Announcement

Excellence in Behaviour

Posted by Whistler Mountain Ski Club on Mar 07 2019 at 09:20AM PST in 2020-2021 Season
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Teamship Values – Excellence in Behaviour

As we head into the latter stages of the season and the real nuts and bolts of the competition phase I wanted to take the opportunity to discuss our Teamship Values. Over the next several weeks I will circulate discussion points on each of the 4 values, beginning this week with Excellence in Behaviour. Athletes, please take the time to read these emails; parents please take the time to review them with your children.

We Excel in Behaviour: Behaviour is the core of who we are as a team and reflects on our club, our community, our sport and our country. The fundamental characteristic of WMSC Behaviour is respect.

We Respect Others: We always treat others as we would want to be treated. We consider the impact of our actions on others. We give full attention in meetings and respect the rights of others to be left alone.

Respect for others defines who we are and what we stand for. It is very easy to get drawn into feeling that we know better than others, that others are not giving us the respect that we deserve or to get caught up in our challenges and not consider those that others have. We all need to choose the higher road and be aware of each other.

We Respect Feedback: We give, and accept, all feedback – both positive and constructive – with good grace.

Our sport, and life in general, presents many challenges, which will result in mistakes and failures as well as accomplishments and learnings. In order to learn and develop, we must try, accept that we will sometimes fail, and recognize that this process is essential and must be respected. For many of us this is often a challenge, but the ability to both accept and give positive reinforcement and constructive criticism, be it sensory, verbal or visual is the hallmark of all great athletes.

We Respect Equipment: We care for all of our and other’s equipment. We seek permission before using and promptly return, anyone else’s equipment.

Our sport requires equipment that is both extensive and expensive and the condition of that equipment impacts enormously on the outcomes. We must take the time to learn how to prepare and maintain our equipment and ensure that we follow-through so that our training efforts are not frustrated by a lack of preparation. This respect must extend to the Club’s facilities and equipment, including the Club Cabin, the Garbo Hut, the Dave Murray Training Centre, our home mountain of Whistler Blackcomb and the Clubs, Mountains and hotels that we visit.

We Respect Time: We are on time for meetings, sessions and departures. 5 minutes before start is on time. If held up we inform the organizer as soon as possible.

“Time is of the essence” in our sport, both literally and figuratively. It is all too easy to reach for the lazy excuse that “I didn’t have time” but more often than not this just means: “I didn’t make the time”. We must budget our time wisely and not waste it. Each athlete must commit the required time to their development model in order to achieve the goals that they have defined. We must always respect the time of others, and value their time at least as highly as we do our own.

We Respect Effort: We congratulate effort even if it results in better performance than yours. We act compassionately towards those whose performance is below their expectations.

“It’s better to try and fail, than to fail to try”. This statement underpins the very notion of being a champion in life and in sport and is the foundation of the other components of Excellence in Behaviour. If we do not respect the efforts of others, they will not recognise our efforts and help us to our feet when we try and fail. If we do not give constructive feedback to others on their efforts and seek honest feedback for ours, if we do not give 100%, or if we do not properly prepare and maintain our equipment and if we do not commit the required time to the development model, we will never know what we are truly capable of.

It is an honour to be a part of this team and to be associated with so many great people who continually strive for Excellence in Behaviour.
Best regards,

Mark Tilston
Whistler Mountain Ski Club