October 6, 2005 – The Haywood Report is powered by Haywood Securities Inc., a proud sponsor of Canada’s National Ski Teams.

The fall training season has begun, and the National Ski Team is busy putting in a few more quality dryland training sessions while we wait for the first snowfall. As usual at this time of year the weather and change in the season makes training a little more challenging. With the days getting shorter and the temperatures dropping training sometimes seems a little less inviting.

One recent rainy afternoon I was reading the September edition of the newsletter from my ski club Nakkertok Nordic. In the newsletter I came across a speech that a young Racing Rabbit named Patrick wrote for a school project. He wrote his speech to share with his classmates his enthusiasm for skiing with the Nakkertok Racing Rabbits.

Patrick’s thoughts inspired me to think about the coming season, and reminded me how much fun skiing really is, especially when you are training with an enthusiastic group, whether it is the Racing Rabbits, or the National Ski Team. Patrick, like many of us started out as a Jackrabbit when he was seven years old and has been hooked on skiing for the past four years. I decided to ask Patrick what he liked most about skiing and his response sounded familiar, “I like skiing with my friends. Sometimes we try to go as fast as possible and sometimes we like to chat. I’ve always liked going down the hills. Since I’ve joined Racing Rabbits, I’ve started to enjoy going up the hills.”

Patrick’s answer helped to remind me that even though I’m making the step from being a junior to being a senior this year, skiers of all ages like to have fun – just like Racing Rabbits!

We like skiing with our friends

Friends are certainly a huge part of skiing that keeps anyone going. If I think about all of my closest friends, most have been my team-mates at one time or another. When I was a junior racer the only reason I went to ski practice sometimes was to see my friends.

We love to chat

When my team-mates and I get together we love to chat (even though it drives our coaches crazy) but we do try to stay focused during our workouts doing technique and good quality skiing. Those other workouts where we just ski along and chat are just as important.

We enjoy the hills

The workouts where all we do is ski down hills are my favourites. Whether it’s before a race, getting to know the course, or just out on a fun afternoon ski, I’ve spent hours going up and down the same hill, and loved every minute of it! I’m always reminded of how special our sport is when I ski up a big hill on the glacier and have a great view of the mountains surrounding us. Of course once I’m up there I don’t mind the fact that I get to ski down!

We like to go fast

Whether it’s an intensity workout, or a race, we ski as fast as we can, and battle it out with our team-mates and competitors. These times are energy-filled, as our minds and bodies try and use everything we have to finish the job. It’s a pretty good feeling when it’s all over.