Dry Slope Race Club - Equipment Advice

A snowHead

My 17yrs daughter started at a dry slope race club a few weeks ago. She loves it; doesn't really have aspirations for winning (or even taking part in) weekend races but loves the opportunity to fly down the slope every week in training.
She's using some basic piste skis (Volkl Flair 73, 141cm,12m radius?). She's a solid skier (BASI L1) but not a particularly aggressive racer... yet. She claims she would like to be, so.. would she get a lot more slaloming fun / progress faster if she got a dedicated SL ski?

When you ski a few weeks every year for 30 years, you kinda think you know a bit about skiing. Then you go to a race club and realise you don't know anything. E.g. how much is technique and how much is equipment. Intuitively, I feel that equipment would only make a significant difference to very experienced racers. But perhaps a certain minimum level of equipment is important too, to give maximum confidence through the gates.

She / I will obvs get some advice off of the guys at the club at some point.. I'd just like to understand a bit first.

A snowHead

A properly tuned race ski will grip a lot better than a kid's (or small woman's) generic ski. But that tuning needs regular attention and dryslope is pretty detrimental to lifespan of skis so I guess I'd say buy second hand from a club swap or something. People who actually race on plastic will have better advice than this.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@AntonAusTirol, First of all may I suggest talking to the coach. They really know what is required. There may be people in the ski club who have second hand equipment they wish to move on as well.

There is a facebook group called racers skibay that sells a lot of kit, but you need to be invited to join. Some member of the club will almost certainly invite you.

Basic equipment in my view would be junior slalom skis of about 150 - 155 long, boots, helmet with face guard, ski bench, files and guides because you will be forever sharpening the skis. Skin guards would follow fairly quickly and I've noticed a lot of the children also wear back protectors and other body armour.

May I suggest you join your daughter and both of you enjoy yourselves together.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@AntonAusTirol, I'd start with a helmet with face guard, unless you like expensive orthdontic bills. Most of the rest is (much) lower priority. Lots of pole bungs as well, to stop the tips of the poles injuring someone - they aren't allowed to go through the start gate on most races without bungs on their poles, and they are forever coming off!

Once she's good enough to hit the gates with her shins, slalom shin guards. c.£50 new. Could be a year away, or 2 weeks - hard to tell!

She'll want Leki poles with hand guards, because everyone has them and they are trendy - until she's good enough to really need to hit the poles, they are a nice-to-have, not a need. Early on, they can lead to poor habits - kids over-rotating to punch the gate.

My 16 yr old races on 149SL skis, and my 13yr old is on 142. Kids race skis are a lot cheaper than adult ones - c. £100 should get a secondhand pair in decent condition. In my short-lived "racing career" I used 155 which is as long as some of the top racers go.

We sharpen before races, but not the rest of the time. It's a bit of a religious thing for some dryslope racers to be forever prepping their skis, but I've seen the very best racers turn up with delaminated skis with bits of edge hanging off, and still win.

As JohnE says, it's an incredible learning experience and a lot of fun. One 3-day race camp had more impact on my skiing than anything else I've tried in 20 years.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@AntonAusTirol, your daughter is pretty much on the same path as I was/am on just 2 years behind.

If you're facebook users, get yourself on the group Racers Skibay. You won't be able to find it by searching as it's a private group, but chances are someone in the club will be in there and can add you in. If you struggle to get access PM me and i'll sort you out.

She will 100% benefit from a pair of SL specific skis, and you'll be able to pick up a 2nd hand pair on facebook, along with protective gear. I'd not buy a 2nd hand helmet though. Worth checking out Skibay and Skibay UK as well.

If BASI is like IASI, once you're fully signed off for the L1 (after the shadowing) you'll get access to discounts with Salomon and Atomic via Amersports and you'll be able to get a helmet from there and the discount is substantial!

As mentioned, keeping on top of the tuning is crucial. I can only get 1 run out of each edge before the skis are blunt. Your daughter will get more from her skis because she'll likely weigh much less than me.

I started off going for a bit of fun, but it soon becomes competitive as you start to see improvements. At Gloucester they run a summer race league aimed at getting newbies involved in racing, and it's a great intro to the sport.

She'll really find her skiing comes along as she's skiing every week with coaches giving her hints and tips. Without a doubt my skiing has greatly benefited from being on skis every week!

You'll need to Register first of course.

@AntonAusTirol, Have a look on Ebay too -- you can find used SL skis there. She may need adult skis --- but you will find plenty more of those. If you can go for something with 11m radius. You will need a good edge sharpener (and the skill to use it) and get ready to be waxing skis a lot! At my club, we encourage parents to ski as well (we have a monthly dedicated slot), so - as you enjoyed your L1, why not join in?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

On a dry slope, something stiff and most importantly sharp (yes every time she races, or even multiple times on race day) is better than anything else on plastic. Agression and physical strengh trump fancy gear on plastic.
I raced for many years as a youngster (yes I know equipent has changed but physics still apply) and once I big ennough not to get beaten by size (I was small for my age growing up). I could beat most people most of the time regardless of how much more gear they had. Once university races were a thing, being fit and being able to ski I won most races I entered.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Thanks everybody; v v helpful.

Finally went for "Rossignol Hero Athelete Pro SL" 149cm (SPX 10), new for £340

Whether it's the new skis or the psychological boost I'm not sure - but she loves them and is looking a lot more confident through the gates already.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@AntonAusTirol, I tried my mojo for slalom racing and it just didn't seem to work as well as it does on the longer turns. Perhaps the support direct to the back bottom was not what I was used to and it seemed to slow my turns down. I stopped using it for slalom after one session. Knee braces are another idea and for me worked better than the mojo.

snow reports

Help!!

Dry Slope Race Club - Equipment Advice

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste