SnowsportGB Newsletter Vol. 04
Alpine
 Chemmy
Alcott's career best moved up a couple more levels when she
finished in an unprecedented seventh place in the first Women's
Super G Super Combination world cup race in Reiteralm, near
Saalbach in Austria on Friday 14th December.
Despite only having had one day's slalom training Chemmy
was able to capitalise on an eighth place in the Super G by
skiing 14th fastest on the single Slalom run, which is longer
than a normal World Cup slalom run. Austrian winner Marlies
Schild skied an aggregate time of 2mins 13.69 secs with Chemmy
2 mins 15.46 seconds.
"It is amazing. I am so pleased. I really did not quite
know what to expect today and just went out to have fun and
enjoy myself in the Slalom and so there was no pressure. I
had a long hold, three minutes in the start gate, and my coach
was hoping I would not go to pieces but I just knew as soon
as I was in the course that it was just clicking and I could
ski fast. I grew up skiing Slalom and still want to do more.
People think of me and call me a speed skier, but I feel like
I can still ski slalom, I am not satisfied with either label,
but seventh is certainly cool. My ninth in Cortina in 2004
was a long time ago for me and so this is a real confidence
booster."
Chemmy skied the world cup Super G the next day and finished
in creditable, but slightly disappointing 23rd place. Val
d'Isere was not so good for her, finishing 32nd and 43rd,
but having amassed 109 world cup points already Alcott lies
22nd on the world cup tour standings, 25th in Downhill and
18th in Super G. After Reiteralm she was lying 11th.
"Overall it's been a rollercoaster, big highs and some
lows. But if anyone had told me at the start of the season
I'd reach 11th on the standings I'd have been amazed. It is
a reminder of how tough this sport is. Take Julia Mancuso.
I have been beating her all season and then she wins her first
world cup (in Val d'Isere)."
"I was just trying too hard in Val d'Isere." Recalled
Chemmy, back in London for her Christmas break making cookies,
"Whereas the seventh was the essence of why I am a ski
racer and a reminder of how much I want to be up there winning
medals, Val d'Isere was a reminder that you have no automatic
right to a result when you get in the start gate after a top
10. I was just pushing too hard. It just doesn't work thinking
that the more effort you make the faster you will be."
Chemmy has been home for a few days before travelling back
out to Austria on Christmas Day. Far from putting her feet
up in front of a roaring fire, she will fulfil a longstanding
promise to her four nephews, all under 8, to take them skiing
to Milton Keynes, and she will be guest of honour at her local
rugby club where she will be presented to a crowd of about
20,000 fans.
The start to his season has been something less than what
he wanted, but Finlay Mickel brought it back on track with
a resounding 13th on Val Gardena's Saslong course. It was
Fin's fourth best world cup result of his career so far, and
his halved his previous best for the course. Significantly
he was only 0.81 of a second behind the US Ski Team's Steve
Nyman. Mickel raced fourth down the track and was only 3/10th
of a second off his first ever podium finish.
"That was a big result for me. It is certainly a weight
off. I was starting to have thoughts in my head that I should
not have. It was a real struggle to get from there to have
my head in the right place in the start gate to just relax
and focus on my skiing." Finlay explained.
One catalyst for his result may have been having the familiar
words of British Land Alpine Ski Team Head Coach Mark Tilston
in his mind as he left the start gate.
"I have worked with Mark for so many years, he knows
what to say and how I approach things but it was his words
I had in my mind as I left the start gate and that's important.
We had had a long chat before and I realised that I was probably
sticking too rigidly to what worked for me last season, and
really if I am to keep on improving and moving up then I need
to be prepared to do things differently and try new things."
Fin is now much happier with his equipment set up, having
settled the tuning of his new boots. He has now sorted out
the taper on his boot boards. He considered the ball of his
foot to be set too high which was affecting his tuck and making
it too easy to roll onto his edges.
"I do feel like I have the feeling back a lot more.
I was not comfortable with my tuck, between that and the adductor
muscle, I was just not relaxed in my tuck at all, but now
it feels much better."
Fin is at home for Christmas too, something he is grateful
for.
"I was speaking with some of the Canadians and Americans
and you realise how lucky we are to get back for a break from
world cups. I'll take some time to go over and see my family
at my sisters in Bridge of Allan, which will be all new, and
we have a bit of family Clay Pigeon shooting before I head
to Bormio. I am really looking forward to Bormio. It is a
course that I know and like now, and not everyone does because
it is fast and bumpy with big turns. I am really looking forward
to making some big turns after Val Gardena."
Disability Snowsports
 The
British Team had good representation at the first European
Cup races of the season in Pitztal, Austria with six members
of the British Team competing.
Paralympians, Russel Docker and Sean Rose came 18th and 9th
respectively in the men's Glalom and in the Giant Glalom Rose
showed his consistency with another 9th and Docker improved
on his 18th with a 13th place. The star of the day was newcomer
Joe Willougby who managed the podium with a fantastic 2nd
place in the ladies event.
This tremendous achievement was repeated the following day
when Joe secured another podium with a 3rd in the second Giant
Glalom.
The promising start to the season was further enhanced with
Liz Miller's performance in Breckenridge the week before in
both Slalom and Giant Slalom, where she was 4th and 5th respectively.
British Championships
Entry forms for the British Junior and Children Championships
are now available for download online via the SnowsportGB
website and this year payment can be made with credit card.
This year's event, which will be run from 31st March to 6th
April, will include a SuperG Training day which will be mandatory
for all children wishing to enter the SuperG race. An inter-club
parallel slalom is scheduled for the Wednesday evening.
Trespass have agreed to supply the Organising Committee with
uniforms for this year's seniors championships which will
be televised by Channel 4 on 1st April 2007. This agreement
enhances the British company's support to the British Ski
and Snowboard Federation, as they currently sponsor the British
Children's ski team.
Other News
The Welsh Alpine Championships have been provisionally rescheduled
to be held on 7th and 8th March 2007 in Champery/ Les Crosets,
Switzerland. Confirmation and further information will be
circulated in January 2007.
SnowsportGB have recruited House Parents to be based at the
British Olympic Centre, Lofer, Austria. Darren and Teresa
Morris will take up their position in January 2007
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