Message from FIS Alpine TD Commissioner regarding 2019 FIS TD Updates

by Kathy Stahr | Sep 4, 2019 | Member News

Invitations have been sent out for the 2019 North American Alpine FIS TD Updates in Calgary AB (Oct 18-20) and Stowe VT (Oct 25-27).  Please register early and reserve your room at the host hotel. 
 
Registration information is available on the home page at www.nafistd.com.  We encourage you to share the registration information with others who may be interested in attending.
 
Thanks again to Lynne Gibson for her work coordinating the venue for the Calgary update, and to Paul for the venue in Stowe. It's rumoured that the Calgary update will have some western flair.  Boots, buckle and hat may be in order!  Details will follow.
 
More information will be available after the FIS meetings in Zurich in October.

~  from Doug Campbell, FIS Alpine TD Commissioner for Canada

BC Team Training Group Update by Coach Morgan; you don’t want to miss this!

by Kathy Stahr | Aug 19, 2019 | Member News

ALL PHOTOS BY ROGER CARRY (top & left – BCST summer training group athletes; right – Ella Renzoni; bottom – Morgan Pridy)

Fitness Season ~ written and submitted by BC Ski Team Coach Morgan Pridy 

Hi all, welcome to a new year with the BCST, and I suppose at this point also a new year with the BCST Summer Training Group. We have welcomed several new faces to go along with some familiar ones. If you have no idea who I mean, I would check out our social media platforms so you can put some faces to names and meet the crew! If you have no desire or are otherwise incapable of navigating the social media world then let me tell you, they are a bunch of good eggs and we will leave it at that (http://bcalpine.com/news/article/2019-BCST-Summer-Training-Group/).

Now onto the “Where are we now?” “What are we doing?” “How is it going?” portion of the update.  It’s fitness season! AKA summer… eventually AKA anytime we aren’t skiing. Now fitness season isn’t altogether that dissimilar from ski season; okay yes, it’s not on snow and you don’t actually have skis on and it takes place largely in the summer, but once that’s all out of the way, same same. Bring the focus, bring the intensity, bring the passion and the drive, then work your ass off to achieve what you’ve set out to achieve. Sounding a little bit closer? Add in the fact that it’s so much more about you versus you if you aim to make changes, and I could be talking about either one interchangeably. Make great habits and you will take them into the rest of the year, neglect them and it comes back to haunt you somewhere down the road.  I guess I could just blanket the whole 365 with “athleting”. We are currently athleting and will continue to be athleting into November, then once we start racing we will also be athleting until next spring.

Where does all this take place? To forego tedious specifics it looks something like Home – a month in Whistler as a team – Home – mini camp in Whistler as a team – Home – Skiing (yay!).

Prior to our newbies arriving, it’s always a bit of a mystery as to what shape they will arrive in and what amount of work they are putting in at home on the heels of a long and demanding season. There isn’t exactly a right or wrong answer since recovering mentally is so closely tied to your physical state. The idea of some people decompressing with a book and others with a jog hasn’t been lost on me, so the hope is that everyone arrives at camp ready to work, and not necessarily that they arrive already in peak form (thankfully no one has arrived as a human wasteland up to this point). 

Alright, so here we are, in Whistler and together as a team for the start of a month of centralized training, and I do love me some centralized training. “Team” on many levels needs to mean family. You don’t get to choose your family. This team is on the verge of a long season and they are about to spend countless hours not only just around each other, but living together, eating together, and sharing a year’s worth of ups and downs together. Having them centralized for a month in an environment where they are being pushed gives them every opportunity to understand one another.  See how a person functions when they are tired, learn how a person responds to stress or happiness, fail and succeed together, then learn how to pick someone up; the list could run on and on. The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives (definitely didn’t steal that quote from a TV show no one watches…).

So here we are, all centralized and stuff in Whistler, now what do we do for training? Well, the team does a lot. The program is a real mutt when you start to break it down.  A day could include several of a hundred things; maybe the modality varies but the main components to the week will always include strength specific to the lower body, core in all it’s forms, energy systems, and recovery. Yeah I know, that’s neither a surprise nor is it ground breaking, but it works.

We have answered the where and what, so how about how is the crew doing? They are pushing hard (mind you, no one has died of exhaustion yet soooo….), but really it’s been a full month and each and every one of them has stepped up to the task. The level of willingness to work has my respect and is not a common thing for a whole group to show. By mid month, the team had a good idea of each other’s strengths and began to use each other to push their own limits. Iron sharpens iron (credit: any interview from NFL training camps).

Next we have our mini fitness camp, a small but sturdy week to get the team back together for a little more sweat equity prior to getting back to what the crew has been working towards: getting on skis again in Chile.

I’ll leave you with a little trivia from the month, maybe you can guess whose name goes with what:

• If your roof rack with a bike didn’t fit in the underground the first time, it definitely wasn’t going to fit the second time…
• “Sorry”
• “Is this even F***ing yoga!?”
• Feet, head, feet, no handed cartwheel off his bike
• Teams best napper, by a mile.
• Gerrit. Dylan. Tait/everyone… Marcus. Ella.

AGM & Member Summit, Predator Ridge Nov 1-3; Book your room by Aug 31!

by Kathy Stahr | Jul 24, 2019 | Member News

Coach Meeting, Member Summit, Offficials Update and Annual General Meeting 2019 

Save the date! Our 2019 Fall meetings are scheduled for October 31^st to November 3^rd. Because interest and attendance have been growing in recent years, we are excited to be able to take this event to a new level and invite all of you to the spectacular, luxurious Predator Ridge Resort just outside of Vernon. Over four days we will host our Member Summit, AGM, Coach Meetings, Coach Education and the Officials Update. We hope to attract even more of our members this year as we combine education, business and fun in a tranquil, scenic setting. The highlight of course will be the big Goldie Awards celebration and party we are planning! Details, guest speakers and agendas will follow in early September. 
Thursday, October 31st – Sunday, November 3rd at Predator Ridge Resort near Vernon  

Accommodation: https://www.predatorridge.com/resort/predator-ridge-lodge/:
The Lodge at Predator Ridge offers studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom suites. There will be lots of sharing opportunities, but everyone who wants will have a private room/bathroom – sharing kitchens and common areas in some cases.

Deadline for booking accommodation is the end of August!! Call 888-578-6688 and mention BC Alpine – CLICK HERE FOR GUESTROOM DETAILS AND PRICING

Agendas and guest speakers will be announced early in the fall.
 

JOB POSTING – BC Alpine seeking Coach Education Manager for 19/20 Season

by Kathy Stahr | Jul 19, 2019 | Member News

Coach Education Manager Position

One of the most important areas of work for BC Alpine is Coach Education. The quality of our club programs relies heavily on the interaction between coaches, the athletes and the level of coaching provided. We are looking for someone to take on the task in making sure we educate all coaches in BC so they can deliver high quality programming, fulfilling our vision to develop world class athletes and inspired skiers for life. Our goal is to have the best coach education delivery in Canada. Are you up for the task?

Your job will be to:

Implement and coordinate BC Alpine´s development programs as prescribed by BC Alpine. These programs are:

• Presence of BCA in the province
• Grassroot program assessment and entry level club service
• Coordination and management of education programs in BC (EL, DL and parent education program)

Timeline: November – April (6 months), up to 40 hours per week

4 hours per week September – October (32 hours)

Presence of BCA in the province

The Education Manager must encourage and coordinate communication with the zones and clubs in BC. The communication will be in form of training courses and / or other interactive activities.  

Coach Education

The Coach Education Manager is responsible for coordinating entry level education for club coaches in the province of BC (EL, DL).

Parent Training

The Education Manager is responsible for coordinating the training of parents in the province of BC. He/she will be responsible for delivering the parent education program and/or to support clubs in the delivery. An important point in the parent education program is to explain the LTAD and the development structure and pathway in Canada.  

Communication within the province on education opportunities and information from ACA, CSI and other stakeholders and organizations.

Reporting to Viasport and other stakeholders.

You have:

• Extensive coaching experience
• Performance Level coaching certified (Performance Level trained will be considered for the right candidate).
• Excellent communication skills
• Microsoft office proficient
• Love of alpine ski racing and coaching
• Experience in BC is an asset

We will offer:

• Competitive salary
• You will be a part of a great team
• Flexible work schedule
• Professional development
• Opportunity to develop the best coach education delivery in Canada
• Lots of time on snow
• Possible expansion of the role into a full-time position

The position will require work on weekends and evenings and lots of driving to our ski communities in beautiful BC. This will be a part time position year one with opportunities for expansion.

For more information, please contact Johnny Crichton or Anders Hestdalen (604-612-0633)

We encourage all interested parties to apply. Please submit your application before August 20^th by email to anders@bcalpine.com

For more information about BC Alpine, go to our website www.bcalpine.com

BC Alpine announces 10-person 2019 BC Ski Team Summer Training Group

by Kathy Stahr | Jun 18, 2019 | Member News

BC Alpine is pleased to announce the 2019 BC Ski Team Summer Training Group. Five returning members are joined by five new talents from around the province for 6 months of intense training and skill development. The 2019/20 BC Ski Team will be officially named in mid-November. 

Congratulations to the 2019 BCST Training Group athletes!

• Ella Renzoni (2000) – Whistler Mountain Ski Club

• Francis MacDonald (1999) – Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club

• Myles Kowalczyk (2000) – Whistler Mountain Ski Club

• Marcus Athans (2000) – Apex Ski Club/Okanagan Ski Team

• Asher Jordan (1999) – Whistler Mountain Ski Club

• Gerrit Van Soest (2001) – Vernon Ski Club/Okanagan Ski Team

• Nathan Romanin (2001) – Whistler Mountain Ski Club

• Tait Jordan (2002) – Whistler Mountain Ski Club

• Heiko Ihns (2002) – Red Mountain Racers/Kootenay Zone Team

• Dylan Timm (2002) – Fernie Alpine Ski Team/Kootenay Zone Team

“This is a really exciting, dynamic group," said BC Team Head Coach Nick Cooper. "We have a wide range of athletes on this team and will have to be well organized as a staff to give everyone what they need."

“I am especially excited about this team", said BC Alpine VP Johnny Crichton. "I have worked with all these athletes at some major competitions and know they have penchant for competition. They will undoubtedly work together to push each other even further. I am also excited that the staff remains the same and is first class. I am not happy that no new girls qualified for the team, but we will work hard to remedy that for next year."

We are happy to have Asher Jordan (WMSC) back with BC Alpine after a successful 18/19 season on the national development team. ACA has decided not to operate a national "D Team" moving forward; this step is now in the hands of the PSOs, who will be responsible for moving athletes to the national "C Team".

Kyle Alexander (WMSC), BC Ski Team member since 2016/17, had a breakout 18/19 season highlighted by a 16th place finish in downhill at the World Junior Championships. His notable results left him ranked 3rd best junior in the world in both downhill and super-G. He met ACA's "C Team" criteria and is currently training with the national team.

Nicole Mah (Grouse Tyee), BC Ski Team member for the last two seasons, will be joining many BC Alpine alumni at the University of Alaska to continue her ski racing career while pursuing an education. 

Preparation for next season is well underway for our training group athletes. They recently wrapped up 8 days of on-snow training on the Whistler T-Bars, and will soon move into a 5-week centralized dryland training block in Whistler, July 2^nd to August 2^nd. The dryland camp will incorporate a range of lifting skills in the gym, aerobic fitness, mountain biking, swimming, yoga and hiking, along with the obligatory cooking/nutrition classes! After a short visit home they will reconvene in late August for 8 days of follow-up dryland before heading to South America in September and Europe in October.

"What I have already seen from the new members of the team is very promising," said Cooper. "They have come in open to new ideas, willing to change their skiing for the better, and work hard all while keeping a smile on their faces. I’m looking forward to our summer dryland program to really push their limits and have some more fun.”

BC Alpine Head Coach Nick Cooper will be joined again this season by BC Team coaches Ryan Jazic and Morgan Pridy to put these athletes through their paces and prepare them to compete at their best with the help of a professional Integrated Support Team (IST) that includes a team physician, physiotherapy, sport vision testing, nutrition/chef training, yoga, high performance fitness coaching and mental performance support.

"We are proud to support the best alpine ski racers in BC, and of all the successes they have achieved," said Anders Hestdalen, BC Alpine CEO. "The BC Ski Team keeps stepping up to the challenges required to build the foundation for world cup skiers, and BC Alpine is committed to doing everything we can to continue developing world class athletes. Go team!"