Yesterday was the final race for the YSL, it was a slalom race held at Alyeska. Unlike most of our races this was only one run. It was a great day, with a good turnout. Things have been heating up in all the age groups, and all the kids were very interested in their chances of winning and how they would place in the overall series championship.
The course was set on a moderate to steep slope and with temps in the upper 30's the snow was somewhat clumpy and grabby. Also with temps this warm the race course tends to get very rutted out and more difficult for the later racers, which doesn't bode well for Max as they race in order of age with the oldest first. Also this was a slalom race and the boys are just starting to actually hit the gates rather than ski around them, unfortunately sometimes they concentrate so hard on hitting them that they actually sacrifice speed due to a poor line or bad form.
Nick's race went well. You'll see in the video that his form improves towards the bottom of the course when he starts to relax and ski his line. He ended up 3rd for the day and had enough points to take the overall championship!! Several of the boys left before the awards ceremony which is why there are only 2 boys on the podium. Nick was thrilled with his result and he definitely has a good chance to be on the podium at the state championships in Juneau later this month. He'll have to be on his game though as all the top players will be there.
Alex has really had a break through lately and is skiing well. Unfortunately during this race he scrubbed a lot of speed in the middle of the course and that cost him some time. He ended up 6th for the day and 3rd in the overall championship. He is delighted with his trophy! His division is pretty heavily stacked with about 8 very competitive racers. His State Championship race is in 2 weeks and he definitely has a good shot at the podium if he skis his best.
Max had a great race with only one little bobble that you can see on the video. Unfortunately his main rival fell and was out of the running today. They are very close on the race course, swapping wins each week. After introducing them last week they've become big supporters of each other and you even see them exchange congratulations on the podium and shake hands! Max ended up 1st for the day and 1st in the overall. Max has a very good shot at a top podium spot in the State Championships, but any little mistake and his rival/friend Daniel will be all over it. It will be fun and nerve wracking to watch since they are so close in ability.
I was hoping for a bright sunny day to film, but that didn't quite work out. So we did what we could.
Plus some pictures too! Enjoy and thanks for reading.
1 comment:
That is so Awesome! Congrats to all 3 boys. They look like they are just having a blast. So fun.
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