 Poster: A snowHead
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A friend of mine has asked my advice about where he could send his son to try some race training. He's 13 years old, quite a good skier but never raced before. I think he's looking for a week's course in the Alps somewhere, rather than joining a club on a dry slope here. Any recommendations?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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PG will I'm sure give you some advice on this 
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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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Have a look at this site http://www.britskiacad.org.uk/
My daughters have done some dry slope camps with them and I know a few who have been out on snow with them all speak
highly of results.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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beanie, try the DHO (Downhill Hill Only) Club but you may have to go to Wengen.
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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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You will find more info on the DHO website look in the racing and training section, currently the DHO racing site is down
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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do you have to be a member to train with them?
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beanie1, I'm not sure but probably, however membership is not a vast sum of money, the best thing is for your friend to send them an e-mail
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beanie1, There are lots of summer camps on all the glaciers. Here, in addition to specialised camps the ESF run race training every day as well. For winter, the DHO would probably be a good idea, but I don't think they run any summer camps. I really do recommend that kids join their local dry slope club and train regularly if they're interested enough. Plastic is great for technique, they get race training and race practice which sets them up for the snow. Also, if racing on plastic you become very good at starts - none of this Bode Miller casual business - when the race is only 15 seconds long your start has to be very good!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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easiski,
Thanks. Do you know of any particular companies that run the specialised camps? I think he just wants a bit of a taster never having raced before. I guess if he's keen he'd then join a dry slope club.
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beanie1, a combination of dry slope and snow club training is the best combination for a UK resident child. The DHO has a good racing section, with some excellent Austrian trainers - they've just been here in Les Arcs preparing for the British Championships taking place this coming week.
Additionally as easiski suggests, whenever the family is on a holiday it's always possible to get some race training with the likes of the ESF, easiski herself  , etc... but in France to join the ESF's "classe compétition" group, the standard required is fléchette upwards - ie after getting the 1*, 2*, 3*, gold star, the fléchette is next up, a timed Giant Slalom run - the minimum pass level is fléchette... (then bronze flèche, the, silver, then white gold, then gold)...
If you're interested in joining the DHO I can put you in touch with Ingie Christopherson who runs their racing section. However she (and most race snow clubs) are out in Meribel at the moment, sitting down at the race meeting prior to tomorrow's competition at this very moment...
They'll be back in the UK end of next week.
Malcolm Erskine of the British Ski Academy (see kevinrhead's post above) is in Meribel as well. Their system is good too - a whole spring term - or parts thereof - spent skiing in the morning at Les Houches near Cham, doing schoolwork in the afternoon.
There's a rival set-up just established this season in Austria - similar arrangement to the BSA - don't know them personally, but I've heard good things about them.
You could suggest he joins www.snowracers.net - a forum like this one, but dedicated to the British ski racing scene, with the emphasis on children.
PM me if you need any more info....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I'd say definitely train with a dry slope in the UK for a while to see if he likes it - having followed PG's advice to do so this time last year for my (then) 8 year old we ahve a boy who lives for his weekly training sessions at the dry slope, and has just come back from 3V having loved a week in the ESF competition class. Having gained his bronze fleche at christmas, he gained the silver on friday, and is moaning that he needed to stay an extra week to compete in the British champs (?) in Meribel ... have said maybe next year, but he will be racing over this summer on plastic if he's extremely well behaved and his parents agree to ferry him around (!)
There are plastic camps in the UK during the summer but depends where the lad's based and I havent got any info on those at present.
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Mon 4-04-05 15:55; edited 1 time in total
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Another plug for the BSA http://www.britskiacad.org.uk/ they run a racing camp at the dry slope in Norwich over next half term obviously if your friend is also Manchester based this might not be suitable.
I would also agree withpoma, your local dry slope will probably offer some racing. In Norwich we have a very active junior club which runs through out the year with on avg. 100-150 children turning up on a Saturday morning for a supervised session which involves Slalom, GS and fun racing. They can then move on to the race team who compete in ERSA http://erskia.co.uk/ the local league for this part of the country. Several children have followed this route through to racing on snow.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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PG, sounds fun, rather than horribly competitive ... I have a horror of competitive parents, but once that child is at the magic wand, there's no doubt that the competitiveness is entirely internal! That improvement from the bronze fleche (his first 'race' on snow) to silver was a real joy - and brought about by the excellent training with the ESF. However, it is somewhat humiliating skiing around on a recreational basis with a child who has no interest in skiing for relaxation and attacks EVERY slope - blue, green, going to the loo - as though it's a race!
2 of the children he trains with on Tuesdays were taking part today, so no doubt we'll hear next week how they did.
I'd rather picked up that the whole system is in a state of crisis/disorganisation/lack of joined-upedness and have a horrible feeling of inevitability about getting involved at all but at present it looks very much as though that's where we're headed - let me know when you start a support group for disenfranchised parents of underage ski racers (all donations welcome). And one day no dobut I'll be familiar with the 'long story' of the minis versus Snowsport GB 
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Poster: A snowHead
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beanie1,
You could check out your local ski club. In Manchester this is the Ski Club of Manchester (http://www.scom.org.uk/). - You can also get information from Snowsport England (http://www.snowsportengland.org.uk) who have lists of affiliated clubs, and who run race series at dryslopes and in snowdomes.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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poma, just to give you an idea, he would by no means have been out of his depth. At silver flèche standard at 9 (1996?) he should easily have been in the top quarter of the kids at the Minis race at Mottaret.
If he's a 96, there's two more years to go in the minis section. It should carry on running in tandem with the British Championships, but does depend to a great extent on the goodwill of the likes of Ingie Christophersen of the DHO, who do all they can to put on a real competition, fun at the same time. It's just a shame that Minis events are not supported by the governing body.
Well worth doing though. It gives them a taste of the "real thing". By the time he enters Children 1 he'll be a pro!
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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, thanks - a mine of information as ever; but oh dear, he's a 1995 so only one year left (?) - and from what you say there may be no mini races next year. Parents failing to fulfill their promises ... I'm currently wading through the treacle to establish what races he can take part in this summer without having to join a club - the 2 options, Gloucester or Cardiff, are too distant to commit to regular training, which he can (and does) have more locally. Snowsport Wales are being very helpful, England less so.
Hoping to fit in a week's camp at one of the dry slopes over the summer holidays too - if anyone has any information on any of these, please share!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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poma, you could try contacting Neil of Racer Ready magazine via the snowRacers website. Neil is an ex-ski racer, and in his capacity as a snow sports journalist spends most of the summer at the events on the plastic circuit, so knows the system inside out, the clubs, contacts, etc. I believe the summer season starts as early as this weekend.
He should be able to advise you on a club/training camp.
I was with him up in Meribel this morning - he's getting a lift home on the DHO coach this afternoon, so should be back in circulation by early next week ...
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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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Poma, our kids should be doing a week at Stoke in August with Toby Fischel. He takes kids from 8 up, it's more all round skiing with some racing and some off slope fitness, rather than an emphasis on racing alone. There's a mix of abilities and all the kids did well and enjoyed it last year. There were a couple of kids from South Wales. Toby operates mainly out of High Wycombe, search for CarveSki. He also runs October half term camps at Tignes, again ski technique with a bias towards racing.
There are also camps at Gloucester, the Slalom Plus team are involved in these. They also have snow based camps, I think they went to New Zealand at the end of the summer - again Slalom Plus have a website.
Race wise, the Celtic Cup has 4 races at Pontypool with minis. I think that the skiers need to be registered, but I'm fairly sure that there's no longer any requirement to be with a club to register, it's open to individuals now, the details for this are on www.britski.org. Otherwise a skier can ski one Club National as an unregistered skier, there's one at Gloucester with minis, and I would expect that this will have quite a lot of first time racers from the local clubs, as young as 1998 birth dates.
Good luck.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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poma, It is probably worth looking on the BARSC website www.barsc.net for info and links to snow training clubs. In the meantime, most local dry slopes have clubs or run race training sessions for kids.
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FAQ
I too wish money was no object ... 
