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.

Summer 2007 / 08

Summer is a great time to enjoy the mountains.

Perisher is certainly a very different and quiet place.

The lodge is an ideal place to base yourself for even a few days or something much longer.

Bushwalking, fishing and sightseeing are just a few of the activities you can enjoy, and right now, there is still skiing!

The rates this summer at the Illabunda have remained the same as last, so that means it is CHEAP!

You can check the summer vacancies here.

Get down there and enjoy!

Winter 2007 - It's Over!

Winter 2007 has come to a close, and what a great season it was.

August and early September ended up being fairly dry in terms of snowfall, and it wasn't until the final two weeks of the season, did snow finally fall again.

That doesn't mean the skiing was bad - in fact, the solid snowpack that was on the ground held up really well, and even on the long weekend - the whole resort bar Smiggins could have been open - an amazing situation.

The lodge was full almost all season, and a huge vote of thanks must go to our fantastic managers Matt and Luanne who made every guests stay an absolute pleasure.

When the closing weekend arrived, it came with a surprise - 10cm of fresh snow - the Saturday was great skiing, with no - one around!

While the lifts are closed, there is still plenty of snow to enjoy on the higher slopes of the main range, and if you are keen, it is there for you! 5cm of new snow fell on Friday night!

So goodbye to all the Skiers, boarders, snowshoers and holiday makers and welcome to summer!

Tragedy

I hadn't seen Tyrone Monkman in a few seasons, but from all reports he was still a keen skier. A few years back, he was a regular guest at Illabunda.

Late this season he was killed in a skiing accident at Blue Cow.

Tyrone tragically left behind his wife Renee and their baby daughter Olivia. The thoughts of all Illabunda members, guest and friends are with them.

Make sure you think of Tyrone the next time you ski under the Ridge Chair at Blue Cow, and if you knew him, even stop for a moment to remember him.

2007 Illabunda Junior Race Report

The Illawarra Junior Interclub races were held on Saturday 1st September in brilliant sunshine.

Our considerably young team turned up ready to tackle their more fancied rivals from the big budget clubs but were certainly not intimidated.

The Giant Slalom and Snow Board events were contested on the Upper Rollercoaster Race Course at Blue Cow on a testing layout with softening snow in the morning followed by the Cross Country contest which was fought over at the Nordic track in the afternoon on what was described by experts as a tough course.

Our little tackers not only looked the goods in their team attire but performed admirably on all fronts and did us proud with their efforts.

Lauren Egle Marshall skied her last race for the Juniors this year but also raced for the Seniors as a 16year old. She has served the Juniors well over the years and showed that she will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come by being crowned 2007 Female Combined Champion in the Senior competition.

Ben Dryburgh also heads to the Seniors next year after a very successful reign in the Junior competition. Ben had to unfortunately miss this year’s Junior races due to other commitments.

Thank you and good luck to both of them.

The recruitment phase continued this year with Oliver Howden joining the team. Oliver padded up for all three events and did well.

I would like to extend my thanks to the parents / helpers who provide me with great assistance on the training and race periods. Also thank you to our new Illabunda managers, Luanne and Matt who looked after us with fine food and great hospitality.

Thank you to all of the Juniors who trained and raced for the club in 2007. I hope they all had a great time and enjoyed the team spirit of the club. They all performed very well and I look forward to seeing them in 2008.

We at Illabunda, now enjoy a very good relationship with Rhythm Snow sports at Cooma. Mick and Rolph kindly donated many items for our presentation night as well as the benefits we enjoy when hiring our equipment on each venture to the snow. Let’s show our appreciation by continually supporting Rhythm in the future.

See the Illabunda Web Page Race section for all results.

Terry Dryburgh