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| Serious face shots- Nick on the right, Jamie Left |
Jamie joined us for our last few days of preparations before World Alpine Champs...
However....They did not quite go as planned with the heavens opening up and
dumping half a metre of snow on us, so instead we enjoyed an epic powder at
Leogang before heading to Schladming in the afternoon.
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| Opening Ceremony |
We arrived in Schladming to a vibrant town and we joined a
packed stadium for the opening ceremony. It was a great show and we were all
buzzing to get out on snow the following day to see what challenges would face
us on the super-g track.
The next day we were allowed 2 free skiing runs down the
super-g track to get the feel of the terrain in the course. In both runs we had
dense fog which obviously made it difficult to see where the hell to go.
That night we spent hours trying to file down the edges on
our skis so they would comply with the maximum width regulations. The amount of
rules and regulations we had to fulfil to make sure we didn’t get disqualified
was a new experience for us. From ski heights and widths right down to the
minor issues of logos on helmets and goggle straps being too big. It was
endless!
Race day. Getting to the finish area in itself was a
challenge but both Jamie and I got there. I finished a respectable 42nd,
however I was not super stoked with my skiing. Jamie was happy to get down and
placed 63rd (not bad for his limited time on Super-G skis).
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| Nick- Finish area |
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| Finish Stadium- 30 000 people |
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| Jamie- During inspection, hard to understand the steepness/ icy-ness |
Dropping into the final pitch with the crowd looming in the
horizon was definitely the most amazing experience in my life. Your legs were
starting to scream at you by this stage, the toughest section of the course was
approaching and the snow was super slick and bumpy. You just had to grit your
teeth and fight to the finish line.
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| Finish Stadium during inspection- is built moulded around the hill |
It was an amazing experience and was great to have our Kiwi
support crew in the finish arena (Mum, Dad, Sam, and the World Ski connection crew and a few drunk Austrians).
For Jamie, he heads off to Sochi, Russia, for the Ski Cross
World Cup test event.
For Nick, it is a week’s training before the qualification
race for the GS at the World Champs.
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| Eating dinner behind a live podium TV broadcast. Mum, Nick, Sam |
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| We got swarmed by spectators trying to find our parents after the race, wanting photos/ Signatures . |
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