The weekend went well and the weather was beautiful. The groups worked on the BBSEF Medals program while getting in many ski miles. Just getting on skis and cruising around the mountain is as important as practicing in a training course. On Sunday the kids were treated to a skier cross course set on Snoozer. This weekend we will practice Giant Slalom (GS) gates on B1 in the mornings in preparation for our upcoming Coaches Cup Giant Slalom.

Next Saturday, February 18^th we will hold our 2^nd Coaches Cup race of the season. The race will be a GS and will be held on B1 (same place as the previous race) please keep the cat track clear when watching the race. The schedule will be the same as it was for the 1^st race. We plan to run the race entirely in the morning before we break for lunch. The racers will ski with their coach after their 1^st run while they wait for their 2^nd run. After their 2^nd run the racers will continue to ski with their coach until the race is finished. This will allow for all racers, coaches and volunteers to go to lunch at the same time. Lunch will be 1 hour from the end the race, which is tentatively set at 12:20 to 1:20pm. Without race volunteers we cannot put on these races, please volunteer for race duties by contacting Tessa McCollum at tessamccollum@q.com.

The coaches are very proud of the progress that the racers are making and are excited for the improvements that will be coming as the season continues.
See you on the slopes,

Coach CHUCK

February 2, 2012

ADH & MM Parents and Racers,

Our first Coaches Cup race is in the history books. Results are posted on the BBSEF website. The weather was beautiful and the race, while there were a few hitches, was a success. Thank you to the volunteers who make it possible for us to put on these races for the kids. The next race is a Giant Slalom (GS) on Saturday Feb 18^th.

This weekend the groups will focus on our BBSEF Medals program. The Medals program consists of basic skiing skills recognized by the US Ski Team as being fundamentally necessary requirements for ski racing. The skills are grouped into different levels by difficulty. We present medals to the racers at the year end awards banquet for completion of the different levels. On a similar note the US Ski team is unveiling a new program for youth competitor development called “Skills Quest” that is very similar to our medals program. The Skills Quest program is in the beta stage now and is expected to be a high priority in the coming years.

We are beginning work on our Mitey Mite jump. Once the jump in run and out runs are prepared we will work with the kids on distance jumping. This is a crowd favorite event in our end of season competition.
See you on the slopes,

Coach CHUCK

We are finally back at BOGUS BASIN! Tamarack was very gracious to let us train there, but it is good to be home. The groups worked on basic skiing fundamentals which were taken from the US Ski Team and the USSA Skills Quest program.

Our first race is this SUNDAY and will be a Slalom. The race was scheduled for Saturday but has been switched to SUNDAY. If your racer has not yet trained with us please, please bring him/her up on Saturday to get some practice on a race course before the actual race on SUNDAY. The coaches will have bibs for the racers in their group. The race will be held on B1 in the Bitterroot Basin (chair 5). The top of the course is accessible by foot from Pioneer parking lot # 4.
The daily schedules will be:
Saturday (normal training day)
9:20 – meet coaches at Jason Harper Training Center
9:30 – AM training session
12:00 – lunch
1:00 – meet coaches
1:00 – PM training session
3:30 – pick up racers
Sunday (race day)
8:45 – meet at JHTC
8:55 – head to course
9:20 – start 1st run
11:05 start 2nd run
12:20 – lunch
1:20 – meet at JHTC
1:30 – PM session
2:45 – end PM session
3:00 – awards at JHTC
New group lists will be coming out soon. I realize that some racers haven’t trained yet this season and in order to keep the groups balanced by ability will be revising the groups. We will continue to evaluate the racers and make group switches as needed.

Volunteers are needed to work various duties for the race please contact Tessa McCollum tessamccollum@q.com to Volunteer.  We need everyone’s help to put on a fun quality event for the kids.

Keep an eye open for more emails.
See you on the slopes,

Coach CHUCK

Alpine Development Home team and Mitey Mite team update
The phones have been ringing off the hook with one question, where will the ADH & MM teams be training this weekend? The answer is…Tamarack! I understand that everyone wants to be skiing at Bogus and the reasons for not wanting to go to Tamarack, believe me I do understand. However Bogus has not announced if they will be open this weekend and even if they are open, if we will be able to train. Also the crowds could be a problem depending on how much terrain is open. Hopefully the amount of forecasted snow falls and Bogus is able to commit to our race on Saturday, Jan 28. I want to be on our home hill just as much as anyone else however I also want the quality of training and skiing to be what it needs to be as we prepare for our first SL race of the season.
Our second weekend of training at Tamarack went well. We were able to set a slalom course on Homestead both days. The soft snow was quickly pushed to the side exposing the bulletproof icy base below. If you were not using your edges and proper angulation, you quickly ended up lying down on your side. I would like to say Thank You to Tamarack for their hospitality and allowing us to train there while Bogus awaits the much needed snow we are now finally getting. I also want to say Thank You to all the parents for their patience and understanding as we work through the logistics of taking a non traveling team on the road.
BBSEF is hosting the North Series Cranston Cup this weekend at Tamarack and still needs volunteers. This is a 2 day slalom event and is our chance to show the other race teams our abilities to put on a quality event. If you can help out please email Sam Langston at cranstoncup@slangston.com.
We have several families that need help getting their children to Tamarack if you have room in your car and can help please contact Shannon at shannon@bbsef.org or 336-5295.

See you on the slopes,

Hello Road Warriors,
Usually it is the upper level racers driving to distant ski resorts for races, this year however the ADH & MM teams are being forced to go where the snow is. The drive to Tamarack wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was actually quite easy, just a little longer. The groups free skied for the first hour as they got used to be being back on snow and then made some runs through some slalom drills. After lunch we set a full length slalom course for the kids, our first race will be slalom.
On the news I heard that it had snowed, unfortunately the storm didn’t sit over Bogus and dump for hours and hours as we need it to. So Tamarack will again be overrun with BBSEF skiers this weekend. If you didn’t come up last weekend and are coming up this weekend please send an RSVP to Shannon@bbsef.org. Those that came up last weekend you are already on the RSVP list.
Thank you for your patience as we worked out opening day kinks in a new place. Our meeting place has been established and the coaches will be anxiously waiting at 10am. We will follow the same schedule; training from 10am-12:30pm, lunch from 12:30-1:30pm and training from 1:30-3:30pm. We will continue running drills as we prepare for our first race on Saturday, Jan 28th. Let your friends know how much fun you had skiing at our host mountain – Tamarack.
See you on the Tamarack slopes,

Coach CHUCK