Alpine racing is a sport for people who like to get up early in the morning. I don't, but this weekend I had to.
Little Boy was starting in his first downhill race, in the finest kids' sport event there is. Downhill races for kids are quite rare. He has been skiing slalom, giant slalom and Super-G before, but not downhill. It's the fastest of the alpine racing diciplines. It makes the parents anxious, but the kids love it.
Friday was obligatory practice on the race course. You have to do at least one practice run before the competition. That's the rule in downhill, even in the Olympics.
Saturday was race day. After the team captains meeting at 8:30am, the kids went up with the lift, to do the course inspection with the coach.
Then the participants went up to the start area, and lined up for the race. While waiting for their turn, they repeat the course in the mind. You need to memorize every turn and every hump and compression to get the perfect line.
Little Boy's service team (that's me) worked hard, waxing skis, sharpening edges, tightening boots before start, and transporting warm-up clothing down to the finish paddock.
Little Boy skied with guts and courage, and finished all his runs with no crashes and no injuries. I was probably more nervous than him.
In the mean time, Older Boy made a real "face plant" on a big jump in the terrain park. He scratched his face badly, and injured an arm. Last night I took him to the hospital to X-ray his elbow. Fortunately, nothing was broken. He's probably back on skis in a few days, and ready for the freestyle competition next weekend >:)
(The picture is from the course inspection before the race. The kids go through the course together with the team coach, to find the perfect line through every gate, and discuss how to tackle the difficult parts. Easy enough in theory, but in the race you need to do it at 80 km (50 miles) per hour.)
Oh no! Glad to hear that Older Boy wasn't badly hurt; he can wear his battle wounds with pride! After these posts, I'm going to be watching the winter olympics with a much keener eye in future. I knew skiing was a tough sport (anything that requires enough sense of balance to stay upright on two thin planks is tough to me!), but I don't think I realised quite how complicated a sport it is.
ReplyDeleteJudy (South Africa)
That's it. Get back on the horse! Fearless boys you have. There's a certain sensibility downhill racers must have. Nerves of steel. A lot tougher on the parents!
ReplyDeleteIt's great they are so competitive. Speed and cold and I don't go together.
ReplyDeleteJudy: The dwnhill race takes just a minute (or two), but the preparations are quite extensive. Plenty of tasks for the service team >:)
ReplyDeleteJayne: Usually the parents are more nervous than the kids, but that's part of growing up I guess. You start to think about consequences and everything that MIGHT happen (but rarely do)
Enid: Eating lunch out in the snow can be very nice anc cozy in the spring when the sun is back. You should come up here and try it >:)