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

WMSC athletes: Sara Stiel, Fiona McInnes, Jaden Dawson, Chase Burns, David Wood, Mathias Shorter and Adam Usher are part of the BC Alpine Team competing at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta from February 15th to March 3rd.

The athletes were selected from the first round of BC Teck Open races (2 GS & 2 SL) held at Sun Peaks, January 10th to 13th. They will compete in four events; Super-G, GS, Slalom and Ski Cross. The Ski Cross competition is scheduled to take place at Canyon Resort near Red Deer on March 2nd.

Join us to wish them the best!

2019 CWG Team BC Coaching Staff:
Montana Molyneux (Fernie Alpine Ski Team)
Drew Hetherington (Whistler Mountain Ski Club)
Katie Spittlehouse (Red Mountain Racers)
Daimion Applegath (Sun Peaks Alpine Club)
Johnny Crichton (BC Alpine Ski Association)

Race Report by Laura and Hubert Lai

114 athletes took part in last weekend’s Teck Open races, which were hosted at Kimberley on Saturday, February 9 and Sunday, February 10. The Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) was well represented, with 8 women and 14 men in the field.

Race conditions were firm and the weather was extremely cold throughout the weekend. The low temperatures challenged all the racers, coaches, and volunteers. Many people had frostbite and were using tape on their face to block the wind.

Originally, the organizers had hoped to run slalom races under the lights but the extreme weather conditions made this difficult so, in the end, the
Kimberley event consisted of a total of 2 Super G races for each of the men and the women.

Women’s Super G Race 1 (Saturday):
On Saturday, WMSC athletes comprised 8 of the 50 women who successfully completed the Super G race. It was a stupendous showing for the WMSC women, with four of them finishing in the top 10: Emeline Bennett won the race, with Jaden Dawson and Sara Stiel completing a sweep of the podium. Fiona McInnes came in 5th.

Women’s Super G Race 2 (Sunday):
Sunday was another truly outstanding showing for the WMSC women, with four of them finishing in the top 10: Once again, Emeline Bennett won the race, with Jaden Dawson and Sara Stiel completing a sweep of the podium. Fiona McInnes improved one position for her Saturday result, finishing just off the podium in 4th. What incredible results for these talented and hard-working athletes!

As with all the athletes, double-race-winner Emeline Bennett certainly noticed the cold: “It was hard to feel like your muscles were completely ready because of either not warming up for long enough because it’s cold or staying inside too long be cause it’s cold!”
When asked about the secret to her success, Emeline was graciously modest: “During the week I go to the gym up to four times and then usually only train Saturday and Sunday but I try to get some extra Thursdays and Fridays in, whenever I can. I chug a lot of water before warm up. I don’t usually have two pairs of skis so I like to do some runs on the ones I will race on and I do a lot of visualization and usually take the maximum time for inspection. I have no clue in Super G. It’s my tuck for sure and, other than that, I don’t know!”

Men’s Super G Race 1 (Saturday):
On Saturday, WMSC athletes comprised 14 of the 53 men who successfully completed the Super G race. While the victory went to Grouse athlete, Taylor Nellis, WMSC men crushed the field, with 7 of them finishing in the top 10: Graham Seltzer and Sam Fuller took 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Just off the podium was Matthias Shorter in 4th. Rounding out the WMSC men who achieved top 10 finishes were Adam Usher in 5th, David Wood in 6th, Hayden Harley, in 7th, and Nick Katrusiak in 10th.

Men’s Super G Race 2 (Sunday):
On Sunday, WMSC men were dominant, securing five out of the top 10 places. This time, a WMSC man took the victory, with Graham Seltzer securing the top spot. Grouse athlete, Taylor Nellis, who had won the Super G on Saturday, swapped places with Graham, coming in 2nd on Sunday. Apex athlete, Heming Sola, rounded out the podium in 3rd. WMSC men took the next 4 places, with John Nicolls in 4th, Hayden Harley in 5th, Adam Usher in 6th, and Matthias Shorter in 7th.

Race winner, Graham Seltzer, observed, “This weekend, the line was extremely important. Many people who ski well but do not have the correct line will not be fast. In inspection, you need to find the right line and commit to it unless a coach tells you otherwise on a course report.” He added, “I had two good inspections with good advice from coaches and concentrated on executing my plan.”

He was very pleased with his results, especially because he does not live in Whistler and isn’t able to train regularly on Thursdays and Fridays.
Speaking of the Grouse competitor with whom he swapped positions, Graham was very complimentary, saying, “In the speed event I think Taylor Nellis is the largest competition for everyone particularly on a straight course like both of these ones. This is because he is a pretty big guy and mostly goes straight.”

Calgary, Alta. (Feb. 8, 2019) – Alpine Canada has selected 11 athletes – five women, six men – to represent Canada at the 2019 FIS Alpine World Junior Championships in Val di Fassa, Italy, Feb. 18-27.

The selections were made based on outlined criteria which include their World Junior Rankings and performance in NorAm Cup racing.

“The World Junior Championships provide an excellent opportunity for these up-and-coming athletes to gain valuable international racing experience, as well as see how they match up against their peers from the other top ski racing nations around the world,” said Brien Perry, Director of Domestic Sport for Alpine Canada.

The full list of racers who will compete for Canada is:

Ali Nullmeyer (Georgian Peaks Ski Club)
Amelia Smart (Panorama Ski Club)
Asher Jordan (Whistler Mountain Ski Club)
Beatrix Lever (Club de courses Mont Cascades)
Declan McCormack (Osler Bluff Ski Club)
Jamie Casselman (Team Panorama – Kimberley Alpine Team)
Justine Clement (Club de ski Stoneham)
Kyle Alexander (Vancouver/Whistler Mountain Ski Club)
Marina Vilanova (Montreal/Club de ski Mont-Tremblant)
Raphael Lessard (Club de ski de Bromont)
Selected but unable to attend:
Liam Wallace (Sunshine Alpine Racers)

View the full article here

The race season is about to begin! Calling all volunteers to help with the first net set of the season! Please meet at Garbo Hut at 9:30 a.m. on Friday January 11th to help with the net set up for the U14 Coast Zone Teck Race. With lots of hands, this initial net set up shouldn’t take more than 3 hours. First time parents – this is a great opportunity to learn what needs to be done for race days. There is something for everyone to do. Don’t worry if you can’t carry nets – there are plenty of other things to help with. Meet at Garbo Hut and you will be paired with someone to show you the ropes!

For those of you with athletes training on the 11th, this isa perfect opportunity to help make the course safe for the race weekend!