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Posted on Saturday September 26th at 10:57 a.m.
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NZ NATIONALS @ CORONET & ANC FINALS @ HUTT
Mt. Hutt Race Department, ANC officials and Volunteers - you guys Rock!
Honestly, you all pulled one out of the bag and ran a week of races that will be hard to match in the future - fun, professional, hard graft, early starts and great results! We even managed 2 whole Slalom races for men and women in one day which was no mean feat and really helped make it up to a lot of racers who went all the way to Mt. Hotham in Oz to attempt racing in 2 ANC slaloms which proved mission impossible because of the especially stormy weather. We were so lucky with the fine weather all week at Hutt and apart from one particularly windy day that caused a postponement, the snow remained firm and of good quality for most of the days.
What a way to finish off the season!! For a lot of racers, we were able to make personal bests with great points to be had and successfully lower our World Rankings, so that start positions in the Northern Hemisphere are looking more attractive and NZ Olympic Team selection is looking just that bit more possible to achieve for Vancouver 2010.
In true kiwi style, we gave the Aussies a good run for their money in the ANC (Australia New Zealand Continental Cup) Finals and managed to win a few Yellow Bibs off them along the way. At this point in the bragging, I have to put in a plug for my home mountain and all-time favourite ski field Whakapapa - please take special note that there are three of us racers, all who have our skiing roots firmly planted in Ruapehu's volcanic rock, that made it onto the podium at Mt. Hutt in the NZ National Championships and ANC Cup Finals ... Angus Howden, Ben Griffin and yours truly! It was a sight for sore eyes and photos on www.snowports.co.nz website will back me up!
It was sad to say goodbye to all our ski friends from so many Nations who it has been so much fun to race with in New Zealand and Australia this year - hope you all come back next year and I'm so looking forward to seeing you again on the slopes in the Northern Hemisphere sometime soon.
NZ ROAD TRIP, French/Kiwi style
Florine DeLeymarie (top French World Cup Women's Slalom skier) sent her ski gear home with the Anega French Team at the end of the Mt. Hutt races and hit the road with me in my sister's little beamer packed to the gunnels, with our first stop enroute Kaikoura to spot the whales. What an awesome iconic tourist spot and not to be missed for locals and imports for sure. We were lucky to get up-close and personal with 3 major sized whales, plenty of dolphins and heaps of baby seals on the surrounding rocks. What a buzz and Florine, a very typical tourist, got some wonderful footage to take back to France to show family and friends.
Next up Blenheim for the night and then a ferry trip to the famous Te Papa in Wellington.
Coming from France, Florine really soaked up all the kiwi/maori culture, as did I and loved every minute of Te Papa and especially enjoyed the shopping expeditions in all major centres along the way!
Staying the night enroute with 2 of my favourite supporters, Noel & Jen Smith from Colorado Traders was another highlight and I am looking forward to working once again for them on their stand at the NZ Ski Industries Snow Show in Taupo early next month promoting & selling clothing, equipment and accessories from Scott USA.
Next up, a night at National Park and a misty glimpse of Mt. Ruapehu - the first look at our "Live Volcano" for Florine - then off to the local Primary School to surprise all the budding young up and coming ski racers who were trying to study until we showed up in their classroom out of the blue and completely blew their lesson plan!
Home to the Tron, which included Florine getting the coolest Maori tattoo!, a quick flick around town and then off to Waihi Beach in the weekend to run and walk on the beach, dig Pippis out of the sand to make pipi fritters that were soooooo good for breakfast and just chill out and relax to the sound of the ocean. What a real treat after so many months away in the mountains of Europe and NZ.
Sad to farewell Florine at Auckland airport but now my feet are itching to be back in ski boots and I can't wait to return to Coronet Peak and rip it up once again training and enjoying the excellent conditions we have had all season there. Time to put in some more gates with Peter & make the most of time on snow in NZ for as long as it lasts.
Have fun out there,
Sarah J
:-)