Casper Mountain Racers

CMR Casper City Challenge Finals:

This Saturday and Sunday CMR will be hosting the City Challenge Finals at Hogadon Ski Area. Saturday race will be a Giant slalom with Sunday races being Slalom. Awards for this weekend’s races will be handed out on Sunday after the race along with the coveted Season Overall Rodeo style belt buckles!

We still need a few volunteers to help pull the races off; so if you’re interested send me an E-mail.

The City Race Scoring process for the overall involves two scoring methods.

1.)   Competitors earn points for each race with the winners earning 20 for 1^st, 19 for 2^nd down to the 10^th place.

2.)   Then the competitors combined time for each race is added in to the process.

3.)   This combination of highest points and lowest overall combined times allows for an equal playing field for all competitors.

City Challenge Leaders…you’ll be surprised; Not I…

Current Point Leaders:

Women 25 and under

1^st Amy Ladd

2^nd Laurel Hodgson

3^rd Kailee Stobbe

Men 25 and under

1^st Cody Wilkinson

2^nd Korbyn Edmondson

3^rd Keegan Stobbe

Women 26 and over

1^st Chrystie Smith

Men 26 and over

1^st Tom Ellbogen

2^nd John Robinson

3^rd Ray Bader

March Racing Results

Ok RMD Jr. J4 Olympics was held in Winter Park CO March 16th -20th It was also the biggest production for a Jr. Olympics I have ever seen. The week started with two days of SG training with the opening ceremonies Wednesday after the second training day. RMD organizers had each team and coach march through Winter Parks retail area to a Gazebo in the square where our National Anthem was sang the athletes oath read by competing athletes; then colored smoked released and the crowed marched off. This was a really cool deal and the athletes looked to really enjoy; I know Alexandra and I did. Wilkinson then started his JO competition on Thursday with SG where he bibbed up from 76th stating to 50th. Friday’s GS was hampered by fresh snow and blistering winds. Cody ran two good runs still bibbing up into the 50’s however as I saw he was thrown hard by a rut in run 2 and missed a gate; still he skied well. Saturday’s Slalom was greeted by cool temps and brilliant sunshine. This too was to be a BIG production for RMD. The entire Slalom race was videoed live on line and viewed on the FUEL TV network at a later date. Cody again bibbed up into the 50th while starting in 80th. Overall the entire event was fantastic and my congratulations go out to Cody for great performances over the entire season. March 21st YSL Championship in Eldora: This race marked the end of the YSL regular season originally there were 6 CMR athletes however on the eve of one family’s mother was rushed to the Hospital for an appendectomy. This left the Edmondson’s with a decision race or stay home and nurse mom back to health; well it was a no brainer and the Edmondson trio gave their RMD competitors a break. I talked to Connie yesterday and she is up and running feeling great! Mean While the remaining CMR athletes Amy Ladd, Kailee Stobbe and Keegan Stobbe along with coach Andrew competed in the Championships. Coach Andrew reported all had a great time skied very well in Eldora. Kailee 15th / 22nd A Ladd  21st / 24th Keegan 28th / 24th March 13th YSL Finale: Korbyn Edmondson has been skiing in the top 5 in the J5 YSL division all season in RMD. So when he heard that the YSL Finale at Powder Horn ski area was RMD’s biggest J5 competition he asked me to get him into the race. So Korbyn, dad Shawn and coach Andrew headed to RMD west to see what goes on there. Well they found the competition and Korbyn gave it his all in a competitive field of a 100 J5’s. Not to be deterred Korbyn has stepped up his training and reevaluated his goals; so next year he’ll be ready for RMD west competition, NICE JOB Hippy! GS R1 49th  GS R2 50th SL R1 49th  SL R2 59th Copper Mtn YSL GS: March 7th lead 5 CMR YSL athletes to Copper Mtn GS, however for Sydney and Fallon Podrazik their Mother Mary fell ill the morning of the race, Mary has since recovered and I’ll get the girls to a race the next opportunity. For the remaining CMR athletes Stobbe’s Kailee and Keegan along with Katie ‘Kit Cat’ Grunner they were up to their heads in RMD YSL duel head to head GS competition. In race one coach Andrew reported that Keegan aka the “Green Hornet” was up against a very big J5; Keegan turned to Andrew and mentioned something about how big his competitor was…Andrew just said the bigger they are the harder the fall; Keegan just smiled and got after it. Andrew reported that the weekend was just another great race in RMD! W GS Duel R1 Kailee 15th Kit Kat 27th W GS Duel R2 Kailee 12th Kit Kat 25th M GS Duel R1 Keegan 18th M GS Duel R2 Keegan 21st

H.S. States

Jackson Wyoming where Snow King Ski Area hosted the High School State Championships. This was the first time a CMR coach has attended and assisted in on hill coaching for both the four CMR athletes, Mattie Wells, Ali Gobble, Matt Dean and Joel Simonson, aka the “HAMMER” as well as both the KW and NC athletes I have been coaching all season. For me it was a relaxing weekend as my only responsibility was to get the High School athletes mentally prepared for the       Championships not the after race day antics of youth racers…nice.

Day one we drove to Jackson where Kelly Walsh Coach Chrystie Smith had arranged for lane space with the Pinedale coach for on hill training. Training the race hill before racing on it is a great thing. It allows for insight on hills terrain and reducing the prerace butterflies while also getting a look at the next day’s competition.

The races went great and in the end our own CMR athletes did very well. Mattie Wells Finished 3^rd in all State, Joel Simonson Also 3^rd in all State, driving NC past KW for 2^nd Team State points. Matt Deane 10th in the GS, despite being very sick that day and Ali Gobble had some of the best runs I have ever seen her have Congrats to all the teams, it was a great weekend!

Smitty.

Cody Wilkinson becomes Casper Mtn. Racer’s first athlete to make Rocky Mtn. Divisions (RMD) Jr. Olympics Team. RMD’s J4 Jr. Olympics qualifier in Crested Butte turned into a week of racing under extreme conditions. The week started Thursday with a training day for Fridays Super Giant Slalom (SG) under good course conditions. Cody Wilkinson put down a good solid run on the SG training course. Friday however everything turned around with a weather front bringing 12 inches of new soft snow changing the outlook for racing. Cody attacked the top section of the steep and technical course only to be lost in the lower sections extreme flat light conditions that had even coaches falling while trying to stay ahead of the fast falling snow. Cody finished 42nd. Saturday with snow still falling and accumulating nearly 2 feet, coaches and athletes spent the morning clearing snow from the slalom course. Still not to be discouraged Wilkinson skied his best ever Slalom finishes respectfully 26 & 27 out of the 100 boy’s field. Sunday brought Giant Slalom, Cody’s best event however lady luck was not on his side.  Race one he was bounced by a large rut and flew through the air landing on his back and neck. Race two Cody again rallied and finished 43. RMD JO selection rules are based on the number of boys to girls on a percentage; this year 43 men and 37 women, Cody qualified 41st, GOOD JOB! Rocky/Central J4 JO’s will be held in Winter Park, CO March 16-20th  again Congratulations on a job well done Cody and good luck at JO’s Over at Loveland the YSL athletes were having a great time racing. Coach Andrew Brus call me Sunday night to let me know of the weekends results. Korbyn Edmondson continues top 10 finishes. In a field of 105 competitors ‘Hippy’ skied to a 3rd in class and 5th overall. Race two again Edmondson skiing well finished 6th in class and 7th overall! WOW Good Job! When the ladies hit the slopes CMR’s Amy Ladd was ready to go. Race one saw Ladd break the top ten with a 10th in class. Race two Ladd stepped it up and finished 7th in the Slalom bringing home the Hardwear Great Job !   CMR’s ability athletes were racing over at Copper Mtn in another Smartwool USSA series races. Day one saw Morgan Munday charge down the slalom course to a third place podium finish, WOW! Cara Weaver also making her USSA J3 debut with a 23rd place finish. While Derek Munday Slalom smoked the first run with a 6th place only to straddle in the second run ouch!. The Tommy’s; Ladd and Drazick ran into some bad luck, both with DNF’s Day two saw the venue switch to GS; Morgan Munday charged to a 13th place finish while Cara again putting gin solid runs for a 33rd place finish.  Bother Derek came to race GS and redeem his self from Saturday’s SL performance scoring a 19th GS place finish. Sunday proved better for the Tommy’s; Ladd and Drazick as they both finished respectfully 44th and 47th. This was a great week for CMR athletes and CMR down in RMD; again congratulation to all the athletes and coaches Andrew Brus and Ryan Butler for another great job! Smitty.

CMR’s Week in Ski Racing This past week was rewarding for CMR athletes. In Beaver Creek Derek Munday shook a not so successful Friday to put down two solid runs on Saturday for his best ever FIS Slalom performance placing 44 / 80 in FIS level  competition in the Rocky Mtn Division (RMD), congratulations Derek for a job well done. Place 44th, MUNDAY, Derek, USA    run 1, 47.62   run 2, 45.95 combined 1`33.57 race points, 129.21 Official penalty 75.71 Breckenridge YSL SL   Sunday over at Breckenridge Korbyn “Hippy” Edmondson laid down a solid first run in the SL for a 5th place finish. Coach Andrew Bruce told me on the phone Korbyn’s goal for run two was to shave off a second in race two of the SL. Well after the run the clock stopped a 1.5 second improvement was shown and a 2nd place finish; obviously Edmondson smoked run two putting himself on the podium again! Nice Job to Korbyn and Coach Andrew! CMR Week of 2/8/2010.    This week CMR J3 athletes travel to Winter Park, CO for their second J3 JO Tech event qualifier. On the home front February 14th is the second of CMR Casper City Challenge with this race being Slalom. Week day late training will be Wednesday-Friday; with Slalom Wed & GS Thursday; Fri. is TBD. Saturday training will again be coached by CMR athlete Martha Brown, City Race home athletes to race. Next weekend’s racing:  J4 JO qualifier 2/18-21 at Crested Butte Ability class at Copper Mtn GS/SL 2/20/21 YSL Loveland 2/21 SL   On the Horizon Ability Athletes: FIS Millennium Bank FIS Jr. Championships March 19-22 GS/SLx2 March 31 Smartwool Ski Cup Champs. Telluride March 26-28 GS/SL/Duel Smartwool SG Breckenridge March 31 Age Class Athletes: J3 Jo’s Vail, March 4-10, DH, SG, GS, SL J4 Jo’s Winter Park March 16-20 SG,GS,SL YSL Athletes Council Race Winter Park GS March 7th YSL Council Champs Eldora March 21 GS J5 Finale Powderhorn March 13-14 GS/SLx2 Smitty’s Shop Rules           Rule #1: Keep my shop clean; lately I have found the work bench a mess!                 Scrap wax drippings, use the vacuum, spray the files with WD-40 they                 are starting to rust; once rusty they will have to be replaced.         Rule #2: Shop hours are: Monday – Saturday, curfew 8:45 PM, J2’s and older                  athletes may come anytime within those hours. J3 athletes must                  contact a J2 or older athlete and coordinate a time to be in the shop                  with an older athlete. Rule #3: Tuning is to be limited to athletes skis first; the business of tuning for                  $$ is going to be limited. Athletes first priority must be to keep their                  own equipment race and training ready.   Rule #4: It’s my shop, my rules.

CMR News letter 2/3/10

Sorry it’s been hectic lately but I wanted to give a heads up on what’s has been and going to happen with CMR.

January 14-18 I took the J3 athletes Morgan Munday, Matt Deane, Tommy Ladd Tom, Drazick and Kolton Epperson Steamboat for a two day Speed Camp then on to Aspen for three days of racing.  This is an opportunity not seen by CMR athletes in the past and as a coach it was a great!  The skill building and speed race experience had a great effect on these athletes and it can be seen in their new found confidence  racing  at speed and launching off big jumps and natural terrain found in Speed events; Good Job for these five.

Then 22-24 Cody Wilkinson and I went to Breckenridge for 3 days of speed training and racing where Cody broke the top 20 twice with a 19 & 20^th and a 29^th on day three out of 65 of CO fastest J4 boys; and I mean FAST these Rocky kids fly and Cody busting the into the 20’s is a great accomplishment proving we can compete in Rocky.

Over at Vail on the 24^th CMR YSL athletes Amy Ladd and the Edmondson Trio; Mack, Avery and Korbyn put the selves on the Board with Korbyn grabbing two 18^th spots and Amy 13^th. Congrats to them and Coach Andrew for a job well done.

This last weekend found CMR athletes Derek Munday, Morgan Munday, Ethan Hawks, Tommy Ladd and Tommy Drazick down in Steamboat for a Smartwool USSA race. While the GS on Saturday proved challenging; Derek pulled off a 13^th in the Slalom with a 70 point penalty; NICE! Everyone else finished well and now knows what it will take to compete in Rocky.

This week I will travel to Beaver Creek with Derek for a FIS Slalom on Friday and Saturday. While Andrew takes the Edmondson Trio to Breckenridge for a YSL Slalom.

Saturday’s training will be coached by Martha Brown and will be GS in the AM and GS related skill building drills in the afternoon so show up YSL and Ability athletes.

Next Sunday the 14^th is the second CMR City Race Challenge; this race will be a Slalom and if you’re competing for the Buckle get up there and defend it.

 

Ok gotta go, See ya soon

smitty

 

WOW, this week is packed with alpine ski racing at Hogadon. Friday and Saturday is the first High School races series with Kelly Walsh HS hosting Wyoming’s best HS Alpine Ski racers.

Sunday we, CMR will get our Casper Mountain City series going with that Giant Slalom postponed from the 3rd. I hope to see you all there!

smitty

Follow this link to read about Alyssa Deane’s award! Congrats Alyssa! smitty

PSU web site:   http://athletics.plymouth.edu/news/2008-09/20090615_DEPTAWARDS

Well it became offical this week that CMR is now officially a member of the Rocky Mtn Division. What this means is less time on the road, less time out of school, a better training schedule and racing in the Rockies! I will send out reminders; however ,when it comes time to renew your USSA memberships CHECK the Rocky Mountain box.

This is a positive move for the club. smitty

RMD web site: http://www.rmdussa.com/

      

Summer Happenings

 The Casper Mtn. Racers is offering a series of summer ski and dry-land camps.

Dry-Land Camps:

 The week of June 1^stCMR will start our summer dryland fitness camps at Mike Sedar Park. These camps run in 4 week sessions and are open to all athletes’ ages 7-19 yrs.

Camps will cost $75.00/session; our workouts consist of plyometric training, cross fit workouts combined with trail hiking and mountain biking. The sessions run Mondays -Friday 8:00-10:00 am. 

 Dates:

            Session 1-June 1st-26^th

            Session 2 -July 6^th-31^st

            Session 3- August 3^rd-14^th

 Race Camps:

 Our spring and summer race camps will be held up on Beartooth Pass, Wyoming near Red Lodge, MT. We are planning 3-camp sessions. These 3 day camps will run Tuesday’s – Thursdays and include race specific drills as approved by the United States Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA). Our coaches are certified through USSA and have over 20 years of alpine coaching and racing backgrounds.

Activities will include on snow drills, video analysis and afternoon fitness and fun.

Each session will cost approximately $300.00 (est.based on 1o participants) including training, lifts, lodging and food.

 Dates:

            Session 1 – June 23-25 departing afternoon of the 22^nd

            Session 2 – July 7-9   departing afternoon of the 6^th

            Session 3 – July 14-16   departing afternoon of the 13^th

 For additional information feel free to contact;

Chris Smith                                                                                                                   307-259-3278

                                                                                                                        csmith08@bresnan.net

                                                                                                            www.caspermountainracers.org

                                                                       

 

This article is in the new Ski Racing; and I found this a switch as I am usually the one texting athletes saying “Hey did you read such & such in the latest issue”?   Well today I received a text from an athlete asking if I had read the latest article on page 32; I had not. My athlete wanted to know if they should show it to their parents…yes; I think every parent should read it. so here it for those who don’t receive Ski Racing. smitty

parenting-article-ski-racing-4_22_09

This was sent to me from Bruce Ladd, Vintage Casper

smitty

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glenn Bochmann, one of the original CMR coaches gave me this old photo yesterday.

 

It was May of 1973 and Hogadon had been closed for a month.  On Mother’s Day weekend there was a huge snowstorm and we re-opened the ski area for our own spring ski camp the next weekend.

 

This pictures shows from left to right – Bob Spickard, ski instructor and area manager at the time, my brother John, Chuck Bromley and myself.

 

At the end of the day we hiked to the west of Hogadon and skied all the way down to Garden Creek Road , we ended up just west of where Munday’s house is now.

 

Anne and I have been talking about that ski weekend from May 1973 until now, so I suppose we will be talking about the powder snow from this weekend for the next 30 or 40 years.

 

Bruce