to this age, training on plastic can and does benefit racers' snow technique substantially. After this, as you approach adult body weight, Dendix is unable to support the forces that snow technique generates, (you literally start to bend the bristles flat) and so the techniques required for plastic and snow begin to diverge. A current Austrian Europa Cup racer, after competing in the "World Championships" at Wycombe a couple of years ago, having never skied on plastic before, said "you can't achieve the same Innenlage" (roughly translates as "inwards position"). Adults simply cannot reproduce the angles of modern ski technique on plastic. (Small, light kids can of course, and you see even the 8 or 9 year-olds now carving almost every turn they make on plastic, using shaped slalom skis. In fact some of them now even grow up not knowing how to pivot or "skid" a turn, but that's another story...)
That's not to say that occasional plastic racing will harm the snow technique of serious snow racers after the age of 13. There's no reason why they shouldn't show up at the occasional race to have fun, socialise, and help out their original club. Good to see Ed Drake doing the occasional plastic race still. Between 1987 and 1994 I used to always show up at the All-England at Gloucester or wherever for a good plastic tussle against the likes of Nigel Smith. But I was always aware that for fully-grown racers, plastic racing is almost a different sport.
Jane L, easiski, Of course it is a route on to the team. Not just Chemmy, but huge numbers of Britain's ski team had extensive plastic training behind them in their formative years, usually at Hillend (Britain's longest slope): the likes of Stuart Fitzsimmons, Alan Stewart, Kirsten Cairns, Davee Mercer, Scott Dobson, "Midge", the Langmuirs, the Blyths, Lesley Beck, Graham and myself, Nigel Smith, Malcolm Erskine, Nic Fellows, Dennis Edwards, Sarah Lewis, Kelly Morris, Emma and Crawford Carrick-Anderson, and in more recent years Ross Green and Finlay Mickel.
However, of course there are others who didn't race on plastic who have been successful - Alain Baxter, Konrad Bartelski, Peter Fuchs, John Clark, Spenser Pession, Andy Freshwater, James Leuzinger...
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Now that there's a possibility of racing on snow in England at Snowzone some kids are giving up dry slope, as it takes time to adjust each time between snow and plastic,
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Not a good development. Growing up during winters in Edinburgh, most LRSA trainees, Graham and myself included, would ski on snow each weekend and on plastic every Thursday night. IMHO the constant adjustment between the two surfaces made us better and more versatile ski-racers.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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That's really interesting, thanks.
On versatility, I see your point, but I noticed nearly all the children at Méribel struggling to cope with the conditions in the British Championships. In one Children I & II GS for example an 11 year old beat all the sixty or so 14 and 15 year olds by an minimum of 1.5 seconds - which really shouldn't be possible, there's a huge difference in physique/strength and weight at that age. Zero chance of that happening in France!
The Snowsport GB trainers are trying to encourage people to spend less time race training and more time off-piste, skiing in trees etc, by introducing technical tests, with selections for teams no longer just based on race results. I watched one such test, long GS turns carved at speed on a steep mogul field, followed by off-piste in some particularly difficult conditions following all the rain we'd had in the morning. Bit of a disaster really, even the older kids just couldn't handle it. The few who trained regularly on snow took it in their stride....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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PG, sounds a good idea to me. Difficult to find off-piste at Milton Keynes or Castleford! When I were a lad at Cairngorm, we would (weather permitting) hike over to the neighbouring bowls, Coire Louigh Mor and Coire an Sneachda, to ski what would nowadays be called backcountry. And there were always plenty of moguls, mainly because Cairngorm didn't possess a functioning piste-basher. But these excursions weren't really planned by coaches or anything. It's good to hear that it's now part of the programme. Time in the terrain park is probably also useful for young racers, although as a parent I'm sure you can appreciate there are major safety issues with taking kids into the "trauma park". Of course plastic is limited; the three major points lacking are: rutted courses, terrain changes, and length.
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| Martin Bell wrote: |
PG, When you say "top racers" I presume you mean the top racers on snow? IMHO, they should only take plastic seriously up to the age of around 12 or 13, depending on body size. Up to this age, training on plastic can and does benefit racers' snow technique substantially. After this, as you approach adult body weight, Dendix is unable to support the forces that snow technique generates, (you literally start to bend the bristles flat) and so the techniques required for plastic and snow begin to diverge. A current Austrian Europa Cup racer, after competing in the "World Championships" at Wycombe a couple of years ago, having never skied on plastic before, said "you can't achieve the same Innenlage" (roughly translates as "inwards position"). Adults simply cannot reproduce the angles of modern ski technique on plastic. (Small, light kids can of course, and you see even the 8 or 9 year-olds now carving almost every turn they make on plastic, using shaped slalom skis. In fact some of them now even grow up not knowing how to pivot or "skid" a turn, but that's another story...)
That's not to say that occasional plastic racing will harm the snow technique of serious snow racers after the age of 13. There's no reason why they shouldn't show up at the occasional race to have fun, socialise, and help out their original club. Good to see Ed Drake doing the occasional plastic race still. Between 1987 and 1994 I used to always show up at the All-England at Gloucester or wherever for a good plastic tussle against the likes of Nigel Smith. But I was always aware that for fully-grown racers, plastic racing is almost a different sport |
Martin, Could I quote you from the above (in a non-profit, skier's personal website....)? I interviewed Carole Merle a while back for a British mag and the relevant part of the discussion went like this....
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PG - What advice do you have for young British ski racers, most of whom have to do a large part of their training on plastic? How can they hope to compete with the skiers from the Alpine states who live all the year round on the slopes?
CM - I think that a racer who can only train on plastic really needs to join a snow club, at the earliest opportunity, which offers the chance of some 'natural' skiing. However good the skier, however high the standard of the artificial slope, nothing in my view can replace the real thing. Depending on the weather conditions, the snow can change character in a moment, forcing the skier to demonstrate his ability to adapt. Only skiing on snow allows the skier to pick up the know-how and experience, the adaptability, so crucial in ski racing.
PG - How would you describe the qualities needed to embark on a successful sporting career?
CM - A high level of motivation to cope with the intensive training sessions, perseverance, a strong will, toughness of character, physical strength, and of course, a technique that's as close to perfection as possible! |
I've included this in the site in question, and I think your comments add a counterweight to the 'pro-snow' position...
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PG, yes by all means.
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