Is your child a potential ski racer ?

A snowHead

http://www.snowsportgb.com/awardsscheme

Snowsport GB has a talent identification scheme that sets out pretty clearly the type of skills that talented younger skiers (6-11) should be capable of should they wish to progress into the British Ski team pathway.

Anyone who has kids that can perform tasks at bronze or higher should get a hold of a race club and get em involved. snowHead

A snowHead

i have.....he is 4 years.....too young???? cause aniway he is gonna race for gb......there is any economical help????like skis .......cause he is little but he broke already 2 pair of skiis......worst than the father......

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

Hi
Ski racing seems to be the least funded of all sports in the UK so if you need assistance give up now! I was told last week that most junior ski racers parents spend more on their childs skiing than their private school fees - GULP!
As for 4 most clubs wouldn't take them at 4 and sensibly so!
My son had to wait until he was 8 but he did all the fun courses at the local dry slope so by that time he was technically pretty good too but the race training is too hard on the body at 4 - I am making my daughter wait until 8 too, but she does lots of other sports to encourage strength, coordination and balance (karate, gym etc) think what the resistance of dry slopes does to young bones before you push too hard - greenstick fractures are a serious problem! ( the voice of experience - told I needed knee replacements at 36!)
rolling eyes

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mumski, we start our racers at 6, but they are doing very little racing and more skills development. 8 isnt a bad plan

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Our club takes kids of any age provided that they can ski the slope safely with a group. In practice we have had a few start at 2, a handful more at 3, most are 4+, some start as teenagers or adults. We're a ski club with racing. We concentrate on skiing skills for the tinies, they take their snowlife awards on club holidays on snow, we have a club equivalent more suited for the dry slope. We teach them ski skills particularly balance and flexibilty to start. We teach them the ski way code, how to cope with an accident, skiing in fog, and then we start to teach them to race (if this is the direction they choose) when they are about snowlife level 7. This is generally 6+, but has been younger. Our youngest skier is not yet 2, he's currently skiing in Canada, can manage the nursery slope on his own, needs help to turn on the main slope, but I would expect he will be skiing greens fairly confidently before he comes back.

I'm not sure that skiing is any worse than other sports for the kids, obviously they need to spread their skills across sports and not just concentrate on skiing, but most of the injuries and stresses our skiers have come from the other sports. Minis (under 11) should spend most of their time skiing, not racing, and their youth needs to be respected when they start to train around poles. My son broke a wrist skiing but his best friend broke his the same day jumping off the sofa. We've got kids with knee problems, but school PE stresses them far more than skiing. The main noticeable aspect of the skiers is that they are fit and have endless stamina.

The Snowsport GB document outlines a plan for minis (under 11) which says that they should be principally learning skiing skills, not race skills at that age. We work within those guidelines, even the top under 11 racers spend most time on technical skills. There shouldn't be any difference between learning at a race club and the fun courses at the local slope, it should all be the same, race training at this age is fun and skills based.

Kids can race in the UK in the year that they become 7 as minis, but there were probably less than 5 this year in that first age group, most skiers are much too young to race at this age.

I know that some parents spend more on their kids racing than on their private school fees, but there's also a breed of racer in the UK who attend state schools and ski on plastic. These kids can get most of the way to GB team on artificial surfaces in the UK. I would say that racing in the UK costs about the same as swimming for a club, mine do both, it's very much the same.

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I have a 2 year and one month old who can already ski the nursery slope in Montalbert. If he is not in a club by the time he is 6 I will eat my hat. His mum could swim at the same age and look where it got her... Toofy Grin

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After all it is free

stewart woodward, I agree except if kids are going to develop as racers they need year-round training.
Mouth, I reckon your hat is safe, but there is a long way to go.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Ooops, i had edited that to say if in Southest PM me for details on our club but didnt hit the right button, but of course there are clubs all over the country.... Embarassed

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skimottaret, I don't think there'll be many British kids who can do that stuff without already being in a race club.

snow reports

You know it makes sense.

I've seen a couple of the Dutch ski team practicing. In the town Mrs Higs comes from they have a ski place which is like a skiing treadmill - hard to describe but basically it's a belt of 'dry slope' on a slant that runs uphill under the skiers. You can get two side-by-side on it and there's a one-way mirror in front of the skiers so you can watch them. It was 'quite' interesting watching them both carving turns as the belt speeds up and steepens.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

My kids really fancied it. We went down to Castleford Lionns and they got on well. When they found out the training regime required and the high standards of the other kids it became apparent that they would have to fully commit and this would leave no room for the sport to which they were already hooked by.

A snowHead

A snowHead

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

mumski,

Try xc ski racing - gets a lot less funding than downhill and is starting to get good results at junior level - a 9th and 12th at junior world championships, a slew of podiums at the junior level at the likes of the Swiss National champs for example. Not that you'd know it from SnowsportGBs website as those recent good results have still to appear on it.

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Equipment costs - swimming goggles £12 a pair, 6 pairs a year, hats £6.50 each, 6 a year, trunks / skins up to £100 a year. Skiing with one pair of skis at £120 lasting 2 years, second hand boots at £20, helmet at £20 , ski in ordinary clothes can be cheaper than swimming. Petrol (or diesel in my case) depends entirely on where you live in relation to the pool / slope. This is a 12 yr old, obviously bigger kids need more expensive skis and boots, but for tinies the costs are quite reasonable to ski.

Open competition - £16 a day skiing, about £4 an race swimming, so usually £16 - £40 per day.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Jane L,

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Is your child a potential ski racer ?

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