NYSEF Program begins Sunday Dec 4th

Hello everyone,

Just a reminder to everyone that this Sunday, December 4th, marks the start of our weekend program - weather permitting. For now we are a go and with cold temps forecast for at least Wed-Fri nights the mountain should be able to make up for the rain and warmth we've had since last week.

Saturday, athletes may pick up passes and free ski with parents & friends while our staff orientation/training is taking place. Coaches will be on hand from 8-9am to meet and answer questions about gear and the program in general but there will be no coaching until Sunday morning.

On Sunday, our normal program start is 8:30am, however at 8:45am I will be holding our information session for all our Freeride parents & athletes to go over program policies, competition options, staff introductions, etc. This will take place no matter the conditions. I promise I will try to keep it short and sweet so all our athletes and parents can get out on the slopes.

If you have any questions before then please feel free to contact me. We are looking forward to a great season. Now let's all hope for snow!

Mike Kirchner
NYSEF Freeride Director
mikek@nysef.org

Loaded Turkey Rail Jam

Yesterday (11/20/11) Killington Mt. was host to the Loaded Turkey Rail Jam. Some of the East Coast's best skiers and riders showed up to throw down their bag of tricks on Killington's early season set up. Amidst these young and talented athletes was Whiteface's own: K.C. Brousseau. K.C. Put everything on the line in hopes of winning an invitation to the Rails to Riches Rail Jam. Sources tell me that he even rodeoed (flipped) out of one of the rail features. In the end the Judges rewarded K.C. with a second place finish. Congratulations K.C.! Way to start your competition season with a podium finish!!

NYSEF Freeride Pre-Season Training Trips

NYSEF Freeride is offering two opportunities for skiers and riders to travel to Killington, VT prior to our program start to get a jump-start on the season. Coaches Justin Perry and Kevin Brousseau will be attending both so athletes can focus on their freestyle and/or cross skills.
The first option is a day–trip on Tuesday Nov 22nd. Athletes will depart from Lake Placid promptly at 6:30am and travel via National Sports Academy bus to the Keeseville exit on the Northway for a 7:15am pick-up/departure to Killington. Return trip will arrive back in Lake Placid at approximately 8pm. $75 cost includes ground transportation & lift tickets but no food so athletes should plan to either pack a lunch or bring extra spending money.
The second option is a two-day, two-night trip the following week departing Lake Placid on Tuesday evening, Nov 29th at 5pm and returning approximately 8pm on Thursday Dec 1st . Athletes will stay on site and will have supervised study time daily so assignments will need to be arranged and brought along. Price will include 2 breakfasts and 1 dinner but is dependent on attendance so please get in touch as soon as possible to reserve your spot.
Both of these options are first-come, first-serve and we are limited to the first 12 athletes who respond with payment. For more details or to sign-up please contact Justin Perry at jpskier900@gmail.com or 518-946-7001.

USASA Adirondack Schedule Now Online

The 2011/12 ADK schedule is now online at usasa.org . New this year, Railjams have been added as an official category with the same nationals qualification criteria as the rest of the disciplines. So, now it's possible to compete at the 2012 Nationals in one of three age divisions - 13 & under, 14 & over, and Open class!
Also new for this year, your best three scores from anywhere in each discipline will count towards your national ranking. In the past, only your first event outside your home series could count. Now, its like flying Southwest..."you're free to move about the country" plus no baggage fees!
So while we're waiting for Mother Nature to get the party started, keep thinking snowy thoughts, and mark December 23rd on your calendar. That's the first Railjam - afterhours at the Face. See you there!

2011-2012 Season Almost Here!

Okay, so I haven't posted since last Spring. That's because there was no hope of snow...until now! The season is almost upon us and it's time to get the gear in order (or order new gear), update your memberships, and start setting your competitve goals.
The USSA Eastern Freestyle schedule is not up yet but will be soon so all you freestyle skiers keep an eye on their site. Here you'll find info on events all over the East including Aerials, Moguls, Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and Big Air.
The USASA schedule will be up very soon but tentative dates are already included on NYSEF's google snowboard calendar. New for this year, Railjams have been added as an official discipline! That means you can accumulate points and head to Copper next Spring to become the first Rail Champion in USASA's history. Also, the first railjam will be a qualifier to represent the Adirondacks at the 2nd annual USASA X-Games exhibition in January. If you're joining or renewing, don't forget to do it before Oct 31st so you can save $10.
The Empire State Games are back at Whiteface too with Skier & Boarder Cross. Oh yeah, and we added Slopestyle this year! About time, right? Skiers and Boarders 13 years old and up are eligible to compete as long as you're a current member of one of the three New York USASA series. They're still updating their site but know that the games will happen Feb 2-5 and you can always get more info by contacting me at mikek@nysef.org .
So I know that's alot of info to keep track of but ,before you know it, we'll be on snow ,so get it all figured out now while you still have time!

22nd USASA National Championships Results

Well the 22nd USASA Nationals is in the books and the ADK was well represented to say the least! Twenty-eight athletes took part in both Ski and Snowboard events resulting in 13 top 20's and 5 podiums including the new national champion in 16-18 yr old Skier Cross, Matt Brady (NSA-pictured above left)! If you include non-ADK, NYSEF-coached athletes you could add three more top tens and another podium too.
The hardware came home thanks to the dominating ADK SX team. In addition to the 1st place from Matt, KC Brousseau brought home 2nd place in Open Class(+$1k), Peter Palumbo 2nd in 13-15 yr olds, Lindsay Rath 3rd in 9 & under, and Ed Sparkowski 3rd in the 19 & overs.
The deep fields in the snowboard disciplines kept the ADK off the podium but noteworthy was Dale Mortensen's 8th place in Slopestyle followed up the following day with another 8th, this time in Boardercross. Dale was the only rider on the slopestyle course to pull off a front flip off the first-down rail though a fall later in the run kept him from reaching one of the top spots.
Derek DiCastro managed a 10th place finish in Open Class boardercross coming back off a mid-season injury and Anthony Russo took a 14th place in BX in the 10-11yr olds at his first-ever Nationals.
All our athletes represented us well in victory and defeat. Many of the athletes stayed to cheer on their teammates even after they were knocked out of competition - truly a sign of sportsmanship and what the USASA is all about.
This Nationals was dedicated to the memory of USASA founder Chuck Allen who passed away this past winter. Chuck was a SoCal surf coach who came up with the idea of a "Little League" for snowboarding. His legacy was represented by the Aloha print bibs modeled after his beloved Hawaiian shirt. Over the years the organization evolved to include our skier siblings and the rest is history. There wasn't a dry eye in the village after Chuck's good friend and Slopestyle Technical Supervisor Bryce Maxwell spoke about the man who started it all and what the sport meant to him. Just when you thought it couldn't get any more emotional Bryce introduced Chuck's widow Christine and you could see how touched she was by the love of a bunch of strangers who understood Chuck's vision.
It's hard to believe it's over as we start to plan for next year and an even bigger and better event - if that's possible! 1641 athletes came to Copper Mt to compete and share in the camraderie of our sport. Who knows? Maybe 2000 isn't out of reach?
Special thanks has to go to all the NYSEF staffmembers who empowered our athletes to such great heights - Head SX Coach Kevin Brousseau, Head Wax Tech Corey Brousseau, Head Freeride Coach Jusin Perry, Asst Freeride Coach Keith Shipman, Head Snowboard Coach Tommy Thomson, Asst Snowboard Coach Bob Witt, and Coach/Athlete Derek DiCastro and USASA Volunteer/Coach/Team Mom Linda Brousseau.
Thank you everyone!
BTW-Anyone with pictures to share please send them along!

Custom Nationals ADK Hardway Hoody Now Available!

Nationals time is finally here and that means its time to unveil our custom ADK hoodies. And this year it has local flavor thanks to Susan Hirschfeld and the Hardway crew -local rider/designers John Wilkins and Dan Lillo! Yep, custom Hardways in green with our new ADK logo on the goggle wipe and a green tinted Nationals logo on the rear. If you won your age group you get one for free. If you didn't you can still get one for just $60. They come in L, XL, and XXL (yes they're meant to be oversized) but quantities are limited. The green fleece is exclusive (not counting Cardany's) so once they're gone they're gone!


Available by order and for sale onsite at the 22nd Annual USASA National Championships at Copper Mt., CO starting this Saturday April 2nd. If you're going to be there, be sure to contact me & pick yours up to wear in the opening ceremonies parade to represent ADK the Hardway! Contact mikek@nysef.org to reserve your size before they're gone. If you're not going to CO your order will be available for pickup from the NYSEF Training Center after Nationals.