The snow is here, not just in the UK, but across Europe - looking very good.
In the last month we've had lots of people - new and old - rollerskiing in Hyde Park, and our full team of instructors in action.
If you can brave the weather, you will have a good session. In the months ahead we have plenty of sessions -
in Hyde Park, Dorney, Richmond and Dulwich - and we're focusing on getting good rollerski technique to take onto snow.
It's been great to see so many beginners get involved lately, and if you have any questions, please get in touch.
This newsletter has lots of XC ski news, details of sessions coming up and a special focus on the biathlon season, which begins today.
(RE)DISCOVER DORNEY
If you haven't been to Dorney lately, don't forget about it.
It comes into its own at this time of the year if you're preparing for skiing and want to work on technique and balance.
Smooth, flat tracks and a location that is easy to get to by car, makes it worth a trip. We have our last course of the year this
Sunday, 5th December, and we'll have groups for beginners, and a more advanced group with Alan Eason.
Dates for January - April are also now up.
See http://rollerski.co.uk/events3.html
NEW YEAR, NEW SKI-LEGS
We have our New Year beginners' courses and classes taking off on 8th January, in Hyde Park. As usual, there's a big
build-up from January through to the end of March, with people coming to get ready for holidays and ski marathons.
You can book onto a refresher class - http://rollerski.co.uk/class.html
Or, there is a 4-week beginners' skating course - http://rollerski.co.uk/events2.html
We also have a beginners' course on Sundays in Dulwich Park scheduled - please come or spread the word among anyone in
South London who might be interested. We reckon it would be good to establish a regular base for rollerskiing south of
the river. See http://rollerski.co.uk/events15.html
LTU OLYMPIAN IN LONDON
For our regular club skiers, we welcome to London the Lithuanian Olympic skier, Mantas Strolia. Mantas
competed in the Vancover Winter Games this year and put in some very good performances. You can see him in action in
the video below (start at 33.15, number 9 in yellow) -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pM5q6gAPL8&feature=channel
Mantas will be along to Hyde Park shortly, and we hope to get him involved with coaching.
GOLF COURSE SKIING
If there's only a couple of inches of snow, and you want to ski (classic or skate technique), try your local golf course.
It is amazing how good the skiing can be on golf courses, and your skis do not damage the grass, as your weight is spread
over such a long surface (it's probably better than walking). You're never far from a golf course in the UK, and most
don't specifically prohibit cross-country skiing...
BIATHLON SEASON BEGINNING
If you're looking forward to the biathlon, the World Cup kicks off on today (Wednesday) with the 15k ladies' race in
Oestersund, SWE. The IBU cup (the 'Formula 2' of biathlon) has already begun, with some good performance from the Brits.
Kevin Kane was 29th / 101 and just over 5% behind the winner on the 10k sprint on Sunday.
Mike Dixon of the Cairngorm Biathlon & Nordic Ski Club in Scotland brings news that two of his athletes,
Callum Irvine and Scott Dixon, have been selected to compete in the European Youth Olympics in biathlon in February.
This is good news for the future of GB biathlon. You can find out more about this at www.cbnsc.co.uk
Some good news also from our London Hyde Park team - Paul Gorbold made it onto the GB IBU cup team and has raced at
the two IBU Cup races so far, getting off to a good start with his new international career. Sadly Rob Dorward didn't make
it onto the team, but he is possibly in a better situation, as he's now able to focus more on his on training in just
his second season on snow.
There is a lot of good stuff on the BBU website, http://www.britishbiathlon.com
and on the IBU website, http://www.biathlonworld/com where you can watch the races
live and re-watch them afterwards. Eurosport offers the same pictures, but with good commentary on TV and also now on
the internet for only £3.99 per month - http://www.eurosportplayer.co.uk - check out the demo.
SKIS & SHOP
We now have a full range of Salomon Equipe 9 Skate Skis, as well as ski bags and waxes. We don't have all the classic skis
at the moment, due to excessive demand / insufficient supply, but we're working on this, and hope to get more classic skis
shortly. We are, however, fully stocked with boots and rollerskis.
We have new rollerski / cross-country ski gloves and pole bags. For Christmas ideas, we also do Gift Vouchers (for
lessons or equipment) as well as a good technique DVD and an high-visiblity jacket. For our shop,
see http://rollerski.co.uk/buy.html and for Gift Vouchers
see http://rollerski.co.uk/giftvouchers.html
CLUB SOCIAL & RACING MEMBERSHIP 2011
To bring together all the skiers who'd like to be involved with the social / racing bits of our Hyde Park or
Richmond Park club, but can't make the regular training, we've added a category of Social / Racing membership.
You can find out more
at http://rollerski.co.uk/coachingfee.html#srmembership
SKI TRIPS, ON-SNOW
We have one place left on our trip to Obertilliach in January, and plenty of space on our second Hochfilzen trip in
February. For more information, see http://rollerski.co.uk/cross.html
EXTRA
Rollerski / XC ski balance YouTube videos - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuHLGlESd_M&feature=related
Really good 'kick double pole' video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slpvbWO4J5o
Basalt (!) construction skis from Fischer - http://www.nordicskiracer.com/news.asp?NewsID=5194
Scotland predicting bumper ski season - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1334061/Skiing-Scotland-Aviemore-Cairngorms-predict-bumper-season.html (the Daily Mail recently came to take pictures of rollerskiing in Hyde Park...)
AND FINALLY...ROLLERSKIING 1920s STYLE
If you want to see how rollerskiing has moved on over the years, this video is well worth a look
(start at 19.20) - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vnfgr/Time_to_Remember_Nations_at_Play/
Best regards,
Iain & The Team
--
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 High Viz Craft jacket on sale -
http://www.rollerski.co.uk/buyaccessories.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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