2008 Illabunda Senior Race Training

Hi Folks!

The Senior Race Training week end was held on July 25th to 27th.
The weather was fantastic, the snow was fantastic and the crowds weren’t too bad. Not a bad recipe!

The early arrivals enjoyed a sunny day on Friday with great snow for a day’s skiing as a warm up prior to Race Coaching on Saturday and Sunday.

Perisher Blue coach ‘Stefan’ is building quite a report with our club and he brought the same friendly approach to this group that he possessed at the Junior Training week. He passed on his knowledge to a very enthusiastic team of racers.


The usual warm ups and drills were rehearsed prior to attacking the GS gates on the ‘Mother in law’ course where ones technique decides a successful run or crash and burn.


Some photos have mysteriously been erased from my camera!


However our team threw themselves into the task with their usual level of self preservation. Zero! And that is what Illabunda is all about, taking one for the team!

Post Mortems were held each afternoon at the Sundek where technical application was discussed and finetuned. The level of bravado increased with each schooner of James Squires.

The races are being conducted on Saturday 15th August and I’m sure we will fare very well and hopefully get the Illabunda badge stamped on a few trophies.
Good luck team.

Cheers
Terry Dryburgh
Race Captain.

2008 JUNIOR RACE TRAINING REPORT JULY 6TH – 13TH

Preparations for the 2008 race season began at Illabunda on Sunday the 6th July with the arrival of the Junior Race Team. The rebuilding phase continues this year after losing some of our top end skiers from last year to the senior ranks. Some welcome inclusions to this year’s squad are William and Lara Edmonds who bring with them some grit and determination from their prior sporting achievements. Also young Asher Fitzgerald has the opportunity to continue the fine tradition of racers from the Fitzgerald family and will certainly give his all on race day.

The weather deteriorated and the forecast was for much needed snow. The week started with drizzle and wet snow on Monday and Tuesday, cleared up for a sunny Wednesday but then dumped approximately 30cm of the precious white stuff on Thursday and Friday. The sunny skies returned for Saturday and Sunday.

Starting from Monday, the team was put through a program of GS training for three hours in the mornings by Perisher Blue coaches Stefan and Heidi in tough conditions at Blue Cow and the feedback was very positive from both coaches. They heaped praise on our young charges for their good behaviour and dedication in mostly poor conditions.

A torrid Cross Country coaching session was conducted on Thursday afternoon in heavy snow over at the Nordic tracks and it was very pleasing to witness the effort put in by the usual gut busters and also the new team members.

Snowboard training was a two day exercise on Friday and Saturday at Perisher and some positive achievements here hold us in good stead for the upcoming races.

Thank you to the parents and juniors who attended the training week and I hope the team is excited about the prospect of performing well for the Illabunda Club on race day 3oth August.

Last but certainly not least, thank you to our lodge managers Luanne and Matt who just keep on impressing with their fine food and friendly hospitality. It is always a tough week for the managers but they kept on smiling.

Terry Dryburgh
Race Captain

It's Begining To Look Like Winter - Finally

15cm of much needed snow has fallen over the last 24hrs with more forecast for the remainder of the week and next week - just in time for the school holidays.

The wind is howling which is always a good sign with gusts over 100km/h having been recorded today!

Quite a few extra lifts at Perisher should open as a result of the fall with the Forester Quad expected to open to mid station tomorrow.

Ski Fitness

The snow might be taking it's time to arrive, but that leaves us all some extra time to get ready to ski.

Long time friend of Illabunda, member in waiting and legendary super Physio Karyn Whelan has kindly supplied some info on getting fit to ski - Thanks Karyn!

Take a look:

5 TIPS FOR GETTING FIT TO SKI AND BOARD
by Karyn Whelan BAppScCumbMAppScSyd, Physiotherapist

1. Start training 6 – 8 weeks prior to your ski trip.
   



2. Improve your cardiovascular fitness with exercise that is relevant for downhill, cross country, and telemark skiing, and snowboarding such as:
   *cycling
   *stair climbing
   *running
   *step-ups and side-to-side jumps (see the cardiovascular exercises on the attached Australian Physiotherapy Association leaflet)
   *skateboarding or surfing (for snowboarders)
   
   Exercise for at least 40 minutes 3 x week.
   Exercise at lower intensities for longer periods to improve endurance, and for higher intensities for short periods (eg sprints or hills) to improve power.
   



3. Improve the strength and endurance of relevant muscles.
   *see the strengthening exercises on the attached Australian Physiotherapy Association leaflet
   *Wall-sits can be progressed by doing them without using a wall.
   *Perform slow deep lunges with one leg in front of the other. Hold for at least 3 seconds. Swap legs. Repeat until your muscles feel tired. (Telemarkers could add a twist while lunging to mimic the turning action).
   



4. Stretch to improve your flexibility.
   *see the stretching / warm up exercises on the attached Australian Physiotherapy Association leaflet
   



5. Improve your Balance
   *side-to-side jumps (see the cardiovascular exercises on the attached Australian Physiotherapy Association leaflet)
   *one legged squats
   *skateboarding or surfing (for snowboarders)
   *lunges with a twist to mimic the turning action (for telemarkers)

A Message From The Race Captain

Hi Everyone.

Well, it’s that time of the year again and I’m sure that the white stuff will start falling soon. Let’s hope so anyway.

The first week of the school holidays will be here soon and that means the Illabunda Junior race team arrive at the lodge for their training program from the 7th July for the entire week.

We will be welcoming a few new faces to the team this year and hopefully they will enjoy the experience and benefit from the training.

Monday through to Friday will be the GS downhill training each morning for a few hours with a bit of Cross Country training thrown in on a couple of afternoons. The weekend will see the kids get stuck into the Snowboard training.

The main focus is to have fun while building on our great team spirit and hopefully fine tune their skills for the races in late August.

Bye for now.

Terry Dryburgh
Race Captain.

Nearly There

The long summer has now passed and we are just days away from the opening of the season.

Matt and Louanne, our fantastic managers, are in the lodge getting it ready for the busy season ahead.

Unfortunately the weather hasn't been kind over the last few weeks and there is only man made snow to kick off the season.

Even still, Illabunda is nearly booked out for the opening weekend with just two beds free!

Alpine Photographic Exhibition

Snowmaking

Preparations are well underway at Perisher for the opening of the ski season, with snowmaking giving mother nature a helping hand.

The new snowmaking system at Perisher has extended right up to the halfway station of the quad, so it might be possible to ski from there, right from the word go!

Opening Weekend Activities @ Perisher Blue

Blog Visitors

Here are some interesting facts about the Illabunda News Blog from last season:

• 199 different people visited the blog!
• Those people visited the blog a total of 1096 times!
• 163 of those people viewed the blog more than once.
• Blog visits came from Australia, United Arab Emirates, United States, Solomon Islands, Jordan, Singapore, Italy and the UK!
• 70% of the visits came via the Illabunda website, 26% visited the blog directly.
• 20 comments were made on the blog using the comment feature.

Illabunda Member Seen On Every Qantas Flight For Months

One Illabunda member has been seen on just about every Qantas flight for the last few months!

Ian Gracie has been featured on Q Media's "Australia - Behind the Scenes" updates on the progress of Baz Luhrmann's new film - Australia.

Ian is the Supervising Art Director for this project and is a long time member of Illabunda.

The Q Media update is screened on most Qantas flights both domestic and international. So next time you are aboard a Qantas plane - keep your eyes peeled.

If you haven't heard of this new film, check out the trailer that has just been released and admire some of Ian's work.

The Perisher Card

Perisher Blue has just announced a new deal that might be of interest to
Illabunda members and guests.

From Perisher:
The Perisher Card
The Perisher Card offers loyal guests the chance to save on day passes. Designed specifically for those who fall short of spending enough time in the resort to purchase a Season Pass, the Perisher Card can be purchased for $45 from all Perisher Blue ticket outlets. It then entitles frequent skiers and boarders to buy mountain passes for just $85 per day from Friday to Sunday and $79 from Monday to Thursday. Perisher Card holders also receive the benefits of two for one First Tracks access. The Perisher Card can be purchased at any time through the season.

So if you're skiing just two weekends or more over the season, it might be worth your while taking advantage of this offer.

Winter 2008 Bookings

Illabunda Booking Officer Leo Delissen says that winter 2008 bookings are the best they have been in years.

As usual, strong demand has occurred for the prized mid winter dates especially July and August weekends.

However the shoulder season is a great time to visit the lodge with a quieter mountain and great skiing conditions can be had at any time in the season.

Improved snowmaking at Perisher will improve early and late season conditions and cross country / backcountry skiing is great at any time of the season.

Cheaper rates at the lodge in the early and late season is one reason to take a look at the vacancies here and book yourself in for what is always an awesome stay at Illabunda!

Many thanks to Leo for doing a great job of sorting through the mountain of booking requests he gets each winter.

Revamped Deck

The fabulous Illabunda deck has been revamped and is looking fantastic!



The wood has a great colour and the balustrading is super safe and kid friendly.

Thanks to Les Smith for the photo and thanks to the members who made this awesome improvement happen.

Online Bookings

The Illabunda website has a great new feature that will greatly benefit members and people on the membership waiting list.

ONLINE BOOKINGS!

Simply log on via the Illabunda website and you can:

• Submit booking requests
• Retrieve and modify and resubmit existing booking forms - greatly simplifying multiple bookings for large groups or for families from year to year
• See how much a booking will cost

Check it out!

The Ski Season Opens In Just 20 Days!

Welcome to Winter 2008!

With the ski season just 20 days away it is time to get excited - I know I am!

Snow has started to fall tonight - and Perisher have fired up their snowguns.

The lodge has a new look thanks to the hard work of all the members and friends that attended working bees over the summer - make sure you get down there this winter to check it out.