Braehead Sunday 29th November

A quick update on the Braehead trip.  Firstly numbers are rising fast, we are up to 20 skiers and have a 45 seat coach so get your names in fast.

For the few who have put there name in who are not attending dry mat this autumn there will be a supplement to pay towards the coaching fees.

Drop-off and pick-up will be in Westhill as that is the most central point for all our members.  We have access to a car park where those parents travelling can leave cars for the day.  Details to follow.

So if you are wanting to come to Snowfactor, get your names in ASAP.

Training 15th November, Head Coach's Report

Even the cloud and rain couldn't dampen the spirits of Gordon Skiers today.  It may have been our first wet Sunday, but everyone was on a high and didn't even seem to mind sliding around in the mud for fitness.

A big THANK YOU to Lynne today for helping out the coaches with the physical sessions and for organising such amazing looking kit. Some very smartly dressed racers on the Alford Mat today.

I'm always very impressed by the soup rota. Delicious today and the baking looked very impressive.

Training Times Sunday 15th November

Here are this weeks training times.  The time given is the best of the 3 runs for each skier.  Having said that, some members of Performance Squad 1 took a sneaky fourth run at it to try and beat the coaches times however these runs are not featured here to make it fair for everyone.  These fourth run times are at the bottom!

Training November 8th, Head Coach's Report

Someone needs to tell the head coach he needs some skis!!

It never fails to amaze me how much fun we can have and how much the skiers can be challenged on an 80 metre slope in Alford.

Although the weather was less clement to us today, the groups were all fully engaged, with the coaches working hard to keep them on their toes.

Gordon Skiers Secondhand Ski Sale, Sunday 8th November at Alford Ski Centre, 9.30AM

Just a quick reminder that next Sunday the 8th November is our second hand ski sale for any skis, boots, ski clothing etc.  Bring along all your surplus ski gear and see if you can find it a new home. (Wilma, this is your opportunity to just bring along the entire contents of the garage!!)

For new members this is a great opportunity to pick up Gordon Skiers suits etc, kit is often in good condition and is only on sale because the owner has grown out of it rather than being worn out! (the clothing not the owner that is!)

See you all on Sunday

Training Sunday 1st November

Evening All,

The programme for next Sunday, 01/11 will be as follows.

PS 2, Dev 2 & 4 will be on the mat for the first session from 9 - 10:30. PS 2, Dev 1 & 3 will be on fitness from 9 - 10:30

We switch for the second session from 10:30 - 12.

All skiers are then back on the mat for the last hour of racing. 12 - 1.

First group can take their break, after fitness, from 10:10 - 10:25. Ready to ski at 10:30

Second group take a break, after fitness, from 11:40 - 11:55. Ready to race at 12.

Gary W and Nick will take the first fitness session, then switch with James and John, for the second session.

That leaves

Ski Session 1
Malcom on Dev 4
John on Dev 2
James on PS 2

Fitness 1
Gary and Nick

Ski Session 2
Malcolm on Dev 1
Nick on Dev 3
Gary on PS 1

Fitness 2
James and John

We'll do our best to set the timing gear up for timed runs. Perhaps it could be set up prior to skiing and lifted before the head to heads. We’ll need to limit the runs of skiers through the gear though. We had 12 times for some skiers and zero for others last session. This session will be limited to 3 runs for all.

I have all the times from the runs from last session and can set the teams based on those, if I have time. Maybe a parent volunteer can do that on Sunday.

As ever, we'll need helpers to make the races happen. 2 on flags at the bottom, to mark the finish and a starter at the top.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday.

Cheers, GW

Huntly Nordic Ski Centre Open Day, Sunday 1st November 10am-4pm.

Peter Thorn at Huntly Nordic Ski Centre  has asked us to advertise their open day in the name of promoting multi discipline. He is aware that we train on a Sunday but says a crowd appearing in the afternoon when we are finished at Alford is fine with them.  

"Brush up on your ski skills for winter, come down and enjoy a range of activities for FREE, with a BBQ from 12!

• Instruction for skiing & rollerskiing
• Nordic walking & Tubing
• The Climbing Wall (11am-2pm)
• Second hand kit for sale
• Fun and games for all the family

Contact us for more details: Tel 01466 794428

www.nordicski.co.uk/hnoc  hnoc@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Scottish Dry Slope Championships 2015

Another great weekend for Gordon Skiers!  Some stunning performances from Rachel Brown taking the girls U16 slalom title on the Saturday and then following that up with a silver medal in the GS on the Sunday.  Hannah Morrison added to the medals with a bronze medal in the U18 slalom on the Saturday.

Full report to follow.

Snowsport Scotland Off Hill Training

We have received this message from Louise Kochalski Snowsport Scotland Development Officer regarding fitness training sessions that they have set up.  These sessions are appropriate for U14 and above skiers in our performance squads.  Apologies for the lateness of this information.

For more information see the attached document.

Gary

"Hi All

As most of you know Ben Kinnear and I have been working on putting into place a support programme to compliment the fantastic work the clubs and centres are doing on the hill. The idea being that we, as Snowsport Scotland, are in the best position to oversee a programme to help all athletes in the region regardless of what club you belong to or discipline you take part in.

In addition to top end coaching at the heart of what we are trying to achieve is a clear and transparent pathway of what support sessions an athlete can access depending on their age and ability levels. Each step clearly building from the last. Please have a look at the attached document, the diagram is supposed to provide a clear obvious pathway – I would welcome any feedback.

In terms of getting started, things have taken a lot longer than planned BUT I am pleased to say we’re ready to go with S&C session A starting next Monday 14th September (I know this is very short notice but I hope you, as Head Coaches or Team Managers can work with me to get the message out to the relevant athletes/parents). All details are in the attached document, but if you have any questions please ask. For athletes to book into a block of S&C (or eventually gymnastics) please have them email myself and coach or team manager. All payments should be made to Veronica in the Snowsport Scotland office (incidentally she’s not in today for anyone particularly efficient).

Lastly we welcome attendance by any coaches at the sessions, it’s great to have extra hands and also fantastic CPD for a lot of coaches out there, all I ask is coaches let me know in advance if they are coming along.

Any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks

Louise

Louise Kochalski | Development Officer (North) | Snowsport Scotland"
Tel: 0131 625 4410 | Fax: 0131 317 7202 | Mob: 07584 654396

Scottish Schools Dryslope Championships, Hillend

Some fantastic skiing by Gordon Skiers at the Scottish Schools Snowsport Association's dry slope championships at Hillend today.  Banchory Academy were represented by Andrew Simpson, Rachel Brown, Hamish Alexander and Kathleen Ray, all Gordon Skiers. Robert Gordons College had Hannah Morrison and Ellie Green who were teamed up with Callum Shepherd and Tommy Cockburn from ASC.  Both teams entered in the Mixed Senior category.

Banchory took a well deserved win.  Andrew had two blistering runs, the first in 29.42 seconds  and as if that wasn't quick enough his second was in the 28.54 seconds.  Rachel Brown was 3rd in the girls overall and in her second run missed out on sub 30 seconds by just 8 hundredths of a second.  Hamish was also in the 30 seconds range with a 30.53 in the second run.

For Robert Gordons, Calum Shepherd had a very fast second run in 30.07, just 1 hundredth faster than Rachel with Hannah not far behind in 34.98 seconds, Tommy in 36.87 seconds despite a colossal slide and recovery and Ellie had her fastest run down Hillend in 42.23 seconds.

There are loads of photos on the Facebook page.

Lecht Season Tickets Pre-Season Offer

For those planning on purchasing a season ticket for the Lecht for the 2015/16 season the deadline for the lower "Early Bird" price is 31st October 2015.  As well as covering your season skiing at the Lecht you will also get a 30% reduction on full day full price tickets at other Scottish ski centres

This years prices are given on the application form below and remain the same as last year.

Lecht Season Ticket Application Form

Snowsport Scotland Competitor Registration Deadline

A quick reminder for all members planning on racing over the next year (which should be everyone!). Deadline for registration with Snowsport Scotland at the standard price of £35 is October 31st 2015, after this the price goes up to the late fee of £45.  Skiers with year of birth of 2004 or later get free registration.

There is also a family discount for those with more than one skier and please note that you lose the family discount if you do not register prior to the deadline.

Snowsport Scotland Registration Page

Craig Macfie 2015

A great result for Rachel Brown at the 2015 Craig Macfie Classic at Hillend today, with first in Under 16 girls and cup for the fastest girl in children's category.  Times of 33 seconds in the first run followed by 35 seconds in the second was enough to lift the U16 trophy.

Some good performances from our other skiers, Nathan Smith showing real commitment in his skiing, a fall in the first run took him into the 40s but a second run was 38 seconds despite a mistake on the lower section.  Sub 35 is definitely on the cards for Nathan before long if he puts a strong run together.  Andrew Simpson was going really well in the first run when a fall on the steep section led to a hike back up the slope and a 41.9 seconds.

Ellie Green put two clean runs together and bucked the trend of slower times for the second run by taking 2 seconds off her first run time.

A great weekend for all and many thanks go to Duncan Shepherd for filling in on the coaching front.

With the SSSA race next weekend followed by the Scottish Dry Slope Championships the following weekend our skiers should be getting the hang of  the Hillend slope by the end of it all!

• Craig Macfie 2015 Results

Rachel recovers well from a wee scare 4 gates from home in the second run

And some well deserved silverware!

Autumn Dry Slope Races

There is a busy  month coming up with the autumn dry slope races at Hillend.  We have the Craig MacFie on Sunday September 13th followed two weeks later by the Scottish Dry Slope Championships over the weekend of September 26/27th.  Sandwiched in between is the SSSA Dryslope championship on Sunday 20th September.

At present James has only been notified by 3 people that they have entered for the Craig MacFie and 2 for the Scottish Dry Slope Championships.  At these levels we cannot justify the expense of providing a coach for support.  If you have entered for either race then please let James know ASAP on racing@gordonskiers.com .

If you have not entered yet then please do so, these weekends are great fun for skiers and parents alike.  Entries are still open for both races.  Performance squad members should all be looking to do these races.

Last Call For Registrations

We have trials for both performance squad and club entry trials next Sunday 30th August.  For this reason the committee would really appreciate it if all our existing members who intend training with us for dry slope this autumn would complete the necessary registration forms.  We have a number of new members and we need to know how many places we have on offer for dry mat training.

We need all members to complete

• Membership form
• Dry Mat Training form
• Parental Consent Form

Please remember to click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the form.

We also need to know how many members planning to come to the performance squad trials so we can plan the assessment stations.  Applications for performance squad trials will therefore close on Tuesday evening.

• Performance Squad Trials form  

On the subject of Performance Squad Trials, we will not have the usual refreshments so skiers will need to bring along drinks and snacks.  We also need all skiers changed and ready to ski at 09.00.  The ski assessments will be done first and will take till about 11.00 and then the physical assessments will take place.  We will need all parents of skiers to stay to assist with the running of the physical assessments.  The physical assessments may take till about 2 p.m. depending on numbers.

Club Trials 2015

Calling all budding ski racers!

Are you a confident skier, age 6 or over and want to start ski racing?  Then come and join us at Alford Dry Ski Slope at 11am on Sunday August 30th.  Just drop us a line on our administrators email address admin@gordonskiers.com  so that we have an idea on how many people to expect.

Scottish Dry Slope Championships 2015

Message from Snowsport Scotland

We’re now accepting entries for this year’s Scottish Dryslope Alpine Champs at Hillend on 26-27th September. At the recent Indoor Champs there were lots and lots of late entry requests and whilst we want to give people the opportunity to enter we have to stick to maximum numbers for the event so early entry is encouraged so people can be assured of their place.

There will be a Mini’s race alongside the seeded race for racers in the U10 (2006-2007) or U12 (2004-2005) category. There will also be an informal Team Dual Slalom event (the latest addition to the Winter Olympics!) on Saturday 26th following the Slalom event.

Plans are being made for another fundraising Dual Slalom on Saturday afternoon/evening in memory of Andy Fitzsimmons. I will send out information about this as soon as possible.

More information on this year’s Champs is available here. If you could spread the word around those who may be interested in the club that would be great.

Last year we had a really strong entry for the Scottish Dry Slope Champs. This year they are moved to a much better time of year, avoiding the Edinburgh Festival so accommodation should be a bit cheaper. Get your entry in now so as not to be disappointed and please let James know you have entered on racing@gordonskiers.com.

2015 Gordon Skiers AGM Report

The Gordon Skiers AGM took place this week at the Learney Arms, Torphins. Thanks to all who attended and contributed to the discussions and to the committee members who gave their reports following a very successful year for the club.

Major achievements included the introduction of the Gordon Skiers blog, a strengthened, highly qualified coaching team, increased numbers of athletes entering races and the establishment of performance and development squads.The GS Open at the Lecht was one of many highlights.

GB and Scottish Indoor Championships, Braehead 2015

Last weekend provided exciting and challenging skiing for all of the racers.

On Saturday 150 competitors traveled from all parts of Britain (including Ireland) to take part in the GBR indoor series at Snowzone, Glasgow. This however was nothing compared to the 200 competitors taking part in the Scottish Indoor champs on the Sunday. With such a huge number of racers on both days it was clear that each age category was going to be filled with tough competition.

Gordon Skiers AGM, Final Reminder

A final reminder that it is the Gordon Skiers AGM this Thursday.  It is really important to us that we get a good turnout of our membership.  We have made a number of changes over the last season and we would really appreciate our members feedback on these.  There are also potentially further changes over the coming year so this is your opportunity to influence the direction your club is taking.

It would be really good if every family could commit to having one family member attending and don't worry, we have enough volunteers to fill all the committee posts so you won't be in danger of getting a job unless you are particularly looking for one!

Agenda of Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Date: 18th June 2015
Location: Learney Arms, Torphins
Time: 730pm

1. Welcome and agree agenda
2. Agree previous AGM minutes
3. Matters arising
4. Chair’s report
5. Communication officer’s report
6. Club development plan
7. Coaching convener’s report
8. Racing convener’s report
9. Treasurer’s report
10. Clothing proposal
11. Social convener
12. Athlete’s liason officer
13. Election of office bearers
14. AOCB
15. Date of next meeting