I'm super procrastinating today. I leave tomorrow for Colorado to hang with Whitney at the USASA Nationals and I don't have anything packed yet! I do have some things pulled out, like the ski bag, my ski clothes, and a few other things...emphasis on few. I'll get it together tonight.
My Facebook memories feed the last few days has been filled with pictures and commentary from past trips to Copper. I'm really looking forward to heading out there again. They've gotten a ton of snow this winter and it seems like it's been snowing almost every day recently. And not just an inch or so, more like 5-8" every day. This year it'll be a quick trip, that's what happens when you're a college student. I'm meeting Whitney in Denver, we'll take the shuttle to Copper, have a fun two days there (race day is Sunday), then we'll shuttle back to Denver and head our separate ways to get home.
Here's to a great trip!
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Saturday, March 12, 2016
USCSA Nationals
I just got back from the USCSA Nationals held in Lake Placid, NY. I was so excited to watch Whitney race again. It's been a long time since I had the opportunity to see her race. I'll get another at the beginning of April when we head to Colorado for the USASA Nationals.
USCSA is interesting. They hold Nordic, Alpine, and Snowboard/Free Ski events. Apparently on the East Coast they don't hold any "regular" snowboard competitions, at least not in the Maine area. At UMF, the Nordic team had three skiers who were invited to Nationals based on their competitions during the season. For the snowboarders, the team coach decided who to send since they don't have any regular competitions and he sent Whitney, another snowboarder, and a free skier.
The races were held over the course of the week. Whitney's team went out to NY on Monday, which gave her plenty of time to practice since her race day was Friday. She was pretty excited to be able to board at Whiteface where the 1980 Olympic competitions were held. {I know one of her bucket list items is to visit all the winter Olympic sites.} She thought the bx course there was a good one, technical and challenging. She was having problems with one of the elements and after messaging her coach in VA, got the help she needed to figure it out so she didn't crash into the netting. What the heck is a wu-tang anyway?? I know about rollers, jumps, and table tops, but never heard of a wu-tang before.
I drove up on Thursday. It was a long drive, but not too bad until I hit the fog and rain in the Adirondacks. I checked in to my hotel and had the swankiest room I've ever stayed in. Whitney and I met up in town and found a place to have dinner, which was really nice. We had a good view from our table, through the fog, of Mirror Lake. After dinner since it was raining, we went back to my hotel to talk for a while. Later I dropped her off at the house where they were staying so she could wax her board and get her stuff ready for the morning.
Fortunately race day was sunny and cold although a bit windy. It was similar in some ways to USASA but also very different. The races were actually broadcast on the USCSA channel with announcers and music at the finish. The crowds were a lot smaller than we see in Colorado but still rowdy (hello, college students!). They also alternated the snowboarders and skiers. I found it interesting that most of the ski cross races were a lot closer than the boarder cross races. They also tended to have more drama - one girl lost a glove and a pole, not exactly sure how that happened.
Whitney was feeling confident and finished in 51:04 during time trials. That put her in 10th for seeding (there were 41 signed up, one didn't start). Time trials cut the field to 32 and they set the brackets for racing.
After lunch they started racing. Whitney was the second seed in the seventh bracket while her teammate, Angelica, was part of the sixth bracket. Whitney finished second and moved on to the top 16 racers (the top two move on, the bottom two are out). In her next race she again finished second which moved her on to the top eight. She finished fourth in her top eight bracket which sent her to the small final where she finished third which put her final standing as 7th place. Angelica was also in the small final and finished first, good for 5th place.
Whitney and I went back to the house they were staying at so we could change and she could finish packing her stuff since we both were heading out after the awards ceremony. We went back to town for a quick walk around then went to the convention center for the awards ceremony. There were a lot of awards to give out, many different things were going on Friday, Nordic and alpine races as well as the women's bx and ski cross. For most of the races the top 10 finishers were recognized, for one or two it was the top 15 finishers. The top 10 all got certificates and the top three received medals as well. Besides that finishers 6-10 are second team All-American and the top five are first team All-American. So Whitney is second team All-American and has a nice certificate.
They also give out team awards. I'm not really sure how they figure out the team awards (and Whitney wasn't sure either) but UMF was the third place team for women's snowboard cross. The first place team was Westminster College (Utah) and second was Sierra Nevada College (Nevada, a school that was on Whitney's list when she was looking). Go figure, with two competitors UMF won third place, the only East Coast team on the podium. For that they got a plate to put in the trophy case at school.
All in all it was a good experience. Whitney had a good time and was pleased with how she raced and her final place. Of course she wanted to be in the top five or top three but she was happy. I was really glad I could work it out to go up to watch her. Now it's time to take a short break, then refocus and get ready for USASA Nationals at Copper Mountain at the beginning of April.
USCSA is interesting. They hold Nordic, Alpine, and Snowboard/Free Ski events. Apparently on the East Coast they don't hold any "regular" snowboard competitions, at least not in the Maine area. At UMF, the Nordic team had three skiers who were invited to Nationals based on their competitions during the season. For the snowboarders, the team coach decided who to send since they don't have any regular competitions and he sent Whitney, another snowboarder, and a free skier.
The races were held over the course of the week. Whitney's team went out to NY on Monday, which gave her plenty of time to practice since her race day was Friday. She was pretty excited to be able to board at Whiteface where the 1980 Olympic competitions were held. {I know one of her bucket list items is to visit all the winter Olympic sites.} She thought the bx course there was a good one, technical and challenging. She was having problems with one of the elements and after messaging her coach in VA, got the help she needed to figure it out so she didn't crash into the netting. What the heck is a wu-tang anyway?? I know about rollers, jumps, and table tops, but never heard of a wu-tang before.
I drove up on Thursday. It was a long drive, but not too bad until I hit the fog and rain in the Adirondacks. I checked in to my hotel and had the swankiest room I've ever stayed in. Whitney and I met up in town and found a place to have dinner, which was really nice. We had a good view from our table, through the fog, of Mirror Lake. After dinner since it was raining, we went back to my hotel to talk for a while. Later I dropped her off at the house where they were staying so she could wax her board and get her stuff ready for the morning.
Fortunately race day was sunny and cold although a bit windy. It was similar in some ways to USASA but also very different. The races were actually broadcast on the USCSA channel with announcers and music at the finish. The crowds were a lot smaller than we see in Colorado but still rowdy (hello, college students!). They also alternated the snowboarders and skiers. I found it interesting that most of the ski cross races were a lot closer than the boarder cross races. They also tended to have more drama - one girl lost a glove and a pole, not exactly sure how that happened.
Whitney was feeling confident and finished in 51:04 during time trials. That put her in 10th for seeding (there were 41 signed up, one didn't start). Time trials cut the field to 32 and they set the brackets for racing.
After lunch they started racing. Whitney was the second seed in the seventh bracket while her teammate, Angelica, was part of the sixth bracket. Whitney finished second and moved on to the top 16 racers (the top two move on, the bottom two are out). In her next race she again finished second which moved her on to the top eight. She finished fourth in her top eight bracket which sent her to the small final where she finished third which put her final standing as 7th place. Angelica was also in the small final and finished first, good for 5th place.
Whitney and I went back to the house they were staying at so we could change and she could finish packing her stuff since we both were heading out after the awards ceremony. We went back to town for a quick walk around then went to the convention center for the awards ceremony. There were a lot of awards to give out, many different things were going on Friday, Nordic and alpine races as well as the women's bx and ski cross. For most of the races the top 10 finishers were recognized, for one or two it was the top 15 finishers. The top 10 all got certificates and the top three received medals as well. Besides that finishers 6-10 are second team All-American and the top five are first team All-American. So Whitney is second team All-American and has a nice certificate.
They also give out team awards. I'm not really sure how they figure out the team awards (and Whitney wasn't sure either) but UMF was the third place team for women's snowboard cross. The first place team was Westminster College (Utah) and second was Sierra Nevada College (Nevada, a school that was on Whitney's list when she was looking). Go figure, with two competitors UMF won third place, the only East Coast team on the podium. For that they got a plate to put in the trophy case at school.
All in all it was a good experience. Whitney had a good time and was pleased with how she raced and her final place. Of course she wanted to be in the top five or top three but she was happy. I was really glad I could work it out to go up to watch her. Now it's time to take a short break, then refocus and get ready for USASA Nationals at Copper Mountain at the beginning of April.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Sugarloaf/Sunday River
It's really hard to write about Whitney's races when I'm not there to see them. I also don't get the post-race review anymore either.
Last weekend was the first of the Maine Mountain Series BX races. They were held Friday and Sunday at Sugarloaf. Saturday's race was cancelled because of the wind and snow and rescheduled to run on Sunday. Whitney was the only one in the Open Class on Friday but had a competitor on Sunday. She had two teammates from UMF there on Friday, one racing in women's Jam and one in men's Jam, and one teammate on Sunday. Whitney didn't have the best weekend racing. She did well on Friday but fell towards the end of the course and fell hard on her tailbone. She was still really sore on Sunday and didn't race her best. The other problem she had was her wrist. She's had problems with it before where the bones were out of place and when she fell in practice on Thursday she also hurt her wrist again. With a hurt wrist it's hard to get a strong pull out of the start gate.
Today was BX 4 at Sunday River. She said she was feeling better today, still sore but it didn't hamper her racing. She felt good about how she raced today. She was the only one in Open Class again today. She ended the weekend with two firsts and two seconds, not a bad haul.
The course at Sugarloaf was really fast but not super technical. You had to watch your line because of how fast it was but otherwise it wasn't a technical course according to Whitney. Sunday River was pretty chill, a bit narrow which made passing hard.
Whitney may get to one more USASA race next weekend at Ragged Mountain, NH. On tap next for sure is USCSA Nationals at Whiteface, Lake Placid, NY and then USASA Nationals at Copper Mountain, Colorado.
Last weekend was the first of the Maine Mountain Series BX races. They were held Friday and Sunday at Sugarloaf. Saturday's race was cancelled because of the wind and snow and rescheduled to run on Sunday. Whitney was the only one in the Open Class on Friday but had a competitor on Sunday. She had two teammates from UMF there on Friday, one racing in women's Jam and one in men's Jam, and one teammate on Sunday. Whitney didn't have the best weekend racing. She did well on Friday but fell towards the end of the course and fell hard on her tailbone. She was still really sore on Sunday and didn't race her best. The other problem she had was her wrist. She's had problems with it before where the bones were out of place and when she fell in practice on Thursday she also hurt her wrist again. With a hurt wrist it's hard to get a strong pull out of the start gate.
Today was BX 4 at Sunday River. She said she was feeling better today, still sore but it didn't hamper her racing. She felt good about how she raced today. She was the only one in Open Class again today. She ended the weekend with two firsts and two seconds, not a bad haul.
The course at Sugarloaf was really fast but not super technical. You had to watch your line because of how fast it was but otherwise it wasn't a technical course according to Whitney. Sunday River was pretty chill, a bit narrow which made passing hard.
Whitney may get to one more USASA race next weekend at Ragged Mountain, NH. On tap next for sure is USCSA Nationals at Whiteface, Lake Placid, NY and then USASA Nationals at Copper Mountain, Colorado.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
BX at Massanutten
Last weekend was the BX at Massanutten. While we had no horse in the race this time we still wanted to go down and support Whitney's old team. Bob was helping as a course judge both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning we went to registration so he could connect with Mark and find out where he was going to be working and when he needed to be there. I talked with some friends from the team and found out one family is looking to buy a house near Sugarloaf and spend the winters up there so their son can be on the Carrabassett Valley School team in the weekend program. I'm sure Whitney will be excited to see him at races. I had a great conversation with Chad, Whitney's old coach. I finally had the chance to give him our "thank-you" for helping Whitney out the last few years - a great picture of the two of them in the start gate at Nationals last year. I also had a chance to catch up with Ellen, the Appalachian Series director.
While Bob spent the morning working the course I spent the morning skiing. The conditions were nice, the crowds were pretty low early, and it was so nice to be skiing. In the afternoon I went down to hang out with Bob. He had a good spot to watch the racers go by down the course. The one downside to the day was that it got pretty warm by the end of the races. Because of that when Bob was done we went back to the house instead of skiing more. Another factor was that it was getting super crowded because it was such a nice day. All in all though it was a much better day than Sunday ended up being...it poured rain.
While Bob spent the morning working the course I spent the morning skiing. The conditions were nice, the crowds were pretty low early, and it was so nice to be skiing. In the afternoon I went down to hang out with Bob. He had a good spot to watch the racers go by down the course. The one downside to the day was that it got pretty warm by the end of the races. Because of that when Bob was done we went back to the house instead of skiing more. Another factor was that it was getting super crowded because it was such a nice day. All in all though it was a much better day than Sunday ended up being...it poured rain.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Stratton Mountain, Part II
Two races, two first place finishes. I still haven't talked to Whitney to hear how things really went. What I do know - time trials went really well and she was excited to finally be racing again. In time trials she was faster than the guys in the Open Class and on Sunday she lowered her time that she posted on Saturday. She was the only Open Class woman racing so two first places for her. The good news about that is that I think it'll give her enough points to rank her first nationally in Open Class when they update tomorrow. She'll be first (only) in the Maine Mountain Series as well since they haven't had any in-series races yet.
I asked her about the course, thinking it'd be harder/bigger/more something than what's she's used to in the South. She said that it wasn't any harder but it was longer than she was used to riding. I made the comment about Massanutten rocking making a bx course and she totally agreed. Too bad she'll have to miss the race there.
In other news reservations have been made for Nationals at Copper Mountain in April. It's going to be a quick trip for us this year. Usually we go out and plan an extra day for fun riding after she competes. Being in college can put the damper on fun though. We'll go out Friday and register, practice day on Saturday, race day on Sunday, then head to Denver to fly home. It will still be awesome to be out there and watch her race.
I asked her about the course, thinking it'd be harder/bigger/more something than what's she's used to in the South. She said that it wasn't any harder but it was longer than she was used to riding. I made the comment about Massanutten rocking making a bx course and she totally agreed. Too bad she'll have to miss the race there.
In other news reservations have been made for Nationals at Copper Mountain in April. It's going to be a quick trip for us this year. Usually we go out and plan an extra day for fun riding after she competes. Being in college can put the damper on fun though. We'll go out Friday and register, practice day on Saturday, race day on Sunday, then head to Denver to fly home. It will still be awesome to be out there and watch her race.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Stratton Mountain, VT - Part I
So she's finally back on the race course. It seems really weird for me to be sitting here in Virginia and she's racing in Vermont. This is the first time in four years that I've missed one of her races. I'm not sure I like being on the sidelines at home. Although I don't usually see the whole course, at least I can get a pretty good feel for it. I also enjoy being there for moral support. But it is what it is...she's growing up, off to college hundreds of miles away, and at least for this winter will be racing without me there until Nationals. Today she's got her aunt there for moral support (and picture taking).
So today it was off to Stratton Mountain, racing in the Southern Vermont Series. As usual she's the only one in her group, the only Open Class woman. That's nothing new for her. Hopefully like they've done in other races she's been to they'll combine some of the smaller groups and she'll be able to race against someone. Not sure the Open Class men want to race her though, it sounds like she'd clean their clocks. I got a message from her earlier that said during time trials she shattered the open class men's best time. I'm not sure how much faster she was than they were but she said they were shocked. Just goes to show you what a girl from Virginia can do when she puts her mind to it. The actual races are going to start shortly, then it's back again tomorrow for another day of racing. I hope it all goes well!
So today it was off to Stratton Mountain, racing in the Southern Vermont Series. As usual she's the only one in her group, the only Open Class woman. That's nothing new for her. Hopefully like they've done in other races she's been to they'll combine some of the smaller groups and she'll be able to race against someone. Not sure the Open Class men want to race her though, it sounds like she'd clean their clocks. I got a message from her earlier that said during time trials she shattered the open class men's best time. I'm not sure how much faster she was than they were but she said they were shocked. Just goes to show you what a girl from Virginia can do when she puts her mind to it. The actual races are going to start shortly, then it's back again tomorrow for another day of racing. I hope it all goes well!
The Season Begins
Apparently I forgot to post this last month...
So here it is, January 21 and it's looking like the snowboard season, at least on the East Coast is finally getting under way. At the moment our area is under a blizzard warning for tomorrow and Saturday so there's not going to be any snowboarding around here for a while since we won't be able to get out for several days. The good news is that Whitney is in Maine and they're not supposed to be getting any snow from this storm. She should be hitting the slopes this weekend for team practice and probably the local mountain as well. I'm not exactly sure what her practice schedule is, some days they'll be at Titcomb Mountain which is the local one and on the weekends they'll be at Sugarloaf. I think the coach has hooked her up with someone to work with at Sugarloaf, someone who knows boardercross so she can keep improving.
It's been a slow start to the winter and that has meant a slow start to the race season. The original plan was for her to go back to school early and race in a Maine Mountain Series race last weekend. Then she was going to come home for her first "spring" break next month and race at Massanutten. Unfortunately Maine Mountain had to do some schedule shuffling and the bx races were moved to the same weekend as the Massanutten races. They already had races 3 and 4 scheduled for then but now all four races are that weekend. Whitney debated switching back to the Appalachian Series and racing down here but we decided that was kind of risky based on how the winter has gone so far. Of course now we're supposed to be getting 18-24" of snow so I think it's safe to say the Massanutten race will be fine.
She also finally got some information on how the USCSA works. USCSA is the US Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association. Apparently, unlike for the alpine and Nordic skiers, there is no competition schedule for the snowboarders. I guess it's still too new or they don't have someone to coordinate, at least on the East Coast. So for the snowboarders it's up to the college to decide who to send to the USCSA National Championships. There are no USCSA races, no competitions except Nationals. Whitney is pretty confident that her coach will send her; she's been working out hard, knows what she's doing, and will be racing in USASA events. That will be pretty cool for her since the USCSA Nationals are at Whiteface, Lake Placid, NY.
So here it is, January 21 and it's looking like the snowboard season, at least on the East Coast is finally getting under way. At the moment our area is under a blizzard warning for tomorrow and Saturday so there's not going to be any snowboarding around here for a while since we won't be able to get out for several days. The good news is that Whitney is in Maine and they're not supposed to be getting any snow from this storm. She should be hitting the slopes this weekend for team practice and probably the local mountain as well. I'm not exactly sure what her practice schedule is, some days they'll be at Titcomb Mountain which is the local one and on the weekends they'll be at Sugarloaf. I think the coach has hooked her up with someone to work with at Sugarloaf, someone who knows boardercross so she can keep improving.
It's been a slow start to the winter and that has meant a slow start to the race season. The original plan was for her to go back to school early and race in a Maine Mountain Series race last weekend. Then she was going to come home for her first "spring" break next month and race at Massanutten. Unfortunately Maine Mountain had to do some schedule shuffling and the bx races were moved to the same weekend as the Massanutten races. They already had races 3 and 4 scheduled for then but now all four races are that weekend. Whitney debated switching back to the Appalachian Series and racing down here but we decided that was kind of risky based on how the winter has gone so far. Of course now we're supposed to be getting 18-24" of snow so I think it's safe to say the Massanutten race will be fine.
She also finally got some information on how the USCSA works. USCSA is the US Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association. Apparently, unlike for the alpine and Nordic skiers, there is no competition schedule for the snowboarders. I guess it's still too new or they don't have someone to coordinate, at least on the East Coast. So for the snowboarders it's up to the college to decide who to send to the USCSA National Championships. There are no USCSA races, no competitions except Nationals. Whitney is pretty confident that her coach will send her; she's been working out hard, knows what she's doing, and will be racing in USASA events. That will be pretty cool for her since the USCSA Nationals are at Whiteface, Lake Placid, NY.
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