Save The Date! 22nd May 2016

Following the successful trip to Braehead last year, Gordon Skiers are planning a day trip to Hillend dry mat, Edinburgh on 22/5/16.

The club will partly subsidise the trip and provide coach transport to and from Hillend. It's a great place to ski and we have arranged race training with gates for our racers. Several of our racers have been before and love it but we are really keen to encourage and support our younger members and those who have not yet experienced Hillend to join the trip. For those thinking about signing up for the Twin Peaks races at Tillicoutry and Hillend on 4th and 5th June respectively, the day trip will be great practice. The Twin Peaks weekend is always fantastic fun with families often staying together in Edinburgh on the Saturday night. The club will be providing free race support for these races.

If you would like to know more about the Twin Peaks race weekend in June then please ask any of the committee.

More details about the day trip to Hillend in May will follow shortly.

I hope you can come,

Graeme

Training Sunday 27th March

Morning All, unfortunately the mild weather has brought our snow training to a premature end. There is more snow due tomorrow, but it's coming with high winds.  Today we are facing winds and rain, so that will do no favours to the remaining snow pack.

Let's hope for some good late season season snow, because there's nothing better than spring skiing.

There will be no training tomorrow, but please bear in mind the Club's Disco at the Westhill Golf Club on April 23'rd. It's a great chance to meet all the parents and kids, without goggles and helmets on.

Speak Soon, Gary W

Training Sunday 20th March

Good Afternoon All,

I've been waiting very patiently for the fog to lift so I could assess the conditions for training.

Although it looks like there is enough snow to move around, it's not good enough to supply any quality of training.  Fingers crossed for more snow, so we don't end the season early.

I did consider transferring to Glenshee, but even the Glenshee team have transferred training to Cairngorm this weekend as their snow is poor.

Hope you all enjoy your lie in tomorrow.

Gary W

Chance To Win Customised Ski Club Helmet!

Hi guys,

My name is Ewan Stott, I hope you don't mind me getting in touch.

I am launching a new winter sports brand called East & Peak. We are working on a product line that we are incredibly excited about and we would love some feedback on our ideas. As one of the leading snow sports clubs in the UK, we would greatly value the feedback from you and your members and hope you can help us out here.

We have prepared a short online survey which we are looking to get to as many skiers and snowboarders as possible to answer.  We would be grateful if you could share the survey with your community via social media or email.

We are offering people the chance to win a free helmet if they fill in the survey so perhaps highlighting this would be a good approach to getting it out there.

The link for the survey is here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CVL7FFX

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.

Ewan

Scottish Childrens Champs and Bairns Bucket

A squad of Gordon Skiers (age 6 to 16 years), parents and coaches Gary and James headed to Fort William for the weekend to compete in the Scottish Children’s and Bairns Bucket races at Nevis Range. The weather and snow conditions were challenging but the atmosphere in the Premier Inn on Friday and Saturday evening where many families were staying was great fun.

The news from the hill on Saturday was not good and Saturday’s racing was cancelled due to high winds.  Plan B was deployed..... “Gordon Skiers homework club” in the morning then some proper fitness training....well, ten pin bowling actually. Gary showed us his special two handed delivery of a bowling ball with lunge followed by victory dance. James showed us how to throw a ball at almost 25mph (I think Ollie was even faster!) He still lost claiming Beth had cheated. Surely not!

Ski coaches never rest.....check out James “power lifting” on the Facebook video-clip.

Everyone regrouped in the evening to celebrate a special birthday (with fab cake) for one of the mums. (Happy Birthday Maggie!)

The Premier Inn’s promise of a “great night’s sleep guaranteed” didn’t quite work out...a fire alarm overnight caused some sleep deprivation and a wardrobe malfunction for certain members unable to locate some essential items of clothing...the whole thing was just pants as Isabel said.

On Sunday the weather had improved and the club headed up in the gondola for the children’s and bairn’s races.

The races were well organised by SSC but the snow was soft and slushy making the runs very challenging for all competitors. Nathan and Thomas put in two solid runs in the Bairns GS against some very tough competition. They both skied very well despite the ice and slush.

On the children’s course the conditions made it exciting to watch but very difficult for the racers with many failing to complete the first run. Neil S laid down a solid second run with Sophie completing both her runs too, a great personal achievement for her in tricky conditions. Rachel B managed two solid runs and achieved a well-deserved 2nd place. Our final athlete down was Elliot who was last skier down on 1st run and was also last skier down for 2nd run meaning the ruts were at their biggest...he dug deep and held it together to put in a strong second run – bet the legs were hurting by the finish.

Despite tough conditions, lots of fun was had by all.

Thanks to everyone who made the trip a great success for the club.

James

Gordon Skiers Disco and Alex Tilley Fundraiser 2016, PLEASE SIGN UP NOW!

Gordon Skiers are holding their end of season party and awards night on Saturday 23rd April at Westhill Golf Club. It is a family event and all members, friends and families are encouraged to attend what is set to be a fantastic night to finish the Winter Season.

There will be a disco throughout the night with a ‘finger buffet’ on offer along with drinks available from the bar. Tickets cost £15 for an adult and £10 for a child to include the food and entry.

All profits from the night will be donated to Alex Tilley, current Gordon Skier member and top British Female Alpine Skier to help support her competing at the World Cup.  Alex spent many years training with Gordon Skiers before moving onto further training setups to allow her to be at the level she is now. Gordon Skiers are very proud to have Alex as a member and look forward to supporting her in her ski career.

We aim to hold a raffle and an auction during the evening. We are looking for members to donate a raffle prize or even an item or service for auction.  Please let James know on the email address below what you can offer. A full list of items for auction will be published before the event. We hope to have some ski gear up for grabs so come along and see what you can bid for.

The annual presentation of awards will also take place on the night with trophies being presented to most improved athletes in Bairns, Children and Junior categories so come along and see if you are the worthy winner.

As said above, this is our main social event of the year so please come along and show your support to the club whilst helping support Alex. All members are welcome and please bring along any friends and family too.

Tickets can be bought using the form below and James will then send you an e-ticket once payment is completed. Entry is by ticket only!

Any questions and to let James know if you can offer a raffle or auction prize please use racing@gordonskiers.com

We need to get some idea of numbers so please sign up now using the form below.  We have included a link to paypal to make payment easier.

Training Sunday 20th March

Good Morning All,

For this weekend I need to gauge the numbers for coaching, so I can plan coaching.
I'd appreciate if you could mail admin@gordonskiers.com , or me directly, to let me know if you will be training on Sunday.

In the event that training has to transfer to Glenshee, due to snow conditions, can you also let me know if you'd be willing to transfer.

Thanks, Gary W

Weekend of 12/13th March 2016

URGENT: For those racing in the Bairns Bucket at Nevis Range, the Bairns Bucket is only Saturday. Scottish Childrens is both Saturday and Sunday. All training for those not racing Sunday at Nevis will be at the Lecht as normal. If you want to train on Sunday at The Lecht please email racing@gordonskiers.com by Friday lunchtime. If you havent signed up on the form but would like to train this is fine as arrangements have changed.

Training Sunday 6th March

Many thanks to David Alexander for this video of training up at the Lecht this Sunday.

SSBX 2016

Gordon Skiers had 4 racers entered into the Scottish Ski and Board Cross at Glenshee this weekend. The course was designed by Ed Drake during last week and everything was in place early Saturday morning for the start of what turned out to be a fantastic weekend of competition. The Course comprised of; start ramp, Wu- Tang, roller, roller, 5ft drop off, traverse, berm, roller, 4 rollers and finished with a table-top.

Saturday morning saw a ‘slow inspection’ for all racers followed by 2 practice runs to get the feel for the features. Ollie, Rachel, Kathleen and Nathan all seemed to enjoy the course and were looking forward to laying down their two timed runs. Timed runs commenced and each skier was given the chance to ski the course as fast as they could with their best time counting. The times were then used to seed the racers for Sundays heats.

After the timed runs on Saturday; Nathan was sitting in third, Ollie in fourth, Rachel in third and Kathleen in fourth – excellent skiing on Saturday by all 4 of them, excitement was building to see what they could produce on Sunday.

Sunday morning started with some amazing views across the valley from Butcharts and the course was in fantastic condition again having been prepared by Gordon Skiers coach James who was also working on the race team as Chief of Course for the full weekend. Course inspection was plain sailing with no changes to the course, 1 practice run followed which allowed the 4 athletes to ride the features again and check their lines in preparation for the heats. Wont bore you with the details on how the heats are made up but the general idea is that the top 2 from each heat go through to the next round until there is only 4 racers left in the category and then we have the final. Some categories had more heats than others. All 4 Gordon Skiers racers got through to their respective finals with some very tight racing in the process- it was ‘edge of seat’ spectating as the 4 racers skied side by side through the rollers and over the table top trying to gain any margins they could.

Ollie attacked all of his heats and skied the final race with expert precision and was just pushed slightly wide on the final table top forcing him to take a less than ideal line which resulted in him taking third place very close behind Kieran Troup.

Nathan was skiing fantastically well all weekend and showed no fear at all on the drop off, he was just unfortunate in his start on the final race which left him slightly behind going into the first part of the course, having said that he was seen pushing and skating all the way to the end in the hope he could just slide into third but the gap was just too far to regain- a very respectful fourth place for Nathan.

Kathleen cleared her fear of the drop off with ease and continuously skied the course with aggression all weekend- some of the best racing I have seen from her. There were some strong skiers in her category this year but she held her own and was in the pack all the way in the final race and took a well-earned third spot.

Rachel B was on form this weekend, nailing the timed runs yesterday and then working her way through the heats today, picking some decent lines and squeezing past her fellow competitors. In her final she was in the pack from start to finish and it was looking like a photo finish was going to be needed to decide 2^nd/3^rd/4^th place, just at the final jump Rachel skied into 2^nd place after a competitor fell.

All 4 skiers displayed great skiing and good sportsmanship throughout the whole weekend. A delightful squad to coach, a special thank you to Sophie who was over at Glenshee this weekend and stood in to help assist me with coaching and looking after the team while I dealt with course team duties.

Fantastic weekend for Gordon Skiers and here’s hoping for more results next weekend at Nevis.

Proud and tired coach Jame

Rachel Brown Takes Silver U16 Girls

Kathleen Ray Takes Bronze in U18 Girls

The Gordon Skiers SSBX Team With Coach James Paxton

Gordon Skiers Disco and Alex Tilley Fundraiser 2016

Tickets for our end of season disco and Alex Tilley Fundraiser are now on sale. Please book early so we can get an idea of numbers and get the date in your diary.  See the form below to book your tickets and for more details.

Training and SSBX, Sunday 6th March 2016

Evening All,

We’re splitting this weekend, as a small number of us have entered the SSBX race in Glenshee this weekend. More on that from James in a moment.

For training at the Lecht this weekend.

If you’re racing at the Scottish Champs next weekend, we’ll be training on both SL and GS, so please bring 2 pairs of skis.  The morning we’ll be on GS, with timing set up. The afternoon will be on Sl, again with timing. (it’ll be old fashioned timing with a radio and a stop watch).  We’ll keep the lunch break to a minimum, so we can make the most of the training time.

If you’re not entered for the races next weekend, training will be as normal.  Coaches at the Lecht will be Jamie, Andrew, John, Malcolm and Gary.

For those heading to Glenshee for the SSBX, James will be covering coaching duties,  he will be a busy man with coaching as well as taking role of Chief of Course.  James will endeavor to support the kids before, during and after the races.

Please meet James at top of the course at 9am both days with bib and lift ticket, he may be unable to come and meet you at the base café. If all Gordon Skiers can group together and then make their way to top of the course together.

James will then take them for course inspection and then keep them warm and training whilst they are not racing.

Lunch will be taken on the hill so please have money, if parents are able to be around the area for lunch that would be excellent as James may not get down to watch the athletes between runs.

Racers will then be handed back to parents at the end of the races.

Same plan for both days. Any issues let James know (mobile doesn’t always work on the hill).

Glenshee Winter Games

Last weekend saw the second race weekend of the Scottish Alpine Series as the Glenshee Winter Games took place. Glenshee was blessed with fantastic weather providing some of the best skiing and racing conditions Scotland has seen for many years. The snow cover was great and hard packed and the sun shone all weekend resulting in many a burnt face.

Saturday saw the Bairns skiing on a fantastic GS course set by our very own Gary whilst the U14+ athletes raced two splendid Slalom Courses. Bairns were supported by Andrew C and Jamie R provided support for our BASS racers whilst Gary worked tirelessly as Course crew on the Bairns GS keeping it in great condition throughout the day. We had a very select gathering of 3 Bairns and 8 Children on Saturday. There were some great performances from Gordon Skiers, the stand out performance must be our youngest member Thomas Paterson who did not believe in unlucky 13 and took a silver medal in the under 8s.  Other medalists were Daisy Cowie coming second in the under 10s and Kathleen Ray  taking silver in the under 18s.

On Sunday James was coaching on the Bairns course whilst Kenny joined Jamie on the BASS course for race support as well as course setting the 1st run. Malcolm and John were on training duties for the day also at Glenshee and I believe spent the day ‘ripping’ it up on the off-piste. I saw some of the kids’ faces after training had finished and if the ‘ear to ear’ smiles are anything to go by I would say they all had a fantastic days training.

Gary returned to his course setting duties early Sunday morning and set an interesting ‘kombi’ course which featured a berm, 4 rollers and a jump to finish, with a mixture of Slalom and GS turns. Kenny set the course for Run 1 on the BASS race.  BASS racing started on time and 1st runs were completed in record time whilst the Bairns inspected and had a couple of training runs on the Kombi Course. Bairns racing commenced at 12 noon and both runs were completed by just before 2 with the BASS race finishing shortly after. Quick lunch break followed by an hours free skiing with the athletes before heading back to the café in time for prize giving at 3.45.

Again, the comments from both Jamie and Kenny were that all the BASS racers showcased the skills and technical abilities we have been working on during the season. The 5 Bairns I was coaching were no different either and showed off what they have been learning this season. All 5 of them returned for the 2nd run with big smiley faces which was great to see.

Prize giving saw Gordon Skiers on the podium again with:

• U8 Boys 3rd Place- Thomas Paterson
• U10 Girls 3rd Place- Daisy Cowie
• U16 Male 1st Place- Kieran Troup
• U18 Female 3rd Place- Kathleen Ray

All results can now be found on www.britski.org