World Masters: boot camp diary
In early January, a group of 14 alpine skiers left to represent Australia in the first ever World Winter Masters Games in Slovenia. First stop was the Austrian resort of Saalbach/Hinterglemm, where the Aussie team gathered for a two-week training camp. Bruce Long recaps the experience.
ON ARRIVING at our base in Austria, well-known Perisher identity Rupert Winkler greeted us with an Australian flag, which we promptly hung from the balcony. Rupert was born in Hinterglemm and he and his brother, Hans, took on the job of coaching the Aussie team.
After beginning with a couple of easier days, soon we were skiing roughly six hours a day and covering between 30 to 40 km and 5000 – 7500 vertical feet! Over the 13 days we used the lifts 240 times (some many more times of course) covered 77,446 vertical metres and skied 439 kilometres. Not bad for a group whose average age was 60+.
We soon discovered that the best part of the day was the lunch stop. Due to the huge amount of terrain – combining a number of villages on two sides of a long valley – we had lunch at a different place nearly every day. The quality and quantity of the Austrian food was fantastic.
Training steadily increased throughout the week starting with technical drills followed by courses set with stubbie gates (small knee-high gates), then progressing to full gates and a full length course for Slalom and Giant Slalom.
Courses were set on the Hasenauer slope serviced by a brand new, 8-seater chairlift with heated seats and a drop down canopy.
This proved to be an ideal training loop, with a fast turnaround and good snow over to the edge of the ski run. Low temperatures helped keep the slope in good condition.
At the end of each day we would return to the villa and watch video of the day’s training, getting both visual feedback and analysis by the coaches.
Extra-curricular activities included ice karting and a memorable after-dark ‘rodel’ run. A rodel is a traditional wooden sled on which you sit and steer by leaning into the turn like a motor bike to make the inside runner bite, and by touching the snow with your feet. As could be expected, the local team of Rupert and his son Jakob were the fastest runners on the night.
It helps when you have two on the sled. It also helps to have a couple of Schnapps at the top of the run, keeping you warm as you power down the run in the freezing temperatures!
Inevitably the time came when we had to pack our bags for the transfer to Kranjska Gora. The group invited Rupert, Jakob and Hans to a farewell dinner at one of Hinterglemm’s top white-table-cloth restaurants. Here, the most successful Australian Masters Saalbach – Hinterglemm WWMG 2010 training camp wound up with fine food, plenty of wine, a few heartfelt speeches and many ‘prosts’.
Heimo’s silver caps a memorable Masters
The courses were extremely icy, with blue ice on some parts of the runs. For a group of Aussies coming from a soft-snow environment, this proved to be a challenge for many of us, even with the training on the firm snow in Austria.
With 180 ladies followed by nearly 280 guys the course was really tough with massive ruts and about a third of the way down I came out after hitting a big hole.
One great feature of the event was the live commentary, delivered over massive loudspeakers by an entertaining, multi-lingual commentator. Every run was announced in Slovenian, of course, but in English for every competitor and again in the native tongue of every competitor
As ladies and the oldest competitors ran first, the Aussie contingent was all at the finish to see our coach Rupert Winkler have his run in the Super G. By the time a few of the top runners had come through, we had it all worked out who were the fast ones, by reading the clock as they passed a particular point, lower down in the course. When Rupert came through that point, he was well on track for a top position finish. The barracking and support from the Aussies could be heard in Bled! Alas, three gates before the finish, Rupert was caught out by a small roller in the course and he was spat out into the fencing. We were convinced that he would have medalled if he had finished, but such is ski racing.
I believe the Super G was the largest one ever held in the world, with close to 500 competitors.
The last day was slalom day. A few centimetres of new snow gave the courses much more grip, so it suited most of us very well.
After the race, it was back to the hotel to pack up all our ski gear and equipment. However, packing was interrupted by the news that one of our group, Heimo Thaurer from Perisher, had finished in second place in the slalom in the 65 – 69 year old category.
Naturally, we all rushed back to the on-snow presentation area to support Heimo receiving his silver medal. As can be imagined, there was much yelling and cheering and noisy renditions of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi.
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One of the important aspects of the Masters scene is the social one and a Gala Dinner for the Alpine racers was held in the ballroom of the Hotel Larix. It was a fun night, enabling us to spend some time with the many friends made during the past few days.
Hope to see you at the masters races here in Australia!
By Bruce Long
Vice-president, AMSA