Today at Snowbasin included a tough course set for first run, followed by a nice easy set for second run. We had several J5's try south series "on for size" and they skied very well! The J5's had the toughest first run, and they really straightened out the bottom section for the J4's, and then straightened out one more kink for the boys run. That is ski racing! Every one of our J5 girls made it down the course, that was something to be proud of!
Results are online: http://www.ussa-imd.org/alpine/races11/south.htm. Be sure to note that Zach and AJ both came home with hardware for Brighton! Awesome job, guys! We were able to take video of almost every run this weekend, and it will be loaded onto sprongo.com. If you haven't received an invite, let Han Kim know, and he can hook you up, and you can see your racer. (email him through the "contact us" link on the web page if you would like) Be sure to watch the video, it is important to see how you ski when the pressure is on... racing is always different than training.

Training at Brighton today was fabulous! Great job, coaches! Everyone switched gears and got some great GS training in on a blue sky day.
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The South Series at Snowbasin was a great day! The J3's had Zach and AJ in 4th and 5th place. We worked on our inspection of the course, learning to anticipate when the course changed due to the terrain and course set. The "coaches knoll" provided some challenge and entertainment on the second run, and Owen's butt might be bruised, he says... he needs more padding there. Everyone tried their best, and improvements were made between first and second run, that is all anyone can ask for, and THAT makes an awesome day.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012 -- Racin' at the 'Basin again! (no training at Brighton)
Meet in Earl's Lodge between 7:45 - 8:00 am. Tickets go on sale at 8:00, so parents, plan on getting in line. The Gondola will start running for racers at 8:45, and inspection will start at 9:00. Sharpen your skis tonight! See you in the morning!
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Race information for the South Series GS

@ Snowbasin Jan 28-29th, 2012

Entry: due Monday night. Please confirm with your coach by Monday night if you plan on racing!

Race fee: $20 per day, $40 for the weekend, please get race fees to Becky prior to the race weekend

Lift Tickets: $28 per day for racers. Discount pass for parents available between 8am and 9am only ($12 discount)

Schedule: 10:30 race start both days on City Hill

Team Members: meet in the lodge at 8:00am. Do not be late!

Great series at Snowbird

I just wanted express to everyone that raced this yesterday and this weekend how impressed I am of all of your abilities you displayed on the race course, you are all really starting to step it up and show the skiing community what Brighton Ski Team is really made of, along with a few medals to prove it, I am really proud of all of you.  For those of you going to Snow king this weekend, I want all of you to use this week to get some good rest, eat smart and and give your skis and attention the deserve (tune skis) we have another intense few days of racing ahead of us.  Tonight we will be training GS on Tantamount, so come prepared with your game faces on.

P.S. Thank you Lyndsey for the great job you did as Referee yesterday.

Coach Drew

Hope everyone had an exciting weekend of racing! Sorry I wasn't able to be there. Tonight we will be training GS on Tantamount. Dress warm & be ready to roll.

Awesome weekend of racing, Brighton. Results for the South Series race can be found on the IMD web page: http://www.ussa-imd.org/alpine/races11/south.htm is the link.

SNOWBIRD UPDATE!
Today: GREAT racing! We had 2 J5's give slalom a try, and they did great! There was some mix up in results, but once it was straight, we had Zach get second and Ravi get 5th!!! (he may not know this yet, until he reads this, we will get the medal tomorrow). Nick completed his first race EVER with flying colors, and our J4 girls showed they can bang gates with the best of them. Some falls occurred, some spirits crushed momentarily, but thus is the life of a ski racer. It has it's ups and it's downs, luckily we get more ups then downs.
Tomorrow will be a different day due to the weather. Be prepared. Everything will be moved up 15 minutes if possible, but the weather could push things back. First run inspection will be from 9:15 - 9:45, First run for J5's will start at 10:00 am, J4-J3's at 11:00 am.
Second run J5 Inspection 12:30 - 1:00 pm, J4-J3's 12:45 - 1:15 pm. Second run start J5's 1:15 pm, J4-J3's 2:15 pm.
Lyndsey is going to be the REF of the J5 course, so she will be busy watching the race and inspecting the course EARLY.

BIB's for Monday:
Megan Stone - 9
Savannah Dustman/Davenport - 16
Ella Kim - 81
Aspen Parker - 78
Summer Stapley - 80
Lindsey Blanchat - 82
Erin Malooly - 92
Maija Nisbet - 93
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Cameron Kim - 80
AJ Parker - 83
Zach Coury - 90
Ravi Sharma - 87
Nick Richardson - 90

Good night, everyone! Rest up!!!

Today at Brighton: GREAT training by everyone! You all look ready for the YSL.

An unfortunate turn of events for Trista, Kylie's mom, caused some awesome coaches and parents to pull together their resources. Trista fell and hurt her knee, Jason and Eric got her to patrol, Eric is driving her to the hospital, Lyndsey is going to pick her up later and take her home, Phyllis and Sean are going to take Kylie with them, and we have a friend to take her car down. Wow! an exciting afternoon. Our team IS a family, and it is the unfortunate times like these when our family shines and pulls together. Thank you, everyone, named and not named, as I'm sure there were many hands helping all of this get planned.
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Today at Snowbird!!! Kombi racing! The word of the day was "interesting." The course was "interesting." The snow conditions were "interesting." And the results were "interesting." (just kidding) AJ placed 2nd and Zach placed 5th. Cameron just missed a medal by a bit. Everyone got their "race gitters" out, and will be READY to ski slalom tomorrow. The Kombi is fun, and confusing, and maybe "interesting" is a good word... I like the word FUN! Look for results on www.ussa-imd.org and www.livetiming.com tonight!
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For Sunday at Snowbird!

Meet at Creekside at 7:45 am, parents get in line for tickets.
Chair lift should start at 8:45 again, like today
Inspection at 9:15 am. J5's are racing on the stubby gates, J4-3's are on the tall gates.
Make your warm up runs on Wilber, DO NOT SKI FAST ON BIG EMMA!!!
Two runs tomorrow, pack a lunch and a LOT of water, think about taking a bottle of water to the start, we had some thirsty racers and coaches today :)
BIBS for Saturday:
28 - Megan Stone
34 - Savannah Dustman/Davenport
51 - Aspen Parker
84 - Lindsey Blanchat
101 - Ella Kim
107 - Maija Nisbet
111 - Erin Malooly
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77 - Isaiah Wagner
90 - Cameron Kim
91 - AJ Parker
92 - Ravi Sharma
98 - Zach Coury
99 - Nick Richardson

Wax your skis tonight and have fun tomorrow! Weather might be a bit windier then today, so be prepared. See you there!

***** NO TRAINING AT BRIGHTON SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2012 *********

Brighton racers attending the SNOWBIRD SOUTH SERIES! Important Update!

Saturday: arrive at 7:45 AM and meet coach Drew at Creekside. Han Kim and Chad Stapley will be assisting Drew on Saturday (Chris Henderson was called out of town unexpectedly) Be sure to ask them any questions you have, and be sure to THANK THEM for helping out and stepping in.

Ticket window: will open at 8:00, parents get in line early!

Lifts: will start at 9:00 AM (the FIS snowbird team will be having high speed early morning training going on. Watch out for fast skiers. You will not be allowed to load the lift until 9:00 due to their training course)

Inspection: 9:15 - 10:15 am

Girls start 10:30 am

Boys start 11:30 am (tentative)

Awards: 1:30 pm

Kombi: They will run this on Dick Bass down Wilbere race course. The recommended route will be get off at Mid Gad, ski across race run with assist of hosts, take Wilbere chair to the start. The Kombi will be 150 meters, so a minimum of 30 gates, they are anticipating a course of about 40 gates give or take a few. Approximately 15-20 slalom stubby gates, then panel GS gates. Slalom skis are recommended, no mouth guards necessary since the stubby gates will be used, and pole guards are discouraged due to the use of panel gates, for safety. There are 4 "rollers" or bumps in the top section, and then 4 "rollers" or bumps in the lower section. You will HAVE to turn early if the gates take you over the rollers, or you will be late to the next gate, so pay attention during inspection. This is a one run race. Saturday and Sunday are both two run races, so they will be longer days.

THERE IS NO SKIING ON BIG EMMA. The patrol will pull your pass if you carve a turn. SKID your turns if you happen to find yourself on Big Emma. Sideslip if you are worried. If you look like a racer, consider your pass gone.

No bags should be left in Creekside.

We will have a RED BRIGHTON GATE PANEL as our "flag" for the weekend. Look for it... if you don't see it, ask, you may have to help put it up :)

BRIGHTON BIBS for tomorrow:
Girls - light blue bibs
26 - Summer Stapley
30 - Lindsey Blanchat
32 - Aspen Parker
48 - Ella Kim
84 - Maija Nisbet
Boys - yellow bibs
65 - Isaiah Wagner
71 - AJ Parker
74 - Cameron Kim
75 - Zach Coury
76 - Ravi Sharma
80 - Nick Richardson

DEVO and YSL athletes!
This weekend, January 14, plan on training stubby slalom at Brighton with Lyndsey, Jason, Eric and Laura! They are working on getting you ready for the Park City YSL on January 21, 2012.

The race will be held on Lower CB's, the World Cup race run. We will use the Eagle Lift to access the race. NO parents are allowed to get off Eagle half-way, leave the kids with the coaches.There will be no free skiing on the race hill. Lifts will start at 8:30 AM.

START ORDER: 10:00 AM J6 girls, followed by J6 boys
                              11:15 AM J5 girls, J4 girls, followed by J5 boys and then J5 boys

AWARDS: to the TOP 10 in each gender and age category approximately 15 minutes after the last racer in the finish arena. We encourage EVERYONE to stay for awards and cheer on the victors!

ENTRY FEE: $14.00 per racer. Send payment to Becky, as the team must write only one entry check.

LIFT TICKETS: $20 for 12 and under. The ticket windows will open at 8:00 AM, and you will have to have your race bib to get the discount pass.

SKILLS QUEST STATIONS will also be set up in the dogleg area--away from the start, far skier's right side of Lower CB's. This is an idea USSA is experimenting with, all kids are encouraged to ski them with their coaches: Side Slip, One ski straight run, and Pole Jumpers.

Parents are encouraged to bring up tents (must have weights to keep them from flying away, some sort of building code in Park City) and lawn chairs, grills, coolers, etc. Pack a lunch for your athlete, as food services are a WALK to get to! Please be aware that “Burton” will be having their “Burton Experience” in the area from the parking lot up to the Eagle Maize – this will make walking up more entertaining for everyone, but a bit congested as well.

MEET YOUR COACH at the bottom of FIRST TIME lift, ready to ski, at 8:00 AM. Parents, get in line for the lift tickets, and we will get you the race bibs. Do not be late! We will get on the lift as soon as they open and we have everyone, for course inspection.

Coaches will ski with kids in their groups until approximately 3:00, unless you have made other arrangements. It is a great experience to ski at a new resort on different runs. J4's who are racing will join Lyndsey's group and have a fantastic time.

All athletes must fill out a Park City Mountain Release, emailed out by Becky. If she doesn't have it, your athlete cannot race. Use this link, page 2 is the release, if you need to print it out again: http://www.ussa-imd.org/alpine/races11/pc_ysl_ra.pdf

Still have questions? Contact Becky or another team parent who has been around for a few years... Ski racing is FUN! Bring COW BELLS to ring for our athletes, charge your video cameras, and tell Grandma and Grandpa to dust off their Sorrel's to join you in watching your athlete ski fast!

This weekend at snowbird

Hey guys sorry I have not been able to get this information to you all earlier, but let's all plan on meeting at the creekside lodge by 7:45, the line for those who are going to be getting tickets will be long so I suggest getting there early. Lift ticket prices for kids 12 and under are $22 and $37 for age 13 and older. Everyone make sure you get a good night sleep the nights before and eat a good meal. Keep am eye on the weather to help determine waxes to use, road conditions and clothing layers. If anyone has any questions comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to call. See you all Saturday, Coach Drew

Tuesday Training:

We will be training Slalom for the upcoming South Series race. Bring your slalom skis + protective gear. There probably could be hiking, so be ready for that. We need to start getting ready for race day, so bring your A-Game and hopefully I'll bring up the helmet stickers tonight!!

Great Christmas Camp

Hello ski team, I know that you all are not looking forward to going back to school tomorrow and need to get some rest so I will keep this short and sweet.  I first off want to thank everyone for the huge amount of participation from everyone during Christmas Camp, I saw a great amount of effort put forth by each and everyone of you causing huge amounts of improvement, great job and keep up the hard work.  The start of race season is right around the corner and I think that you all are ready.  Tuesday night training will resume this week and I hope that everyone takes all of the information that was given to them and continues to use this it in all training and free ski days.  Hope to see all of you up there.

Coach Drew

Happy New Year Brighton TEAM! We will do one more sweatshirt order! Be sure to email Becky your order, we will place it this Friday, January 6, 2012. An email with important information went out today, be sure you are getting team emails.
Christmas camp was GREAT! Tuesday night training this week will get us all back onto our regular schedule.