Well it certainly isn't to cold. The model is showing about -4 (-7 with the windchill). This is a warm wax day for sure. Waxless skis love this temperature - they tend not to do as well when it gets really cold, but tomorrow you should be great.
Coach James is away tomorrow. Ted and Adam will be coaching. We've got some games planned and some snow-plow work on the hills. If the trails are in good shape the older kids may work on skating - we'll play that by ear depending on how the snow is. This kind of weather is terrible for ski trails (though it is nice for humans who have been dealing with -40).
Friday, January 19, 2018
Friday, January 12, 2018
Saturday January 13 - Indoors
It is too cold to be outside for skiing, so we'll be meeting in the clubhouse for some games and work on waxing. Please bring your skis, wax, cork and scraper.
Friday, January 5, 2018
January 6 Session
Happy New Year Jackrabbit Families!
We are snapping out of this deep freeze just in time for skiing. Looking at our local weather model it is right on the edge of our cutoff. The model says -28 (with the windchill) at 10 and -26 by 11. Our cutoff is -27 with the windchill. The air temperature is about -17 and we should be out of the wind for the most part, so we are making the call to go. Still, it will be a nippy one. Layers is key. If you have little ones who don't do so well in the cold then you may want to take a pass for tomorrow. You know your kids. And while it is important to encourage (cajole, insist, drag) them to get out, we also need to set them (and us) up for success.
We'll do some skills drills, probably some work on the hill, and games.
A reminder to please label your polls and to check to make sure you have the right ones. There are still some mis-matched sets.
We are snapping out of this deep freeze just in time for skiing. Looking at our local weather model it is right on the edge of our cutoff. The model says -28 (with the windchill) at 10 and -26 by 11. Our cutoff is -27 with the windchill. The air temperature is about -17 and we should be out of the wind for the most part, so we are making the call to go. Still, it will be a nippy one. Layers is key. If you have little ones who don't do so well in the cold then you may want to take a pass for tomorrow. You know your kids. And while it is important to encourage (cajole, insist, drag) them to get out, we also need to set them (and us) up for success.
We'll do some skills drills, probably some work on the hill, and games.
A reminder to please label your polls and to check to make sure you have the right ones. There are still some mis-matched sets.
Friday, December 29, 2017
December 30 Session Cancelled
The session on the 30th is canceled, because polar vortex.
We have high hopes for the 6th - think warm thoughts!
We have high hopes for the 6th - think warm thoughts!
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
December 23 and 30
We have had an great few weeks of skiing including our time first time trials. They were a hit and we'll run them again towards the end of the season and see the progress.
This saturday Coach James and Coach Ted will be leading the session. On December 30 we'll have a casual ski with Coach James. We'll be back in full swing on the 6th of January.
Poles- Please label your poles. We have had a few get mixed up. We are specifically looking for a mismatched set of white poles for 2-4 year olds with plastic hand grips. If someone has the matching mis-matches set let us know.
Last week we also gave out out Jackrabbit toques for this year. Here is the group photo.
This saturday Coach James and Coach Ted will be leading the session. On December 30 we'll have a casual ski with Coach James. We'll be back in full swing on the 6th of January.
Poles- Please label your poles. We have had a few get mixed up. We are specifically looking for a mismatched set of white poles for 2-4 year olds with plastic hand grips. If someone has the matching mis-matches set let us know.
Last week we also gave out out Jackrabbit toques for this year. Here is the group photo.
Friday, December 1, 2017
Skiing December 2
The weather will be warm, but the conditions are not ideal. Plus Ted and Adam are both away this weekend. This Saturday will likely be a treasure hunt and some games. Based on the conditions we may cut it a bit short. A snow dance will definitely be in order!
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Saturday November 18 and Notes for the year.
Wildwood Jackrabbits uses the the Jackrabbits and Bunnyrabbits programs of Cross Country Canada as our guide for programming. Jackrabbits itself has 4 levels of skills development plus some other fun stuff to help promote skiing. Older Kids can get into the Track Attack program, but, for this year anyway, we think the Jackrabbit levels will suffice. Here are the three core parts of the program that we will be using:
(1) Skills Development
The 4 levels provide guidelines for developing the skiing basics. We have put the kids into 3 groups based on age and skill. This is an initially cut at this and we'll probably do a bit of moving once we have seen the kids in action.
You can see an outline of the 4 levels here.
We have a pretty big group this year, which is great, but does mean we may be leaning on parents a bit to help wrangle. Also there is always room for more coaches! (see below for more info on that)
(2) Timed Ski
We are going to do a couple timed skis this year This is between a 50m and 100m sprint that is purely the children racing against their own time. We'll do one in the next few weeks and then one towards the end of the season and see how they progress. For the really young ones we'll adapt to where they are at, and parents can always help. You can see some more background on the sprints here. Kids will earn different stickers based on their speed.
(3) Snow Goals - getting out and skiing!
Skiing on Saturday is great. Skiing other times is even better! This little rewards program encourages families to get out and ski during the year. Every 5 non-Jackrabbit outings that you do earns a your jackrabbit a sticker. If you family gets to a 'snow goal', let us know at the next Jackrabbits and we'll give you a sticker. Here is more about that program. They way it is described is a bit stingy in terms of the stickers. We have adapted it a bit and will give out as many stickers as you can earn - the more you ski the better!
Some other notes
Wax and prep - it is important to prep your skis before each session. If you don't have wax or need some hints and tips, please let us know. Here is a good video from Woodcock Cycle that talks about how to find your grip zone and how to wax.
One trick is to bring your skis inside the night before and wax them in the morning inside. The skis are warmer, the wax is warmer, you are warmer, it is all much easier. Waxing outside at Jackrabbits isn't ideal both in terms of time and how the wax will go on.
Swap Shop - is this Saturday. You'll want to go early if you are counting on getting gear there. It can be a bit crazy, but there is lots of good stuff to be had.
Coaching - we would welcome anyone who would be interested in joining the coaching team. There is formal training available (the next one in a few weeks) if you want to really get into it, and we also welcome 'assistant coaches' and casual help as well. There are a number of weeks where one or another of us are away, so more help is welcome. If you are interested or would like to know more, let one of us know.
Registration - you all have all either registered or told us that you are in the process - Thanks! We are going to be closing registration this weekend so for those who are almost done, the time is now.
This Saturday - we'll be splitting into 2 groups as James is away (did we mention coaching opportunities are available?). We'll be doing some hill and movement work. There still isn't enough snow to track... yet, so a snow dance will be in order!
As always, if you have any questions please let us know.
We are pretty excited about the season and are looking forward to some great skiing.
(1) Skills Development
The 4 levels provide guidelines for developing the skiing basics. We have put the kids into 3 groups based on age and skill. This is an initially cut at this and we'll probably do a bit of moving once we have seen the kids in action.
You can see an outline of the 4 levels here.
We have a pretty big group this year, which is great, but does mean we may be leaning on parents a bit to help wrangle. Also there is always room for more coaches! (see below for more info on that)
(2) Timed Ski
We are going to do a couple timed skis this year This is between a 50m and 100m sprint that is purely the children racing against their own time. We'll do one in the next few weeks and then one towards the end of the season and see how they progress. For the really young ones we'll adapt to where they are at, and parents can always help. You can see some more background on the sprints here. Kids will earn different stickers based on their speed.
(3) Snow Goals - getting out and skiing!
Skiing on Saturday is great. Skiing other times is even better! This little rewards program encourages families to get out and ski during the year. Every 5 non-Jackrabbit outings that you do earns a your jackrabbit a sticker. If you family gets to a 'snow goal', let us know at the next Jackrabbits and we'll give you a sticker. Here is more about that program. They way it is described is a bit stingy in terms of the stickers. We have adapted it a bit and will give out as many stickers as you can earn - the more you ski the better!
Some other notes
Wax and prep - it is important to prep your skis before each session. If you don't have wax or need some hints and tips, please let us know. Here is a good video from Woodcock Cycle that talks about how to find your grip zone and how to wax.
One trick is to bring your skis inside the night before and wax them in the morning inside. The skis are warmer, the wax is warmer, you are warmer, it is all much easier. Waxing outside at Jackrabbits isn't ideal both in terms of time and how the wax will go on.
Swap Shop - is this Saturday. You'll want to go early if you are counting on getting gear there. It can be a bit crazy, but there is lots of good stuff to be had.
Coaching - we would welcome anyone who would be interested in joining the coaching team. There is formal training available (the next one in a few weeks) if you want to really get into it, and we also welcome 'assistant coaches' and casual help as well. There are a number of weeks where one or another of us are away, so more help is welcome. If you are interested or would like to know more, let one of us know.
Registration - you all have all either registered or told us that you are in the process - Thanks! We are going to be closing registration this weekend so for those who are almost done, the time is now.
This Saturday - we'll be splitting into 2 groups as James is away (did we mention coaching opportunities are available?). We'll be doing some hill and movement work. There still isn't enough snow to track... yet, so a snow dance will be in order!
As always, if you have any questions please let us know.
We are pretty excited about the season and are looking forward to some great skiing.
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