NZ Winter Wrap Up...

With winter all but done here in NZ and with only two days training left with the team before I finish up skiing for 2014, I'd have to say that I'm pretty happy with my season overall and my race results were really very pleasing :)
The final round of the New Zealand Youth Series finished up at Cardrona last weekend, we had great weather with favourable spring conditions, the snow on Day One ( Super G ) was a little soft for my liking so my time was a touch off my best.
Day Two ( Slalom ) and Day Three ( G.S ) saw the temperatures drop overnight producing harder conditions for both races over the next two days.
I was happy with my SuperG, finishing as the fastest 1st Year U16 Female, my Slalom was solid also and that result secured me the Overall NZ U16 Third Place Slalom Title behind the two older 2nd Year U16 Legends Eden McKay and Georgia Bushell.
The last day of racing ( G.S ) I skied  possibly the best G.S race of my life, once again finishing as the fastest 1st Year U16 female athlete and therefore securing the Overall NZ U16 3rd Place NZYS Title behind SSNZ Junior Development Team Members Georgia Bushell and Eden McKay.
I want to thank my amazing coaches Igor Stros and Tim Cafe, both have believed in me all season and have encouraged me to believe in myself and push my limits and ski to win!
My Dad has once again been my team manager, supporter, ski man and number one fan, thanks Dad for all your support and encouragement and the 100's of hours spent with file and hot iron in hand.
My Mum has been my inspiration this winter, with her own health battles she's been the guiding light on race day, supplier of inspirational quotes and sound advice and has instilled a " Will Do Attitude " in me, thanks Mum this season was for you :)
Thanks to Ivan at Dalbello Italy, Gerald at Dynastar NZ and Eric at Outside Sports Queenstown for your ongoing support and sponsorship I would really struggle to be as competitive as I am without you guys behind me, hopefully I'll continue to build speed and strength and deliver good results in the U.S this summer...
Now it's back into the gym and early morning boot camp to lose some winter pounds, build some strength and work on my speed and agility, to my trainers Braden / Ari / Alex / Kelsie - Game on!
I'll be heading back to the U.S this winter ( Jan / Feb 2015 ) for seven weeks of training and racing with the Squaw Valley Ski Team.
I'm looking forward to catching up with my old buddies up there and cranking some fast turns on my new 201cm SuperG ski...
Stay tuned for updates and photos from my Northern Hemisphere Training and hopefully some favourable race results :)
AndieG

Spring Update

Spring has well and truly arrived, I think today is the 25th Bluebird Day with temperatures getting warmer day by day...
Conditions are tough to train in with hard melt freeze conditions in the morning, the snow softens by mid morning for an hour or two of good training then boom you have heavy wet slush, my legs are toast by days end and it's tough to find consistency, oh the challenges of spring!
With only three weeks remaining in our season and one important round of the NZYS remaining at Cardrona in two weeks it's going to be interesting to see who can hold their form and find the energy to race for three days in Spring conditions.

New Zealand Youth Series / Round Three / Mt Hutt

We travelled to Mt Hutt for our annual Speed Camp last Tuesday, we set up camp at Barkers Lodge in Methven which as usual was fantastic.
We trained two days of SuperG in perfect conditions and sunny, clear skies at Mt Hutt on Wednesday and Thursday working ourselves up to speeds around 100Km/hr on the speed gun.
Round Three of the NZYS at Mt Hutt consisted of 4 x Super G Races + 1 x Slalom Race.
Super G Race One and Two on Friday went well with a 7th and a 4th placing, SG Race Three and Four on Saturday weren't bad either with a 5th and 6th place, overall I was the fastest 1st Year U16 Female Athlete, I felt comfortable at speed and ironed out a couple of small positional issues that pleased my coaches and picked up valuable NZYS Points :)
Sunday we raced Slalom, the course for the first run was long and very tight, after four days of speed training and racing there were some very tired ladies, I skied well and with the exception of a big mistake on the second to last gate I managed a 5th place, would have been a lot better without the mistake!
My second run was great, I went out with a determined attitude wanting to make up time for the mistake on my first run. I charged hard and managed a 4th place with the three podium places going to Second Year U16 Athletes ( Well done Eden, Georgia and Cam ), happily I still managed the fastest 1st Year U16 Athletes time, thanks Sophie T for a tough weekend of close competition and pushing one another to ski at our best!
Overall a very pleasing weekend with solid results, I'm looking forward to the last round of the NZYS at Cardrona in a couple of weeks!
Thanks to Team Hutt for a great week and well run races :)
Stay tuned for the final NZYS results and overall placings...!

New Zealand Youth Series / Round Two / Coronet Peak

A bit late posting this as we travelled to Mt Hutt for Speed Camp and then Round Three of the NZYS Races the day after Round Two finished at Coronet Peak so it's been a full on and pretty hectic two weeks!
Round Two of the NZYS was held at Coronet Peak last weekend, we raced 2 x G.S and 1 x SL race.
Conditions were fine and sunny with hard packed snow on the tricky Out Wide course.
Day One was GS, my first run was OK although conservative, I managed a 4th place and maintained that in my second run to finish 4th overall.
Day Two was GS once again, my first run was rubbish, a total nightmare, I started OK but just couldn't find my groove, I stiffened up and finished 9th, my second run was better but still not great but I managed to claw back a couple of places to finish 7th overall :(
Day Three was my preferred event Slalom, my first run was OK but I wasn't totally on my game picking up a 5th place, my second was solid but not my best. I managed to hold onto 5th place with my QAST team mate Sophie T making podium in 3rd place.
Roll on Round Three at Mt Hutt next weekend...

August Update

With the season now in full swing and three of the five Junior Inter-field Races complete I'm looking forward to the real race series ( New Zealand Youth Series ) which starts this weekend at Ohau.

The Junior Inter-field Races haven't produced the results that I'd hoped ( I seem to own 4th place at present... ), I've struggled with the tight / turney combi courses on my adult race skis so am looking forward to the NZYS Race Series with regular SG, GS and SL courses.

I must say that my QAST team mate Alice Robinson ( U14 ) is an inspiration, displaying some totally awesome skiing, blowing away all male and females competitors in both the U14 and U16 age groups with some very impressive times!  

National Youth Series - Cardrona SL

What An Amazing Day :)
We raced the Final Round of the National Youth Series Slalom Races which also combined as the New Zealand National Title Race at Cardrona on Saturday in tough, spring conditions!
The first course set was quite technical the second course flowed more I thought both suited me and I put in two solid runs.
After two tough runs ( A 2nd & 3rd placing ) I finished 3rd Overall picking up a NYS SL Bronze Medal.
Taking into account my National Slalom Points ( 80 Points after Round One at Coronet Peak ) and with Round Two at Mt Hutt cancelled due to bad weather it all came down to this Last Round at Cardrona!
My overall 3rd place finish gave me another 60 Points therefore I finished the NYS with a combined Slalom Points Total of 140 Points enough to take out the Joint 1st Place U14 Ladies New Zealand National Title with my QAST team mate Alex Hull, no better way to wrap up the season than with a National Title.

National Youth Series - Cardrona Super G

Some very early starts ( 5:15am ) made for some long days during the Third and Final Round of the National Youth Series Races held at Cardrona last week.
We raced Super G early on Friday morning to ensure we got the speed event finished before the snow deteriorated, it was a well set course raced in good visibility.
With Super G not my strongest event I finished in 6th place with work still to do!
Overall I'm happy with most things just need to dial into speed mode a little more, only 1.05 seconds off a podium finish :)

Round Two NYS - Mt Hutt - GS / SL

Gurrrrrr!
Both the GS ( Saturday ) and the SL ( Sunday ) events were cancelled due to poor visibility and very wet snow conditions, a little frustrating but that's ski racing....
Next up is the Southern Region Inter-Field Race ( Dual GS ) at The Remarkables next Sunday, hopefully we get some cold weather before then!
Thanks to our Coaches for a great trip to Mt Hutt and doing an excellent job on and off the mountain.

Round Two NYS SuperG Mt Hutt

Surprisingly today dawned calm and warm allowing for ideal race conditions!
I on the other hand wasn't on fire, I skied OK managing a 9th in my first race and a 10th in the second race, not my finest day on snow by any means but none the less two clear runs in a new race environment so happy with some aspects but still a lot of work to do on my Super G....!
My QAST team mates all skied well, especially Alice, Alex, Rose, Sophie and Carmella, well done girls.
We're scheduled to race GS tomorrow but lets see what the day brings in terms of weather, it may be a SL day instead :)

Two Day Speed Camp - Mt Hutt

After a day and a half of Speed / Super G Training in almost perfect conditions on dry, hard packed snow with excellent visibility at Mt Hutt and considering I haven't really trained or raced Super G since my last speed event at SilverStar in Canada ( 4th Place ) back in February, I'm feeling pretty good with where I'm currently at :)

The QAST team trained and worked hard yesterday and again today until lift operations were halted due to near gale force NW winds so we bailed back to Methven for an afternoon of Dry Land Training before Mum and Dad arrived to pick me up.

We relocated for some pre race day home comforts, roast lamb, a soak in a hot bath and a Coronation Street session on the tele at the apartment at Terrace Downs.

Fingers crossed for less wind and clear skies tomorrow allowing the races to get underway.

I'm heading to bed for an early night while my ski man ( Dad ) tunes my race skis for morning :)

More tomorrow....  

Mt Hutt Speed Camp / NZ National Youth Series Round Two

I'm soooo excited to be heading to Mt Hutt with my QAST team mates tomorrow for a Super G Speed Camp ( Wednesday / Thursday ) and then Round Two of the New Zealand National Youth Series

Races will be held at Mt Hutt over three days.
Super G - Friday.
GS - Saturday.
SL - Sunday.

Fingers and toes crossed for good weather / racing conditions and hopefully another podium finish....

New Zealand National Youth Series - Round One Coronet Peak

Round One of the New Zealand National Youth Series was held over three days ( Aug 2nd - Aug 4th ) at Coronet Peak.

I raced in both GS and SL events against the best U14 athletes from throughout NZ, Chinese Taipei and South Korea, the conditions we testing to say the least but we all raced well on long, testing GS and SL courses over the three days of competition.

My GS result was an average performance but I ticked off a few goals and felt happy with my overall early season performance picking up a 7th place on Day One and an 11th place on Day Two.

My SL result was a lot better, finishing in 2nd place after two clear runs on a long, tough course that challenged a lot of very good SL skiers.

Overall a great three days of competition, lots of laughs and tons of fun :)