Yay for day #2 and looking ahead...

Another great day out on skis with the group. We went over a few classic ski technique tips in a true or false format. The group was right on and very good at sorting out what was true and false about classic skiing. Some of them we had to talk through a bit and think about, but overall, they've got great classic ski knowledge. Here is what we reviewed.

Glide wax gives you grip under your foot. FALSE
Your skis remain flat throughout classic striding. FALSE
Skate skiing is not allowed in classic races. TRUE
Shorten your stride when going uphill. TRUE
Shake your butt/swing your hips. TRUE
A slapping noise lets you know that you are dropping your foot early (TRUE), this is good. FALSE
Stand up when going down hills. FALSE
Transfer your weight fully onto each ski. TRUE
Keep your pole straps loose. FALSE
Lean forward into the hill. FALSE (A tricky one because that's what your body tends to want to do.)
Allow your weight to fall forward onto your poles when double poling. TRUE
Punch your kick zone/wax pocket intoo the snow with each stride. TRUE
If you are slipping on an uphill, try stepping out of the tracks. TRUE
Herringbone or duck walk techniques are helpful on steep downhills. FALSE
Keep your hands in front of you on downhills. TRUE
If a skier behind you yells "track" you should step out of the track so they can pass you. TRUE
The basics of classic skiing are kick and glide. TRUE

Tomorrow we have our first race. Very exciting!!! Once again, this is a classic race at Sleepy Hollow. We will meet around 8:30am. Race start for middle schoolers is 10am. We've got lots of stuff to do before the race - prepping our skis, a special warm up, and making our team armbands/headbands. I am not sure whether this will be a mass start or interval start, but we practiced our double pole starts in a relay format today, so we should be all set whatever the race start is like!

Today we also worked on some no pole skiing and some hills, both up and down! Everyone did very well and I am thrilled to have this group of great skiers.

Next week: skate/freestyle skiing! This is both Tuesday and Friday (with a wax clinic so practice will go late) and then we have a skate race hosted by U32 on Saturday. Scroll down in the blog to see the schedule of skate and classic practice days so you can be sure to have the right equipment. I will notify of technique changes as necessary.