Ski and Snowboard Head Alpine Coach Matt Lyons reports on Australia's National Alpine Development Women's program. "After arriving in Alberta, Canada, toward the end of November, following the successful completion of their Year 12 exams, NSWIS scholarship athletes Tomi Crewes and Katya Crema proceeded to get their 'snow-feet' back, after what was a significant break over the past schooling year."
Ski and Snowboard Head Alpine Coach Matt Lyons reports on Australia's National Alpine Development Women's program.
"After arriving in Alberta, Canada, toward the end of November, following the successful completion of their Year 12 exams, NSWIS scholarship athletes Tomi Crewes and Katya Crema proceeded to get their 'snow-feet' back, after what was a significant break over the past schooling year."
"The girls have had some ups and downs through the beginning of the season."
"Crewes, who was charging in SG training at the Canadian Provincial Teams Speed Camp at Panorama, had an unfortunate accident on the second last day of the program and ended up sailing through several sets of netting. While she eventually walked away from the incident, she did sustain some severe bone bruising on her left femur which has meant that she had a fairly slow and frustrating beginning to her season."
"She has persevered, however, through a difficult injury that has had no firm recovery time-frame and will be making her way back slowly on to the training and racing program."
"Crema has been improving steadily and has come back into form after some hard work following her time off-snow."
"Competing shortly after her arrival in the first NorAm Super Combined competitions in Panorama, she laid down two solid runs from the back of the field (second last) to finish 34th, just out of Cup points. The Super G was also quite good and encouraging, given that she had not skied on SG skis since the 2004/5 winter season and then only for a week or so."
"Crema's transition to technical racing at Nakiska later in the month suffered a bit of a set-back, with some average results in tougher than expected fields and conditions. She was having some trouble finding her feet and balance in the tighter radius disciplines and needed some more time to consolidate some of the changes she had been working on."
"She has recently managed to successfully implement these changes in NorAm and FIS GS races at Mont Ste Anne, Quebec, where she skied strongly to a low 40s result in GS and had a number of other strong performances in races with large fields due to the adverse snow conditions in Europe."
"SL is still a work in progress but the signs are encouraging and things are improving daily."
"Instead of going to Europe as originally planned, we have stayed in Alberta and the Canadian Rockies for January."
"The above average snowfalls and fantastic free skiing and training conditions are too good to pass up, given the state of things in the rest of the northern hemisphere. We will head to Nakiska, Norquay, Lake Louise and Sunshine for a consolidated two week SG/SL training and technical free skiing block."
"We then head back in to our original schedule and are due to compete in the next scheduled NorAm SG/SCs at Apex, British Columbia and Big Mountain, Montana, where Crema is expected to build on her solid start to the events and where Crewes should make a well-deserved (and hard-fought) comeback."
"After arriving in Alberta, Canada, toward the end of November, following the successful completion of their Year 12 exams, NSWIS scholarship athletes Tomi Crewes and Katya Crema proceeded to get their 'snow-feet' back, after what was a significant break over the past schooling year."
"The girls have had some ups and downs through the beginning of the season."
"Crewes, who was charging in SG training at the Canadian Provincial Teams Speed Camp at Panorama, had an unfortunate accident on the second last day of the program and ended up sailing through several sets of netting. While she eventually walked away from the incident, she did sustain some severe bone bruising on her left femur which has meant that she had a fairly slow and frustrating beginning to her season."
"She has persevered, however, through a difficult injury that has had no firm recovery time-frame and will be making her way back slowly on to the training and racing program."
"Crema has been improving steadily and has come back into form after some hard work following her time off-snow."
"Competing shortly after her arrival in the first NorAm Super Combined competitions in Panorama, she laid down two solid runs from the back of the field (second last) to finish 34th, just out of Cup points. The Super G was also quite good and encouraging, given that she had not skied on SG skis since the 2004/5 winter season and then only for a week or so."
"Crema's transition to technical racing at Nakiska later in the month suffered a bit of a set-back, with some average results in tougher than expected fields and conditions. She was having some trouble finding her feet and balance in the tighter radius disciplines and needed some more time to consolidate some of the changes she had been working on."
"She has recently managed to successfully implement these changes in NorAm and FIS GS races at Mont Ste Anne, Quebec, where she skied strongly to a low 40s result in GS and had a number of other strong performances in races with large fields due to the adverse snow conditions in Europe."
"SL is still a work in progress but the signs are encouraging and things are improving daily."
"Instead of going to Europe as originally planned, we have stayed in Alberta and the Canadian Rockies for January."
"The above average snowfalls and fantastic free skiing and training conditions are too good to pass up, given the state of things in the rest of the northern hemisphere. We will head to Nakiska, Norquay, Lake Louise and Sunshine for a consolidated two week SG/SL training and technical free skiing block."
"We then head back in to our original schedule and are due to compete in the next scheduled NorAm SG/SCs at Apex, British Columbia and Big Mountain, Montana, where Crema is expected to build on her solid start to the events and where Crewes should make a well-deserved (and hard-fought) comeback."