That's a Wrap!

It's hard to believe that this crazy ride we've been on for the last 10 years is over. Whitney has decided to hang up the racing bib, USASA Nationals was her last official competitive race. It has been so much fun to watch her grow, both her snowboarding skills and her confidence as she's raced. Bob and I have been proud to watch her as she's chased her dreams.

Coming from a small mountain in Virginia, racing at the grass roots level to racing in the North America Cup races, she chased her dream that started with the 2010 Olympic Games. Her goal was to make the Olympic team and while she didn't make that she did race Olympians (and won) and she planted the seeds for the next dream. She took her racing a lot further than we could have imagined all those years ago!

Whitney, your dad and I are so proud of what you've accomplished! It has been our pleasure to support you, travel with you, be your cheering squad, and do all those other things that come with being race parents. I have loved the places we've been, our spontaneous adventures while traveling, the people we've met, standing on top of mountains in the cold and snow as well as the sun and warm (yes, there were those kind of days in Virginia) to watch you race. I will miss it but it's time for you to move on to the next dream, chase it as hard as you have this one!

Race Day

Whitney was up and out early to catch the chair lift at 7:30 this morning. After that I was on my own, trying to stay informed on what was going on. Fortunately they put out a schedule so I knew when they were inspecting the course, doing practice, and time trials. Whitney did really well on her second run, faster than her first and she ended up seeded 5th. I met up with her and Jacob briefly when they came down to warm up his feet and so he could grab a bite then they were off again. Heats started at 12:30 and now she's done. I saw the results online and just talked to her. She was in the small final, took a chance that would either push her into 5th or leave her in 7th and she finished in 7th. She said that it was probably her best race ever and she was happy with how she finished. So the season and racing career are a wrap. I'm not sure how I feel about it, not sure how she feels about it but she leaves on a high note, on her terms.

Back to Colorado!

 Whitney and I flew back to Colorado on Thursday. So thankful for Southwest! This was the second flight we were on that got in about 30 minutes early. When we landed I had a call from our shuttle service asking if we wanted to get on the earlier shuttle since we landed early. It was a bit stressful waiting on Whitney's snowboard bag but we got the 5:00 shuttle which meant getting to Copper at 7 instead of 9pm. We got checked into our room then met up with some friends from Massanutten who were here, one racer and his dad and a couple of coaches plus Whitney's boyfriend who juggled things to come out to support her. 

Friday was registration and practice day, which went well from what I heard. They hadn't changed the course too much since the NorAm races, just mellowed it a bit. She worked the start quite a bit to get that down. After practice she met up with her friends to go free ride, ride in the trees. 

The nice thing about Friday morning was that we woke up to 2-3" of fresh snow and there were still snow flurries coming down. A brief jaunt back to winter. The skies cleared and the sun was out later.

Today is another practice day, the sun is out, and it's probably going to be the warmest day here.

NorAm Races

We're making two trips to Colorado in a short time for races. This first trip is for the NorAm races - one on Friday, one today. There weren't many women racing, quite a few are in Europe for Junior Worlds. The original start lists had 16 but quite a few dropped or were injured during practice or racing. Friday eleven started the race, one was hurt, and Whitney finished 10th. She had a slow first time trial run but did well in the second. Today twelve were on the start list, three dropped before they started. Whitney took a spill on her first run but did really well on her second. She finished 9th so didn't make the cut to brackets but she's happy with how she did. One of the coaches asked her why she wasn't upset about not making the cut. Her answer was that yes, she was disappointed but she hasn't raced in two years (most of these girls have been practicing and racing), she felt her runs, especially her second one today were really good, and she's happy how she's finishing off her racing career. 

Today, like yesterday, she's back on the mountain supporting some friends who are still racing. She's making connections with coaches, hoping to talk to a few next week when we're back out. She's seeking guidance on coaching, how to move up from what she's doing now, what her next steps should be and where. 

We're packing up tonight, an early shuttle pickup in the morning to head down to Denver and wing our way home. A few days in the land of oxygen before we head back out here for USASA Nationals and her final race.

Colorado!

After a super early wake up call on Wednesday, leaving for the airport at 3:30am we've made it to Colorado. We had enough time Wednesday after we got here to poke around a bit. A lot has changed since the last time we were at Copper, which was three years ago. Our favorite pizza place has closed, a lot of other restaurants have closed, new ones have opened, same for the shops. At least the donut shop is still open; we enjoyed maple bacon mini donuts yesterday afternoon after she was done with practice. 

Friday was practice day. Whitney felt good considering how long it's been since she's raced at this level. She got down and said that while she felt like she needed new lungs (hello, altitude!), her legs felt fine. A good sign. She was up and out the door early to catch the competitors lift at 8, a few practice runs, then onto time trials and heats. We'll see how day one of racing goes.

Colorado, Here We Come!

 Plans are made, a tad late, but they're made. Whitney and I are making two trips to Colorado in the next two weeks. Unfortunately there's four days in between her races and I can't take off that much time from work so two trips it is. We head out Wednesday for a NorAm Cup race at Copper, home on Sunday, then back out on Thursday for the USASA Nationals. I'll be coming home on Monday while Whitney stays in Colorado to help coach the Massanutten team. 

I'm looking forward to heading to Colorado again, it's been a long time! Last time we were there was February 2020 when we went to Ski Cooper for the NorAm Cup race. This will be our last trip for snowboard racing so I will enjoy every minute of it. 

Rumble at the River 2022

Once the decision was made that Whitney wanted to race USASA she looked at races and Maine was the best scheduling fit. We made plans and headed off to Sunday River for a long weekend. It was good to be back in Maine with her for races. We poked around Farmington, got pizza at my second favorite place, went to the movies, got dinner another night and ran into a college friend of hers, oh and we went to the races. 

She was super excited to be back on the race course. As usual was the only one in Open Class but it was fine. She was able pick the brain of a coach that she knows well, trying to figure out her next steps in coaching. A good couple of days at Sunday River. We had a nice weekend in Maine.

The Start of the Swan Song

After two years of no racing Whitney's decided to give it one last season then she'll probably hang up the high level competitive racing boots. Last we were here, we had just gotten back from a NorAm race in Colorado, covid hit, and everything shut down. Races were cancelled for the rest of the 2020 season. Last year she was working as a snowboard instructor and team coach but she didn't race; there were no NorAm races in the US and we couldn't get into Canada. 

 The Canadians had their schedule posted early this year and she debated going to one of those races if the US didn't have any. The US schedule finally came out with a race at Gore Mountain and one at Copper Mountain. She originally talked about going to Gore, we were both excited about the food options in the area. In the end she realized that it might be better to start with a USASA race since she hadn't been on a race course in two years. The plan is Maine for a USASA race then Copper Mountain for the NorAm and USASA Nationals.

Back at it one last go round!