 Poster: A snowHead
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nomadicanna, I'm afraid not but thanks for your sympathy. I guess all we can hope is that everyone accepts there's been a misunderstanding and agrees to talk without raking over what's already happened. However I honestly think there's an outside chance of that but perhaps with enough pressure (as with the snowboard ban issue mentioned above) something might happen.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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snowsportsfan, The post I pasted here earlier from fb by them, it was put on fb by them only 9 hours ago, they are asking/offering you to join one of the two other clubs there!
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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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Oh I see, sorry it's late and my brain is befuddled! 
Yes I guess it could be viewed like that but for me it's not just about whether or not I can join a club I incidentally chose not to join when my kids started race training, it's also about loyalty to our coach who has not only done a fantastic job with my kids but has done so with many in the past (as the comments on FB attest). It's also about what I view as the blatantly unfair treatment that has been meeted out to our coach and about whether I really want to spend my money at that slope any more if there is no compromise from the owner, at the very least an agreement to a meeting as mentioned above.
I'm not sure I want to give money to someone who thinks they can get away with behaving as described and I certainly am not willing to justify that behaviour by being bounced into joining a club I don't want to. Others may feel differently but that's the way I feel and I know I'm not alone. As it stands there will now be training this Sunday at another slope and they are more than happy to welcome us. I'm in the fortunate position of being reasonably close to that slope too, I appreciate that might not be the case for some others and understand if practicality dictates a different decision. So I'll be there and will continue to support the club and the coach rather than those I feel are responsible for this situation.
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Thinking about it I really should attempt to put to bed the accusation that Chantelle has allowed "persistent abuse of slope rules" because it's quite an outrageous slur to anyone who knows her or knows her reputation.
Firstly, she is not only a coach but also (joint) head of ski school at the slope (for how much longer I don't know but that's another issue I'm afraid); Secondly as a coach she has developed a number of young racers who went on to ski for England and the UK ski teams (take a look at some of the comments on Facebook and below). Additionally Chantelle is the Snowsports England (the governing body for racing in England) 2010 ‘Childrens Coach of the Year.’, here's a bit of biog from the South West Snowspots Association web page that announced this back in 2010:
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"NATIONAL AWARD FOR CHANTELLE
The South-West Ski Association is very privileged to have amongst its coaches the Snow Sport England ‘Childrens Coach of the Year.’ Chantelle Goddard-Jones was named as the recipient of this award after a panel of experts judged her to be the leading childrens coach in the country.
Chantelle has been coaching for over 20 years and for 18 of those years has been running her own ‘Slalom Plus Race Club’ at Gloucester Ski Centre. During this time she has coached several National Champions and has also coached a steady stream of athletes into National Squads.
Chantelle spent 2 years in America and one in Europe as operational director/coach of the Anglo-American Ski Academy before having children of her own and stepping back a little from her coaching commitments.
Chantelle has worked for the British Olympic Association as a coach for the British Team at the Junior Olympics, she has also served on the Board of Selectors for the British Childrens Team as well as coaching for them at International Events. She has recently been appointed a Snow Sport England Tutor to develop the ranks of new coaches and trainers.
There is no doubt that our South-West region is very fortunate in having a coach of Chantelle’s ability available to train our youngsters and help them to develop their skiing. We congratulate her on being chosen as the recipient of this prestigious ‘National Childrens Coach of the Year Award.’" |
If you want to see the original click here
Now reading the above, who are you going to trust on H&S and do you believe someone with this track record is liable to be guilty of "persistent abuse of slope rules" at Gloucester, furthermore consider the reputation, track record and qualifications of those accusing her of this!
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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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snowsportsfan, based on what you say I think you are making the right decision, as I said the other day you have to do what is best for your kids in terms of safety and the values you hold to your coach and club, sad fact is making a stand for what you feel from a moral point of view rarely teaches others a lesson as there will always be other kids/parents coming along to fill your space, the main thing is you are doing what you feel is right.
sometimes a lot of good can come out of making a change and believe it or not even cutting down on the amount of training sessions you do, the kids do really love it I agree but its also good to give them the opportunity to try lots of other sports/hobbies too, I've probably spent thousands on kit too ..my daughter really loved her ski racing, every weekend was spent it seemed running around for skiing whether it be training,racing or a camp, so you could say she was really into it, but it turned out what I thought were "her" career goals were in reality "mine" if I'm really honest...you plow all your money and soul into making them the best they can be...as a parent it's hard to avoid...well we pulled "gently" out of this endless loop, we haven't given up but toned it down and a started trying other sports and sharing new hobbies, she is actually a much more content girl and our weekends...well life really has more quality to it overall, I'm not saying this is good for you guys or anyone else but maybe an option to explore.
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gatecrasher, thanks for that - words of wisdom, an excellent post IMHO 
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would have been nice if chantelle had had the good grace to at least speak to the 'Home' club at Avon slope about starting to train there, maybe that speaks volumes in itself! 
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iskar, I thought the 'Home' club at Avon was run by the slope itself or am I mistaken?
In my experience stress can lead to oversights and I'm sure the last week has been stressful for at least some of the parties involved in this 'spat' so I wouldn't worry overly 
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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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Ah right, I've learnt something then!
As I say I'd imagine it's an oversight but hey, I'm trying (having) to stay neutral so I'm not taking any sides ...
... nuff said for now methinks 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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im sure it will all sort itself out eventually.... 
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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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SLP are training on a sun evening, which is a totally separate night from Avon. This was arranged with the new slope management. As I believe Chantelle offered the centre if any Avon skiers would like to join in training and as a courtesy left it with the new manager to discuss with his club. Avon club uses ski slope instructors so surely better the manager discusses this with his staff/ parents rather than Chantelle.
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Actually don't as the manager told Chantelle his instructors take training I think she thinks like a poster above that the club is centre run!!! Lets not make this any more complicated or difficult than has to be!!!
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You know it makes sense.
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Sorry meant doubt!!! Oops
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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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Hi iskar, sorry about that - what I've been told is that Phil said it was best if he spoke to everyone concerned because your trainers are instructors at the slope and he was the best person to liaise. I hope that explains it a bit and puts your mind at rest?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Which is what thewhitestuff just said I guess, boy this is getting complicated lol 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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It's an interesting article.... that could run.
On who's durisdiction and what legality's are involved if there is an accident and harm done purely down to a Slope being over crowded.
Common sense doesn't seem to be prevailing in this case, so it leads me to think there is more to it than meets the eye.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I hope the rest of ski school is told what these 'rules' are ASAP because I'm sure nobody would want to inadvertently break them for some 'minor' non-commercial reason like client safety and end up on a disciplinary! 
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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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I ski at Gloucester and have to say that Chantelle really helped me improve my skiing, I really hope the owners and Chantelle can resolve these problems, as she has a lot to offer skiers and has a wealth of experience.
I also appreciate the big investment made by the new owners, the slope is much better to ski on and the equipment has been replaced.
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That is an interesting article, thanks for the link Comedy Goldsmith.
Yes spud I think you can see from the comments that the owners are not in a mind to compromise, that's no surprise to me to be honest, I don't think they've got where they are today by compromising or being consensual!
There are a couple of remarks by Clive Hamilton-Davies in there that are worth noting:
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| "We are a commercial business, we're not run as a charity and Chantelle has not followed the rules, on several occasions. |
Racers and race clubs pay for their time on the slope so where this "charity" comment is coming from I do not know, nobody's asking for a free ride and in fact racers present slopes like this with one of their few reliable year round revenue streams!
There has been no evidence that Chantelle has broken the rules on "several occasions", either publicly or privately (you'll have to take my word on that). Perhaps some retrospective examples will eventually be summoned up out of thin air but at the moment nobody (and I mean nobody apart from the brothers H-D) know what on earth they are referring to.
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| "We have our reasons and she is now subject to disclipinary proceedings." |
The only "reasons" I can ascertain are that Chantelle 'dared' to argue against their policies on a few occasions, most notably once with regards safety and the air bag, now I believe 'boasting' 3 or 4 serious injuries in as many weeks ("they can sue us" I believe was the reply) and once with regards the ban on boarders using the extended slope.
These so called "disclipinary proceedings" have I'm told amounted to 'you're sacked, sling your hook' (although the original was not as polite), 'if you don't like it take us to a tribunal' (subtext being we've got loads of money so don't give a monkeys, the original not being as polite ).
That's about the sum total of it and not the way IMHO respected professionals should be treated in 'our' industry, in fact I'd go as far as to say the presence of these individuals in the industry makes me somewhat concerned for the future, especially given they appear to be building a retail arm too and are behind the proposed Weston-Super-Mare dome!
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Update on all the above:
Slalom Plus had a second very successful training session at Avon on Sunday night, some parents are now traveling as much as 75 minutes from north of Gloucester in order to continue training with the coach of their choice rather than one foisted on them by the Gloucester regime. However some of older children are very upset and angry at what has happened and are having to be encouraged to carry on, despite having doubts about whether it's worth it - very sad to be honest.
Back at Gloucester the new regime are now demanding that in order to remain employed at the centre all staff sign a document stating that they will hand over to their employers all passwords and user info for social networking and other sites including Facebook. This is presumably a reaction to the recent furore online over the treatment of Slalom Plus but I can't see how it'll help or create good staff relations, quite the opposite to be frank.
I have not seen the document *yet* myself (but will) but am struck that this seems like an 'unusual' move for an employer to make in the leisure industry where no industrial secrets are at stake, not even sure how legal such a move to force employees to divulge private information is to be honest! I've spoken to 4 pretty core members of the instructors team at the centre since hearing about this and none of them are happy and will probably refuse to sign, meaning the centre will as a result loose some of it's highest qualified and most experienced instructors. They've already lost Chantelle and with the likelihood of at least 4 more to follow (there may be more, I know a number of others were very unhappy before all of this blew up but I haven't spoken to them recently) coupled with an increasingly unhappy staff I'd expect the overall quality of instruction to fall as a result.
So first they went for for Team Slalom Plus, then they went for ....
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Really interested to know what has happened since the last post.
My kids used to race for the 'other Gloucester club' and there's no doubt no love was lost between the 2 clubs!
The Summer race league was always very competitive and enjoyed by many clubs from the South West region.
It's a shame what happened. Like em or loathe em SLP were a successful well run business and turned out many excellent racers.
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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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Can anyone confirm wether or not the popular summer race league, on one saturday every summer month will be continuing into 2013 and beyond at Gloucester. ?
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FAQ
