Rob Smith

Hey guys, PGS at Mansfield on Sat. Pro Start Gates (w/the horn...) Devils Staircase in pristene race shape No line ups If I don't see you Sat. Rob, have a great trip.

The first time we saw him race (age 12) our jaws hit our chest. I never thought 155 lbs could thrash a WC GS. I get to congradulate (& race) his Dad tomorrow. Kudos for Jasey Jay & Mike, both coming on strong. We are ahead of schedule.

Henry, welcome to our home grown qualifying by 2 heats system. This was developed because - not many sbx courses are wired for timing - we often could not access wireless timing On a plus side, all riders get to experience a min. of 3 (4 rider) heats FIS races must have 2 timed qualifing runs with no guarantee of any heats. At the NORAM level many racers get to fly accross the country take thier 2 qual. runs and then fly home... Missed you at the Masters race

Wheather it's under my skates, skiis, board or with my Scotch, I love it.

Finally. We can look foreword to riding Halelujah!

I've followed the NorAm SBX & Alpine circuit for 6 years. I'm a carver. I've promoted hard boot sbx riders for years. No more. However, I believe: - the skills aquired racing hard boot transfer very well to soft boot sbx skills - soft boots & bindings are approaching our "hard set ups" for stiffness - you will see more sbx racers moving to foreword / foreword stance for faster starts (body alignement) and "our" carving mechanics are faster - early sbx courses often had several GS type turns. FIS objectives are to minimize these turns - most course builders & coaches are softies & hate to see a hard- booter in front of them - course building has no standards, only suggestions - skiier cross will effect course design In Canada some of our best sbx riders have a hard boot background, (some don't). One of our future stars (Jake Holden) has competed exclusivly on hard gear for years. He switches to a soft setup, goes to Austria (with our 2010 team) for a Europa Cup race and places 4th! He wasn't riding "duck"! BTW, Trappy's advice is spot on. When you can hit the biggest park table with no speed check you will have fun on a SBX course. Thats my 2 cents; can you tell there's no snow in Ontario...

I thought I was "good to go".... Last year it was the broken arm. This year it's an SBX at Tremblant Chris, please keep me on file. Thanx

My guess is Dec. 7

A new mountain for us. The Ontario Team is sending riders your way. We would appreciate some feedback on accommodation options (Feb.22- 25) I assume we fly to Boise & drive? Look foreword to meeting some Idahoes, Idahoers, Idahoeians; sorry , some new friends

How not to buy a board I'd borrowed a "Chris Klug" custom Burton (185, 15mr). I'm approaching the pitch, pass my Daughter, who's yelling "slow down". I look over my shoulder... When I come to rest my "new" board is flapping its shovel. My custom 'glass repair has worked for two seasons. The shovel bears the text; "The launch pad" ps, It's my favorite frieght train

Bert Bindings: - early 1970's - a plate w/ fore & aft retention (wire) cables Along with Hanson boots & Hexel skiis I enjoyed the latest and greatest. To the best of my memory the Bert binding was unceremoniously retired when Orthapedic Surgeons started referring to "Bert (compound) fractures" as the worst injury on skiis...

CSF has listed podium athletes. FIS can't post results untill they're reported... Anybody have results for the rest of our athletes?

There are so many similarities between skiing and carving. I believe Alpine Canada ( the skiers) shut down our recruitment program... Sounds pretty insecure to me. I play in both camps, and enjoy the tete a tete between each. Vive la differance.

I was at Mount Saint Louis / Moonstone for the NorAm races last w/e. "Phil" was there. Is this the same Phill? I was the starter (among other things).

Looks like instant driver responce and likewise instant "rut" feedback. My feet hurt looking at this setup. Looks like the bros rely on the board alone to stay on the snow.

Beware the used boards. I've been there and you must be carefull. A burned out board can crush your self esteem; and totally confuse you.

Hey Guys, I broke my arm... Racing at Caledon last Sat., on a toe side, lost my edge; a"light" body slam and back up, (with a sore arm) I finish my run. My kinesiology daughter looks at my arm and proclaims; "a colles fracture" and drives me to the hospital to prove it. I'm pissed. Mom is really pissed. I'll take a rain cheque. I was so pumped to ride with the gang this Friday. I'm going to Whistler with a cast.

I flew to Thunder Bay last weekend to introduce Loch Lomand riders to board racing. Flew Fri. am to ride pm; Air Canada brought my gear to the hotel at 7:30 that evening. Came home Sun. night after 3hr delay... my luggage was delivered to my house on Wed pm. They said I could rent... Oh ya, we had 15 riders out for a great race intro session.

I,ve always associated J turns with racing. A racers "line interpetation" can be diagnosed as rounder (more Euro style) or a J turn (straighter line). Novice racers tend to ride a lower line and try to correct it by jamming a turn, a crude J turn! Elite riders will ride either style & quite often incorpoarte both styles on a course. Course set, snow conditions, pitch, equipment & each athletes skill set will determine which technique is faster. A good racer does not load the board at the end of a turn. They slam the "J" on the fall line.

Miss a day miss alot. I'm keen to meet you guys and carve it up. I'm hoping my daughter can join us; she is waiting for her university schedule. She retired from racing last year (Provintial GS Champion 04, 10th in slalom at the 04 Nationals & several top 10 placings at Continental Cup & Noram races) She is also a CASI instructor. Yes, I'm a proud Dad.

Jan 27 gets my vote. Feb.3 works. On the wet coast for a couple of sbx races and would mis the 17th. I'm also missing the Masters Race and would really enjoy riding with my piers. We have a solid group of about 10 carvers at Mansfield and I'm sure a couple of them would love a Friday at Osler with the gang.

Started skating (mini carving) on back yard rinks. As a defenceman I later learned how to rip a (2m r) 180d "turn out"(heel side) to avoid the boards. Right foot lead... I'm goofy! The "grooves" in the rink are almost 1" deep. I'm hooked, but I don't know how or if this move will manifest itself. I'm invited to ski; age 13. My parents proudly give me my first skiis. Arlberg woodies, painted base with screwed on edges. I ate snow, had a blast and remember one turn in everlasting detail. I carved. I had no idea that was a goal. I felt it; perhaps a 30m r. I stopped, and herringboned back up the hill to look at "the lines" in the snow. That was cool. Finished school & competitive hockey. Took up skiing. Took a bunch of courses to really learn how. Got married, my wife had to pass a "ski off"; not in that order. Intro 3 kids & shaped skiis, so much to learn about. Our children will learn to ski! One by one they started snowboarding (their Mother let them). They started racing. Soft boots lead to hard boots. Dad is watching the carving... O.K. I've got to try it. I'm hooked. Both rotator cuffs are attached by threads. I'm visualizing doing "the move" with both elbows tight to my chest. My passion for carving amuses my family. A new season begins, the anticipation is palpable. I'm 51, looking forward,for new memories.

The snow is still melting & we're this bored What will July & Aug. bring? The design team need better drugs.

The world cup ski world is big bucks & pride. The radius controls are set to try and even the field. Ski manufacturers can & do favour certain athletes. The course setter is somebodies coach (or nationality) and may possibly set with some bias... The course is also on some athletes home turf. So much for ski racing. Why I like snowboard racers. NorAm at Craigleith. Minus 20 f. Blowing a gale. Quarter finals, red course to blue course - Why don't we wear our pants. (the zip offs over the speed suit) and so they did.

Ski Specs: an opinion; the "new" skiis with torsional muscle and the radius of the course have blown the FIS (tradition) away. Racers don't have to pivot (over steer) anymore. The entire history of ski racing has included steering & carving (drifting) a turn. That has ended. I believe that to preserve some tradition & equality between racers FIS now believe they should monitor the technical advances in ski development As a student of both skinny & shaped skiis, I believe that mastering skinny skiis required more skills than a shape ski. As to why skiis are faster, consider these thoughts; 1) Starting, no brainer, poling & skating are much faster to the first & second gate. 2) A skiers stance allows the skiis to be easily 3 ft apart through the pressure phase. Upon completing a turn ( the pressure phase) the skiier simply initiates the next turn by projecting the upper body downhill (over the skiis) and on to the "new" down hill ski, which is already "tracking" on the snow. We boarders cannot move our board (instantly) laterally 3 ft accross the hill to improve our line without going air borne and incuring impact resistance... 3) Our flexibility is also considerablty limited due to both feet fastened to one board. 4) Our balance piont is one very thin line, the ongoing balancing / tuning requires more upper body movement than skiiers; who can utilize two balance planes to tune thier trajectory. Skiiers also have much more ability to balance their "line" from below their center of gravity. Perhaps comparing ski racing to snow board racing is like car racing to motorcycle racing. Both are fun, but entirely different. My challenge to board racers is to refine "pressure contol" early in the turn (above the fall line). After down unwieghting, stay flexed (short) and on the snow; apply the new turning edge while projecting the upper body downhill and quickly extend / increase pressure to the snow. This is the key to accelerating in the turn. Nothing new, it's just hard to do.