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The State of Skiing

Skiing Australia Ltd National Squads Training Camp Report.
Training camp #1

Location: Kioloa, The Edith and Joy London Foundation
Duration: 3 days
Dates: 10-12 December (Start in CBR Friday night finished in CBR Monday PM)

Camp Goals

Athletes Attended
  • Dave Colledge
  • Natasha Coleman
  • Bree Lambert
  • Daniel Sarri
  • Duane Butcher
  • Kate Spiller
  • Katie Calder
  • Linton Keogh
  • Ronan Magaharan
  • Michal Trnka
  • Amy Hunt
  • Belinda Phillips

Program Highlights

Day 1: Dinner Friday night was spent enjoying dinner at Sails. Following this many games of pools were played as was the juke box. The pool sharks were supposed to be spread evenly on opposing teams, some how this did not seem to work, luckily Michal found pools skills he never knew he had and the tables were turned!!. Thanks to Sails for the free games on pool table etc.

Day 2: Departed Canberra bright and early Saturday morning in a convoy of 3 cars to the coast. The cars were packed to bursting. The drive was a little slower and rougher than expected due to road works. Just when we were contemplating and mass game of roadside cricket the traffic started rolling again. We made a call at the bakery at Braidwood and our resident bakery experts (every ski squad should have 1 or 20 of these) sampled and compared. The bakery passed the skiers scrutiny, as would most, so long as they sold food. The last bit of the drive was more swift.

We moved into the cabins, 5 to a room. Very quickly we headed to the beach for a swim and stretch out. An introduction to the squads was next on the agenda. Tony Greville, Skiing Australia Cross Country Chairperson gave a talk that reinforced the notion that the committee was committed to the same goals as the athletes. Specifically becoming competitive on the international scene.

After lunch Angela Calder, from the Australian Sports Commission presented the latest and most practical methods to ensure optimum recovery between training sessions. With the thoughts of the last two talks on their minds the athletes headed for a run southwards along the beach to Kioloa State Forest and up Durras Mtn. An hour out we still had a good climb ahead of us, but after two we had reached the summit. Those that remained turned home expecting to catch some of the other groups. Upon return to the camp 3 hour later some athletes were still at large. Once dinner was going some went in search of the last two lost runners. Sure enough they had missed a vital turn and had then opted to go straight to the beach upon their return for a post training recovery swim.

The pasta feast was something to behold, we needed every skier in Australia to demolish the amount of pasta we cooked up!!.

Day 3: The plan of attack for today involved shuttling athletes out to Pidgeon House Mtn. while others started running from camp. The first group arrived at Pidgeon house after an exciting but rough ride. Im sure its just around the corner the navigator was often heard saying. They went for

a hike while waiting for those who were running the first part to be picked up and arrive. Finally we started the steep hot ascent of the mountain. The summit view was well worth the climb and so was the breakneck descent.

Upon return we went for a swim had lunch, then played a warm up game of European style beach handball and soccer. The eccentricity of Australian Cross Country Skiers then came to the fore. A Iron person event that started with a beach skiing leg (or for those whose feet did not fit the boots available a two legged pole hop)!!. With the video running some impressive style was displayed. Michal took the cake. Following the ski leg the same participant then ran a leg including and water running section before returning to the change over to their team member. Katie C led from Dave C (who had to hop) at the change Dave had stolen back the lead, the excitement mounted, who was to stumble on the skis next ?. Belinda took off strongly hotly pursued by Ronan, the places did not change when Kate S. then Amy were tagged. Amy was catching at the change Natasha took off leading Bree out. Natasha tagged onto Duane and a short while after Michal took the beach by storm, almost causing the p-tex to melt down, and causing serious doubt as to whether we really werent on snow. Michal was catching Duane at the end of the swim but found he had more catching to do when Duane made a very fast change into running mode. Duane came out of the water strongly to tag to Dan with a small margin to Linton. The final leg was fast with Dan making a slower start on the skis but holding the gap until the run when they hit the water there was not a lot between them Linton pulled strongly out of the water to take the race by a good margin. After that a well deserved swim was on for some while Michal and Belinda were last seen skiing off down the beach.

Pip Daley then presented some of the latest theories on altitude training, the effect of altitude on performance and fielded questions on physiology. After a BBQ dinner people were ready to re-hydrate, luckily a game was suggested that allowed copious amounts of water to be consumed while trying to hold back the laughter. Between 12 of us at least 50 litres of water were consumed (some drank more than others !!).

Day 4: Well hydrated and accustomed to finding the way to the toilet in the dark we emerged the following morning ready for some testing, but first a game of handball on the beach.... at walking pace (yeah right Tim). Getting a little carried away and involved meant some slightly too well warmed up legs for the shuttle run. We found the most scenic place possible for such a dull test. With some PBs and some results well under PBs recorded we headed to the nearby beach to swim and rest. Upon return the camp was cleaned so that it was spotless. Excess food was dispersed, demolished and sorted and the full cars left for home.

General Report:

The camp was a success in relation to goals, although more participants would have furthered the success. With many group sessions and time to play hard and swim members had ample opportunity to get to know one another. The self catering also helped to enhance the team feeling andprovided some excellent meals. The beach skiing was a hit with many and is worth pursuing as another form of ski specific training. A video of the iron person event was taken with some good footage of skiing on the beach and also several close ups of the sand conditions !! With a larger group and more senior athletes the camp would have been a more comprehensive team building camp and provided more training partners for the senior athletes. However the camp was a success and believe an important one to keep as an annual event.

Talks and Handouts:

Topic

Presenter

Introduction to Skiing Australia

Tony Greville
Skiing Ausralia XC Chair person

Recovery methods

Angie Calder
(Recovery Training, AIS)

Altitude performance and training

Pip Daley
(Sport physiology masters student, UC)

Practical Nutrition

Tim Greville
(Ski coach)

Report put together by Tim Greville 

XC is the official website of the Skiing Australia Cross Country Committee. It is produced with the assistance of the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Ski Institute and the Kangaroo Hoppet. The editor can be contacted via hoppet@netc.net.au.