Things are looking great for the start of the season.
Thanks to YSE for this great photo looking at the Solaise 11th Nov 2009.
Looking good…
And thanks to John for the text as well – “This is extraordinary! It snowed again yesterday, hit -10? overnight, and the snow cannons were running this morning. Apart from the fact that there are still orange needles on the larches, it could be January. This is how winters used to be before global warming, Gordon Brown and the decline of religion”
I’m whiling away the rest of the autumn with a bit of coaching at the local dry ski slope.
I haven’t skied on the ‘mat’ for probably 5 years now – and I’d honestly forgotten how much fun it is.
I even managed to squeeze out 2 sets of 50 old school short swings in 100 meters!
Don’t ask me to carve though – I left all my kit in Val – so I’m donning some old rear entry hire boots and some health and safety conscious – you won’t cut your fingers on these edges – hire skis.
I’ve been asked to coach some slalom racing which is always a pleasure, starting with Portsmouth Uni who are training for the British Universities Champs – I took some photos of them through the gates which are now posted on the tdc photo gallery http://picasaweb.google.com/tdcski/
Unfortunately since we were skiing under the floodlights and the guys were so fast – I struggled to get really clear shots but some of them are ok, even when blurred however – you can still pick out good and bad technique, hopefully the team will find them useful.
Portsmouth Uni get some tdc coaching
I also set a slalom course for a Southern Region race – which had to start on a big 35 degree ramp. I was worried the kids would pick up too much speed so I set 4 big ‘Tomba turns’ at the top, unfortunately it was a touch too tight so I had to whittle it down to make it more manageable.
It was interesting for me to see that the kids were super comfortable and fast edge to edge – when the gates were more or less straight! But only a few could handle the bigger turns at the top which showed they didn’t have enough leg rotation. Often when ‘mat skiers’ get onto the snow they find it hard to maintain a constant speed because they’re not used to finishing their turns, the dry slopes being so much slower means that leg rotation is less important.
Anyway I hope I get the chance to work with these kids again, I’ve been scheming some drills and exercises just in case. In the meantime I’m getting ready for the winter – although I’m not looking forward to having to force on a pair of front entry boots – I can’t wait to get back on the snow, gonna try to beat 100 old school short swings on the ‘Village’! Enough rambling – I’m heading into Christchurch for a coffee… my round today then boys!
Well, global warming is certainly having an effect on the glacier in Tignes, it looks very different to when I first trained up there 10 years ago. However, it is still there and people are still skiing on it and using it for their training. Last week I skied every day with Fraser who is training for his BASI Level 3 exam and despite limited access to the lower runs we enjoyed some great skiing.
The sun shone for most of the week and we rounded things off by skiing in fresh snow on Friday, only a dusting but enough to soften everything up, very nice. What better way to spend a week in October than sliding around in the sunshine. See you on the slopes soon.
The winter starts for me tomorrow. I am running a course that trains race coaches at the Chillfactore in Manchester, indoors at the snowdome. I will be running a course that qualifies successful candidates to coach children ski racing.
On Saturday I am running a series private group sessions with the Ski Club of Manchester, so that they can have their ski legs ready for the first snowfalls in Europe, www.scom.org.uk. This is just the beginning. How exciting.
Once again in December 2009 tdc will be running the very sucessful and popular early season clinics.
tdc‘s early season ski clinics are a great way to get yourself up and running for the season.
tdc early season clinic - Fri 12th Dec 2008
Val d’Isere and Tignes early season snow has been amazing the last few years, and this is the perfect opportunity for keen skiers of all levels to take a week out at low peak time and get the best tuition, in a fun and friendly enviroment.
The early season clinics have been very popular and are at discounted prices.
Get the best ski improvement courses early in the season, improve your ski technique so that the rest of the season you are at your best.
For December 2009 the early season clinics in Val d’Isere and Tignes are;
Mon Nov 30th – Fri Dec 4th 2009
Mon Dec 7th – Fri Dec 11th 2009
The early season clinics are 5 half days – Monday – Friday 9am – 12noon or 1pm -4pm
Cost – 250€ – 280 €
If you are looking to improve your skiing technique, in a fun, friendly and challanging way then tdc‘s early season clinics are ideal
The early season ski improvement clinics run at the same levels as our normal coaching clinics
discovery – discover your talent, ski with confidence …for strong blue run skiers…
development – develop your performance, feel your skiing flow …for strong red run skiers…
development Plus – take on steeper and varied slopes …for strong red run /ok black run skiers
challenges – take on new goals, challenge yourself …for strong black run skiers…
At 250€ – 280€ for 5 days of high quality coaching these clinics are very popular and excellent value.
Email us now to book your place, for you and your friends.
Paul going head to head with French International BasteraudSzarzewski and Marconnet look on
It was the annual beach rugby tournament in Tignes last Saturday. Wall to wall blue sky and the hot alpine sun made sure there was a real beach atmosphere despite being at 2100m above sea level! Val d’Isère won the amateur competition in the morning, conceding only one try in 5 games. Giles and Paul combining nicely to score the winning try in the final.
Paul distributes watched by Italian legend Bergamascotdc linking nicely watched by Basteraud
The pro-competition was to take place in the afternoon and as amateur Champions Val d’Isère were asked to join them. Fortunately we were playing touch rugby not full tackling otherwise things could have ended very differently! The motivation to run around for another spell of matches came in the shape of Stade Français. 13 times French champions and Heineken Cup regulars their squad is packed with Internationals and we were to play in their group. This was a warm up for their summer training camp that happens every year in Tignes, for us we were on our last legs, but how often do you get to play against so many legends of the game? A once in a life time opportunity.
Dupuy, ex-Leicester & French International scrum-halfGi poised to make a move
Motivation was high as we lined up against a team that were practically all international stars. If you know your rugby these names should mean something to you: Julien Dupuy (Leicester scrum-half last year), Sylvain Marconnet (French prop), Mauro Bergamsaco (Italian back row), Mathieu Basteraud (French centre), Christophe Dominici (ex-French wing), Sergio Parisse (Italian back row), Roncero Rodrigez (Aregntinian prop), Dimitri Szarzewski (French hooker). They all played and we even managed to score two tries against them! Lewis and Garner are still waiting for a call from the Stade Français coach such was their performance on the day.
tdc have been running BASI prep courses very successfully over the last number of years. We would like to say congratulations to all those who have then gone on to be successful at their BASI courses. We are running BASI prep courses throughout autumn 2009 and winter 2010 so let us know when you want to book.
These courses are designed to help you get ready for any forthcoming exams or BASI courses. With 5 BASI trainers within tdc‘s ranks these courses provide an ideal opportunity to prepare for success.
All courses include in depth video analysis.
NEW for Autumn 2009
October Courses – why wait until the onset of winter and the November storms. Enjoy the longer days and warmer conditions of skiing in October on the Tignes glacier. Very often the afternoons in October can feel really summery, training feels very different at this time of year.
Cheap accommodation and equipment testing at the Melezes Hotel in Tignes les Boisses. The guys at the Melezes run a ski and board camp where you can test all the latest kit the prices for accommodation and airport transfer have to be seen to be believed, check out the deals at: http://www.skiandboardcamp.com/
Course Details
tdc BASI trainers
Autumn Weeks – Monday to Friday
Prepare for BASI Levels 2, 3 & 4
5 – 9 October
12 – 16 October
23 – 27 November – Train for your teaching course Cost 200 €
Winter Weeks – Monday to Friday
Prepare for Levels 3 & 4
18 – 22 January
be ski ready
Winter Cost Options
350€ full week
200€ 5 half days
50 € per half day
There will also be training throughout the winter season for those people in or near the resort, with less regimented timings – same winter costs apply.
BASI Level 1 & 2 Prep
If you are new to BASI and are thinking of embarking on your first course this level is ideal for you. Equally if you have completed the trainee instructor module and need to brush up your technique before you undertake the Level 2 Instructor Training assessment this is the perfect way to ensure success.
This is best suited for those going for Level 1 Instructor and Level 2 Instructor Training modules.
tdc basi prep courses
BASI Level 3 Prep
This is for people who have successfully completed the Level 2 Instructor assessment and feel they need some training before they take the next technical or teaching level.
Prepare to be at the level before your assessment.
BASI Level 4 Prep
This is for people preparing for their final technical and teaching level. These courses will be run by BASI Trainers who are involved in trainer education and who regularly deliver the BASI ISTD technical and teaching module. With a proven track record for helping people pass their final test this course is a valuable option.
Only 2 days to go now and the excitement is mounting. The boys have been frantically shopping for energy drinks and gels and bars and anything else that might help get us to the end of the ride! The forecast is for hot sunny weather so dehydration is one of the biggest fears – the beers will have to wait until after the race.
Training has been mixed, each of us with different reasons for not having prepared perfectly. Giles has just become a Father again so isn’t sleeping so well. Nicko has done most of his riding in the UK, not that hot and not that many huge mountains but he’ll be OK. Dougie had his bike stolen and is now riding on a trusty old (heavy) stead that has started making a lot of noise since he cleaned it! I am not sure what my reason is, I guess lack of training is a good excuse to have up your sleeve for wibbling!
There will be a full report of the big day (Monday) so watch this space.
On 20th July 2009 Dougie, Nicko, Paul and Giles are taking part in the 17th Etape du Tour www.letapedutour.com/2009/ETDT/presentation/us/index.htm
The Etape is a stage of the Tour de France that is open to the public, the roads are closed and around 8000 people take part in the event. The Tour itself will be riding the exact same route five days later in the penultimate and deciding day of the “Grande Boucleâ€.
It is going to hurt, 170km on a bicycle with the final 20 kms climbing more than a vertical mile…ouch! You can follow their training and race performance on the tdc Twitter account www.twitter.com/tdcski
October Courses
