Race News
All the latest MSC Ski Racing News.
September Gloucester Summer Race
18th September 2011
The MSC club championships were held on Friday 11th November. Thanks very much to all who were involved in any way with the running of this race, every one a volunteer including those organising the race, supplying the hot food and equipment , getting the medals and cups, finding sponsorship for prizes, checking out race poles, washing and sorting bibs, setting up the timing and spreadsheets, collating results and of course all those helping on the day - course setter, referee, start team, timing team, catering team, course team, marshalls, commentary, presentations. Without volunteers our skiers are unable to race, so thanks very much to everyone. Thanks also to Ackers staff for supporting us so well.
Congratulations to all skiers who took part, there was some impressive skiing, well done. The results are attached – age group winners were
U7 Female Tilley O’BrienU7 Male Jack Teague
U10 Female Lauren Treuge
U10 Male Oliver Weeks
U12 Female Sophie Shakeshaft
U12 Male Jordan Rigby
U14 Female Helena Newboult
U14 Male Nick Phelps
U16 Female Libby Thomas
U16 Male Jack Rigby
U19 Male James Elgy
U25 Male Adam Beardmore
U35 Male Mark Hawkins
U45 Male Gary Lee
O45 Female Gerry Elgy
O45 Male Dave Hancock
Overall Female Libby Thomas
Overall Male Adam Beardmore
Cups were awarded to all of these skiers, however we were unable to present some as they haven’t been returned from last year. We are working on this, but please can all winners remember to return their cups next year well in time for the Championships.
Page 2 of the results shows the overall rankings – together with race and event points. These points tell how fast a skier was on the day and are used to look at how skiers improve. They are recorded for every internal race, schools race, fun race and timing night, so we can see from a race where an improvement has been made. There were good improvements for regular skiers Libby T, Jordan and Seamus plus a great improvement since the schools race for Mia.
Finally a reminder that it’s happening all over again – the Fun Race on 2nd December. There is an entry form on the MSC webpage - http://www.midlandski.org.uk/racefiles/FunSlalomRace2011EntryForm.pdf. This will be racers not just from MSC but from other local clubs and universities. It’s open to all and volunteers will be needed again to run the race.
An update to those who asked after Adam - he had a big fall in practice and missed the race. He’s battered and bruised with some impressive friction burns, but nothing that won’t heal in a week or so (except for his jacket).
Jane Lee
September Gloucester Summer Race
18th September 2011
Rain was forecast, and it looked threatening all day, which prompted Rob to bring the giant Gazebo. After carrying it halfway up the Gloucester slope ( it is extremely heavy), putting it up and then carrying it down again (still extremely heavy), we must have discouraged the rain with our efforts, and a good day was had.
Midland A came 2nd on the day to our old enemy Western Counties A, but only by 3 points, which is an excellent result considering we had so many skiers away at ESSKIA Races, and most of the A team seemed to draw each other in the afternoon Head to Heads. I think 1 group of 4, had 3 Midland A skiers in it. Western Counties A are 90 points clear of us now, and short of them not turning up in October, i think that gap is impossible to make up with only 1 race to go. Equally though we are 95 points clear of 3rd place Slalom A, and I would therefore guess that the top 3 places are now decided. Midland B however are down in 9th place, but the points difference of the teams in front is not as big, and so with some tactical team selecting in October we may be able to pull up a few places.
On the day some excellent skiing from Seamus maximum points in the morning and afternoon, giving 29 points. Also excellent skiing from Tilley and Ben on 26 points.
Over 20 points scorers Sam, Lauren and Jack (21), Ollie(24), Dave(25), Tilley and Ben(26) and Seamus(29). Dudes of the afternoon Hd to Hds Seamus, Tilley, James, Anya, Ethan and Chloe all scoring Max 9 points.
Finally our thanks go to all the skiers in Mid B and West Co B, who having drawn Mid A opponents in the head-to-head races, on Team orders sacrificed their runs to maximise our points.
Next GSRL is the last on October 8th, either Gerry or myself will be putting out availability calls soon, so watch your e-mails
Take care everyone.
Paul
June Gloucester Summer Race
12th June 2011
With 20 skiers we made up the two teams and everyone played their part in the June GSRL. Midland A, after 2 rounds, are still in 2nd place, 40 points behind W Counties A.
Duncan was 10th overall, and Jack Teague was 2nd in U9 age group. 9 points in duals were achieved by James C, Macaulay, Tom, Joey. 20+ points were scored by Jack, Lauren, Tom, Duncan, Joey, Ben, Dave, Gerry.
Full results can be found on Gloucester Ski Club's website.
Well done all!
Gerry
Suffering the Wind
2nd June 2011
Last weekend was the Pendle Club National. Despite the journey, a number of MSC racers made the trip, for what was for a number of racers a very worthwhile day. As is often the case at Pendle, the weather provided it's own challenge, with high headwinds throughout the day spreading the times out a little more than you might normally see.
Despite this there were 5 podiums. Lauren Treuge was 2nd in Minis, Oliver Weeks was 2nd in Minis, Lucy Deller was 2nd in JN1, Adam Beardmore was 3rd in SEN, and Nick Phelps was 1st CH2. On top of this 4 racers will have dropped their points for the next list. The next seed points list is due out on 30th June, so there is plenty of opportunity to make more improvements before then.
Vidoes available in the usual place.
The next races are this weekend at Sunderland where there is both a Club National and Grand Prix, and I hope to have more good results to report next week!
Adam
Double Stoke
19th May 2011
This weekend we've had two club nationals at Stoke, one hosted by Midland Ski Club and one by Stoke Ski Club (MSC and STS to Jerry!).
As expected being one of our local slopes, and our own race, MSC entries were high, with 28 members competing on Saturday, and 36 members taking part on Sunday. Perhaps the familiarity of the slope combined with the supporters from MSC who turned out in numbers are part of the reason, but there were a number of exceptional performances over the course of the weekend across all ages.
On Saturday, it was Stoke's club national. On a drying slope (making good early runs important), all of the MSC racers posted times, something quite unusual with such a large entry. We had 6 age group podiums and one overall podium, coming from Oliver Weeks (1st Mini), Seamus O'Brien (3rd Mini), Geraldine Elgy (2nd MAS), Helena Newboult (3rd CH2), Adam Beardmore (2nd SEN, 3rd Overall), and Mark Hawkins (1st MAS). On top of these results we had a lot of racers lowering their points, with reasonably good penalties for racers over around 50 points.
Having had a successful day on Saturday, we went on to have an even better day on Sunday. A more challenging course was set by Guy Hornsby for Sunday's race and this produced some very close and interesting racing. Sunday's haul was eight age group podiums, and one overall podium, these coming from Lauren Treuge (1st Mini), Oliver Weeks (1st Mini), Edward Guy (2nd Mini), Adam Beardmore (2nd SEN, 3rd Overall), Nick Miller (2nd JN2), Mark Hawkins (3rd MAS), Nick Phelps (1st CH2), John Elgy (2nd MAS). Again a number of racers put in performances to see them lower their points in the next seed list.
Rob Weeks endeavoured to film all of the MSC racers' runs on both days, and you can see these on the are up on the videos page.
Many thanks to everyone who helped on the day to make sure our club national was a success, and a big thanks to Kate, Louise and Nigel who were integral to the planning and execution of the day as a whole.
Coming up this weekend is the CC1 and CC2 this weekend at Chill Factore in Manchester. Next weekend is the Pendle club national: Pendle is an excellent quality slope with matting second to none in the UK, and although it is only a single day of racing on the Saturday, I would strongly recommend it to people.
Adam
May Gloucester Summer Race
12th May 2011
25 MSC skiers braved the early torrential downpour and were rewarded with a warm sunny day and good racing!
The Midland A Team made a solid start with 208 points overall, in second place behind Western Counties A on 238, and clear of Slalom Plus A in 3rd place on 184. Our 5 new GSRL racers contributed to 129 points for Western Counties B in 9th place, with Midland B in 10th with 118.
There were many good performances including:
Overall Position in top 20: Liam 5th, Sam 13th and Helena 20th
Group Position in top 3: U9 Seamus 2nd, U15 Liam 1st and Sam 3rd
Dual Slalom 9 points: Karl, Dave, Laura
20+ overall points: Seamus (22), Lauren (20), Liam (24), Sam (25), Helena (21), Karl (21), Dave (26), John (22)
Well done to all.
Gerry
Success at Welwyn and Bromley
11th May 2011
This weekend saw a return to Welwyn on Saturday for a Club National race after a number of years absence from the calendar, and then on to Bromley on Sunday for another Club National.
The weather was quite varied on Saturday, with an early downpour and then a slope that dried progressively through the day. A testing course was set by Sally Bartlett making good use of the rolling bumps down the Welwyn slope. Our entries on Saturday were somewhat sparse as many were racing elsewhere, with 5 racers making the trip, however, the trip proved to be well worthwhile. Of the 5 racers we had 3 age group wins from Oliver Weeks, Nick Phelps and Adam Beardmore, as well as a first top ten finish for Lucy Deller. To top this off, we will have qualified for Club National points (requires 4 racers to finish of mixed age and gender), which could be important later in the year. We missed out on the overall Club National title last year by a couple of points to Telford, and have made a good start this year to avoid this being repeated.
On Sunday we had greater numbers, with 12 racers participating in the Bromley Club National. Despite a dissapointingly straight course leaving little to differentiate the racers, there were a number of good performances from Midland skiers. Age group podiums went to Lauren Treuge, Oliver Weeks, Seamus O'Brien, Rachel Bill, and Harry Hornsby, while Harry Hornsby also took overall 2nd for the men's race. Again we will have picked up Club National points here, cementing a good start to the season.
Videos from both venues are available via the videos page.
Adam
Race News
3rd May 2011
Already we are a couple of weekends into the race season! Firstly, the Indoor Championships at Chill Factore took place on the 23rd/24th April, and then this weekend there was the well-attended Norfolk Club National and Grand Prix.
We had three racers competing on the indoor snow at Chill Factore. Although it is not a surface that we have the option to train on regularly, it is good to see people willing to push themselves and race competitively on indoor snow.
Eighteen racers made the trip to Norwich for the Club National, with 9 of these also running in the Grand Prix the following day. Across the weekend there were 4 age group podiums, and 1 overall podium. For the Club National, Oliver Weeks was 1st in the minis, Rachel Bill took 3rd in seniors and Harry Hornsby was 2nd in the seniors - and Harry also took 2nd overall. In Sunday's Grand Prix, Nick Phelps took 2nd place in CH2.
Already after only a few races we have 9 racers set to improve their seed points in the next list (due on 26/05/11) - see the results spreadsheet for details. Congratulations to those racers who have improved their points, and those who have achieved their first podiums of the year, hopefully they will be the first of many this year.
Please remember it is the MSC Club National on 15th May, and you need to get your race entries in by Friday this week. This event is normally very well supported by the club, and it would be fantastic to see as many members as possible there to both support and help make sure the day runs smoothly. If anybody wishes to volunteer some time on the day to help out, please contact the Chief of Race, Louise Dawes, at chiefofrace@midlandski.org.uk.
Adam
Fern is double XC Champion!
28th January 2011
Midland Ski Club's Fern Cates is double British Champion after winning her category in the recent Army Inter Service and British National Nordic Ski Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany.
The Shropshire Star reports:
Could Shropshire teenager Fern Cates be Britain’s next great star of the Winter Olympics?
The 15-year-old is certainly on the right course – having become a double British champion for cross country skiing.
Fern, from Quatford, near Bridgnorth, triumphed at the Army Inter Service and British National Nordic Ski Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany.
She won the girls under-16 classic event, where the skis stay parallel, and the freestyle, where competitors use a skating motion.
“It’s an incredible achievement,” said her proud father Mike Cates.
“She has worked so hard and was over-taking big army lieutenants and you’d expect to be much stronger than her.”
Fern, who is sponsored by Bridgnorth Health & Fitness Club, is also a member of the British Nordic Development squad.
And she has already started working towards the European Youth Olympics in Romania in 2013.
The teenager is a true sporting allrounder, swimming for Bridgnorth based Northgate Swimming Club, and turns her attention to a different discipline this weekend when she takes part in the semi-finals of the British Schools Biathlon Championships in Macclesfield.
Success in that event, where she must run 1,000m and swim 100m, would see her qualify for the finals at Crystal Palace in March.
She also competes in long distance open water events during the summer months, finishing second in the 5km at the Midlands Championships last year.
Fern has been skiing since she was eight and can regularly be seen training by powering up the Bridgnorth by-pass in an usual pair of roller skis. She also finished 2010 as the GB under-16 roller ski series champion and was second in the under-18s age group.
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