Training Wednesday 25th January

Wednesday's training again saw athletes enjoying the Stade de Alford. Coaching focused on progressing skills with Ollie and Hamish taking part of the session and setting a course to promote early turning before the gate.

A challenging course was set for the timed runs which skied well.

Unfortunately due to a technical error with the timing equipment the data recording the times of the runs can't be retrieved. Normal service will be resumed next Wednesday.

Training is on as normal this Wednesday at Alford from 7-9pm for all those that wish to attend.

Regards

Wednesday Night Team

Training Saturday 28th January

Hats off to the 22 Gordon Skiers who turned up to training on Saturday evening despite some atrocious weather! Steady sleat and snow throughout the session lead to some very damp skiers but there were no complaints to be heard from anyone.

The trainees had an hour’s fitness session to start the evening off with an HIIT workout in two smaller groups whilst the other group were playing some small sided football- big thank you to Adam L for stepping in and assisting with the football. The HIIT workout was adapted for the younger kids but everyone worked hard and there were some red faces by the end.

A wet walk back to the ski slope to get kitted up and ready for 2hours of skiing was next on the agenda.

Andrew C and James were the coaches who endured the wet session. Groups were split roughly on ability but both groups were working on the same drills and learning outcomes. Athletes were put through 3 sessions with a 15 gate suicide run on one side of the mat for one group whilst the other half were working on fore and aft balance – difficulty ranged from leaning as far forwards and back as you could to the extreme of skiing with no buckles or straps done up on the boots at all. Was all going so well until one (who will remain unnamed) arrived at the top of the lift with only one ski and boot on and the other one was stranded halfway up the lift.

The final drill for the evening session was ‘cross over’ working on early engagement on the new outside ski of the turn, for this we set two identical courses in a dual slalom format with 3 vertical gates followed by  2 offset into another 3 vertical gates and then an offset back across the slope to a final 2 gates. The skiers challenged each other in a head to head format with some very close racing. Despite the pouring rain and dropping temperatures we had to pull the gates in front of the kids and force them off the hill!

Fantastic session and everyone left having had fun.

Postponed Gordon Skiers Open Rearranged "Twin Peaks on Snow!"

Due to the poor season so far a number of races have now been called off.  The race organisers have decided to work together and we are pleased to announce a combined effort for the weekend of 18/19 March.  "Twin Peaks on Snow"

• Saturday 18^th March Gordon Skiers will hold their Gordon Skiers Open and Lecht U8 (racing for all ages) at The Lecht 
• Sunday 19^th March.  GPS will run their 1 day BASS Race alongside ASC with their 1 day MiniX at Glenshee.

There are still a few details for us to sort but hopefully this gives you a heads up.  The BASS event at The Lecht will now be £25 with the Bairns at £15.

Over the next couple days we will start to organise existing entries and refunds plus open the entries again to any new entries who can now make the revised dates. If you cant make the new dates then a full refund will be given but please wait for bulletin and details to come out.

Regards

Gordon Skiers Race Organisers.

Training Saturday 28th January

Evening

For all those that have said they are attending tomorrow then this is to confirm that training WILL BE going ahead as planned.

Let’s meet at the ski slope car park for just after 3 , we can leave kit neatly at the slope but it is at our own risk as the centre is open for lessons. We will then walk across to the campus to start at 3.15 and then return back from the campus at 4.15.

The lessons will just be finishing at the slope as we get back so please be respectful to the other users and be neat.

We will then have two hours of skiing and finish at 6.45. Should be a good session.

See you tomorrow

James

Training SATURDAY 28th January

Unfortunately the snow still hasn’t arrived and therefore we will not be returning to the snow this weekend, we also can’t get our usual slot at Alford on a Sunday morning now to due to other lessons ongoing.

We HAVE managed to secure a training session at Alford from 3.15-6.45pm on Saturday afternoon- this is open to all members even if you weren’t signed up to ski this weekend.

We will run a fitness session from 3.15-4.15 in the Alford Campus and then make our way across to the slope for a 4.45-6.45pm ski session. We realise the times may not be ideal but it does mean we keep club training going PLUS you get a whole Sunday at home.

We will amend all the ‘accounts’ for payments at the end of the season. Saturday night session will be £20 per person.

Again it is slightly last minute but we really need replies by Friday Noon in order for us to arrange coaches accordingly so please reply to admin@gordonskiers.com to let us know you wish to attend.

Let’s pray for snow soon so we can return to normal routines.

Regards

A Slightly Frantic GDN Committee.

Gordon Skiers Committee

The club is run by a small committee of dedicated parent volunteers and I thought it might be helpful to provide a brief summary of what is discussed at some of our meetings.

We met last night and discussed several issues including coach development, club communications, plans for race training and fitness when there is no snow, proposals for club trips, collaboration with other clubs, race support for our athletes who race abroad - and most importantly dates for our end of season party!

We also discussed new club jackets for athletes and coaches. We have a great range of clothing thanks to the hard work of club and committee members both past and present. Periodically it is necessary to review the style, design and performance of our club jackets . Finding a jacket that will tick all the boxes is no easy task...that’s why our fashion expert Gary Whatford has been given this role!?

It is fantastic to see the club continuing to thrive with a growing membership, enthusiastic athletes, coaches and parents.

If you would like to know more about what the committee gets up to, would like to help out with any of the roles or have any comments, suggestions or queries about the club or ski racing in general then please let us know.

Graeme

Gordon Skiers Schools Ski Training Session

Ahead of the SSSA Alpine Series, Gordon Skiers are putting on a schools training session this Thursday evening at Alford Dry Ski Slope.  Please see the attached flyer for all the information.  If you could share with all your teams it would be most appreciated.

Please note that this will go ahead despite the recently announced postponement of the SSSA races to the backup dates.

Please let us know you will be coming by emailing admin@gordonskiers.com

Sunday 22nd January Coach's Report

Sunday 22nd saw a keen group of skiers venture to Alford for our ‘no snow’ training option we had available this weekend. The numbers were low compared to normal but still a good turnout of kids who worked well all morning with coaches James, Andrew and Alex. Callum unfortunately had to take Kizzy home who wasn’t feeling too great- we wish her all the best in her recovery.

Development 3 and 4 were on timed runs first thing on a very slick slope helped by the heavy frost- the ‘persuader’ tool was required for setting gates all day with the frost not lifting all morning. The two groups were under the careful watch of Andrew who was working with them on developing turn shapes and getting weight onto the outside ski. 

Development 1 and 2 were with Alex this morning who put them through their paces in fitness with some running on the frozen field followed by some further exercises before getting onto the mat and continuing the work these groups started right back in October. 

Performance 1 and 2 was a select group of 8 who after some warm up exercises were asked to do some pair work by James to work on edge control followed by fore and aft balance- spin the partner and control the partner. James then had them skiing synchro in pairs joined by a pole before adding another pair to make 4 side by side with a competition between boys and girls for the best synchro and then to finish off for two runs we had 8 skiers in a square all linked together with race gates doing synchro down the hill under the full control of Sophie R who tried to keep the pace.  Whatch it on video here.

Team dual slalom at the end was with Perf 1 and 2 and Dev 1 and 2, Chairman Graeme made 4 teams and all teams raced each other twice battling it out. The races were always pretty close (once we worked out some teams had less kids).

All round a great day and hopefully all those that took part enjoyed themselves.

Wednesday night week training will be running as per normal this week at Alford from 7-9pm.

All the best.

James

Oh..........and which team won the races you ask?  Well Graeme and Phil are still working on that one......come back Wilma, all is forgiven!!

Sunday 22nd January, Alford Training

Just a short note about training tomorrow. We will have 4 groups and 4 coaches and will revert back to the schedule we used for dry mat training before Christmas which is attached below.  It is an 8.45am meet at Alford ski slope and we have the slope till 12.45. Please bring ski kit and fitness gear as we will be doing both.

Coaches for Sunday are James, Alex, Andrew and Callum.

Below is the rough timetable for tomorrow (please amend for the earlier start time).

See you all tomorrow.

Spring Midweek League

Wednesday league sessions restarted on 11^th Jan with a good turnout of 18 which is promising given a lot of members were still abroad and last week’s session saw 18 again with a lot of the regulars missing due to illness or preparation for exams.

We have continued the format from last year’s sessions with some race specific drills for the first hour followed by 3 timed runs per skier using our new timing kit. 

The first week saw the rivalry kicking off between the 3 Campbell brothers with ex trainee (middle brother) Iain returning to the slopes while he was home from Uni and managing to clench a 2^nd place for the evening behind Andrew Simpson. It wasn’t a great night for the coaches with both Andrew C and James getting caught out in the course and failing to complete the important 2 runs. The fight for 3^rd place was fierce with Andrew Howell pipping Neil Simpson by 0.04s over 2 runs. We welcomed back new member Joe Nicholson as well as a non-member Alasdair, both boys seemed to enjoy the session and entered into the friendly atmosphere.

Wednesday 18^th was no different to the previous week with some very tightly contested rankings in the timed runs. James set a course which was flowing fast. Andrew C commented ‘ I will never beat you on a course like that’ , well he did pip James by 0.04seconds and took top honours. 3^rd- 5^th in the rankings was extremely tight with 0.21 splitting the 3 of them with William taking younger brother Kieran who in turn held off Andrew Howell by 0.01 seconds ( roughly 1 diamond on the mat). Slightly further down the field we had Daisy C holding front position in the battle of 9^th-12 with some very tight margins once again.

The combined times and points from the last two weeks can be found below.  The sessions are running as a series and we will look to take the top 3 results per skier to give us a final overall series ranking. The sessions are running every Wednesday up until Easter excluding the February half term.

Wednesday night team.

	11-Jan		18-Jan
Name	Combined Time	Points	Combined Time	Points	Running Total
Alasdair Crofton	21.11	24			24
Andrew Campbell	DSQ		13.77	100	100
Andrew Howell	14.55	60	15.52	40	100
Andrew Simpson	13.35	100			100
Annabel Mckay	23.28	22			22
Craig Ross	DSQ				0
Daisy Cowie	DSQ		16.29	29	29
Ellie Green	16.32	36	16.37	24	60
Emily Carry	24.08	20			20
Eva Sinclair	19.34	29	19.43	20	49
Finlay Carry	17.62	32			32
Finlay Smith			28.9	13	13
Finn Rogerson	19.63	26			26
Gordon Lennox			16.36	26	26
Graeme Campbell	14.83	45	14.63	60	105
Iain Campbell	14.46	80			80
James Paxton	DSQ		13.81	80	80
Joe Nicholson	25.87	18	27.21	14	32
Josh Hall			21.29	16	16
Kieran Lennox			15.51	45	45
Louisa McIntosh					0
Mark Rasmusen	16.00	40	16.41	22	62
Michael McIntosh			20.11	18	18
Nathan Smith			15.74	36	36
Neil Simpson	14.59	50			50
Olivia Sinclair	26.07	16	25.44	15	31
Sophie Ross	DSQ		16.13	32	32
William Lennox			15.31	50	50

Sunday 22nd Jan Training Reverts to Alford

With a lack of snow we had to call off the Gordon Skiers Open this weekend and due to the seriously green slopes of The Lecht we will not be training on snow.

We however have worked hard to secure a backup plan for this weekend and we are lucky enough to have managed to get Alford Dry Slope for 8.45am-12.45pm on Sunday. We will likely run a similar training programme to our usual dry mat session but this will be confirmed on Saturday once we sort a few more details. As I am sure you can understand it is never easy planning things at last minute so please bear with us on this matter.

As race support was being provided free for this weekend we will amend the overall ‘accounts’ for each member at the end of the season as training at Alford will be charged at usual training rates.

Below is a list of those that were signed up for race support this weekend. PLEASE email admin@gordonskiers.com by Saturday 12 noon if you ARE NOT going to attend training at Alford (we realise geographically it is not feasible for some folk).

That’s all for just now but please let us know if you are not training so we can allocate groups and coaches.

  

Alexander Mckendrick Andrew Howell Andrew Simpson Angus Sheldon Annabel Mackay Archie Duncan Ben Whatford Beth Whatford Brodie McMulkin Cameron Cormack Carys Henderson Catriona Brown Daisy Cowie Dylan Driver Ellie Green Emily Carry Findlay Cormack Finlay Carry

Finlay Smith Finn Rogerson Glenn Liversedge Graeme Campbell Harry Sheldon Harvey Sleigh Jack Morrison Jack Sleigh Jennifer Brown Jonathan Marshall Kiera Henderson Kieran Lennox Kizzy Scott Logan Duncan Louisa McIntosh Maisie McMulkin Michael McIntosh Nathan Smith

Neil Simpson Oliver Baillie Oran McGurran Owen Campbell Paul Marshall Rachael Morrison Rachel Brown Ruaridh Rogerson Shea Campbell Sophie Ross Struan McGurran Thomas Paterson Thomas Sheldon Torin Liversedge William Lennox

Farewell

Just a note to all friends old and new at Gordon Skiers, I am standing down from the Communications role forthwith in order to win back some personal time and focus a little more on my actual family. I hope you have all enjoyed the last 8 months where I have tried to lighten the communications, capture everyone at some stage on a photo and generally keep you better informed. If I got halfway along that then I leave happy.

Thanks to EVERYONE who has participated and got involved in the spirit of the club and put Gordon Skiers and the North East of Scotland on the right path of ski racing development, fun and opportunity for all. It has been a joy to be a part of the "new spirit" here in Scottish ski racing.

I will still be around the plastic mats, tin shed freezers and slopes from time to time so please don't think I have died or anything! 

See you all soon
Rob
(Outgoing Comms Officer GDN)


Now over to Frank.......

And now, the end is near; 
And so I face the final curtain.
My friends, I'll say it clear, 
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.

I've communicated for Gordon Skiers.
I've traveled each and every pisteway; 
And more, much more than this, 
I did it my way.

Regrets, I've had a few; 
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course; 
Each careful step along the slopeway, 
And more, much more than this, 
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt, 
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced them all and I stood tall; 
And did it my way.

I've loved, I've laughed and cried.
I've had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside, 
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that; 
And may I say - not in a shy way, 
"Oh no, oh no not me, 
I did it my way".

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels; 
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way! 

Yes, it was my way.

British Champs - Tignes 2017

The 2017 British Ski Championships are now live for booking at www.teambss.org.uk and run from April 3rd to 7th 2017 in Tignes, France. Yes folks this year the champs actually fall within the start of the Easter holidays so this is a great opportunity to attend the number one race in the British calendar.

We would like to gauge interest from members and non-members for race prep training starting Monday 27th March for one week and also race support for all age category children's races Monday April 3rd to 7th.

Gordon Skiers will provide "on hill only" training or race support with no pastoral care. All travel and accommodation will be the responsibility of parents not Gordon Skiers. Depending on numbers and interest we will determine the training and racing support costs by early February.

Gordon Skiers will expect their own members to race under their own club at the championships but non-members WILL NOT be asked to change club affiliation for the races but still receive the same level of race training and support as members.

Please email gordonskiers@gmail.com to register interest in training, race support or both.

British Championships 2017 Invitation

If you are running in FIS this year and still require pre-race training and race support please also feel free to drop us a line.

GDN OPEN POSTPONED

The Gordon Skiers Open scheduled to take part on Jan 21 and 22 at The Lecht has sadly been postponed due to unfavourable snow conditions and forecast. 

We have had a large number of entries from racers across Scotland and England so we are conscious to provide as much notice as possible for everyone so they have time to change bookings and plans. 

The committee is considering alternative dates to run the races this season. We will announce all updates and new schedules via our race bulletin HERE and of course via our website and Facebook.

Please keep checking in with us for updates.

Registration will be suspended tonight and reissued again once new dates are confirmed.

We hope that the weather will start to play on our side for all of the Scottish Alpine Series and events scheduled across Scotland.

Apologies
Gordon Skiers Committee

Snow Training, January 15th Report

Not quite The Lecht today but we still managed a quality snow training!

Well what a day to kick off the Gordon Skiers Sunday Snow Training Season.

It is never an easy decision to make as to whether or not the conditions are going to hold overnight and therefore if we can run training or not – I still stand by the decision that today was worthwhile training (despite getting wet).

The snow had taken some attacking overnight from the good conditions on Saturday and at 9am it was starting to look a little bit browner and softer.

Definitely hats off to the team at The Lecht who did a great job to get 4 of the main runs open today despite the worsening conditions.

Today saw 45 trainees training with 6 coaches- an amazing achievement to have such a large number of kids training. Well done to you all and a special congratulations to all those that persevered till 3.15pm when the coaches decided they couldn’t make you suffer anymore. Despite the slightly soft conditions there was improvements in everyone’s skiing today. As they say ‘if you can ski in Scotland you can ski anywhere’ – a very fitting comment for today.

It was quite amazing watching the snow slowly retract from the fences and the length of the runs decrease every run we did.

This morning saw all groups getting back ‘their ski legs’ as for some folk it was their first day on snow since last season and for others it’s their first day back on skis. Alex decided it wasn’t tricky enough for the Performance 1 folk and decided to make them ski on snow blades for a couple of runs.

Lunch and a chance to dry off some kit was very much welcomed by all at 12. We headed back out at 1-1.15 with the younger groups continuing their work on the Grouse while the Performance Squads and Development 1 made the small hike across to the Eagle where we set some stubbies in the slush.

An all-round good weekend despite the conditions and I believe we are the only Scottish race club to have had two days training on snow this weekend plus manage to set 30 gate stubby slalom.

Some may say I am stupid or some may say I am well organised/make good calls- maybe a bit of both? (Up to your own judgment).

Various posts to follow in coming days regards Gordon Skiers Open plans, Wednesday night training sessions and potential plans for next weekend.

Hope you are all slowly drying out and doing your snow dances.

Regards

James

Snow training ON SNOW, Sunday Jan 15th

TRAINING TOMORROW IS ON, SUNDAY JANUARY 15TH

Unlike every other club across Scotland that we are aware of, Gordon Skiers should be training once again on real snow Sunday. The snow gods have shone upon us as well of course a fantastic effort from all the team at The Lecht 2090 to get us sliding on the real stuff.

Meet for a 9.30 start which should hopefully give the Lecht a chance to update if there has been a drastic thaw overnight.  (Please check for a last minute email tomorrow morning - no email means good news and we are training on snow again)!

Lift passes need to be bought before training from the Ticket Office - Gordon Skiers members should get a discount so please don't forget your membership cards. If you do please head straight for "Mr Fix It" James who will help you out.

Hopefully see all of you that are signed up for tomorrow in the morning.

GDN Open

Glenshee races may be fully booked in some age groups but there are still spaces for ski racers U8 to "Officially old" (Masters) at The Gordon Skiers Open.

You don't need to wait till March to get racing! Come and join us this month in the first of the Scottish Alpine Series. Jan 21/22 The Lecht. "Be there or be errrrr somewhere else less fun!"

Details and booking form available HERE

Gordon Skiers February Camp 13th-15th Feb @ The Lecht

We are delighted to offer a February Half Term Camp open to members and non members.

Spaces may be limited so book early to avoid disappointment!!

There are a number of SSSA and SSS events taking part after this camp so this is an excellent opportunity to hone those skills and develop new ones without the added expense and logistics of heading to Europe.

If you have any questions then please feel free to PM us our email admin@gordonskiers.com