Whistler Mountain Ski Club FIS Newsletter September 28th 2021
WMSC FIS team Information Session. September 29th 2021 7:15 pm
Richard will host an online FIS information session open to all parents and athletes’ tomorrow Wednesday September 29th at 7:15 pm on Microsoft Teams The focus of the meeting is to;
• introduce our staff Henry Sarah and Richard
• review the 2021/22 training and race calendar
• provide information regarding the FIS program
• answer questions and address concerns
• provide parents and athletes the opportunity to interact and gain from each other’s experiences. Click here to join the meeting
WMSC Fitness Training- Days of the week- times, location and activity
Tuesday 6:15 to 8:15 am and 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, WMSC Gym, Strength Training ( Two session offered to accommodate other after school activities)
Wednesday 4:00 to 6:00, WMSC Gym, Energy System Spin Class with TAG
Thursday 4:00 to 6:00 WMSC Gym, Strength Training
Friday 7:30 to 8:30 am, Whistler Secondary School Field, Energy System Training 4:00 to 5:30 pm, WMSC Studio, Functional Movement and Core Training
Saturday 8:30 to 10:30 am, WMSC Gym Strength Training
2:00 to 4:00 pm, WMSC Sports Saturday Myrtle Philp School Fields
WMSC Vancouver Field fitness sessions.
For those athletes who live in Vancouver, sessions are being provided at Westview Elementary School
Wednesdays 5:30 to 7:00 PM
Functional Movement Screens and SCAT 5 testing.
Over the weekend many of the WMSC FIS athletes completed a Functional Movement Screen(FMS) and the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 5Th Edition. (SCAT 5). BACK in Action Physiotherapy provided services for the assessments. These assessments are requirement for athletes to be eligible for Provincial Development carding Level 2 and was a criteria for competitive eligibility last season during the pandemic. The SCAT-5 provides professionals with important information in their assessment of an athletes readiness for return to play after a concussion. The FMS screen are being utilized to help design fitness programs and to screen for weakness in athletes to so those issues can be addressed in training to prevent possible injury as well as identifying if athletes need other medical services (including physical therapy).
Athletes who were not able complete the FMS and the SCAT 5 may book individual appointment through Back in Action Physiotherapy info@backinactionphysiotherapy.com . Please reference the Whistler Mountain Ski Club FIS program when booking an appointment. Private Health Insurance can be used to pay for these services.
FIS Fitness Testing
We will be conducting fitness testing for all FIS athletes Sunday October 10th. The meeting place will be at the Whistler Mountain Ski Club at 9:00 am. Estimated end of session will be around 2:00pm. The purpose of these tests is to monitor the athletes progress of their training and to meet provincial carding requirements.
Saas-Fee Report
Ten WMSC athletes participated in a European training project this summer in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. Henry and I led the athletes throughout this trip. This project together by working in cooperation with my former club the Banff Alpine Racers (BAR). BAR allowed us to piggyback on to their lane space and hotel booking. To add to the training group and overall value of the training environment the team was joined by 5 athletes and one coach from Sun Peaks Alpine Racers.
There was a total of 25 athletes and 5 coaches on the trip. We had 17 days on snow from August 19th to September 10th. We were very lucky with the weather we saw the sun everyday and were treated hard to icy conditions each day. For more than half the camp there were two lanes with multiple sets provided to athletes. Saas-Fee had a cool summer with lots of precipitation. This provided a good amount of free skiing space on moderate terrain giving our athletes the opportunity to work on much needed technical free skiing before transitioning to the set environments.
Our decision to give our FIS athletes the opportunity to go to Europe with their coaches was based on the loss of our spring and summer training. Our home mountain being closed for the past two years has resulted in the loss of approximately 90 on snow training days. Although these 17 days in Europe has by no means closed this gap, the quality and the intensity of the environment did a lot to maximize the time on snow. Our WMSC athletes were treated to skiing next to some of the world’s best ski racers and a chance to meet of see of their heroes, including our own Canadian Team and see their old coach Conrad Pridy and our former leader Mark Tilston leading the charge for Canada.
We foresee the WMSC continuing to return to Saas Fee in the future. However the return of our spring and summer training session here at home continues to be key for the club to provide a high-level program for our athletes. The development of fundamentals at our home mountain, at a relatively low cost and in low stress environment is invaluable to our club.

Panorama and Sun Peaks Pre-season Camps
Panorama November Preseason Camp Itinerary
Departure Sunday November 7th 4:00 – drive to Kamloops.
Arrival Panorama November 8th 1:00 pm
Training November 9th to November 27th
Departure 6:00 am November 27th Arrival Whistler 6:00 pm
16 days on snow. Budget TBD (approx. $4000.)
We will allow athletes to leave the camp early to reduce costs and/or allow for academic needs to be fulfilled. We will coordinate a common date to leave the camp early with those who express interest in this option. This may require a fight home from Cranbrook or Calgary or possibly a parent or parents to drive out and pick these athletes up.
There is a 4- day race event at Panorama following the camp. The dates are November 28th, 29th, 30th and December 1st. These races are targeted towards high performing athletes, with adequate time on snow (completion of the full November Camp) and have made long term goals to ski race at the highest level they can. This race will also be used by BC Alpine to select women to the next Girls Fast Forward Camp.
For those athletes who cannot commit to the full Panorama camp the next race opportunity will be the BC CUP FIS series also at Panorama prior to Christmas. Dates of this competition are December 19th 20th 21st and 22nd. Prior to this race we will have a short camp at Sun Peaks to prepare for this event.
Sun Peaks Camp and Panorama BC Cup Itinerary
COST TBD (Costs are expected to be less than Panorama CWSAA passes will be in effect at Sun Peaks)
Departure December 12th 2:00 pm Drive to Sun Peaks
Training December 13th 14th 15th 16th
Travel December 17th Panorama or Whistler depending on the athlete’s competition plan.
Train December 18th Panorama
BC Cup Races December 19th 20th 21st and 22nd.
Travel Home to Whistler December 23rd
This should give everyone a start as to our plan for the first two months of our winter program. I will be available to review the individual athletic plan over the next month. As far as the rest of the competitions go, the WMSC FIS program this year will be focused on the BC Cup FIS series the calendar can be viewed here BCA: BC Alpine Calendar. However additional events maybe targeted depending on the athletes performance, athletic needs and goals. On the other hand, I can assist in deselecting competitions for those who wish to have a lighter competition schedule
I would like to have a one and one with each athlete and their parents to review their season plan. I can be reached by phone 604 932 7676 or by email richard@wmsc.info.
I am looking forward see all of you on our video chat tomorrow night and a great winter of racing and training.
Richard Jagger