Thanks to everyone who sent pictures in for the Greenbook Photo Contest.  We've narrowed it down to five finalists and now we want to know what you think.  Click HERE to vote for your favourite (only once please)!  The winning photo will be featured on the cover of the 2008/09 BC Alpine Greenbook (with photo credit, of course) and the photographer will receive a beautiful pair of Auclair leather ski gloves.  Results of the voting will be announced on June 30th.  Good luck!

IMPORTANT NEW Information for Coaches and Athletes:  A number of significant decisions were made by the FIS Council at a recent Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.  Please note the important information about changes to specifications for competition equipment contained on the last two pages (11 & 12) of this DOCUMENT.

With the help of Diana Rochon and Cindy Thomson, strength and conditioning coaches of "Canadian Sport Centre Pacific", we have organized a great line-up of athletic training and education for this summer's Whistler Super Camp (July 22 to 27). These clinics, with some of the best certified trainers around, will be supported by BC Alpine funding and will cost the athletes and coaches nothing but hard work and a winning attitude.  The athletes will be split into groups by club and must be supervised by their coaches. All sessions are designed to meet the needs of athletes 11 - 18 years of age.  Any club wishing to participate in these sessions must contact Joanna Magee and give her their numbers by June 28! (# of FIS athletes and # of Kinder athletes)

NOTE: All athletes and coaches must bring 1 skipping rope each in order to participate. These can travel with them on the road afterwards and can be incorporated into regular athletic training.

GOAL: To provide coach and athlete education, i.e. training techniques to use in the pre-season as well as during the competitive season that can be modified for any age group.

PLAN: You will be given a detailed schedule on the morning of June 22nd at the base of Blackcomb.  All athletic training will take place from 2:30 to 4:00 every day except on July 22nd when it will go from 2:15 to 4:30.

On July 22nd at 2:15 everyone will meet at the Whistler Mountain Ski Club cabin. All the athletes will go on a supervised 2 hour hike up the Olympic downhill. The coaches will stay behind (tentatively in the WMSC cabin) with the athletic trainers who will be conducting the four sessions. The trainers will discuss their programs with you and offer suggestions for coaching athletes. You will walk away with great ideas and some handouts to support your athletic training programs.

July 23-26: The clubs will be divided into groups and over the course of the four days, will participate in all of the following sessions:

1. Agility/Coordination – using ladders, cones, mini-hurdles and any other assorted toys

2. Total Body Medicine Ball Workout (with the idea that if med balls aren’t available kids could use 1 dumbbell or a milk jug filled with sand when at home)

3. Bodyweight & partner strength training (we are asking the kids to have skipping ropes with them so the ropes can be used as part of the partner training)

4. Simple yoga (as an addition to the regular stretching)

At the recent Alpine Canada Summit in Calgary, the Canadian Snowsports Association, along with ACA’s insurers, introduced a new method of reporting all out of country ski training (mostly focused on resorts outside of North America).  Click HERE to see the Sanction Request Form that clubs need to fill out prior to leaving the country for training.  For more information, please visit the Insurance Info area of ACA's website or contact ACA's Erin Armstrong, Manager, National Services.

Please mark your calendar!  BC Alpine's Fall AGM will be at the Holiday Inn Vancouver Centre on Saturday, October 4th, 2008.  Details to follow.

The new CSCF World Cup 2008 Winning Runs DVD set is now available!  This DVD is for athletes and coaches working in the "Train to Race" and "Train to Win" phases of development.  In collaboration with Infront, Alpine Canada Alpin and the Canadian Alpine Ski Team coaches, this DVD shows more than 88 winning runs from more than 62 races of the 2008 World Cup season. This two DVD set is more than two hours of pure adrenaline.  As a mental training tool, it is a must! This DVD is for educational purposes only.  Just $29.95 - DVD format only. To order, visit the CSCF on-line store.

The ACA Awards of Excellence are designed to honour outstanding individuals who excelled during the previous ski racing season. Throughout the alpine skiing season, thousands of officials, volunteers, coaches and ski racers of all ages worked tirelessly to maintain a sustainable ski racing system in Canada and provide opportunities for young athletes to reach their potential.  Click HERE to learn more and find out how you can nominate someone you know!