slalomplus

Website

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:51:00 +0000

You may have noticed that I am messing around with the website at the moment. I'm working towards changing the format, so hang on in there and we'll have a Slalom Plus Facebook before you know it.

Fraser leads misfiring Plus to the title – just!

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:34:00 +0000

Prepare yourselves for a long report. There’s a lot to tell, and October 11th marked a number of milestones in Summer Race League history. More of that later. But before this account declines into the usual tosh, there are credits to be accorded. Across the teams, the standard of sportsmanship this year has been exceptional. And that has been matched by excellent organisation by Jean and Brian and the staff at the Ski Centre. So to the organisers, competitors in all Gloucester Summer Race League Teams, the racers, and not least their parents and supporters, hearty thanks. What a back to front summer 2008 has been! Another glorious autumn day saw the culmination of the year’s competition. Although numbers of competitors were slightly down (accounted for by the ESSKIA championships at Rossendale, the Chill Factor Europeans and early winter hibernation for others) the racing was red-hot. It was good to see several awesome national guest star racers in the year’s final event. Sam Wyre was pitching for local rivals Gloucester, Exeter fielded Colin Armstrong and there were many other top names. Long may the tradition continue. Team Slalom Plus and Harlequins had lost a fair share of their squads. Nonetheless, TSP ‘A’ was sitting on a (surely unassailable) 65 point lead at the top of the standings and the manager was pleased to put out 2 full teams. But Harlequins was down to the dynamic duo of Mia Roberts (skiing through a myriad of body ailments) and sweet natured Shannon Tyrrell. Believe me folks, when Shannon skis the bees go buzz, the birds sing and even the darkest cloud gives way to sunshine. No guest stars for TSP due to the competing races mentioned earlier, and freshman years at various universities around the country. In TSP ‘A’, Robyn and Creagle Marment, Mike Stephens and Chantelle were missing. So, the usual suspects were joined by Kieran Tyrrell, Luke Henry, Dan Roberts and Zac Dimes. Chris Gardner was pleased to select himself having been discarded by the BBC commentary team at Lewes v Forest Green Rovers (another depressing defeat). TSP ‘B’ had the usual young faces, swelled from the consequently depleted Harlequins Team, and was anchored by hard man Dave Brennan. Dave had had his usual brekkie of gravel and tin tacks, and had psyched himself up with a few well directed blows to the head with a lump hammer. I think I noticed more bystanders than usual. A lot to do with Mia’s growing following amongst page 3 devotees, methinks. (All of them hoping that her complex upper-body high tensile support cables would surrender to the untold forces to which they are subjected.) Literally, the tension was unbearable. Ian and Richard from Gloucester Race Club had set a 13 gate course. A forest of red and blue poles hid a quite a straight line that required precision off the verticales and quick feet for the final shorter spaced section. It would bring edge of the seat performances from the stars and no joy for surrender monkeys! With so many seeded racers amongst the guests, there was little doubt the day’s groups of death would be at under 20 and under 15 levels. That would put the inexperienced TSP ‘A’ midfield under pressure. For TSP ‘A’, Livy, Bryony, and Kieran did just fine with 6th, 10th and 11th in the under 9s and under 12 groups. Not their best performances of the season, but solid enough. Fraser has been irresistible all season, and a first run of 12.90 seconds seized second place in the under 12s. Luke Henry too has improved consistently throughout the season, and 13.48 seconds for 6th at under 15 was yet another good return. With the pressure on at under 20, Dan Roberts crashed out on his first run, but then injected a decidedly quick 12.23 seconds to secure 11th in group. Like Kieron earlier in the season Zac had a ‘mare, coming to grief twice, but hacking back up the hill on his second run to rescue a lonely 18th position. It happens to us all Zac. Happily, there is still life in our older dogs (and I’m not referring to flees). Rorie and James laid down 11.53 and 11.67 for second and third in the under 35s. That would normally have been good enough for a podium finish, but today yielded just 8th and 9th positions overall, a full second behind the blistering leading under 20s. And miracle-physio Ford Ashworth continues to do the business for Chris Gardner who belted down in 12.71 seconds to take the over 50s crown from Midland’s Roger H, a heady 18th overall. Yet TSP’s 140 points conceded 37 to Midland Bears, and meant a nervous lunchtime for TSP ‘A’. They could not let a 65 point lead slip could they? TSP ‘B’ took lunch in better heart. 65 points were a few less than normal but with a young team featuring five racers at under 9, and a pair of under 12s and under 15s, that was not unexpected. Jack Holdsworth, Millie Till and Alex Jeynes took excellent 12th, 13th and 17th in their large groups, closely followed by Oliver Shaw and Gabriella Anderson. Ben McKinley and Jay Shaw gave it their best shots in the under 12s marking their steady season’s improvement. Ollie Andrew’s 19th in the 30 strong under 15 group was another good showing, Lauren Holdsworth tucking in just behind. Anchor-man Dave blasted 12.74 for a terrific season’s best 2nd at under 50. As for the dynamic duo, Shannon charmed her way to 21st in the under 12s, whilst Mia gritted her teeth against the back pain to grab 9th at under 50. Disappointingly for her drooling admirers, nothing structural snapped in Mia’s wardrobe department. She was forced to sit out the duals. The duals then would decide the 2008 Race League. Just as it should be. Would Midland Bears charge home in a sensational finish, or would TSP ‘A’ keep its nerve. Uncomfortably for your manager, the truth was closer to the former than the latter. Things did not start well for the A’s. Zac saw off one of his unequal competitors, but missed his second appointment and passed up the third. Rorie tried everything to blow away his superior opposition, but their talent and forced errors put paid to him. Nor could Chris make an impression on the company he’d found himself keeping. To cap it all, Dan and Kieron jagged out of their first runs. The spectre of defeat yawned like a big yawny thing. When the heat is really on, you need two qualities above all others. Will to win and self belief. When you add the heart of a lion, you’ll get somewhere close to the measure of 11 year old Fraser Mitchell’s performances this year. Despite his outstandingly quick timed runs (usually top 10 overall finishes), he has lost just 6 duals over the season. Predictably, he rallied the team and made mincemeat of his rivals. And where Fraser led, the other youngsters followed. Luke prevailing twice, and Bryony, Livy, Kieron and Dan all securing precious wins. And with James also winning twice, TSP ‘A’ limped to 46 duals points, enough to sneak the title by just 10 points from Midland Bears. In fairness, titles are secured over a season’s effort, but 10 points is the closest finish I can recall. Relief rather than elation is the lasting emotion and spare a thought for the Herculean effort by Midland Bears, ultimately proving in vain. Maybe I was being punished for to getting TSP engraved as 2007 and 2008 winners last week! Elsewhere, TSP fared better. Jack, Jay, Ollie Andrew and Lauren won thrice, whilst Oliver Shaw and Shannon struck twice, Ben and Dave once. TSP B’s 113 points saw them secure 9th place overall, 10 behind Avon and 36 off Wessex. Numerically challenged Harlequins propped up the standings in 14th. Individual honours went to Fraser with 28 points. In SRL 2008 he’s amassed 155 at an average of nearly 26, breathtaking stuff and the stand-out performance of the year. James followed with 25, Chris and Dave 23, Luke 22 (another personal best), Rorie 20, Livy 19, Jack 18, Bryony 16, Dan 14, Kieron 13, Alex, Millie and Ollie Andrew 11, and Jay and Lauren 10. The race by race scores and averages are summarised in the spreadsheet circulated with the report. Now as I hinted at the start of this nonsense, a few milestones need to be marked. In the September report, I composed some of my most persuasive prose to urge Chantelle not to retire from SRL. Clearly it had an effect, but not as I’d intended. She hasn’t changed her mind, and Rorie Scott and James Howells have joined her! 2008 is therefore a seminal year, a true changing of the guard. Not that these events should be allowed to pass un-noticed by the great unwashed. When heroes and emperors pass on, comets are spied, volcanoes have the decency to erupt, soothsayers wail in protest, dogs howl at night and FTSE dives. So far only the latter has happened, and I think it has more to do with James’ extraordinary credit card debts. Here then is a tribute to these stalwarts. Chantelle Goddard - Jones My team of researchers tell me that Chantelle was a child who had energy to spare. She discovered race skiing accidentally as a combative 12 year old, lashing two greasy haired school mates to her feet and hacking down Robin’s Wood Hill. Of course, that was a long time ago, decades before Robin’s Wood Glacier melted and its last hairy mammoth popped its clogs. After that, Geoff and Eunice had their work cut-out, ferrying her up to the Cairngorms and indulging her passion for the appalling shell suits that passed for 1980s ski fashion. Countless British skiing titles followed, along with miles of column inches in the Gloucester Citizen. As Chantelle approached skiing middle age (that is, she bade farewell to her teens), she vowed to establish a skiing dynasty. But as she waited for the appropriate Arian breeding stock to happen along, she devoted herself to coaching protégés such as Rachel Bradbridge. Thus encouraged, she went out onto the streets. There she rescued a tiny waif (Rorie Scott) from outside an Edinburgh tenement, and a snotty nosed fashion victim James Howells, scuffing his loafers in a farmyard whilst his parents line-danced in a barn. Both joined her in the mission she established, henceforth known as Team Slalom Plus. Abetted by Andy and precocious offspring Brodie and Bryony, the rest (as they say) is history. Rorie Scott Gentle giant Rorie was an attentive ski racing student. A 15 year racing career enjoyed many a highlight. In fact all lights are high when lying in drunken stupor on the floor of a Llandudno disco bar early, on a Sunday morning on a Grand Prix week-end. But skiing was not the only string to Rorie’s bow. Inspired by childhood friends, the Proclaimers, Rorie determined to travel the world and to perform his unique brand of electronic, ethnic rock-folk. Hit after hit didn’t follow. Letter from Poland left his fans unimpressed, as did the haunting 500 Kilometres. Eventually he havered up to Manchester to take a heat of X-Factor by storm. To this day, no one can adequately explain to me why Rorie’s retching Mustang Sally was passed over as Britain’s 2005 Eurovision entry. He is believed to be working on album of French Language Polish love songs. James Howells One always felt that the fame brought by ski racing was but a stepping stone along James’ career path. Fashion and catwalk stardom has always been his bent. It has taken father Ian several house extensions to accommodate James’ extensive wardrobe, where his shoe collection would put Imelda Marcos to shame. Often the butt of this column’s wisecracks, James has never lost his sense of humour and has cheerfully settled out of court every time he sued me. His interest in Wolseley Cars has since led to a meteoric rise through the management ranks of a international company where he edits their in house magazine, ‘Isn’t Plumbing Interesting?’ He hopes to replace Richard Hammond in the Top Gear team. Chantelle, Rorie and James, age shall not weary you, nor the years condemn. In the timed runs and the duals, we shall remember them. Friends, we your team salute you.

UPDATED: TSP and Harlequins Teams 11th October 2008

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:00:00 +0000

TSP and Harlequins Teams 11th October 2008 The Teams for 11th October are below. The Harlequins Teams are open to nominations from all Teams competing in SRL. I work with Jean to co-ordinate nominations and manage Harlequins. As the season progresses, priority will be accorded to those who train regularly and who have not yet raced, and to kids over adults. Also, I’ll try to make sure that those who have notified me of events for which they are unavailable, are selected for other events. As ever, over the course the year, everyone who wants to race will get several opportunities. TSP A: POINTS FROM PREVIOUS RACES May June July Aug Sep Oct 1 Bryony Goddard-Jones under 9 19 24 24 n/a 21 2 Olivia Mitchell under 9 22 23 24 23 21 3 Kieran Tyrrell under 12 14 0 20 21 15 4 Fraser Mitchell under 12 21 26 27 27 26 5 Luke Henry under 15 19 17 18 21 n/a 6 Zac Dimes under 20 n/a n/a n/a n/a 19 7 Daniel Roberts under 20 21 23 18 21 20 8 James Howells under 35 26 28 n/a n/a 27 9 Rorie Scott under 35 n/a n/a n/a 28 27 10 Dave Brennan under 50 23 22 20 n/a 21 TSP B: 1 Alexandra Jeynes under 9 n/a n/a 9 18 14 2 Gabriella Anderson under 9 n/a 10 11 11 ..3 3 Millie Till under 9 n/a 15 n/a n/a 11 4 Jack Holdsworth under 9 15 n/a 16 n/a 14 5 Oscar Henry under 9 n/a n/a n/a 9 n/a 6 Oliver Shaw under 9 n/a 9 4 n/a n/a 7 Jay Shaw under 12 n/a 6 10 n/a n/a 8 Ben McKinley under 12 n/a n/a n/a 8 10 9 Ollie Andrew under 15 n/a ..6 10 10 16 10 Lauren Holdsworth under 15 10 n/a 8 n/a ..8 Harlequins A & B Teams: (as notified to me to-date) 1 Matthew Waller (MSC) under 12 2 Sam Lee (MSC) under 12 3 Shannon Tyrrell (TSP) under 12 10 n/a ..3 ..8 ..7 4 James Elgy (MSC) under 15 5 Mia Roberts (TSP) under 50 7 6 10 ..5 n/a HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 BY NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 8th OCTOBER IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE

Fraser and Creagle lay down Vintage Win for Plus

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:31:00 +0000

Summer 2008 has been a cold and soggy affair. But thankfully, the penultimate Race League of the season was heralded by a scorching early autumn day, September 20th. The disposition in the TSP camp seemed pretty sunny too, and the Manager was able to select from the season’s strongest squads in a long while. Back for TSP ‘A’, were mother and daughter Goddard-Jones, fresh faced from 3 weeks on rinse-cycle in Cornwall. The beating heart of the 2008 team was present too, namely Robyn and Creagle Marment, Livvy and Fraser Mitchell and form-skier Mike Stephens. James Howells had risen phoenix-like from his sick bed having stomped on the ugly visage of pneumonia, just as Rorie Scott had emerged unscathed from the mother of all hangovers, after his 30th birthday earlier in the week. Chris Gardner added a sense of decorum. There was talent in abundance for the ‘B’s too. Their army of under 9s were headed by Gabriella Anderson, Jolly Jack Holdsworth, Alexandra Jaynes and Millie (don’t call me Amelia) Till. Fast improving Kieron Tyrrell, sweet smiling Lauren Holdsworth and David Gower look-a-like Billy Quantick comprised a midfield brimming with zeal. And the dash came in the shape of Zac Dimes, Dan Roberts and Dave Brennan. Great to have Zac back, and glad to see he’s still keeping the County’s hairstylists in business. This month, Harlequins were an all TSP affair. The skiing Dougal-Dogs, Oliver and Jay Shaw had succumbed to illness leaving a fearsome foursome of Ben McKinley, Shannon Tyrrell, Ollie Andrew and the meanest axe in the wood pile, baby-bashing Charlie Quantick. Mia Roberts had thrust herself full-frontally into the previous race round, but declined a place in Harlequins today. Just as well, as she soon became the victim of a wardrobe malfunction that might have traumatised race-goers, had it occurred in full view on the piste. Fortunately, those around her heard the warning sounds of tortured metal twisting and snapping. As they dived for cover, one of the steel hawsers that secured her prominent overhang, sheered, whip-cracking harmlessly into the trees. A narrow escape. Chantelle had set an interesting course that offered acceleration to two thirds distance but ended with some tricky turns. But as it happened, it is difficult to imagine how the morning session could have gone much better for TSP’s racers. The ‘A’ Team’s diminutives, Robyn, Livvy and Bryony have not had things all their own way in the second half of the season. But 4th 5th and 9th in age group was still fine skiing, Robyn having the satisfaction of heading Livvy for the first time this year. Fraser and Creagle have been in cracking form all year. September was no exception as they grabbed 2nd and 4th, Creagle forcing his friend to dig deep to stay ahead. Mike was the first in the Team to go sub 12 seconds with a superb 11.96. James bested him with 11.87, but both had to yield to Rorie’s blistering 11.29 (the day’s fastest run). Chazzer and Chris both secured seconds in age group to complete an excellent morning’s haul of 175 points. TSP ‘B’ was also on song. Jack and Alex grabbed 11th and 12th in the under 9s, leading in Millie and Gabriella. Kieron took a good 10th in the heat of the under 12s, whilst Billy secured a stunning 7th in the under 15 group, Lauren being close behind him. There are some very fast skiers in the under 20 age group, so 5th and 7th by Dan and Zac represented some seriously good racing. To cap it all, terrific runs by Dave Brennan meant 3rd place in the under 50s, fractions behind Chazzer. 101 points totalled. Ben and Shannon both competed well but Harlequins honours went to Ollie Andrew for his 14th place, skiing with real belief. Not to be outdone, Charlie sneaked into 9th as he prepared his cruel ambushes for the youngest racers that afternoon. In your Manager’s ‘umble opinion, James and Rorie set the best duals course of the season. Turns all the way through, rhythmical in the middle and breathless at the finish. Reminiscent of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. Sorry guys, bit of a ‘senior moment’. Now, where was I? Ah yes, the duals. Once TSP dreaded the duals, knowing that bucket loads of points would be conceded. Now they are a source of strength. No other team could top the ‘A’s 66 point haul, the ‘B’s amassed a more modest 43 but remarkably the fearsome foursome did best of all (in relative terms) plundering 30. The afternoon’s stars were Ben, Bryony, Ollie and James who all achieved a maximum 3 wins. Creagle, Fraser, Rorie, Chazzer, Millie, Shannon and Charlie took two apiece, with Chris getting one and a tie. Virtually everyone else won once. All of which meant a big win for the A’s, stretching their lead over Midland Bears by a further 21 points to an unassailable 65 with just October to go. The Bears have a slim 15 point lead over Western Counties with Gloucester ‘A’ 60 points back. TSP ‘B’ lie 8th, just 7 points behind Wessex. Harlequins have dropped to 14th only on the back of a team-less August and numerically challenged September. The day’s high fliers were many. James and Rorie soared with 27, Chazzer and Fraser 26, Chris 25, Creagle 24, Mike and Robyn 22, Livvy, Bryony and Dave 21, Dan 20, Billy and Zac 19, Charlie (booooo!) 18, Ollie 16, Kieron 15, Jack and Alex 14, Millie 11 and Ben 10. Quite a roll call. However, the day left 2 questions unanswered. Will Chazzer really make good her bleat about retiring from Summer Race League as of today? (she’s off footballing with Brodes in October). And, should James’ new car go on the Cool Board? As you’d expect, the Editor proffers an opinion or two. Don’t do it Lass! As the oldest surviving TSP racer (with a modest sporting background myself) once you give up the sports you love, there’s plenty of nothing beyond. Eternity yawns and all your body parts accelerate their move south. Grow old disgracefully but be selective how and when you perform. Pithy eh? One of my favourite people of all time was the peerless Jazz trumpeter, raconteur and all-round funny man, Humphrey Lyttleton. He died this year a few days short of his 87th birthday, a week after his latest Jazz gig and a live televised version of Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, which he chaired for 30 or so years. It is/was the only (spoof) panel game that has ever been worth listening to. Ending that show, he quipped: “So, as the loose bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air conditioning system of eternity, this show comes to a close!” What I mean Chazzer, is that when you do pack up for good, then Robinswood Hill will have the decency to erupt to mark the occasion. In the meantime, pace yourself! As to James’ Focus, it has to be said that it’s an impressive mount, even for one off Henry’s production line. Yet there are problems. On its first outing last Thursday, James had a head cold and turned up huddled in his hoodie – matching the criminal style of the blacked-out rear windows of the Focus. He looked like Snoop Dog alighting from a Hearse. More to the point, it’s a company car, and I’m sorry James, but company cars will never be cool. Tune back in after October 11th. Chris Gardner

TSP and Harlequins Teams 20th September 2008

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:30:00 +0000

The Teams for 20th September are below. The Harlequins Teams are open to nominations from all Teams competing in SRL. I work with Jean to co-ordinate nominations and manage Harlequins. As the season progresses, priority will be accorded to those who train regularly and who have not yet raced, and to kids over adults. Also, I’ll try to make sure that those who have notified me of events for which they are unavailable, are selected for other events. As ever, over the course the year, everyone who wants to race will get several opportunities. TSP A: POINTS FROM PREVIOUS RACES May June July Aug Sep Oct 1 Bryony Goddard-Jones under 9 19 24 24 n/a 2 Olivia Mitchell under 9 22 23 24 23 3 Robyn Marment under 9 21 25 27 18 4 Christian Marment under 12 22 23 24 24 5 Fraser Mitchell under 12 21 26 27 27 6 Mike Stephens under 20 n/a 24 23 n/a 7 James Howells under 35 26 28 n/a n/a 8 Rorie Scott under 35 n/a n/a n/a 28 9 Chantelle Goddard-J under 50 29 23 28 n/a 10 Chris Gardner over 50 n/a n/a n/a 22 Reserves: 11 Ellie Dalton under 20 25 n/a n/a n/a 12 Rich Luxton under 20 n/a n/a 29 n/a TSP B: 1 Alexandra Jeynes under 9 n/a n/a 9 18 2 Millie Till under 9 n/a 15 n/a n/a 3 Jack Holdsworth under 9 15 n/a 16 n/a 4 Kieran Tyrrell under 12 14 0 20 21 5 Luke Knudsen under 12 14 11 n/a 14 6 Billy Quantick under 15 n/a n/a n/a 19 7 Lauren Holdsworth under 15 10 n/a 8 n/a 8 Daniel Roberts under 20 21 23 18 21 9 Zac Dimes under 20 n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 Dave Brennan under 50 23 22 20 n/a Harlequins: 1 Gabriella Anderson,TSP under 9 n/a 10 11 11 2 Oliver Shaw, TSP under 9 n/a 9 4 n/a 3 Jay Shaw, TSP under 9 n/a 6 10 n/a 4 Will Henty, TSP under 12 n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 Ben McKinley, TSP under 12 n/a n/a n/a 8 6 Shannon Tyrrell, TSP under 12 10 n/a ..3 ..8 7 Carmela Roberts, TSP under 12 7 6 10 ..5 8 Ollie Andrew, TSP under 15 n/a ..6 10 10 9 Charlie Quantick, TSP over 50 n/a n/a n/a 20 Extras A & B Teams: (as notified to me to-date) Unless I’m requested otherwise, I will nominate all racers in TSP who are not selected for this month’s A & B Teams, for the Harlequins Teams. Known unavailabilities (all teams): Ollie Andrew (August), Zac Dimes (May, June, July, Aug), Will Henty (May, June, July, Aug), Jack, Lauren & Simon Holdsworth (June, Aug, Simon July too), Oliver & Jay Shaw (Aug), Robbie, Iain & David Innes (June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct), Tom Paine (all), George Henry (June, July, Aug, Sep, Oct), Oscar Henry (May, June, July, Sep), Luke Henry (Sep) Luke Knudsen (July, Sept?), Alex Schranz (July and Aug), William Edwards (injured – May, June), Holly Hill (all), Richard Murfin (all, due to injury), Rob & Dan Poth (May, June, July, Aug, Sept), Lucy, Billy & Charlie Quantick (May, June, July, Lucy - Aug), Millie Till (May, July – injury, Aug), Max Till (May, June, Aug, Sep), Mike Stephens (Aug), Phil Gardner (all), Richard Luxton (May, June), Ellie Dalton (June, July, Aug), Chris Gardner (injured – May, June, July), Robyn, Christian and Karen Marment (Aug), James Howells (July, Aug), Rorie Scott (May, June, July), Bryony and Chantelle Goddard- Jones (Aug), Dave Brennan (Aug) Unknown availabilities (all TSP teams): I have not heard from: James Baker, James Thomas, Dominic Willis, Sam Gapp Please let me know your probable availability or unavailability as soon as possible as it helps me to plan ahead HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 BY NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 17th SEPTEMBER IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE

NO TRAINING Sunday 7th Sept

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:27:00 +0000

As Chantelle is watching Brodie perform at the Gloucestershire Youth Yo-Yo Championships this Sunday, training is cancelled. There is training this Thursday with me, see you there. Rorie

TSP and Harlequins Teams 20th September 2008

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:26:00 +0000

The Squads for 20th September are below. The Harlequins Teams are open to nominations from all Teams competing in SRL. I work with Jean to co-ordinate nominations and manage Harlequins. As the season progresses, priority will be accorded to those who train regularly and who have not yet raced, and to kids over adults. Also, I’ll try to make sure that those who have notified me of events for which they are unavailable, are selected for other events. As ever, over the course the year, everyone who wants to race will get several opportunities. TSP A: POINTS FROM PREVIOUS RACES May June July Aug Sep Oct 1 Bryony Goddard-Jones under 9 19 24 24 n/a 2 Olivia Mitchell under 9 22 23 24 23 3 Robyn Marment under 9 21 25 27 24 4 Kieran Tyrrell under 12 14 0 20 21 5 Christian Marment under 12 22 23 24 24 6 Fraser Mitchell under 12 21 26 27 27 7 Luke Henry under 15 19 17 18 21 8 Max Till under 15 n/a n/a 26 n/a 9 Mike Stephens under 20 n/a 24 23 n/a 10 Rich Luxton under 20 n/a n/a 29 n/a 11 Ellie Dalton under 20 25 n/a n/a n/a 12 Daniel Roberts under 20 21 23 18 21 13 James Howells under 35 26 28 n/a n/a 14 Rorie Scott under 35 n/a n/a n/a 28 15 Chantelle Goddard-J under 50 29 23 28 n/a 16 Dave Brennan under 50 23 22 20 n/a 17 Chris Gardner over 50 n/a n/a n/a 22 TSP B: 1 Oscar Henry under 9 n/a n/a n/a 9 2 Alexandra Jeynes under 9 n/a n/a 9 18 3 Gabriella Anderson under 9 n/a 10 11 11 4 Millie Till under 9 n/a 15 n/a n/a 5 Jack Holdsworth under 9 15 n/a 16 n/a 6 Oliver Shaw under 9 n/a 9 4 n/a 7 Jay Shaw under 9 n/a 6 10 n/a 8 Ben McKinley under 12 n/a n/a n/a 8 9 Luke Knudsen under 12 14 11 n/a 14 10 Shannon Tyrrell under 12 10 n/a ..3 ..8 11 Carmela Roberts under 12 7 6 10 ..5 12 Will Henty under 12 n/a n/a n/a n/a 13 Ollie Andrew under 15 n/a ..6 10 10 14 Alex Schranz under 15 16 17 n/a n/a 15 Billy Quantick under 15 n/a n/a n/a 19 16 Lauren Holdsworth under 15 10 n/a 8 n/a 17 Julianne Courtice under 20 n/a n/a n/a n/a 18 Zac Dimes under 20 n/a n/a n/a n/a 19 Mia Roberts under 50 n/a n/a n/a 13 20 Charlie Quantick over 50 n/a n/a n/a 20 Extras A & B Teams: (as notified to me to-date) Unless I’m requested otherwise, I will nominate all racers in TSP who are not selected for this month’s A & B Teams, for the Extras Teams and others notified to me by 6th August. Known unavailabilities (all teams): Ollie Andrew (August), Zac Dimes (May, June, July, Aug), Will Henty (May, June, July, Aug), Jack, Lauren & Simon Holdsworth (June, Aug, Simon July too), Oliver & Jay Shaw (Aug), Robbie, Iain & David Innes (June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct), Tom Paine (all), George Henry (June, July, Aug, Sep, Oct), Oscar Henry (May, June, July), Luke Knudsen (July, Sept?), Alex Schranz (July and Aug), William Edwards (injured – May, June), Holly Hill (all), Richard Murfin (all, due to injury), Rob & Dan Poth (May, June, July, Aug, Sept), Lucy, Billy & Charlie Quantick (May, June, July, Lucy - Aug), Millie Till (May, July – injury, Aug), Max Till (May, June, Aug), Mike Stephens (Aug), Phil Gardner (all), Richard Luxton (May, June), Ellie Dalton (June, July, Aug), Chris Gardner (injured – May, June, July), Robyn, Christian and Karen Marment (Aug), James Howells (July, Aug), Rorie Scott (May, June, July), Bryony and Chantelle Goddard- Jones (Aug), Dave Brennan (Aug) Unknown availabilities (all TSP teams): I have not heard from: James Baker, James Thomas, Dominic Willis, Sam Gapp Please let me know your probable availability or unavailability as soon as possible as it helps me to plan ahead HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 BY NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 17th SEPTEMBER IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE

Staunch Performance by Team Slalom Plus Limits August Damage

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:21:00 +0000

Year in, year out, August tends to be the make or break month for TSP’s Summer Race League season. Holidays take away many stalwarts, and the Race Manager is reduced to begging and arm-twisting to fill out the team sheets. TSP ‘A’ was seeking to protect a lead of 54 points but would have to do so without the likes of Bryony, Max, Mike, Rich, James, Chantelle and Dave. But no matter, there is strength in depth throughout the age groups, and the late July Race Camp came at just the right time to bring several contenders to the boil. August 9th was bleak, damp and autumnal. 116 Racers took to the slope, 30 or so down on the usual complement, worst hit being the farther flung teams like Exeter. There were no reserves from which to field Harlequins Teams. After a fraught couple of weeks of selection, Chris was relieved to put out full TSP ‘A’ and ‘B’ Teams. The heart of the 2008 ‘A’ Team was present, namely the rampant 7 years olds, Robyn Marment and Livvy Mitchell, and their equally dominant 11 year old brothers, Creagle and Fraser. Pretty much all the others were making a first appearance of the season at top level. 10 year old Keiron Tyrrell joined the fray in the under 12s, whilst Luke Henry and Billy Quantick came in at under 15. Billy had moved up to replace TSP’s 4th Angel, Julianne Courtice, who’d sprained her shapely ankle at School the previous day. Dan Roberts was the sole under 20 racer and the Team was completed by Polish Ambassador, Rorie Scottski, and fit again Chris Gardner, featuring his recent body-transplant. The ‘B’s boasted a mixture of raw youth and experience rescued from the dawn of time. In the under 9 group there was Gabby Anderson, Oscar Henry and Alex Jeynes, all of whom had come on leaps and bounds during race camp. A quartet of under 12s was led by ‘cool hand’ Luke Knudsen, Mela Roberts, Shannon Tyrrell and debutant Ben McKinley. The last three racers are a Manager’s dream – reluctant to race regularly but available in an emergency. So special thanks to Karen Marment and Mia Roberts who strode out in the strong under 50s age group, and Charlie Quantick who left his bath-chair to combat the over 50s. Western County’s Stuart Robertson had set a 13 gate course that had a slowish start but from then on fast and quite straight. Fair to say that the setting favoured the ‘more mature’ racer than callow youth. The morning timed runs went just about as well as could be expected. Once again, pride of place to Fraser Mitchell. I’m running out of superlatives for this lad. 2 blistering runs of 11.53 seconds catapulted him to first in group and 7th place overall. Rorie headed him with 11.12 for second in group and 5th overall, followed by Dan 11.18 (4th and 6th) and Chris 11.85 (2nd and 15th). Robyn and Livvy are not accustomed to being knocked off the podium positions, but on a straight course their 6th and 5th positions were good return against some larger opponents. Creagle’s fleetness of turn was also disadvantaged, but 6th was still solid, shocked though he would have been to be pipped by Kieron to 5th with probably the finest run that this promising young racer has completed. Undoubtedly, Luke Henry and Billy Quantick were under the greatest pressure in a very competitive age group. Undaunted, their excellent runs of 12.19 and 12.47 respectively won them 7th and 9th in group. Their efforts typified a solid team performance that produced 163 points, 3rd at the interval behind Midland Bears and Western Counties. The ‘B’s produced their best showing of the season. Alex was in cracking form, her 16.18 second run being enough for 12th in group, just ahead of Gabriella and Oscar. Luke Knudsen notched 14.34 for 13th in the 29 strong under 12s group, finishing ahead of Ben, Shannon and Mela. Mia was going for a personal best and had formulated a cunning plan. A combination of a push up bra and natural abundance were designed to break the finish line seconds ahead of the remainder of her anatomy. It seemed to work, as she ‘fronted up’ at 11th in group. More conventional methods saw Karen to 6th. Charlie clocked a leisurely 17.34 for 8th, his devilish strategy being to ambush innocent under 9s in the afternoon duals. Anyhow, 126 points secured 8th place at the lunch break. The ‘A’ Team knew that they would be up against it in the duals. Sheer bad luck meant that Rorie, Dan and Fraser would race against each other as would Creagle, Luke Henry and Kieron. And Luke Knudsen was itching to show Robyn that he’s got ‘A’ Team credentials too. Thus 7 rounds would be all TSP ‘A’ affairs. The duals course was a tad odd – bit of a Heinz 57 with little rhythm and a tight finish. On balance, the bigger racers would be the happier. But as in the morning session, TSP’s racers drew deep and a heavy loss was averted. Creagle and Rorie took the honours with 3 wins apiece, the latter inflicting Fraser’s only defeat. Livvy, Billy and Luke Henry also won twice, Dan and Kieron once. The B’s also enjoyed a rewarding afternoon. Alex capped a brilliant day with 3 wins, whilst Gabby, Ben, Shannon, Charlie and Luke Knudsen scored 2 (the latter including Robyn’s scalp). As predicted, Charlie was the scourge of the nursery. Oscar and Karen also had deserved victories. All of which meant that TSP ‘A’ finished on 224 points, 3rd to outstanding efforts by Western Counties, 1st with 238 and Midlands Bears, 2nd with 235. 4th placed were Gloucester with 217. TSP B’s 126 points earned 8th. So, after 4 rounds, TSP ‘A’s lead has been cut to 43 points over Midland Bears who move up to 2nd. Western Counties lie 3rd, 13 points further back, while Gloucester ‘A’ is 4th. TSP ‘A’s high flyers were Rorie on 28 points, Fraser 27, Creagle 24, Livvy 23, Chris 22, Dan, Kieron and Luke 21, Billy 19 and Robyn 18. For the ‘B’s, Charlie and Karen amassed 20 points each, Alex 18, Luke 14, Mia 13, Gabby 11, Oscar 9, Shannon and Ben 8 and Mela 5. Thanks to all the parents who helped out and provided vociferous support. It was a good day all round. There now follows a bit of a break until the last 2 races of the season on the 20th September and 11th October. Enjoy your summer holidays Chris Gardner

TSP and Extras Teams 9th August 2008 (updated 06/08/08)

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 13:32:00 +0000

The Squads for August 9th are below. The Extras Teams are open to nominations from all Teams competing in SRL. I work with Jean to co-ordinate nominations and manage Extras. As the season progresses, priority will be accorded to those who train regularly and who have not yet raced, and to kids over adults. Also, I’ll try to make sure that those who have notified me of events for which they are unavailable, are selected for other events. As ever, over the course the year, everyone who wants to race will get several opportunities. TSP A: POINTS FROM PREVIOUS RACES May June July Aug Sep Oct 1 Olivia Mitchell under 9 22 23 24 2 Robyn Marment under 9 21 25 27 3 Kieran Tyrrell under 12 14 0 20 4 Christian Marment under 12 22 23 24 5 Fraser Mitchell under 12 21 26 27 6 Luke Henry under 15 19 17 18 7 Daniel Roberts under 20 21 23 18 8 Julianne Courtice under 20 n/a n/a n/a 9 Rorie Scott under 35 n/a n/a n/a 10 Chris Gardner over 50 n/a n/a n/a TSP B: 1 Oscar Henry under 9 n/a n/a n/a 2 Alexandra Jeynes under 9 n/a n/a 9 3 Gabriella Anderson under 9 n/a 10 11 4 Ben McKinley under 12 n/a n/a n/a 5 Luke Knudsen under 12 14 11 n/a 6 Shannon Tyrrell under 12 10 n/a ..3 7 Carmela Roberts under 12 7 6 10 8 Billy Quantick under 15 n/a n/a n/a 9 Mia Roberts under 50 n/a n/a n/a 10 Charlie Quantick over 50 n/a n/a n/a Extras A & B Teams: (as notified to me to-date) Unless I’m requested otherwise, I will nominate all racers in TSP who are not selected for this month’s A & B Teams, for the Extras Teams and others notified to me by 6th August. Known unavailabilities (all teams): Ollie Andrew (August), Zac Dimes (May, June, July, Aug), Will Henty (May, June, July, Aug), Jack, Lauren & Simon Holdsworth (June, Aug, Simon July too), Oliver & Jay Shaw (Aug), Robbie, Iain & David Innes (June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct), Tom Paine (all), George Henry (June, July, Aug, Sep, Oct), Oscar Henry (May, June, July), Luke Knudsen (July, Sept?), Alex Schranz (July and Aug), William Edwards (injured – May, June), Holly Hill (all), Richard Murfin (all, due to injury), Rob & Dan Poth (May, June, July, Aug, Sept), Lucy, Billy & Charlie Quantick (May, June, July, Lucy - Aug), Millie Till (May, July – injury, Aug), Max Till (May, June, Aug), Mike Stephens (Aug), Phil Gardner (all), Richard Luxton (May, June), Ellie Dalton (June, July, Aug), Chris Gardner (injured – May, June, July), Robyn, Christian and Karen Marment (Aug), James Howells (July, Aug), Rorie Scott (May, June, July), Bryony and Chantelle Goddard- Jones (Aug), Dave Brennan (Aug) Unknown availabilities (all TSP teams): I have not heard from: James Baker, James Thomas, Dominic Willis, Sam Gapp Please let me know your probable availability or unavailability as soon as possible as it helps me to plan ahead. August (9th) is usually the worst month for availabilities so if you can confirm availability for that event then your manager will be a happy man. HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 BY NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 6th AUGUST IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE

Lightning Strikes Twice

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:37:00 +0000

The Mini-onslaught in June had taken everyone by surprise. Several of TSP’s youngest racers had announced their arrival in emphatic terms. Follow that! For the July 5th event, consolidation might reasonably have been the goal. But June’s diminutive heroes had tasted blood, and the ruthlessness with which they set about today’s opponents was X-rated entertainment. On a gusty day, TSP ‘A’s age profile fell again. James Howells had declared the wedding-crashing-season open, and was giving his wardrobe an outing. No matter, in stepped teen-legend Rich Luxton for his first race of the year. After a year long injury, Max Till was back too, taking on the under 15s. Otherwise, there were Charlie’s New Angels, Bryony Goddard-Jones, Robyn Marment and Olivia Mitchell, the merciless duo, Creagle Marment and Fraser Mitchell, bendy Mike Stephens, and sheet anchors in the form of Dave Brennan and Chantelle. Tim Andrew’s gammy leg meant that the B’s fielded 9 again. Their attack would be led by under 12 Kieran Tyrrell (still smarting at June’s bad day at the office), fast-improving Luke Henry in the under 15s, Desperate Dan Roberts (determined to show up well in the under 20s), and Jolly Jack Holdsworth, yet another under 9 contender. They were joined by Gabriella Anderson also at under 9, Carmela Roberts, Shannon Tyrrell, Ollie Andrew and Lauren Holdsworth. The Extras numbers were plundered at the last minute, leaving a Super 6. TSP supplied Oliver and Jay Shaw, as well as Alexandra Jeynes on her debut. The rest came from Avon, George Case, Georgina Cooper and Rebecca Penman Turny at the top, fast in the middle and with a sting in the tail – that was the morning course. And by lunchtime TSP ‘A’ had surged to a 20 point lead over Gloucester ‘A’. Yet again, the charge was started by the under 9s. Olivia, Robyn and Bryony took 2nd, 3rd and 4th in age group, a mere 0.26 sec splitting the threesome. They are looking really convincing, egging each other on to greater achievement every race. Erstwhile Angels Steffi, Ellie and Suzi, please greet the new kids on the block. Creagle and Fraser were next up at under 12. Creagle laid down a zippy 13.22 for 4th in age group, an impressive 29th overall. But Fraser went bananas. Runs of 12.27 and 12.14 were little short of sensational as he took the under 12s crown and 12th fastest overall. There is no more exciting skier in Race League on current form. Max, Dave and Mike all battled well with 4ths and 7th in their groups, but none could live with Fraser’s pace. After an unusual DNF, Chantelle squeaked past Fraser with 11.99 (just fast enough to avoid a clash in the duals) for 2nd in the under 50s. Ever Joe Cool, Rich Luxton laid down 11.50 despite flying through the finish backwards, but topped that with a scorching second run in conventional style of 11.08 for 1st in Group and 2nd overall. Yet the ‘B’s were not to be outdone. Dan, Kieron, Luke and Jack are all on the heels of their ‘A’ Team contemporaries and showed why. Dan had the temerity to pip Fraser’s time with 12.07 for 5th in under 20s. Dan is starting to match his strength and aggression with better technique. Kieron bounced back with 13.77 for 7th in group whilst Luke’s 13.41 in under 15s was quick enough for 12th – yet another racer who is improving with every outing. Jack reminded us that he’s not far off the Angels with an excellent 10th. Gabriella should be pretty pleased with 15th as she picks up more racing experience. Carmela, Shannon, Lauren and Oliver also raced with great heart in very competitive groups. The Super 6 also punched above their weight. Pride of place to George and Alexandra with 8th and 17th in under 9s group, and Georgina 10th in under 12s. Good skiing girls! Oliver, Jay and Rebecca laid down respectable times, too. It has to be said that Oliver and Jay race with a disability of their own choosing – blindness. Their hairstyles are kind of Shetland Pony and Old English Sheepdog meets Thing from the Adams Family. When I first watched them, I was convinced that they were racing backwards like Rich. So, lunchtime in the Mangrove Swamp at the bottom of the slope was taken in good heart. And soon, precocious youth was at it again in the afternoon duals. Robyn was unbeatable and included the scalp of team-mate Olivia in her 3 wins. Likewise, Max, Rich, Mike and Chantelle were imperious, none of them headed. Fraser’s morning run had pitted him against the 9th 10th and 11th fastest of the days racers. But once again he was in blistering form, yielding by a nat’s whisker only to his fastest opponent. Bryony and Creagle also took 2 scalps, Livy 1. In fact the ‘A’s were so dominant that the duals produced a record breaking 74 points, 11 more than June. The second leg alone brought 9 wins, the only defeat being an all TSP affair, as Mike inched out Dave. Unbelievable stuff! The ‘B’s scored 54 points from their ‘9-some’ – an excellent return. Oliver, Luke and Carmela took maximums, Kieron and Lauren 2 wins apiece, Gabriella and Jack notched 1 win and Dan a dead heat. And that wasn’t the end of it. The Super Six gave it a real go, Jay and Rebecca sweeping all aside, Georgina winning twice and George and Alexandra once. The individual honours list makes remarkable reading. Rich tops it with a maximum 29, Chazzer 28, Robyn and Fraser 27, Max 26, Olivia, Bryony and Creagle 24, and Mike 23 and Dave 20. In the B’s Kieron led the way with 20, Luke and Dan 18, Jack 16, Gabriella 11 and Carmela 10. Georgina headed Extras with 19, George 18, Jay and Rebecca 10, and Alexandra 9. Thus, halfway through the 2008 Race League calendar, TSP ‘A’ produced a decisive result. The day’s total of 252 hasn’t been bettered in my memory, and increased the ‘A’s lead over Midland Bears to 54 points with Western Counties and Gloucester ‘A’ a further 16 and 28 points adrift. But the August holidays always play havoc with availabilities, so we cannot afford to let up. TSP ‘B’ is looking solid in 9th, and if match day withdrawals can be banished, a 7th place finish is possible. Extras are a creditable 12th out of 14, and one place higher is feasible. I might be injured, but I’m exhausted after every round, and feel like I’ve skied everyone’s race. Once again, thanks to all the parents and friends who helped out, not least indefatigable Brodie who combined fore-running with getting every racer sprayed up and in the gate. Respect Brodes. Chris Gardner

TSP and Extras Squads 5th July 2008

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:15:00 +0000

The Teams for July 5th are below. The Extras Teams are open to nominations from all Teams competing in SRL. I work with Jean to co-ordinate nominations and manage Extras. As the season progresses, priority will be accorded to those who train regularly and who have not yet raced, and to kids over adults. Also, I’ll try to make sure that those who have notified me of events for which they are unavailable, are selected for other events. As ever, over the course the year, everyone who wants to race will get several opportunities. TSP A: POINTS FROM PREVIOUS RACES May June July Aug Sep Oct 1 Robyn Marment under 9 21 25 2 Briony Goddard-Jones under 9 19 24 3 Olivia Mitchell under 9 22 23 4 Christian Marment under 12 22 23 5 Fraser Mitchell under 12 21 26 6 Max Till under 15 n/a n/a 7 Mike Stephens under 20 n/a 24 8 Rich Luxton under 20 n/a n/a 9 Chantelle G-J under 50 29 23 10 Dave Brennan under 50 23 21 TSP B: 1 Jack Holdsworth under 9 15 n/a 2 Kieran Tyrrell under 12 14 0 3 Shannon Tyrrell under 12 10 n/a 4 Luke Henry under 15 19 17 5 Lauren Holdsworth under 15 10 n/a 6 Oliver Andrew under 15 6 10 7 Zac Dimes under 20 n/a n/a 8 Daniel Roberts under 20 21 23 9 Simon Holdsworth under 50 18 n/a 10 Tim Andrew under 50 n/a n/a Extras A & B Teams: (as notified to me to-date) 1 Oliver Shaw TSP under 9 n/a ..6 2 Alexandra Jeynes TSP under 9 n/a n/a 3 Gabriella Anderson TSP under 9 n/a 10 4 George Case Avon under 9 5 Jay Shaw.TSP under 12 n/a 9 6 Carmela Roberts TSP under 12 7 6 7 Georgina Cooper under 12 8 Rebecca Penman under 15 Unless I’m requested otherwise, I will nominate all racers in TSP who are not selected for this month’s A & B Teams, for the Extras Teams and others notified to me by 2nd July. Known unavailabilities (all teams): Ollie Andrew (August), Zac Dimes (May, June, August), Will Henty (May, June, July), Jack, Lauren & Simon Holdsworth (June, August), Robbie, Iain & David Innes (June, July, August, September, October), Tom Paine (May, June, July, September, October), George Henry (June, July, Sep, Oct), Oscar Henry (May, June, July), Luke Knudsen (July, September?), Alex Schranz (July and Aug), William Edwards (injured – May, June), Holly Hill (all), Richard Murfin (all, due to injury), Rob & Dan Poth (May, June, July, August, September), Lucy, Billy & Charlie Quantick (May, June, July), Millie Till (May, July – injury, Aug), Max Till (May, June, Aug), Phil Gardner (May, June, Sept, Oct), Richard Luxton (May, June), Ellie Dalton (June, July), Chris Gardner (injured – May, June, July), Robyn, Christian and Karen Marment (Aug), James Howells (July, Aug), Rorie Scott (May, June, July) Unknown availabilities (all teams): I have not heard from: James Baker, James Thomas, Dominic Willis, Sam Gapp Please let me know your probable availability or unavailability as soon as possible as it helps me to plan ahead. August (9th) is usually the worst month for availabilities so if you can confirm availability for that event then your manager will be a happy man. HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 BY NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 2nd JULY IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE

It’s a Mini-Massacre as Plus Plunder Shock Win

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:30:00 +0000

Prepare yourselves for a long report. I had all the excuses ready. Injuries, illness, a whole ‘A’ Team unavailable, the youngest ‘A’ Team TSP has ever fielded. But what happened on a sunny day in early June was straight out of a children’s ripping yarn. Truth be told, with so many stalwarts unavailable, I was hoping for damage-limitation. A 20 point defeat maybe? When the always reliable Dave Brennan and James Howells appeared to be missing and Chantelle turned up looking distinctly unwell, my mood didn’t improve. Worse, a mix up with Karen Marment left the ‘B’s one short. Gloom, gloom. But the sun came out, and the missing pair arrived. James has yet another pool car – an electric blue Vectra – so sneaking in late with everyone’s gaze averted was understandable. A manager has replaced the callow, carefree youth. Cool Cat has metamorphosed into Dwayne Dibley. So to the teams. TSP ‘A’ was headed by three 7 year olds, veteran Robyn Marment and debutants Olivia Mitchell and Briony Goddard-Jones, all racing in the under 9 group. Creagle Marment and Fraser Mitchell spearheaded the under 12 challenge, whilst another debut saw fast improving Luke Henry as our lone under 15 racer. Mike Stephens has been looking fast in training and deservedly was given his chance in the top flight, in the under 20s. James Howells, Dave Brennan and an off-colour Chantelle made up the 10. TSP ‘B’ gave welcome debuts to another trio of under 9s, Jay and Oliver Shaw and Gabriella Anderson, whilst 15 year old Dan Roberts made his first start in the under 20 group. Marginally more experienced 7 year old chatterbox Millie Till was there to entertain her adoring public, and the 9 were completed by Luke Knudsen, Alex Shranz and Kieran Tyrrell (all under 12) and Oliver Andrew in the under 15 group. This is boom time for Extras! For once oversubscribed, there was an excellent mix of Gloucester, Midlands, Avon, Western Counties and TSP racers. Matteo and Giacomo Foppoli were joined by Scott Johns and Ben Kingsman at under 9, and there was a posse of 5 under 12s, Zoë Connelly, Toby Davenport, Sarah Kingsman, Sam Lee and Carmela Roberts. Older Head Peter Kennell (still under 20) anchored the team. Western Counties had set the day’s course. A turny top section and finish would provide a fair test, and racers would have to work hard for high speed. After the morning run, your Manager was in dreamland. Robyn, Briony and morning-star Livvy were simply sensational. When 7 year olds are skiing faster than half of a field of 140 then you are watching something special. Livvy and Robyn laid down blistering runs of sub-15 seconds, Briony just over. What’s more, Livvy did it twice with a quicker second run to propel herself to a precocious first in age group, Robyn 3rd and Briony 6th. Every week it seems, Creagle and Fraser push the bar a bit higher. They are unrecognisable from the untidy raw racers of 12 months ago. Like their 3 younger counterparts, they are in an amicable battle for superiority and its doing them both a huge amount of good. Fraser edged it today, as they thrashed it out to 2nd and 3rd in age group, 17th and 23rd overall. Top performances. Luke Henry and Mike Stephens were most under pressure, with least experience against the top-guns of race league. But they were not to be out-done. Luke will have been well pleased with his 9th in group, whilst Mike’s second place, 6th overall was one of the day’s highlights. Neither has skied better for TSP. James put in a sleepy first run. However, in best management tradition, he and Chris had an impromptu review of his near term objectives and set some revised targets and goals. Some blue-sky racing in his second run brought up second in group, 3rd overall. Dave and Chantelle were discovering that the under 50s is the new Group of Death. But 7th and 4th in group were good enough returns, Dave showing the agility of a ballerina to skip inside the final gate in his first run. An excellent return of 171 points for the morning left TSP surprise leaders, 13 points ahead of Midland Bears. TSP ‘B’ had a pretty solid day. Handicapped as a nine-some, things got worse when star-performer Kieran Tyrrell had a ‘Luxembourg Day’ at this particular song contest – null points! Every racer has a ‘mare sooner or later and Kieran has just had his. He’ll be seething with indignation and slugging it out with the hot shots in the under 12 group next time. But, led by Dan (4th in group), Alex, Millie and Luke, the remainder amassed some good points. Jay’s Sat-Nav was a bit faulty, but he’ll get used to race league soon enough! All the Extras finished both their runs, quite an accomplishment for a very young team with little experience. Peter Kennell’s 3rd in under 20, 13th overall was superb, and Sarah Kingsman should be proud of 13th in the 27 strong under 12s. The afternoon duals usually favour bigger racers over smaller ones, TSP ‘A’, ‘B’ and Extras boast some of the tiniest. Oh dear! But there was just a chink of light – Stuart Robinson’s course had a sting in the tail, the final few gates were turny and might catch out the less fleet of foot. An epic performance was to follow. Briony chewed up and spat out her rivals – 3 wins. James skied out of the box and surpassed his Key Performance Indicators; 3 more. I swear that Fraser and Robyn’s skis were smoking as they snatched 2 apiece, equalled by Dave and Chazzer. Creagle won and tied once and Mike and Luke took a deserved win each. Livvy was inched out 3 times but demonstrated that she is as quick in the duals as in the timed runs. 63 points were piled up, TSP ‘A’s best for a long time. TSP ‘B’ had a great afternoon too. Sat-Nav restored, Jay took 3 out of three, matched by Gabriella and Oliver Andrew. Dan smashed his way to 2 wins (no half measures with Dan!), whilst Millie, Oliver Shaw and Alex all won once. Extras’ 55 points was an outstanding haul. Pride of place to Giacomo, Ben, Toby, Sarah and Peter with 2 wins each and Matteo, Scott, Zoë, and Carmela with 1. All of which meant that TSP ‘A’ won the day on 234 points, its largest for 2 years. That was sufficient to overhaul Midland Bears’ 4 point advantage and put TSP ‘A’ into a 13 point lead after 2 rounds. 101 points for TSP ‘B’ leaves them 8th whilst 104 points sees Extras climbing to 12th spot. June’s tall poppies are James with 28, Fraser 26, Robyn 25, Briony, Mike and Peter 24, Olivia, Creagle, Chantelle and Dan 23, Dave 21, Luke and Alex 17 and Millie 15. Shock and Awe guys. Special thanks to Tim Andrew who brought a touch of class to the dual starts, and Brodie who organised ski-spraying and getting the younger racers into the start gate. Of course, Tim replaced Claire Mitchell who had defied all TSP protocols by taking time out to have her highlights done. Word is that Phil and Tim were seen walking hand in hand into the sunset, whilst Claire drove Oliver home. So, climactic events at Matson. But has anyone noticed that the ‘sprinkler stream’ has changed course too, leaving the grassy bottom a steamy swamp? Some say that global warming and ice melt from the Robin’s Wood glacier are to blame. James swears he’s seen Sock-Eyed Salmon leaping up the flow, harassed by Grizzly Bears, as Wildebeest tramp warily through the shallower parts, ever watchful of crocodiles. Next thing you know, Ray Mears will pitching camp and nibbling the fir cones. Well who can say? but I do know that on June 7th 2008 the earth moved for TSP ‘A’ as several diminutive Super Heroes flew down the Dendix. Round 3 on July 5th can’t come soon enough. Chris Gardner

TSP and Extras Teams 7th June 2008

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:23:00 +0000

The Teams for June 7th are below. The Ski Centre has decided to run an Extras Team rather than Kids Adventure Team, open to nominations from all Teams competing in SRL. I work with Jean to co-ordinate nominations and manage Extras. As the season progresses, priority will be accorded to those who train regularly and who have not yet raced, and to kids over adults. Also, I’ll try to make sure that those who have notified me of events for which they are unavailable, are selected for other events. As ever, over the course the year, everyone who wants to race will get several opportunities. TSP A: from POINTS FROM PREVIOUS RACES May June July Aug Sep Oct 1 Robyn Marment under 9 21 2 Briony Goddard-Jones under 9 19 3 Olivia Mitchell under 9 22 4 Christian Marment under 12 22 5 Fraser Mitchell under 12 21 6 Luke Henry under 15 19 7 Phil Gardner under 20 n/a 8 James Howells under 35 26 9 Chantelle G-J under 50 29 10 Dave Brennan under 50 23 TSP B: from 1 Millie Till under 9 n/a 2 Kieran Tyrrell under 12 14 3 Luke Knudsen under 12 14 4 Shannon Tyrrell under 12 10 5 Alex Shranz under 12 16 6 Holly Hill under 15 n/a 7 Lucy Quantick under 15 n/a 8 Billy Quantick under 15 n/a 9 Daniel Roberts under 20 n/a 10 Mike Stephens under 20 n/a Extras Team: 1 Jay Shaw TSP under 9 n/a 2 Oliver Shaw TSP under 9 n/a 3 Oliver Andrew TSP under 15 6 4 Zoe Connelly Avon under 12 5 Toby Davenport Avon under 12 6 Peter Kennell Avon under 20 7 a n other Glouc 8 a n other Glouc 9 a n other Glouc 10 a n other Glouc Unless I’m requested otherwise, I will nominate all racers in under 9, under 12 and under 15 age groups who are not selected for this month’s A & B Teams. Reserves (all teams) 1 Karen Marment under 50 n/a 2 Tim Andrew under 50 n/a 3 Charlie Quantick over 50 n/a Start Marshall: Claire Mitchell Known unavailabilities (all teams): Ollie Andrew (August), Zac Dimes (May, June, August), Will Henty (May, June, July), Jack, Lauren & Simon Holdsworth (June, August), Robbie, Iain & David Innes (June, July, August, September, October), Tom Paine (May, June, July, September, October), George Henry (June, Sep, Oct), Oscar Henry (May, June, July), Luke Knudsen (July, September?), William Edwards (injured – May, June), Richard Murfin (all, due to injury), Rob & Dan Poth (May, June, July, August, September), Lucy, Billy & Charlie Quantick (May), Millie Till (May), Phil Gardner (May, July, Sept, Oct), Richard Luxton (May, June), Ellie Dalton (June), Chris Gardner (injured – May, June, July), Robyn, Christian and Karen Marment (Aug) Unknown availabilities (all teams): I have not heard from: Holly Hill, Rorie Scott, James Baker, James Thomas, Dominic Willis, Sam Gapp Please let me know your probable availability or unavailability as soon as possible as it helps me to plan ahead. August (9th) is usually the worst month for availabilities so if you can confirm availability for that event then your manager will be a happy man. HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 BY NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 4th JUNE IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE

TSP Teams 10th May 2008

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:35:00 +0000

The Teams for May 10th are below. The Ski Centre has decided to run an Extras Team rather than Kids Adventure Team, open to nominations from all Teams competing in SRL. I’ll work with Jean to put our nominations in and help organise Extras. As the season progresses, priority will be accorded to those who train regularly and who have not yet raced, and to kids over adults. Also, I’ll try to make sure that those who have notified me of events for which they are unavailable, are selected for other events. As ever, over the course the year, everyone who wants to race will get several opportunities. TSP A: from POINTS FROM PREVIOUS RACES 1 Robyn Marment under 9 2 Kieran Tyrrell under 12 3 Iain Innes under 12 4 Christian Marment under 12 5 Fraser Mitchell under 12 6 Richard Luxton under 20 7 Zac Dimes under 20 8 James Howells under 35 9 Chantelle G-J under 50 10 David Innes under 50 TSP B: from 1 Briony Goddard-Jones under 9 2 Olivia Mitchell under 9 3 Jack Holdsworth under 9 4 Robbie Innes under 9 5 Luke Knudsen under 12 6 Shannon Tyrrell under 12 7 Alex Shranz under 12 8 Lauren Holdsworth under 15 9 Mike Stephens under 20 10 Simon Holdsworth under 50 Reserves, all teams: Phil Gardner under 20, Ellie Dalton under 20, Dave Brennan under 50, Karen Marment under 50 TSP Nominations for Extras Team: Oliver Andrew under 15, Holly Hill under 15, Luke Henry under 15 Unless I’m requested otherwise, I will nominate all racers in under 9, under 12 and under 15 age groups who are not selected for this month’s A & B Teams. Known unavailabilities (all teams): Ollie Andrew (August), Zac Dimes (August), Will Henty (May, June, July), Jack, Lauren & Simon Holdsworth (June, August), Robbie, Iain & David Innes (June, July, August, September, October), Tom Paine (May, June, July, September, October), Luke Knudsen (July, September?), Richard Murfin (all races due to injury), Rob & Dan Poth (May, June, July, August, September), Lucy, Billy & Charlie Quantick (May), Millie Till (May), Chris Gardner (injury May & June?) Unknown availabilities (all teams): I have not heard from: Rorie Scott, James Baker, James Thomas, Dominic Willis, Sam Gapp Please let me know your probable availability or unavailability as soon as possible as it helps me to plan ahead. August (9th) is usually the worst month for availabilities so if you can confirm availability for that event then your manager will be a happy man. HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG – PLEASE CHECK THE AUGUST LIST TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 BY NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 7th MAY IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE

TSP Squads 10th May 2008

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:58:00 +0000

The Squads for May 10th are below. The Ski Centre has decided to run an Extras Team rather than Kids Adventure Team, open to nominations from all Teams competing in SRL. I’ll work with Jean to put our nominations in and help organise Extras. As the season progresses, priority will be accorded to those who train regularly and who have not yet raced, and to kids over adults. Also, I’ll try to make sure that those who have notified me of events for which they are unavailable, are selected for other events. As ever, over the course the year, everyone who wants to race will get several opportunities. TSP A: from POINTS FROM PREVIOUS RACES 1 Robyn Marment under 9 2 Kieran Tyrrell under 12 3 Iain Innes under 12 4 Christian Marment under 12 5 Fraser Mitchell under 12 6 Ellie Dalton under 20 7 Richard Luxton under 20 8 Phil Gardner under 20 9 Zac Dimes under 20 10 James Howells under 35 11 Simon Holdsworth under 50 12 Chantelle G-J under 40 13 Dave Brennan under 50 14 David Innes under 50 TSP B: from 1 Briony Goddard-Jones under 9 2 Olivia Mitchell under 9 3 Jack Holdsworth under 9 4 Robbie Innes under 9 5 Luke Knudsen under 12 6 Shannon Tyrrell under 12 7 Alex Shranz under 12 8 Oliver Andrew under 15 9 Holly Hill under 15 10 Lauren Holdsworth under 15 11 Mike Stephens under 20 12 Karen Marment under 50 13 Chris Gardner over 50 Nominations for Extras Team: Unless I’m requested otherwise, I will nominate all racers in under 9, under 12 and under 15 age groups who are not selected for this month’s A & B Teams. Known unavailabilities (all teams): Ollie Andrew (August), Zac Dimes (August), Will Henty (May, June, July), Jack, Lauren & Simon Holdsworth (June, August), Robbie, Iain & David Innes (June, July, August, September, October), Tom Paine (May, June, July, September, October), Luke Knudsen (July, September?), Richard Murfin (all due to injury), Rob & Dan Poth (May, June, July, August, September), Lucy, Billy & Charlie Quantick (May), Millie Till (May), Dominic Willis Unknown availabilities (all teams): I have not heard from: Oscar, George & Luke Henry, Rorie Scott, James Baker, James Thomas, Please let me know your probable availability or unavailability as soon as possible as it helps me to plan ahead. August (9th) is usually the worst month for availabilities so if you can confirm availability for that event then your manager will be a happy man. HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG – PLEASE CHECK THE AUGUST LIST TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 BY NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 7th MAY IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE

Am I back

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle Goddard-Jones) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:25:00 +0000

Just checking to see if this works ---- Webmasters comment: You could have thought of something better to type! I'm leaving Tignes on Monday to go to Poland for a month, with a week in Hintertux in the middle. Wicked Eh? I'm going to come back to Stroud at the end of May, if I don't change my plans again. Maybe see you all in June, Cheers Rorie

Team Slalom Plus - Summer Race League 2008 - Race Bulletin

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:47:00 +0000

Hello all. Summer Race League is nearly upon us again so thought I’d best update the advice note to refresh your memories. The Ski Centre has made changes this year. The following is a simple guide for parents and racers: Events and Rules There are 6 races, all on Saturdays: - 10th May, 7th June, 5th July, 9th August, 20th September and 11th October. Practice starts at 9 am, and racing shortly after 10, so best to turn up by about 8.45. Usually, we’re finished and in the bar by 4ish. This year the Centre has accepted 15 teams with 10 racers per team. That means the price per entry stays at £10 (£9.60 actually, but I’m usually out of pocket for the occasional no shows. As TSP runs A and B Teams, and I also run the Kids Adventure Team, so I can select up to 30 racers each event. TSP will enter an A and B team, the former a blend of the best young racers and a sprinkling of seasoned hacks and the latter predominantly for promising younger racers and a few less promising older ones. The Kids Adventure Team defies description, but usually comprises overspill from TSP and/or Gloucester B spiced up with some inexperienced krazy kids and the odd wizened performer, The squads will be rotated to give everyone a fair crack, and excellent performance will be rewarded by promotion between the teams. Please let me have the entry fee as early in the day as possible as I have to pass this on to the Ski Centre during the day. For all races TSP has to provide 2 Gate Judges. Additionally, on 7th June we have to provide a Start Marshall and for the 9th August a Finish Marshall. Thus parents and friends are welcome and necessary despite the cringing embarrassment caused to their children. During the morning session of each event, everyone races in age groups, youngest first. Changes made this year mean that there are 7 ages categories, under 9, under 12, under 15, under 20, under 35, under 50 and over 50. The category is determined by the racer’s age on the first event of the season, 10th May. There are 2 runs in the morning, each racer’s quickest one counting. It’s important to finish at least one run otherwise the points score is zero. 1st in age group gets 20 points, 2nd 19 and so on. For the afternoon, all racers are grouped in 4s according to their time. Each gets to race a Dual Slalom against the 3 racers with the closest time to his/hers regardless of age group. The winner of each round gets 3 points, dead heat 2 points, and 1 point for the loser (provided the loser completes the course. The brightest of you will have worked out that a skier who wins his age group and all 3 duals will score a maximum 29 points. Note for ‘Recently Retired Registered Racers’. Currently Registered Racers are still eligible to take part in SRL provided that their seed points on the first race of the year are no fewer than 160 for males and 140 for females. If you are a registered racer with lower than 160 or 140 seed points but who has decided against competing in Registered Races or on snow this year you are eligible to race in the SRL. This should be a genuine decision unlikely to change later in the year. If anyone wants to know further details about the SRL – let’s face it, you need to get out more. Skis and Boots As usual, these are available from Ski Hire if racers don’t yet have them. This is where the pain starts for parents as there’s loads to pick up about waxing and edging from experienced team members. You can judge our depth of experience by mutilation, scars and cuts to our hands. Don’t worry, it’s easy and there is lots of help available. Since the beginning of time (about 1980) dyed in the wool plastic slope ski racers have been searching for the Philosophers Wax, a lubricant so good that it will turn the basest skier into a Gold Medal winner. TSP’s search for the ultimate lubricant continues …. Selection of Teams I have to submit the Teams to the ski centre by the Thursday night before each race. Later changes may not be permitted, so if you agree to be available please turn up on the day. It will help to know what races you definitely can or cannot make, July and August often being the most difficult months. My e-mails, the Team Slalom Plus Website (www.slalomplus.org) and the Team’s notice board will provide information about the 3 squads and post event reports. If you agree to race but do not turn up, I still have to pay £10 (which I will seek from the offender) but more importantly, unexpected absence penalises the team. No shows are a real pain, so please be considerate – there is no way that I will be making 30 phone calls on the Thursday before a race, and if for any reason you can’t use any of the above ways to find out about team selection, ring me on 07795 121020 or email on chris’gardner@sanctuary-housing.co.uk. I’ll send my schedule of racers, contact numbers and races to everyone who has given me their email address, and likewise give as much notice of selection as possible by email, posting on the website and on our notice board at the centre. In any event, this will usually be done a week before each race. SRL Practice On the Friday evening before race day, the ski centre sets the SRL course and allows racers to practice on it. Chantelle and a few others from TSP usually come up by about 6 pm both to practice the course and to help others in the team. It’s an opportunity not to be missed, and builds confidence for the younger racers Contacts and Availabilities I need racers’ names, date of birth, land and or mobile numbers, email address and anticipated availability for all the race dates. Please check the information set out on the attached spreadsheet and remind me if I’ve forgotten anyone - this might apply with some of the more recent recruits. For obvious reasons, best to ring, email or speak to me at training rather than posting a message on the web site. It’s easiest to leave a message on my mobile 07795 121020. ‘And Finally’ … Sportsmanship SLR is a fun event and we have ways of making you enjoy yourselves whether you like it or not. Come along even if you or your children not racing. There’s plenty to do and you’ll be made very welcome. Team Slalom Plus is up there to be knocked down, after all we’ve won the SRL for 5 successive years. That means there can be a bit of competitive tension around, but we aim to race with a smile and to keep rivalries on a sporting basis. Important to note that anyone throwing pine cones at the Race Team Manager or poking him with ski poles will be dumped in the pond. That’s all for now. The next Race Bulletin with the team selections for 10th May will be posted in a few days.

English Champs Bormio 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle Goddard-Jones) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:20:00 +0000

After our epic 24hr journey I had my doubts that Italy was going to be a successful choice for these races, but I was surprised with decent training runs, great snow, perfect weather and the race piste was'nt too bad either! The snow held up so well we enjoyed full days of training courses, a luxury we never get at Easter and I can't remember queing for a lift at all. Not to mention our sizeable accommodation, Bormio was ticking lots of boxes. But even with all these plus's if we did'nt get any results the trip would not be the same, so the pressure to perform was on. And perform you certainly all did. I was very impressed with the standard of your races and the support you showed for each other in the finish area. Medals for Rob, Iain, Brods and not forgetting Will, but we could of had more with Creagle & Dan coming close. A great weeks work by all. Some stories to share over beers on the patio next time will be Brodie's short lived trophy and Simon's wallet predicament - nee nah, nee nah Poths to the rescue!! I'll leave Simon to recount the full details!! Thanks to James and Phil for all their hard work and you guys for making it fun and well worth the drive!!

Ho Ho Ho

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle Goddard-Jones) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:08:00 +0000

Yes indeed with xmas nearly upon us the last training will be on Sun 16th Dec and we will restart on Thurs 10th Jan. Several members will be heading off for the snow over the festive period for training and racing, the snow reports look great so good luck to everyone in the races. So finally have a great xmas and New Year, might get around to organising the club do sometime next yr, but many thanks to everyone for making this such a brill year. You trainees have worked very hard, made some impressive results and given me lots of enjoyable memories to add to my collection. And the parents have'nt been too bad either!! A big thankyou to everyone for making SLP whaqt it is and for all your help over the last season. Fingers crossed for yet another successful yr. See some of you on the real stuff Cheers Chantelle

Cheerio Rorie

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle Goddard-Jones) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:03:00 +0000

Yep, that time of year has come around again, when Rorie heads off for snowier mountains. Many thanks for all your efforts this summer and have a great season! All things to do with wax have now fallen to me or rather Andy, so if you need any let him know. And finally the club do. Have'nt sorted anything yet - sorry - very remiss of me I know. Guess it will have to be an xmas or New Year Annual Prize Giving now - details soon. Tara for now Chantelle

Champions All

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:17:00 +0000

After a long season on the Dendix, the final ‘summer’ race league event took place on 3rd November. Ironically, autumn produced a fine day where the summer had been uniformly miserable. Pre-race impressions were that everyone was feeling the pace. The Tignes week had been exhilarating but back breaking hard work, and the intervening 5 days had not provided any recovery time for many of our number. Still, there was a job to be done. TSP A was the youngest of the year. Creagle Marment and Lauren and Simon Holdsworth had forced their way into the 10, joining regulars Robyn, Kieran, Iain, Fraser, Chantelle and Rorie. Mad Max Till had also left his secret lab for the day as the Team’s permitted last-race-guest-star. James Howells was skulking in some pretentious Californian vineyard but had sent a team of private dicks to report upon any potential infringements to his image rights. Phil Gardner, David Innes and Chris Gardner swelled the ranks of the B’s along with Olivia, Jack, Robbie, Shannon, Zac, and Mike. Readers will know that Dave Brenan had had to be destroyed a month ago after sustaining a leg injury playing football. He hadn’t recovered (!) and as ever Karen stepped in to fill the breach – she’s done this any number of times and never lets TSP down. Karen, you are a Manager’s dream, and I’m delighted to record my thanks on the Team’s behalf. So would the inexperienced A’s be overhauled by the strong B’s line up? 7 TSP racers turned out for KAT, the 3 Henrys, Oliver Andrew, Amelia Till (better known to her adoring public as Millie), Briony G-J and Alex Shranz on debut. (Keep this to yourselves, but I happen to know that Alex’s dad Kurt is a super-famous Austrian racer who’s just itching to get an opportunity to try out for TSP in the Summer Race League. 2008 will be his year!). Krazy Kid Ieuan Davies and Carmela Roberts from Western Counties made up the 9, Jordan Nugent having been whisked away to Gloucester B’s. After the morning’s timed runs, the A’s found themselves under a bit of pressure. Kieran, Iain and Robyn did well in the deadly under 10 group (no less than 46 racers) with 6th, 8th and 11th place. Creagle is in the form of his life taking 10th in the under 13’s heading Fraser who was bravely skiing despite a leg injury. But forever sweet natured Lauren had awoken on Saturday with her extra-mellow head on. She sauntered down her first run in the character of Maria Von Trapp, musing about whiskers on kittens and all of her favourite things. In the second run she was in a Snow White animation skipping along accompanied by bunnies, puppy dogs and songbirds. Exhausted, she flopped down on a bed of daisies and fell asleep for one thousand years. Mad Max did his bit to claim 3rd in the under 13’s, Chantelle topped the under 40’s with the minimum of effort, and Simon maintained his consistent improvement with 4th behind Chantelle. Rorie finished an unaccustomed 6th in the under 30’s, suffering at the hands of guest aces in the other teams. Later, it was reported that Rorie had put his indifferent performance down to premature squirting. It takes a strong man to admit to this, and fortunately TSP’s retained agony aunt Deidre contacted me to pass on these words of advice: “I’m sure that Rorie’s problem is anxiety related. I suggest he relaxes more before launching himself. Perhaps he should think of boring subjects to reduce his growing excitement? You know, Belgium, Ikea self assembly furniture, Newcastle United, that sort of thing” Wise words indeed. Moving on, the B’s gave a confident display. Jack, Olivia and Robbie held their own in the under 10’s (no reference to Rorie intended) as did Shannon in the under 13’s. Phil Gardner blasted to 12th fastest time of the day, 5 hundredths behind Rorie, with Zac only half a second back from them, closely followed by Mike. Chris Gardner won the battle of the senior generation clipping a tenth off Mike’s time, followed by Dave and Karen. Alex Shranz was top dog in KAT with 15th in the under 13’s. Although new to plastic, Alex is a well sorted skier and will be very competitive in 2008 if he maintains his rapid improvement. Oliver, Briony and Luke Henry also took the eye, all finishing well up in the large under 10 and 13 groups, whilst Millie, George, Oscar and Carmela raced with real verve and enjoyed themselves enormously. At half time, the A’s had amassed 131 points to the B’s 96 and KAT’s 13. TSP has gone from duffer to dare-devil in the dual slaloms. The afternoon’s courses were a tad strange, odd, set such that the red course was turnier than the blue. Undaunted, the A’s claimed an astonishing 19 wins from 30 races in posting 67 points, the B’s 16 wins, a dead heat and 63 points, and KAT 14 wins and 52 points from only 9 racers. Stirring stuff. The individual performances bear examination. Pride of place in the A’s goes to 9 year old Iain. No one in the team reacts as quickly to the starter’s “go” as he does, nor did any of his 3 opponents come close to beating him. Max won 3 times too (with a bit of help from Chris) as did Chantelle. Creagle was unlucky not to triumph 3 times, and Fraser’s 2 wins were born out of determination overcoming pain. Meanwhile, Lauren had awoken from her lunchtime slumbers as a fire breathing monster, devouring and spitting out the entrails of 2 racers before succumbing to the red course in her final run. Sorry Guys, but I have to record that Rorie and Phil were beaten by a (tall) girl’s blouse – Rowan Vernon. Yet no shame in that. David was the B’s star with 3 wins, Mike had 2 plus a dead heat, and Zac, Phil, Robbie and Olivia took 2 apiece. Phil took the TSP bragging rights with a blue course assisted win over Rorie. I have to admit to a defeat to a short girl’s blouse. For KAT, Briony scorched to 3 wins, Millie, George, and Carmela twice. George would have had a clean sweep and Oliver 2 wins had not generous dead heats been awarded to their opponents. The A’s top scorers were Chantelle on 29, Max 27, Iain and Simon 22, Rorie 20, Kieran 19, Robyn and Fraser 15 whilst Lauren had recovered to 11. Total score 198 for 4th on the day. The B’s were led by David with 28, Chris 25, Phil 22, Zac 20, Karen 19, Mike 17, Olivia and Robbie 8, and Jack and Shannon 6. Total score 159 for 5th on the day, not quite enough to overhaul the A’s. KAT were headed by Briony and Luke with 10 apiece, George 9, Alex, Carmela and Millie 8 and Oscar 5. Ieuan had taken a liberal interpretation to the gate settings and failed to trouble the scorers. Thus the season ended on a high note as TSP A finished in first pole position, 49, 66 and 81 points clear of their excellent rivals Gloucester, Midlands and Western Counties. Another year in which the standard of racing has increased markedly but not at the expense of good sportsmanship. The B’s finished 8th and had they not suffered from no-shows in the early races, might have threatened 5th or 6th place. KAT took a creditable 13th just behind Midland Hawks. Naturally, these columns enjoy national, even international circulation. So let me thank again all those who’ve supported TSP and KAT, our good friends in the other 12 teams and Gloucester Ski Centre for staging the events. Now lets get a breather until May 2008. Chris Gardner

TSP in Tignes, 19th to 27th October 2007 “There’s Alain Baxter!”

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:26:00 +0000

This is TSP’s October 2007 Tignes Diary. I’d stake my reputation as a tedious raconteur that the whole of this record bears some relation to the truth. Cross my heart and hope to die, terrapins tickle me if I lie. ‘twas on the 19th October that our flotilla set sail for France. Well apart from the Gardners who chose to go under the channel. Our intrepid leader, as ever, was Chantelle, ably supported by chief engineer Rorie ‘Scottie’ Scott and apprentice coach Phil Gardner. There can have been few occasions when so many families swelled TSP’s ranks in a trip abroad. The Goddard-Jones’ were there of course, though Andy was left to look after things at home. They were joined by clan Holdsworth, Poth, Innes, Marment, Mitchell, Andrew, Paine and Gardner. The racers were Brodie and Briony G-J, Lauren and Jack Holdsworth, Dan and Rob Poth, Iain and Robbie Innes, Creagle and Robyn Marment, Fraser and Olivia Mitchell, Oliver Andrew, Tom Paine and the ageless Chris Gardner. No James Howells however, as he had rejected the icy wastes of Tignes for Florida in the New Colonies. I’m told that he’s likely to be entertained by an overgrown rodent called Mickey, and that his meals will largely comprise road kills. The trip down the French motorway was sort of Cannon Ball Run meets Top Gear. The only casualty was Tim Andrew in his Bugatti Veyron. He was fined 45 Euros for exceeding one (or two) hundred miles an hour by a really polite traffic cop. In his defence, Tim had said he was a distraught Welsh rugby fan who’d lost his sense of direction, and that was enough to cheer-up said cop. Oh and Chantelle found that the roof of the car parking level of the Bec Rouge apartment block (home for the week) was only slightly lower than the height of her ‘bus’. I guess they are both the same now. Sunday morning greeted the tourists with temperatures of minus 7 at Le Lac and a breezy minus 11 at the Glacier. Naturally Phil Gardner decided no coat was necessary, and Fraser had to be persuaded against shorts and tea shirt. They and the others survived a gentle day of acclimatisation and technical exercises served up by the coaching team. That evening, most of the party headed to the Alpaka Hotel for the World Rugby Cup Final. Boring old England against the tournament favourites South Africa. Predictably one game too far for England though they showed up well, cheered on by TSP’s sirens Claire Holdsworth, Claire Mitchell and Jenni Gardner. In the end England lost on penalties (sound familiar?) to a blonde Africaner called Percy though, rather than the more customary Ayrian Franz or Fritz. Scottish skiing God, Alain Baxter was staying at the Alpaka. He’s a top man and followed the Team around for the next few days. He’s also handy to have with you if you’ve got a stuffed up nose. He sent Creagle the following message: “Hello mon, I’m Alain Baxter. Welcome to the Team Slalom Plus Tignes diary 2007. Thanks for pointing me out Creagle? See you later” So sure enough, Alain was with us on the train on Monday morning, and sought autographs and photos from the team on the terrace of the top station. After a short while we sent him away, as there was training to be done. For Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the weather stayed cold and bright, allowing GS runs in the morning and slalom after lunch. Not for me as a mere trainee to assess my colleagues, but seemed to me that Dan and Rob Poth and Brodie were on something containing high octane, and no one was holding out any. Creagle was also looking in fine nick, good news for next week’s final Race League. On Monday night, Dave and Chris broke curfew to watch Newcastle v Spurs on Setanta at the Alpaka. Think Dave realises that if he wants to watch a good footballing team that plays in black and white stripes, he’d best go to the New Lawn and catch up with Forest Green Rovers. Setanta promised “more football later in the week – Stalybridge Celtic v Blyth Spartans”. Sorry, guys, not worth an extra tenner on my Sky subs. Anyhow, Tuesday morning found the author suffering from a combination of altitude sickness and sleep deprivation. Certainly nothing to do with the jugs of lager served up at the Alpaka to mask the awful fayre from St James Park. Meantime, Phil Gardner was having loads of trouble with his boots. Rorie had the answer and took him over to Nevada sports where two blow jobs later, the boots were much more comfortable. Involved a lot of friction heat and a bit of grinding so I was informed. In fact, I was so impressed that I visited Nevada later in the week for some boot treatment too. Back at base camp Bec Rouge, the Innes were as hyperactive as ever. Nicki was like a dog with an unlimited supply of lamp-posts. So many mountains to run up and down. It’s exhausting to watch her. Wednesday was a full day with everyone sparking well on the morning GS course. However, the it got harder on the icy slalom run during the afternoon with Chris managing to smash his slalom skis and ski boots. Not so Simon, who skipped down the course like a ballerina, midway performing one of the best recoveries seen in the Haute Savoie. That afternoon, after turning down loads of offers, Chantelle allowed some of the TSP squad to model for a top Dutch ski magazine. Thus, Oliver, Creagle, Iain, Lauren, and Olivia landed 120 Euros each and developed some expensive tastes that their parents may live to regret. An excellent evening meal followed, at one on the few bars open at Le Lac. Much was learned about Phil and Claire’s contrasting lifestyles while he works away in London. He lives like a hermit every night at his company flat at Kingston, too bushed (tired that is) to contemplate going out. In the meantime, Claire flashes the plastic with her mates at Cheltenham’s top fashion stores. Did I hear that right guys? So much happened on Thursday that its difficult to know where to start. There was a blizzard scouring the top station and glacier. Sure enough, Phil decided that a jacket wasn’t required. But a few yards on the first chair lift was enough for Chantelle to recall the team to the shelter of the restaurant. Now subtlety is not Creagle’s middle name. “There’s Alain Baxter!” he fog-horned (just before Alain could utter “there’s Creagle”). Once again he insisted on being surrounded by Team Slalom Plus, getting as many photos and autographs from them as possible. I guess he was seeking coolness by association. But Creagle wasn’t finished yet. “There’s Roland Fischnaller!” …. ”There’s Patrick Staudacher!” ….. ”There’s Yannick Bertrand!” One by one, the top international world cup skiers came to pay their respects to Team Slalom Plus, and listen attentively to the life experiences of Creagle, Fraser, Brodie, Robbie, Robyn, Olivia, Jack and co. Roland, Patrick and Yannick asked them to pass on their compliments to the diary: “Bonjourno, this is Roland Fischnaller and Patrick Staudacher. Enjoy the Team Slalom Plus Tignes diary 2007. Oh and be sure to tell James Howells that Audi gives us R8’s now ‘cos only, ‘ow you say, hairdressers drive A3 Turbo Sports. Arrivaderci, Olivia cara”. “Allo mes amis, Yannick Bertrand ‘ere. Bienvenue to the Team Slalom Plus Tignes diary, 2007. You’re cool Robbie but tell your English amis that they can’t play Rugby, heh? Au revoir”. “Look there’s Alain Baxter!” Er no Creagle, he’s gone home. As the blizzard eased back to a gale, the Team set off for the training piste in good heart. But things were to take a dark turn. Chris, Rorie and Chantelle prepared to mount the chair lift, heavily laden with skis, poles and other paraphernalia. Was it a subtle nudge? Had Rorie accepted James’ contract on me. No matter, seconds later I was plunging to certain death on the jagged rocks below. My life flashed before me, highlights too many to list all. Why had I been passed over as BBC Sportsman of the year so many times? How had Botham been selected ahead of me in 1981? What a senseless waste of outstanding sporting talent my sudden death would be! But as quickly as I had fallen I was granted a reprieve. Luckily the ground broke my fall and I rose unscathed other than scratches to my black bases. The angels had saved me for better things. As the commotion died down, the Team resumed its route to the pistes, but with the dark cloud of suspicion and intrigue hanging over. A shortened training stint saw the racers making their way back to the top station restaurant by early afternoon. Phil Gardner was supervising his mini minis onto the T bar beside the training piste, with some of the parents close-by. Without warning the dastardly Essex Free Style Mongrel Skiers clattered in. At their lead was a spoiled cur called Wayne (probably). He pushed and shoved the youngsters, muttering obscenities only taught at the most exclusive educational academies. Phil was quick to intervene. “Hey fellow, kindly leave my young charges alone. Go and resume your proper place in the queue, and be quick about it”. Amazing, Phil had assumed the character of Tom Brown, School days and all. Then he thought, “what would Nick Marment have said? I know!” “Ok laddee, I think we’ve had enough of this. Cut along”. The effect was instantaneous. Wayne turned into a cowering, whimpering puppy, capable only of muttering epithets to Phil’s back, as the TSP party made its way to the restaurant. But he was still able to cause trouble and sobbed a tissue of lies to his obese bully of a father, Wayne senior. Wayne senior waddled up to Chantelle, spoiling for a confrontation. He spat out some incoherent insults to skiers in general and Phil in particular, before lurching back to the cave he’d left minutes before. Momentarily stunned by this unprovoked assault, Chantelle went into flashback. It was a year earlier, at Tignes. Wayne was careering out of control towards her TSP minis as he tried to jump the lift queue. She succeeded in shielding the minis but then was hit by the lunatic cur. She fought for her balance but then fell, agonisingly slowly, towards a yawning crevasse, facing death as Chris did 12 months later. She too was saved, as her extra strong Team Slalom Plus hoodie (available at all good outfitters or through the TSP web site) caught on an overhanging ledge, and gave Rorie the opportunity to pull her to safety. Yet even as she struggled to come to terms with her near miss, Wayne Senior had made his appearance and rasped the same choice insults, as his fawning son crept away. So, TSP had twice suffered at the hands of the Mongrels. Don’t count on a similar result in 2008. For Friday, the weather had turned. Snow and high winds closed the glacier and a swift change of plan was called for. The TSP Superstars. Three teams, all with combinations of the youngest racers and their creaking parents, strove for footballing supremacy. Claire Holdsworth shocked the packed stands by striking a sweet volley that settled the first game. Hard as Brodie, Creagle and the other young racers tried, their attacks were often blunted by the no nonsense tactics of their elders. The second round of matches saw the kids plus Rorie and Phil, against the parents. Suddenly we were in the presence of genius, one Lazlo Poth. Time and again, he rose like a salmon to head home or beat defenders with a clinical volleyed finish. He was unstoppable and must have notched 7 or 10 by the time that Chantelle called a halt for lunch. Later it was rumoured that he had been a member of the famous Hungarian team led by Ferancz Puskas that thrashed a fancied England XI at Wembley. So on this occasion experience had triumphed over talented youth. The afternoon was heralded by the run around the lake, 1.5 miles per lap. Some fantastic performances here. Briony led home the mini-minis, with Robyn and Jack not far behind. Brodie devasted the older field, tracking pacemaker Nicki Innes before letting fly with a ruthless sprint for home at the end of his second lap. Iain and Creagle followed him with equally impressive runs. Nick, Dave, Chris, Phil Mitch, Karen and Simon also weighed in for the adults with respectable runs over one or two laps. Claire Holdsworth and Jenni walked their lap, still a good effort. Fortunately for the men Claire Mitchell claimed some medical knowledge, and was able to confirm their A1 post race health, using her own groin-pulse-taking technique. Unusual, but seemed to sharpen them up some. And so ends the October 2007 Tignes Diary. Saturday morning will permit some slalom training for all, if the weather holds up, but yours truly will be heading home by mid morning. What a brilliant week. Thanks are due especially to Chantelle, Rorie and Phil. But the superb young racers played a full part, and the many families turned a training camp into a memorable break. Bring on the final round of Summer Race League on 3rd November! Chris Gardner 26th October 2007

TSP Teams 3rd November 2007

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:35:00 +0000

Hey dudes! Big thanks to Chris for providing all the content for the website. I'm going to ponder for a few hours the specific location of the Tignes report, and then get it online. Here's the teams for Saturday... Cheers Rorie The Teams for 3rd November are below. As usual there are around 25 - 27 places available plus nominations from outside Team Slalom Plus for the Kids Adventure Team. This is the last race of the season, only 3 weeks after the October event. As many of TSP are away in Tignes from 19th to 27th October, early notice of non availability will be appreciated Previous 2007 Race Points TSP A: 12/5 16/6 18/8 22/9 13/10 3/11 1 Robyn Marment under 10 19 20 n/a 19 n/a 2 Kieron Tyrrell under 10 7 20 24 16 16 3 Iain Innes under 10 23 25 n/a 25 25 4 Christian Marment under 13 15 12 n/a 18 19 5 Lauren Holdsworth under 13 15 10 n/a 12 22 6 Fraser Mitchell under 13 26 16 n/a n/a 21 7 Max Till under 13 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 8 Rorie Scott under 30 n/a 27 26 29 28 9 Chantelle Goddard-Jones under 40 26 29 n/a n/a 26 10 Simon Holdsworth under 40 24 24 n/a 25 22 TSP B: 1 Olivia Mitchell under 10 11 14 14 13 5 2 Jack Holdsworth under 10 11 11 n/a 10 13 3 Robbie Innes under 10 10 8 n/a 10 4 4 Shannon Tyrrell under 13 n/a 8 8 8 8 5 Phil Gardner under 18 n/a n/a 9 23 n/a 6 Zac Dimes under 18 n/a n/a 20 n/a n/a 7 Mike Stephens under 18 n/a 15 12 14 17 8 Dave Brennan under 50 23 25 24 n/a n/a 9 David Innes under 50 n/a 21 n/a 26 23 10 Chris Gardner over 50 27 29 25 24 n/a Kids Adventure Club: the following racers will be nominated by Team Slalom Plus and Krazy Kids 1 Ieuan Davies (KK) under 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 2 Millie Till under 10 n/a 4 n/a 6 n/a 3 Briony Goddard-Jones under 10 4 8 n/a 4 4 4 Oscar Henry under 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 George Henry under 10 10 10 n/a n/a n/a 6 Gabriella Anderson (GSC) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 7 Jordan Nugent (GSC) n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a 8 Alex Schranz under 13 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 9 Luke Henry under 13 7 3 n/a n/a n/a 10 Oliver Andrew under 18 6 n/a n/a 4 n/a Known unavailabilities (all teams): Ieuan Davies (KK) under 10 (Aug & Sep injured), Toby Hill under 10 (all), Millie Till under 10 (July, Oct), Elizabeth Henty under 10 (all except Aug), Luke Knudsen under 10 (all), Tom Paine under 10 (all except Aug, Sept), Robyn Marment under 10 (Aug & Oct), Brodie Goddard-Jones under 13 (Aug & Sept), Will Henty under 13 (all except Aug), Lucy Quantick under 13 (July, Oct & Nov), Will Beresford under 13 (all except Aug), William Edwards under 13 (Sept, Oct, Nov), Holly Hill under 13 (July, Sept, Oct, Nov), Eleanor Dimes under 13 (Nov), Luke Henry under 13 (July), Fraser Mitchell under 13 (Sept injured), Rob Poth under 10 (Nov), Daniel Poth (under 13) (Nov), Oliver Andrew under 18 (July & Aug), Richard Murfin under 18 (May & June), Billy Quantick under 18 (Oct and Nov), Phil Gardner under 18 (all except Aug, Sept & Oct), Rachel Bamford under 18 (Sept, Oct) Emma Beresford under 18 (all except Aug), Dominic Willis under 40 (June, July, Sept, Oct), Simon Holdsworth under 40 (July), Chantelle Goddard-Jones under 40 (Aug & Sept), Paul Barrett under 40 (all), Dave Brennan under 50 (July, Sept, Oct injury), Charlie Quantick over 50 (Oct & Nov) Sam Gapp? HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 31st OCTOBER IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE

Slalom Plus keep it in the Family

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:54:00 +0000

Dull. Dull, dull, dull. That was the weather, not the racing, in the October penultimate round of the Race League. Notable absentees for TSP included Brodie Goddard-Jones who kicks a pig’s bladder around for the County most Saturdays now. Big Dave Brennan broke a fetlock playing footy on the eve of Race League and had to be destroyed. Rapidly improving Tom Paine had been made an offer he couldn’t refuse to play for his school’s egg-chasing XV (first of the Mafia style references – stay alert there will be more later). Robyn Marment was selected to be pinging around gymnastically on race day afternoon and had also withdrawn. The Manager, alias the Godfather, had decided he was due a day off and contented himself with stalking the slope, encouraging the teams to hit the heights that he can’t. Phil Gardner was blotto somewhere in Nailsworth. But such is the strength in depth at TSP, that the A and Bs both fielded strong teams, bolstered by the heads of the main families doing there bit. In the A’s, back from injury came the rubber faced Fraser Mitchell, Chantelle returned from footballing parental duties, and David Innes came in to seek the success that eludes his Magpies. October’s special guest star was TSP legend Rich Luxton. The B’s were much as September, but welcomed Nicki Innes, a genuine all-action adrenalin pumping athlete, who bounds over mountains before breakfast. Briony G-J and Shannon Tyrell made their customary appearances for KAT, joined by 6 from Avon, George Case, Emma Penhale, Harry Hartley, Annabel Hancock, Thomas Hancock and Dale Thrupp. Leather faced Derek Jackson completed the team. All in all, there were 4 Innes’ (a unique occurrence for TSP), 3 Marments (Robyn did morning forerunning duties), 3 Mitchells, 3 Holdsworths, 2 Tyrrells, 2 Poths and 2 Goddard Jones’. Members of the 7 families, TSP salutes you! It was to be expected that Rich Luxton would be rusty. Natural therefore that Rorie would lend him some rusty edged planks to keep him in his place. But by the days end, ski’s would be swapping round like car keys at a swinger’s party, and onlookers would be treated to a glimpse of the racer that took All England and other honours a few years ago. The morning couldn’t have gone much better for all 3 teams. For the A’s, Robert Poth, Iain Innes and Kieron Tyrrell took places 1, 5 and 6 in the under 10s, with Daniel Poth and Fraser 1st and 7th in the under 13s. Rorie, James and Rich fought out 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the under 30s, whilst Chantelle and David Innes nicked 1st and 4th in their groups. Several racers in the B Team are in prime form. Simon Holdsworth took 2nd in the under 40’s with a blistering run, Mike Stephens zipped to 5th in the under 18 ‘group of death’, whilst Lauren Holdsworth and Creagle Marment hit top form to register 8th and 11th in the equally competitive under 13s. Jack Holdsworth, Olivia Mitchell and Robbie Innes all showed that they will be zooming up the rankings next year when kilos and metres will be added to their diminutive frames. Nicki was grumbling that she was under prepared for the race, but it didn’t show. She slotted in comfortably, just behind Karen and Phil. KAT raced with great heart, led by Harry Hartley and Shannon Tyrrell. So, lunch was taken in good spirits, the A team having scooped 176 points and the B’s 95. 2007 has seen a remarkable improvement in TSP's dual slalom form, even from the smallest racers. Rich Luxton was untouchable (geddit?) and Iain simply refuses to be beaten. Their clean sweeps were matched by Rorie whilst David, Chantelle, Fraser and Rob all won twice. Compromise is not in Daniel’s vocabulary, and he scorched out in every run! A tricky last gate put paid to some of the best racers, and robbed Kieron of 2 wins. James was bitter and twisted after suffering a disqualification and a defeat to Rich, all this on top of a panning by a girl last month. James is not available in November as he’s going stateside, but he’d have been dropped anyway as an example to faint souls. I might send him a Sicilian message too, perhaps a big girl’s blouse left in his bed? The B’s were just as impressive. Creagle and Lauren were imperious and Jack’s delight at his 3 wins brought smiles from all. Nor was Nicki to be denied, twice victorious. Karen, Robbie and Olivia won once and Simon scored a dead heat and more bruises. KAT’s Shannon and Harry won two apiece, Briony, Annabel, Thomas, Dale and Derek once. By the day’s end TSP A had netted 232 points in first place, taking their overall lead over Midlands A to a decisive 67 points with just November 3rd to come. TSP B’s 145 was enough for 7th, moving them to 8th overall, 7th being a real possibility next month. KAT were 12th and a good result next month should keep them there. And finally … Phil Mitchell looked pretty bushed all day. Something to do with working in London all week and Claire being very pleased to see him on Friday night. Next time Claire, let him get some sleep before a race, he’s all yours after.

TSP Squads 13th October 2007

noreply@blogger.com (rorie scott) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:09:00 +0000

The Squads for 13th October are below. There are around 27 places available plus nominations from outside Team Slalom Plus for the Kids Adventure Team. Priority is accorded to those who train regularly and who have not yet raced, and to kids over adults. As ever, over the course the year, everyone who wants to race will get several opportunities. TSP A: Previous 2007 Race Points 12/5 16/6 18/8 22/9 13/10 3/11 1 Robyn Marment under 10 19 20 n/a 19 2 Iain Innes under 10 23 25 n/a 25 3 Robert Poth under 10 n/a n/a n/a 23 4 Fraser Mitchell under 13 26 16 n/a n/a 5 Daniel Poth under 13 n/a n/a n/a 29 6 Brodie Goddard-Jones under 13 24 27 n/a n/a 7 James Howells under 30 25 n/a n/a 24 8 Rorie Scott under 30 n/a 27 26 29 9 Chantelle Goddard-Jones under 40 26 29 n/a n/a 10 Dave Brennan under 50 23 25 24 n/a Reserves: 11 Phil Gardner under 18 9 23 12 Chris Gardner over 50 27 29 25 24 TSP B: 1 Kieron Tyrrell under 10 7 20 24 16 2 Olivia Mitchell under 10 11 14 14 13 3 Jack Holdsworth under 10 11 11 n/a 10 4 Robbie Innes under 10 10 8 n/a 10 5 Christian Marment under 13 15 12 n/a 18 6 Lauren Holdsworth under 13 15 10 n/a 12 7 Mike Stephens under 18 n/a 15 12 14 8 James Thomas under 30 n/a n/a n/a n/a 9 Simon Holdsworth under 40 24 24 n/a 25 10 David Innes under 50 n/a 21 n/a 26 Reserves: Kids Adventure Club: about 7 of the following racers will be nominated by Team Slalom Plus and Krazy Kids 1 Ieuan Davies (KK) under 10 n/a n/a injury 2 Millie Till under 10 n/a 4 n/a 3 Briony Goddard-Jones under 10 4 8 n/a 4 Shannon Tyrrell under 13 n/a 8 8 5 William Edwards under 13 13 9 n/a 6 Oliver Andrew under 18 6 n/a n/a 7 Nicki Innes under 50 n/a n/a n/a n/a Reserves 12 Phil Mitchell under 50 n/a n/a 21 Known unavailabilities (all teams): Ieuan Davies (KK) under 10 (Aug & Sep injured), Toby Hill under 10 (all), Millie Till under 10 (July), Elizabeth Henty under 10 (all except Aug), Luke Knudsen under 10 (May, June, July, Sep, Oct), Tom Paine under 10 (all except Aug, Sept), Brodie Goddard-Jones under 13 (Aug & Sept), Will Henty under 13 (all except Aug), Lucy Quantick under 13 (July, Oct & Nov), Will Beresford under 13 (all except Aug), William Edwards under 13 (Sept), Holly Hill under 13 (July, Sept, Oct), Luke Henry under 13 (July), Fraser Mitchell under 13 (Sept injured), Oliver Andrew under 18 (July & Aug), Richard Murfin under 18 (May & June), Billy Quantick under 18 (Oct and Nov), Phil Gardner under 18 (all except Aug, Sept & Oct), Rachel Bamford under 18 (Sept, Oct) Emma Beresford under 18 (all except Aug), Dominic Willis under 40 (June, July, Sept, Oct), Simon Holdsworth under 40 (July), Chantelle Goddard-Jones under 40 (Aug & Sept), Paul Barrett under 40 (all), Dave Brennan under 50 (July, Sept), Charlie Quantick over 50 (Oct & Nov) Sam Gapp? HAVE I MISSED ANYONE OR GOT ANY AVAILABILITIES WRONG – PLEASE CHECK THE AUGUST LIST TELL CHRIS GARDNER 07795 121020 BY NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY 10th OCT IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE