Elite Racing

Here is where the rubber meets the road. If you are good, you know you can always be better. And if you are the best, you know that there is someone who wants to beat you and take your spot. The competitive world of ski racing is cut throat, incredibly competitive and downright amazing.

There is nothing like going to a race of 100 people or more and beating everyone! The feeling is addictive at every level of racing. I've seen 8 year olds have the best day of thier lives, and I've seen 70 year olds smile like a 20 year old.

In Elite racing there are levels of skill. I think of it as each level is based on ski time. The actual time spent on the skis. Even if you just ski with your friends or drop chutes in the deep powder, the skiing all relates directly to how well you will race. Of course this is not to say that an elite freestyle racer can jump into the course and win a world cup race. They could never make the jump to racing technique soon enough. They could however become very good in a short amount of time with the right coaching.

Juniors usually make jumps in increments of 1 or 2 seconds at a time. If they are finishing 3 seconds out of the winners, in 100 days of training they can be winning those races if they are dedicated to the sport. This leapfrogging happens time and time again in all levels. The trick is to have a fast training partner and the right gear.

Alpine Skiing School section in english version of WWW.SKI.BG is based on
"A Guide To Becoming An Expert: From First Time To A Lifetime"
by John Mukavitz Copyright © 1998