We're really building up now towards the start of the Autumn rollerski season. The cross-country ski holiday companies
have published their programmes, and people are starting to think of winter challenges.
From September we will have our most comprehensive Autumn-Winter programme to date. Our team of instructors has grown and
we are now able to offer more sessions, with Richmond Park established as a regular venue. We have programmes for beginners,
juniors, improvers and potential racers.
A lot seems to have been happening lately, so there's plenty of news. Read on...
DORNEY LAKE, HYDE PARK & RICHMOND PARK COURSES
Our next 1-Day Dorney Lake course, for beginners and returning skiers is on Sun 29th August, see
http://rollerski.co.uk/events3.html.
We've a 6-week beginners' course starting in Hyde Park on Sat 4th September, 11.30 - see
http://rollerski.co.uk/events8.html.
Also, a 4-week classic course starting in Hyde Park on Tues 7th Sept, 18.30 - see
http://rollerski.co.uk/events1.html.
For the first time, we have a 4-week beginners' course in Richmond Park, starting on Wed 8th Sept, 18.30 - see
http://rollerski.co.uk/events9.html.
The evening courses will be the last of the year, as the days get shorter, but Richmond club sessions will continue after dark.
JUNIORS DAY
Our instructors have become increasingly involved with junior rollerskiing - we're running a special juniors' day at Dorney Lake
on Sunday 19th September, to help juniors get ahead in the sport and encourage novices - see
http://www.rollerski.co.uk/events12.hml.
NEW INSTRUCTOR - LEVI HENSEL
We welcome new instructor Levi Hensel to the team. Levi is from the USA, and was one of the star's of the Dartmouth
College ski team. He's been involved in competitive cross-country skiing since he was at school and will be a great
addition to the team. See - http://rollerski.co.uk/profilelevi.html.
NOVICE RACER PROGRAMME
We have aspiring ski marathon racers on almost all our courses, and have come up with an Autumn course specifically for racers.
We ran this last year, and it will build up towards the ski season and fit in with races on snow. See
http://rollerski.co.uk/events21.html.
BIATHLON SUCCESS
Two of our club skiers have been announced as part of the British Biathlon team. Rob Dorward, who started rollerskiing
in his final year at Imperial College two years ago, is now on the National Development Squad, based in Scotland.
He has joined a TA regiment, 131 Ind Cdo Sqn RE, which is helping him pursue his biathlon career.
Paul Gorbold, who was part of the London team that finished second in the British Cross-Country Ski Championships 4x10k relay this year,
is a member of the senior squad, and will train in America until he joins the squad on snow in October. See
http://www.britishbiathlon.com for more information.
JAMES CRACKNELL EXCEPTIONAL RECOVERY
James Cracknell, who rollerskied in preparation for his race to the South Pole with Ben Fogle, recently had a serious road accident.
However, his recovery has impressed the doctors -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/7928411/James-Cracknell-wows-doctors-with-exceptional-recovery-after-crash.html.
AUTUMN PROFICINECY AWARDS
Dagmar Junghanns, the head of Snowsport England's proficiency award scheme, will be offering assessment at the Dorney Lake courses on
17th October and 5th December. You can do this on the afternoon of the course - the awards are a very good way of objectively seeing
how your technique is going, and identifying areas of improvement.
You can find out more about these here: http://rollerski.co.uk/proficiency.html.
ANDREW MUSGRAVE ON FASTERSKIER.COM
Olympic cross-country skier, Andrew Musgrave has been featured on one of the world's leading cross-country skiing websites,
http://fasterskier.com/2010/07/pros-of-tomorrow-andrew-musgrave/.
It's great publicity for the GB team, and shows the impact they're making.
AUSTRIAN CROSS-COUNTRY SKI TRIPS
We've had several bookings already for our trips to Obertilliach and Hochfilzen next year, which include training on snow, and ski
marathons at the end of the week. You can find out more about these and book here:
http://rollerski.co.uk/cross.html.
SALOMON PROPULSE BINDINGS
Salomon's main innovation for this season is their new classic binding. Conceptually this is identical to their earlier
Profil binding, and marks a 'back to basics' approach. We now have these in stock and can fit them to all classic rollerskis
and skis. See http://rollerski.co.uk/propulse.html.
In fact, we are very well stocked with equipment at the moment - we had recent deliveries of Salomon Active and
Pro Combi Pilot boots, and have all rollerskis in stock.
FACEBOOK SITE 1 YEAR OLD
Our Facebook site is 1 year old this month, and at the time of writing, has 190 'fans'. We keep this up to date with information
about our regular club in Hyde Park and Richmond Park, and add other trivia. See
http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-Cross-Country-Ski-Club/109118512973.
RACE RESULTS
We ran the London Pursuit rollerski race on Sunday, and had 23 racers from seven nations and seven clubs. This
was a great start to the Autumn rollerski season and participants included Eursport biathlon commentator Mike Dixon,
GB rower Josh Butler (after 5 minutes on roller skis) and Bermudan cross-country skier Tucker Murphy who took part in
the recent Vancouver Olympics. Six-times GB Rollerski Series Ladies Champion Fiona Crossley won the ladies event,
with our own Andy Honczar taking the mens' event. See
http://rollerski.co.uk/downloads/pursuit_results.html.
There are more races coming up, see http://rollerski.co.uk/ns033.html and
we hope to get a good number of our September novices taking part in the Wessex Sprints at the end of October.
TFL CYCLE BAYS IN HYDE PARK
To make it easier to get to rollerski lessons, Transport for London has installed 27 cycle bays in Hyde Park's Triangle Carpark!
The scheme is very good value, and you can find out more about it here:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire.
PADDY & HILARY FIELD - SKIING ON SAND
Paddy and Hilary Field are two of the great characters of cross-country skiing in the UK, and have been at the forefront
of the sport's organisation for over 30 years. Not content with bringing cross-country skiing to the London Region's tarmac
through roller skiing, they've now got their sights set on Britain's beaches! See
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/northdevongazette/news/story.aspx?brand=NDGOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsndga&itemid=DEED04+Aug+2010+08%3A21%3A13%3A723.
SKI MARATHON RESOURCE
Anyone thinking of doing a ski marathon, but in need of more information / inspiration, should visit this website:
http://www.worldloppetskier.com.
It's all about the mainly European 'World Loppet' ski marathons (the big ones) from a North American viewpoint. Could be a useful resource.
Anyway, hope all this gets you thinking about the season ahead!
Hope to see you at rollerskiing soon,
Best regards,
Iain
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Iain Ballentine
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Roller ski instruction & rollerski shop
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W: http://www.rollerski.co.uk
E: iain@rollerski.co.uk
M: 07968 286129
T: 020 8348 2540
Rollerski technique DVD -
http://www.rollerski.co.uk/techprog.html
Rollerskiing in the news -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/outdoor-activities/7188432/Get-your-skates-on...-and-ski.html
Club Facebook page -
http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-Cross-Country-Ski-Club/109118512973
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The Rollerski Co & Rollerski Instruction 2010
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