In the pursuit of progress in ski racing, skiers race against time. The students at ski academies spend each week at school working out, tuning skis, getting tutored, doing homework and mentally preparing for the competition of racing. We do all of this preparation so that we can spend time out on the mountain and get the most out of the time that we actually ski.
Each morning, we spend around three or four hours at the mountain, and each race day we spend about seven hours at the ski area where our race is being held. Yet, upon closer inspection, when one calculates the amount of time actually spent skiing, not on the lift or in the lodge, the time on the snow is amazingly small.
On average, it takes about fifteen minutes to take one run from the bottom of the lift to the top, down the hill and back around to the bottom again. Yet, it really only takes one minute or so to ski down the trail.
So, for every fifteen minutes spent on the hill, only one minute is spent actually skiing. Therefore, every hour only produces four minutes of skiing, and of that time only a small fraction is actually spent running gates where the coaches watch us and try to help us improve.
In a full season we might have fifty races, but for each of those race days, when we spend six or seven hours at the race, we really only race for about two minutes. Of all of our races combined, we may race for less than two hours.
Thus, we are constantly on a mission to get the most out of each turn, out of each run, out of each second that our skis are on snow.
Although taking a couple free runs on the weekend may not seem as if it will make a big difference, it is four or five more minutes on snow and in the ski racing world, of hundredths and milliseconds, that can make a difference and bring each us of that much closer to achieving our goals. It isn’t surprising that progress improving one’s technique is made across seasons of racing rather than hours or days on the hill.
Unlike other sports, in which an athlete may put in three hours of practice and in that training spend three hours actively doing that sport, ski racers dedicate hours and hours to training and only get minutes and seconds of skiing.
Yet when asked why they participate in such a time consuming sport, any skier will answer that every hour spent in the tuning room or freezing on the lift is worth each little second spent flying down the slopes or in a course.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Ski racing has taught me time management
Ski academies give junior racers an opportunity to get valuable ski training and be able to get out on the road and race without missing out on academics.
At Mount Mansfield Winter Academy, the J1 and J2 racers ski in the morning and go to classes in the afternoon. We head up to the mountain around 7:45 a.m. We free ski and train, then head back down to school around 11:30 a.m. Classes start after lunch. Each class lasts forty minutes. Classes generally meet three to four times a week, unless the student is off racing. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, we head to the gym after classes to lift weights or do agility exercises.
Attending the academy is not only a blast, but it teaches you valuable skills like time management. Coming from the regular school schedule (school until three and sports practice for a couple of hours in the afternoon) it takes a bit of an adjustment to get used to the academy schedule, where there are more things to do in the day and the time goes by faster.
For a procrastinator like me, I have found that mastering my time can take a lot of will power. However, I realized that if I did my homework or tuned my skis as soon as I had time, I would have a lot more free time to do whatever I wanted later. Also, I learned that it is a lot more enjoyable to relax and hang out when you have your work done, instead of having it sitting, unfinished, in a huge pile on your desk.
The time management skills I have gained from being a student at the academy have carried over to other aspects of my life. I tend to plan better when I know that there are important things that I have to do. I get things done and out of the way rather than building up huge lists of things I need to do.
Last, spring upon returning to public school, I used my new time management abilities to help me stay focused and not get the usual spring slacking fever. These skills are valuable and I think that they will help me later in life both in college and the real world.
At Mount Mansfield Winter Academy, the J1 and J2 racers ski in the morning and go to classes in the afternoon. We head up to the mountain around 7:45 a.m. We free ski and train, then head back down to school around 11:30 a.m. Classes start after lunch. Each class lasts forty minutes. Classes generally meet three to four times a week, unless the student is off racing. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, we head to the gym after classes to lift weights or do agility exercises.
Attending the academy is not only a blast, but it teaches you valuable skills like time management. Coming from the regular school schedule (school until three and sports practice for a couple of hours in the afternoon) it takes a bit of an adjustment to get used to the academy schedule, where there are more things to do in the day and the time goes by faster.
For a procrastinator like me, I have found that mastering my time can take a lot of will power. However, I realized that if I did my homework or tuned my skis as soon as I had time, I would have a lot more free time to do whatever I wanted later. Also, I learned that it is a lot more enjoyable to relax and hang out when you have your work done, instead of having it sitting, unfinished, in a huge pile on your desk.
The time management skills I have gained from being a student at the academy have carried over to other aspects of my life. I tend to plan better when I know that there are important things that I have to do. I get things done and out of the way rather than building up huge lists of things I need to do.
Last, spring upon returning to public school, I used my new time management abilities to help me stay focused and not get the usual spring slacking fever. These skills are valuable and I think that they will help me later in life both in college and the real world.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Speed week in Sugarloaf
In the winter, ski racers often spend more time on the road than we do at home. In the past three weeks, I have skied at Sugarbush in Waitsfield, Sunday River in Bethel, Maine, Sunapee in Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, Cannon in Franconia, New Hampshire, and I am currently spending the week at Sugarloaf in Maine.
These trips are a blast. On the day of our departure we pack up our van, piling skis on the roof rack and cramming all of our ski bags, boots, tuning boxes, food and homework into the back. Although it is quite a process, we are so used to it that we can pack the van fairly quickly, although not necessarily neatly.
This week at Sugarloaf, we are racing downhill, the discipline that requires the greatest amount of insanity. Upon our arrival the first night, we headed to the tuning room to prep our skis and get them to run on the snow as fast as possible. To do this, one must wax the skis with wax that is made to perform best with whatever kind of weather is predicted for the race day. Then, all of the wax has to be scraped off and the skis have to be brushed until no more wax comes out. When you finally think your speed skis are all set to go and you have gotten all the wax possible out of the bases, you scrape and brush them again. After that process was over on our first night in Sugarloaf, we went to bed, visions of downhill courses dancing in our heads.
As tiring as the prep work may be, skiing downhill is definitely worth it. At Sugarloaf, the track weaves smoothly through the gates of the upper pitch and plunges down the famous “Headwall.” After headwall, you hit the flats and fly off a knoll. Doing your best to minimize your time in the air after the knoll, you plunge your hands down and grab your tuck to the finish, crunching your upper body down on your quads until you can barely lift up your head to see out of your goggles. As soon as it began, the run is over. Adrenaline rushing through your body, you cross the finish line and descend back to reality.
We will spend the week taking downhill runs each morning, each time trying to go harder and faster. Our afternoons are spent tuning our skis for the next day, doing homework, relaxing, and enjoying the fabulous food of the local restaurants.
These trips are a blast. On the day of our departure we pack up our van, piling skis on the roof rack and cramming all of our ski bags, boots, tuning boxes, food and homework into the back. Although it is quite a process, we are so used to it that we can pack the van fairly quickly, although not necessarily neatly.
This week at Sugarloaf, we are racing downhill, the discipline that requires the greatest amount of insanity. Upon our arrival the first night, we headed to the tuning room to prep our skis and get them to run on the snow as fast as possible. To do this, one must wax the skis with wax that is made to perform best with whatever kind of weather is predicted for the race day. Then, all of the wax has to be scraped off and the skis have to be brushed until no more wax comes out. When you finally think your speed skis are all set to go and you have gotten all the wax possible out of the bases, you scrape and brush them again. After that process was over on our first night in Sugarloaf, we went to bed, visions of downhill courses dancing in our heads.
As tiring as the prep work may be, skiing downhill is definitely worth it. At Sugarloaf, the track weaves smoothly through the gates of the upper pitch and plunges down the famous “Headwall.” After headwall, you hit the flats and fly off a knoll. Doing your best to minimize your time in the air after the knoll, you plunge your hands down and grab your tuck to the finish, crunching your upper body down on your quads until you can barely lift up your head to see out of your goggles. As soon as it began, the run is over. Adrenaline rushing through your body, you cross the finish line and descend back to reality.
We will spend the week taking downhill runs each morning, each time trying to go harder and faster. Our afternoons are spent tuning our skis for the next day, doing homework, relaxing, and enjoying the fabulous food of the local restaurants.
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