Week of February 10
- Over 90% of the kiddos are now utilizing the conveyor belt – the rest will have it soon!
- There are also over 20% that are learning the tow rope already – so exciting! Use of the tow ropes at Hickory open up a whole new world of terrain and FUN!
- Parents – please remember that as your skier overcomes the tow rope, they move from the free conveyor belt pass to a paid Hickory Pass. Please purchase at the front desk.
FOCUS this week will be on:
- Stopping independently
- Turning around cones
- Playing follow the leader =)
REMINDERS:
- WE STILL NEED Lodge Parents!!!
- Please sign up in TeamSnap under Schedule – click on date – goto Assignments – choose your skiers name from dropdown menu.
- Coaches will set out a yellow GATE JUDGE bib and a radio for your use.
- Please hang in lodge with volume up and coaches will radio if they need your help =)
- It is SO HELPFUL to coaches to have helpers in the lodge so all kiddos in a group do not have to pause if one skier needs a bit of help.
- THANK YOU!
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**SKI LEVEL DEVELOPMENT
We are watching so much growth in our SLD groups! Nearly all our groups have now successfully mastered:
- Stopping independently and on-demand when skiing downhill – this is an IMPORTANT skill!
- All the tow ropes of Hickory Hills! We have a group or two still working hard to become independent in this skill, but we know they will get it soon!
- Keep up the hard work and remember your smiles =)
FOCUS this week will be on: edge angle
- Skier Code #10
- Side slipping down the hill
- Turning, pivoting, steering
- Pole introductions (for those who are ready) – coaches will let you know if this is you!
REMINDERS:
- WE STILL NEED Lodge Parents!!!
- Please sign up in TeamSnap under Schedule – click on date – goto Assignments – choose your skiers name from dropdown menu.
- Coaches will set out a yellow GATE JUDGE bib and a radio for your use.
- Please hang in lodge with volume up and coaches will radio if they need your help =)
- It is SO HELPFUL to coaches to have helpers in the lodge so all kiddos in a group do not have to pause if one skier needs a bit of help.
- THANK YOU!
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**RACE CLINICS
All our Race Clinic skiers have been putting in an impressive amount of work this year! They are consistent in showing up, practicing hard and adding up time on-snow. The progress is awesome! Updates below:
Monday Night Race Clinic (USSS focus):
- Reminder – all Monday Race Clinics will be SL
- Arrive 15-20 minutes early to ensure plenty of time to get ready and meet coaches.
- All SL gear is required for Race Clinics, including chin bars and shin guards.
Wednesday Night Race Clinic:
- Wednesday Night Race Clinics will be either SL or GS, it will be the same as the Sunday Race discipline that week – this is reflected in the TeamSnap Schedule.
- Please look for this and prepare accordingly each week!
- While we do not have a Sunday Race this week, we will train SLALOM.
- Arrive 15-20 minutes early to ensure plenty of time to get ready and meet coaches.
Race Clinics (Tues/Thurs):
Our Race Clinic skiers are showing coaches they are resilient, tough and committed to getting the most out of practices. Thank you for being learners and coachable!
- FOCUS this week will be on:
- Race rules and tactics
- Hairpins, flush and through gate
- Tuesday – SL; Thursday – GS
- Please check TeamSnap Assignments for any available Lodge Parent spots that need your help!
- Reminder Lodge Parents will get a yellow bib and a radio from the head coach before practice and help out kiddos that may need assistance if coach radios you =)
- Arrive 20 minutes early to ensure plenty of time to get your pass, prepare your skier, get in gear, use the restroom before start time.
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**MIDDLE SCHOOL RACE TEAM (MSRT):
Last week our MSRT kids had a great run of training culminating with a breezy MS race at Boyne Mtn! Nice work being great on the busses and respecting the hills we visit – we are proud.
This week our MSRT skiers will have a solid training block – there are no races. This will be a good time to really refine some of the things each of them are working on to go into our last few weeks blazing new trails!
- Assignments: Thank you to our parents that already filled the Wednesday bus chaperone spots for this week!
- Availability: Please be sure to mark your racers Availability in the TeamSnap Wednesday practice – it’s very important for our chaperones and coaches.
Let’s have a great week, MSRT!
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**SUNDAY RACES:
Sunday we were back on Buck for a super fun (and fast!) day of slalom racing! A huge thank you to our timing crew and coaches for helping to make the change over happen – it’s a lot of work and we appreciate your efforts!
- As noted at awards today and is shown in the TeamSnap Schedule – there is NO SUNDAY RACE on Feb 16th due to President’s Day weekend.
- The City has requested we leave the hill open for the public’s use.
- Please use this time to grab some pals and go get some time in on snow having fun with your friends!!
Looking forward –
Please note we have 2 upcoming race events in our TeamSnap Schedule the following week:
- Feb 22 – Holiday Race Team Invitational – this is an optional race to attend across town hosted by our pals at HRT!
- Watch for more info to come! As soon as we receive the details we will share them out.
- Feb 23 – GTSC Sunday Race – this will be 1 GS and 1 SL – fire up!!
As we look towards the Welborn Championship Race on March 2 – just a few reminders to GTSC families on where to find more information on this race:
- Welborn is a qualification-based Championship Race.
- The top 5 racers from each club, plus 1 alternate, are invited to race on behalf of each attending Club.
- All racers ski both GS and SL.
- The race is at The Highlands – as soon as we have a Fact Sheet to share out we will!
- If your racer also races USSS, they must NOT have competed in more than 50% of the CR3 USSS Races, and regularly attended GTSC Sunday Races.
- GTSC identifies the top 5 racers per age group by scoring weekly Sunday Races. The scoring system is transparent and shown on our website.
- Weekly results are shown here: https://timing.gtskiclub.org/
- Welborn Cup ranking/standings are shown here: https://timing.gtskiclub.org/wellborn.php
- Final Welborn qualifiers are determined following the final GTSC Sunday Race and each notified/confirmed that night.
Please reach out anytime to coaches with questions!!
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**USSS & FIS Race Teams – MS USSS, HS USSS, Intro to USSS, and FIS
Last week we appreciated the patience of our USSS families as we all navigated our way through some late race adjustments by CR3 for the Boyne Mtn races. Thank you all for remembering that everyone is always doing the best they can, and sometimes a tuck and roll in life is necessary to keep us on our toes =) It all worked out great and we certainly appreciated our GTSC families help to keep it fun for the kids! We were sweeping podiums on Saturday and so proud to show up in a huge way as we make our way into Championship season!
Our portion of our FIS team rolled out to chilly Lutsen Mountains in MN to compete in the U18 SL National Qualifier – and Lake Superiors mighty cold and wind did not leave anyone untouched! We are dang proud of the racers (coaches and volunteer parents!) grit in sticking out some of the most challenging race conditions we have seen in a few years. That wind meant business!!! Congrats to all on stepping into that start gate and pushing your limits – but more than that, thanks for believing in yourselves. We sure do.
Check out below for additional updates for the week ahead:
All USSS & FIS Teams:
All per TeamSnap Schedule – this will be a training week with no races. Time to rest, refocus, refine our training and start looking ahead to Championship season!
Please note we will host an information meeting for all our USSS skiers curious about attending, or confirmed attending the Hosking Championship Race in a few weeks.
Hosking Information Meeting
Wednesday, Feb 12 @ 8:30pm via Teams link
Microsoft Teams
Meeting ID: 285 947 573 943
Passcode: 7eA6dT6m
Dial in by phone
Training:
With President’s Day this coming weekend, it has proven difficult to find training lanes – but still trying! We will open up our Friday Night training to all USSS/FIS skiers and keep you posted if anything else transpires for training. If not – PLEASE use this time to rest, catch up on school and go have some fun with your pals out on the slopes free skiing!!!