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!  

Japanese Camp

We've had two great days of technical free skiing supported by video sessions at a small resort called Akita Hachimantai in the Hachimantai National Park in the far north of Japan's main island of Honshu.

There's just the one chairlift and two long, moderately steep runs which are perfect for training :)

There's no one here except us and the snow is perfect allowing us to ski hard and fast all day without getting into trouble!

We've spent the days training until early afternoon followed by some Dryland training and a bike ride in afternoon then a swim in the icy Lake Towada ( Which by the way has ice on the surface ), it's freezing but so much fun!

We're having a day off today to visit one of the nearby cities ( Towada City ) to do some shopping before we start four days of gate training tomorrow.

I'm loving my new Dynastar SL and G.S Skis ( Thanks Gerald and Bobo Sports NZ ).

My new race skis are totally different to my previous junior race ski, far more precise edge to edge, more stable under foot and powerful out of the turn, I'm looking forward to getting into a course with them over the next few days.

More to come, stay tuned...

We've Arrived In Japan!!!

Wow, what a massive couple of days!
After long drive from Queenstown, calling by my sponsors Bobo Sports in Darfield to collect my new SL and G.S skis we overnighted in Christchurch.
The alarm went off at 3:15am on Thursday morning, I was at the airport in Christchurch by 4:30am for a 5:30am flight to Auckland with my Dynastar buddy Prue Lange. We had a really bumpy landing due to a nasty storm and then a quick transfer across to the International Terminal to hook up with the other athletes travelling to Tokyo for the camp.
After an 11 1/2 hour flight to Tokyo with Air New Zealand we arrived in Tokyo early evening, thankfully all of our luggage showed up so after clearing Immigration and Customs ( Thanks to the Air NZ staff for escorting us ) we met up with our coach Simon Brown and his daughters Tegan and Rebecca in the arrivals hall.
Simon - " Guess what, change of plan the snow in Ontake isn't great we're heading North"...!
So after being awake since 3:30am in Christchurch and flying for 13 hours we headed off on a 9 Hour trek north to a small city called Moriaka in the Hachimantai National Park in the Northern Iwate Prefecture of Honshu on Japan's main island.
We arrived at 2:30am, you'd have to use they word shattered but I'm stoked to see snow :)
Awake 5 hours later at 8am we've just finished breakfast and are heading to the mountain to free ski this afternoon at Hachimantai Resort Shimokura then checking into our lodge near the mountain tonight.
Gate training will begin tomorrow, stay tuned for updates... :)

Japanese Camp

So amped to be heading to Japan in mid April for a two week training camp with my Dynastar buddy Prue Lange.

It's going to be a great experience and my first trip away on my own :)

Back Home, Back To School, Bring On Winter...

Well I'm back home, back to school ( Wakatipu High School ) and back to being a regular kid :)
Looking forward to getting my Training Schedule sorted out with Braden at Fight Science Queenstown and the coming NZ Winter Race Season :)
Stay posted for regular updates as our NZ Winter draws nearer... :)

U.S Training

Training is going well here at Lake Tahoe, California.
The majority of my training so far has been my favourite discipline Slalom, we've been training gates four days a week on the Alpine Meadows Race Arena, a great facility closed to the public.
Snow conditions are lacking as far as free skiing goes but are perfect, hard and fast for Slalom Training, just the way I like it :)

Summer Training

Thanks to my amazing Trainer Braden Lee at Fight Science here in Queenstown for keeping me

in shape before heading away to Squaw Valley in a couple of weeks...

Thanks Dalbello

I'm stoked with my new Dalbello Boot Sponsorship direct from the Race Department at the factory in Italy.

It will be interesting to feel the difference skiing in a full blown race boot once I get to Squaw Valley in a couple of weeks time.

Thanks Reno, Ivan and the Race Dept Team at Dalbello :)

Audi FIS World Cup 2013/14

Wow it was so cool to see the first Audi World Cup Race from Soelden last night, so inspiring, can't wait to be back on snow...

Squaw Valley

Eight weeks and counting until I head away to Squaw Valley, California for the Summer.
Really looking forward to a White Christmas, training in a new environment, racing in the U.S and making some new friends :)

Spring Training

Now that all racing has wound up for the NZ season and I've had a good weeks rest it's back into the gym twice a week with my amazing trainer Braden Lee mixed up with some cardio and core classes with my Mum.
So cool to be training alongside my Mum :)

Mikaela Shiffrin

So cool to have met Mikaela Shiffrin earlier in the season when she was training SL right beside us at Coronet Peak.
Thanks for your inspirational advice and encouragement Mikaela, you'd have to say it certainly paid off!

2013 Sponsors

I want to say a big thank you to my 2013 Sponsors - Gerald from Bobo Sports / Dynastar New Zealand, Ivan from Outside Sports Queenstown, Davey from Atlas Cafe Queenstown and of course my Parents ( MAP Productions Queenstown ) for always being there to support me and drive me forward :)
Your support and belief in me has been both awesome and inspiring allowing me to achieve my goals and perform to the best of my ability throughout the season.
Here's hoping your generosity extends into 2014 and beyond.

South Island Champs / National Points Races Mt Hutt

The Final Round of competition for the 2013 Season took place at Mt Hutt over the weekend with the South Island Champs taking place on Saturday and the last of the National Points Races on Sunday.
With spring conditions the decision was made to race Slalom on both days which very much suited me as SL is my strength :)
After the first run on Saturday I was in 1st place but my QAST team mates Alice Robinson and Alex Hull both skied exceptionally well, both with faster second run times than me which pushed me back to 3rd place and a Bronze Medal Podium finish with just 0.41 seconds separating the three of us!
After the first race on Sunday I found myself once again in 1st place with a fraction of a second ( 0.12 sec ) lead over my team mate Sophie Thompson, the second run saw my QAST team mate Alice Robinson ski a phenomenal run to take another 1st placing pushing me into 2nd place and a Silver Medal Podium finish with Sophie T finishing in 3rd place - QASTies take all three podium positions on both days, well done girls.
A great weekend of competitive ski racing and team fun, thanks Mt Hutt for a great event :)

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 :)

Cardrona Interfield Race

All started well with an early alarm, a good breakfast and Dad and I got away early to Cardrona.
It wasn't until I got into the Cardrona Base Building that we realised I'd forgotten my ski boot shells!
Good ole Dad made a quick trip back across the Crown Range to meet Mum for a tag team hand over and then back to Cardrona in time for course inspection, whew....
Racing got underway but wasn't the easiest on wet, slushy spring snow with variable visibility for the first run, the second run was delayed while a well coordinated course slip and salting took place, surprisingly we then raced on a reasonably good surface :)
My performance was average, we're still awaiting official times but I think I placed either 6th or 7th which was a bit disappointing but not as bad as Dad losing the car keys.....
Overall a disastrous day from start to finish!

Crazy Weather!

Wow, what a crazy week of mixed weather, snow, rain, wind, thunder and lightening and now snow again....!
It all makes for an interesting week of training but none the less we've managed to train all scheduled days except one this week.
The Remarkables turned on excellent conditions for Slalom training yesterday and with 7cm of fresh snow at Coronet Peak overnight training there today should be fun too.
I can feel an Atlas Steak coming on tonight, oh yeah :)

SG and GS Training At Coronet Peak

A really great day of SG and GS training at Coronet Peak today.
My new Super G Skis were so amazing, so stable and so fast.....!
Thanks Gerald, Bobo Products and Dynastar New Zealand :)

Southern Region Inter - Field Races / Remarkables Dual SL

After a week of ideal training conditions at the Remarkables we raced a Dual SL on Sunday.
A good field of U14 Girls ran both courses with close results, just 2.41 seconds between the 1st and 5th placed podium positions.
The U14 / QAST Girls did well picking up four out of the five medals with a fifth placing going my way.
Next up are the Southern Inter - Field Races at Cardrona.... :)

Training At The Remarkables

I'll be training at The Remarkables Ski Area this week in preparation for the second Southern Region Inter-Field Dual GS Race on Sunday 25th August.
I'm looking forward to a good week of training and a pleasing result this coming weekend....
Happy Birthday for tomorrow to my wonderful coach Celine :)