Athletes from the Mt Hotham Race Squad

Hotham recently played host to two Victorian High Performance training camps; the inaugural ‘Victorian B2B High Performance Camp’ for 1993 & 1994 born athletes was run concurrently with the annual ‘Victorian Junior Development Squad High Performance Camp’ (1988 to 1992)

Challenging weather didn’t put a damper on the enthusiasm and work ethic of this talented and focused group of athletes. Camps of this nature represent an excellent opportunity to get the best athletes and coaches together in a cooperative, competitive and development oriented training environment; these camps will serve as a valuable tool in establishing cooperative liaisons between the elite coaches and athletes in Victoria; resulting in a clear athletic pathway based on benchmarking and a vision of excellence.

The July camp was run as a lead up to the Victorian Junior / Senior titles at Hotham held on July 28th and 29th. A 2nd series of camps will be run in September; the September camps will be focused on the development of core skills for speed (tucking, jumping, gliding etc…) Complete details to follow in early August.

Victorian B2B High Performance Camp (best with the best; athletes & coaches)

• The ‘B2B’ project camp is focused on benchmarking, talent identification, tactical awareness, ancillary competency and education (flexibility & nutrition)
• Eleven(11) of the top 13 & 14 year olds in Victoria honed their skills during an intense 2 day training camp followed by 2 days of giant slalom and slalom racing action on Snake Gully at Hotham. This provides the group with a great sneak peak of the official venue for the 2007 Australian Children’s Championships to be held at Hotham for the 2^nd time in 3 years in early September.

The following athletes took part in the inaugural B2B camp:

Layla Lee (Falls Creek Race Club), Catherine Frawley (Falls Creek Race Club), Georgie Watson (Falls Creek Race Club), George Johnstone (Falls Creek Race Club), Jackson Coull (Mt Buller Race Club), Djoeke Hoedemaker (Mt Hotham Racing Club), Tjuntu Muhlen (Mt Hotham Racing Club), Aimee Blackshaw (Mt Hotham Racing Club), Hugh Brooks (Mt Hotham Racing Club), Darcy Coombs (Mt Hotham Racing Club).

(The B2B athletes were coached & supported by JessiePitt(Falls Creek Race Club) and TrentKaufman(Mount Hotham Racing Squad) Creating tomorrow’s champions today!

Victorian Junior Development Squad (VJDS) Camp 

• The ‘VJDS’ camp is focused on benchmarking, talent identification, tactical awareness, ancillary competency and education (flexibility & nutrition), team building as well as fostering an increase in competitive intensity.

The following athletes took part in the VJDS Camp at Hotham;

Hannes Grimus (Mount Buller Race Club), Sam Nottle (Mount Buller Race Club), Emily Bamford (Mount Buller Race Club), Max Hennessy (Mount Buller Race Club), Sarah Gronow (Mount Buller Race Club), Libby Blampied (Mount Buller Race Club), Lucy Nettlefold (Mount Buller Race Club), Rhys Attridge (Mount Buller Race Club), Micheal Rishworth (Mount Buller Race Club), Jono Wong (Falls Creek Race Club), Duane Dinham (Falls Creek Race Club), Maddi McMahon (Falls Creek Race Club), Lucy Redford Hunt (Falls Creek Race Club), Lizzy Stubbs (Mount Hotham Race Squad), Luke Laidlaw (Mount Hotham Race Squad), Christian Geiger (Mount Hotham Race Squad), Jeremy O’Sullivan (Mount Hotham Race Squad), Declan Hofbauer (Mount Hotham Race Squad; injured), Ben Coombs (Mount Hotham Racing Squad; absent)

(The ‘VJDS’ athletes were coached & supported by Zuzanna Smercikova (Mount Buller Race Club), Fabian Kals (Falls Creek Race Club) and Jamie Gould (Mount Hotham Race Squad)

Thank you’s

• The ‘B2B’ & ‘JDS’ high performance camps are supported and administered by the Victorian Alpine Committee (VAC); which operates under the auspices of Ski & Snowboard Australia (SSA).
• Special thank you to ‘Hotham’ for their support of the camps; complimentary lift passes for athletes & coaches, excellent hill space…these camps would not be possible without their ongoing support. Thank you Belinda Trembath, Len Dobell, Scott Sanderson and Ronnie Boardman.
• Dave Reeves for the countless hours spent organizing camp details (food, billets, transport etc…)
• All of the MHRS families who billeted athletes…Coombs, Blackshaw, Laidlaw, Hoedemaker & Hofbauer…thank you all!

The ‘B2B’ & ‘VJDS’ camps represent a cooperative effort between the Mount Buller Race Club, the Falls Creek Race Club and the Mount Hotham Race Squad.

For further information on the ‘B2B’ and ‘VJDS’ camps recently held at Hotham, please contact Dave Reeves: VAC Liaison Victorian Alpine Committee dave@nowwot.com , or Jeff Books: Athletics Director Mount Hotham Racing Squad jeff@mhrs.org.au

For more information about any programs offered by the Mount Hotham Racing Squad please visit www.mhrs.org.au