Ski Racing Kids!

Not that I know of.

Right no news yet, but based on the # of WC knee injuries this season to women, and the $$ the manufacturers will make on new models of skis, it most likely will be the year after the men.

You would think they would do it at the same time.  My guess is the ski mfrs didn't want to make two different FIS gs skis for such a small market to start with.  It could also be that some countries objected to a change usually the Austrians that have so many good skiers in thier funnel that a few injuries don't matter to blame for most things the FIS does.

I don't really think it is as nefarious as that. I think that they are trying to weed out the weaker kids earlier by forcing them on adult equipment early so as to get a better seed group for the Olympic teams. I however think this is sad because there are a group of kids who truly love to race, it's all they really want to do. They may not be that good at it but it is their passion. They get penalized for having to use equipment they don't have the skills and/or the body type for and they end up not improving, getting hurt or otherwise not achieving the potential they could have. I think it is like most things in big money sports, it's no longer about the athleticism and the sport, its about the best winning athletes. Take yourself as an example, will you son be the next Bode Miller? If you were tight for cash would it be better to send him to Northwoods or save that money for Harvard?

The theory out there is the Austrians pushed for the 35m ski as a way to stop Liegty.  He proved them wrong by actually getting more dominate on those skis so now the Austrains are not opposed to going back

Giving the district we live in NW will be a significantly better education than the local public school so it gives him the opportunity to continue skiing while learning more.

If the kid is most ready to ski on that ski racing at the Ussa level does not require the 30m gs ski for girls.  

The jump to 35m was so big it forced biggest radius at younger ages.  My son was on a 20m ski at age 12.  That progression in radius size for him will now likely moderate with this new rule.  I believe that is a good thing.

Coach -- don't you think kids would be better overall skiers if they spent some time on straight skis?

It could be argued, yes. A less lively ski forces kids to do a few things that can help them overall. Things such as finding the front of the ski (shovel) and making sure there's pressure there to start the turn. Also, it really makes them work hard at finishing their arcs properly and going ACROSS the fall line otherwise they get to terminal velocity real quick on straight boards.  It just raises their skier acumen I think. We make every 2nd year U16 get a pair of big skis here. They free ski on them for the reasons above and also so that they they aren't freaked out when they become FIS-aged.  In the meanwhile they can use them as Super-G skis as  U16's.  It isn't a lost investment.

Coach Z wrote

This means my kid won't have to totally relearn how to ski when he turns 16.  

Whoa.....pump the brakes there dad. Take in the big picture. Your kid is a good skier.

http://www.skiracing.com/premium/back-to-the-future-with-another-gs-radius-change

From this article it seems that the 35m skis was really tough physically even on WC level men.  It especially punished less physically developed U19's just starting out at the FIS level.  These kids eventually will mature but by then they may have dropped out of ski racing as no one was having much fun on that 35m ski.

I feel really bad for those kids are moving up that are going to get caught in this one year loop hole.  The advice seems to be to stay at the USSA level for a year and have fun doing well there.

The progression in GS radius now for my son will be something along the lines of 20m 166 cm last year, a 22m that Volkl developed as a tweener U14 ski this year, then a 25m ski as a U16 and a bigger 30m as a second year U16 to get ready for that transition.  Much better than if he had to made a huge jump to a 35m.

I saw the new regs out, will the manufacturers have the equipment ready in time for the fall buying season? My grand daughter and I were discussing it on the phone tonight, we looed at the website of the brand she likes and it did not look like they were ready yet. Could be a major cluster fuck on the hill this season.

For the women, this new regs completely baffle logic and continue to support the drop out rate.  Had faith in USSA over the FIS craziness until this.  U19 (so high school and above) can no longer use the 23 radius GS skis.  If running FIS, they "may" have used the 30s in the past.   But now, even though FIS is reducing radius the men soon and the women to follow,  all parents must buy U19 and older 25 radius, or use the 30 GS skis.

Wait, the 30 FIS skis will be no legal soon right?  So, the girls struggle with 30s for a year or 2, then if/when the manufactures are ready with the new 25, we buy new 25 skis!  Fantastic! Right, the 30s arent safe!  More knee injuries!

Oh, so then FIS must be going to 25 in a couple years.  Ok, so WHY does USSA require 25 now, and the 23s are no longer legal?   Really USSA?  2 cm now, and skis arent ready?  So the jr or sr in high school that wants to continue to race USSA, has no interest in FIS (smart) must spend $1200/$1300 for a pair of 30s this year and the 23s go to the junkyard?  Really?   Yes, sense of fustration here.  Overgoverned, what happened to the fun and logic.  Why do I pay $$$ to USSA and FIS every year?  Oh, I should pay the manufacturers directly their kickback on these decisions. Why not add another pair (plus trainers) to the collection that will be illegal in a year or two.  Unbelievable.  Nice move guys.

I agree that the biggest issue with ski racing is these regulatory bodies make decisions without regard for what it does to impact parents costs and participation rates.

Nyssra is saying at U14 this year the council races are gone to be replaced by east and west NY series.  That means more travel expenses instead of mostly local races.  It also means bigger fields and long races.  The girls have it good as they go first and the boys ski a course that has had 200+ racers down it.  Last year at Windham there was grass in the ruts for the boys.  Safety does not seem to matter.

Coach Z wrote

I agree that the biggest issue with ski racing is these regulatory bodies make decisions without regard for what it does to impact parents costs and participation rates.

Nyssra is saying at U14 this year the council races are gone to be replaced by east and west NY series.  That means more travel expenses instead of mostly local races.  It also means bigger fields and long races.  The girls have it good as they go first and the boys ski a course that has had 200+ racers down it.  Last year at Windham there was grass in the ruts for the boys.  Safety does not seem to matter.

I picked up the book "The Fall Line" a few nights ago, almost through it. Not an exceptional read as his style is monotonous but it does give insight as to what is happening at the Junior levels. USSA is the parent of the US Ski Team as you know, but the head of USSA is really chosen to build the ski team not to be an educational vehicle for ski clubs and non-Olympic talent kids. I do think they are concerned with Safety but not so much at that level.
The problem with the US team is it is old - only 1 athlete on the A team born after '95 and only one on the B team and they're both women. Hell Bode Miller is still there (He is great though) and he is almost 40!

My theory on all this is that they are pushing to get the kids on FIS as fast as possible and those are some big skis. They need big mountains as well. One thing I noticed in this book, although not explicitly stated is that FIS is trying to reduce the speeds of the racers and I think they are trying to take a lot of the carving out of the speed events - longer skis, longer radius but keep the gates spaced the same, will force skidding and gliding. They need to get the young stock prepared for this - they won't be able to ride a stable edge and make the coarse.

I also see that the extra travel at the U14 level will likely cause a further culling of the herd, only those families dedicated to the sport will continue. It also allows them to bypass the hills that can't provide a proper coarse for the speed events. Having fewer venues allows USSA to concentrate more kids at one race which is better for them as they get more revenue and the mountains don't tie up slopes as much and they get to see who has potential in a larger field.

As far as girls going first, you should actually be thankful. This is teaching your kid to ski a nasty coarse - which he will have to do when he is chasing points, until his points are low enough to earn a good seed. Also, I have seen many times in Slalom, particularly when they have room - they will set separate courses for men and women. This year - at least early on the GS courses were so hard  and fast that ruts really didn't form and the courses held up well.

However, I would agree that this past season was abysmal, lots of injuries occurred and there is nothing I hate more than seeing kids tear up their bodies at that age. I have been encouraging my grand daughter to stop before she gets really hurt, I won't win this fight so all I can do is be supportive, and close my eyes and pray on race day.

Good to see Nyssra leadership is pushing back on what seems to be a misguided and heavy handed ussa push.  I like that FIS relaxed the radius but Ussa actually raised thier radius.  The core of all racing is GS.

http://www.skiracing.com/premium/stirring-the-pot-with-new-ussa-equipment-rules

It seems Ussa is really just interested in finding the next Vonn or Ligiety and dont care about the thousands of kids that just love ski racing.  They are the care taker of the sport but I'd bet that thier CEOs bonus is based on WC wins or Olympic medals when it should be based instead on numbers of starts for U14 thru U19s.  The US is blessed with huge numbers of great athletes if we get more kids ski racing greatness will come thru.

I don't like this concept of PACE which pushes the pack up.  Give the kids the time to develop at thier own pace.  

Thanks for posting this article.  Good for NYSSRA pushing back.  Again, Canada gets it right, as they look at length not radius.  The over governance of this sport continues to baffle me. USSA just doesn't get it.  Could go on and on....enough said for now.

New format for NYSSRA U14 and U12 racing this year

http://www.nyssra.org/pages/news/2017%20U14%20Excelsior%20Cup%20and%20U12%20a.pdf

In the long run its probably good for my kid to race against bigger more competitive fields.  Alternatively U14 is the age when kids really start dropping out so racing against 3 councils at every race will put kids in the middle and lower parts of the field with really poor finishes and they may get discouraged and drop out at a higher rate.  More drop outs means the sport gets smaller and more expensive for everyone else.  I liked the old system of one smaller race where they would have time to ski afterwards and one big intercouncil per each discipline a year.  

I also worry about the fields being so large that if conditions are marginal like at Windham last year with 2 councils the boys will be skiing in grass filled ruts.  Safety has to be the most important factor and I'm questioning if they can pull this off safely. They are keeping U12's out of the fields which was happening not just with the best 2nd year U12's that were competitive but ones not even close.  Probably hurts the development of the good U12's but good to keep those kids out of the fields.  Gives the option for slower U14's to just race the U12 circuit at the council level - we will have to see how many actually take advantage of that.  If coaches would actively guide the kids that need more development into that route it would be good to keep them involved and the fields smaller.

They put the schedule together with the thought of limiting travel but it now groups the SL and GS races on the same weekends.  Last year I saw a ton of development from all the kids especially in SL between the first and 2nd SL race. This is really true for 1st year U14 that have not raced tall pole SL before.  The positive is more training time but until they actually run a SL for the first time in a race I don't think they quite understand what is going on. They have been racing GS all thru U10 and 12 so I can see putting both GS races on the same weekend.  I would think that NYSSRA would be more interested in development than this schedule indicates.

Cool NYSEF video to kick off the new season on their new web site




Here is a way to give to NYSEF just by shopping at Amazon - doesn't cost you anything


Support NYSEF While You Shop!  
•Simply sign in to your normal Amazon account, visit amazonsmile and register New York Ski Education Foundation as you preferred charitable organization. Shop away!
•Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to NYSEF. How great is that?
•AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. So easy!

 

Cool video.  Gets ya excited for the season.  Been using the Amazon link for a couple years now, agree it is so easy, and great for the NYSEF program.  Spread the word, free cash

YEah, buddy!!!

A screen shot from sprongo video of my son training Sl at Copper today