Date: 27th of January 2008

I know I say this every year but some things just don’t change. It only seems like yesterday that we picked up a very tired group of athletes from Kelowna airport and now six weeks on and it’s all over and everyone is on their way home. The last six weeks have absolutely flown by and it’s only now that that I have a second to take a breath and sit back and reflect on the success of the programs this year.

We had another amazing snow year here in Silver Star with strong late December snowfalls and consistent falls throughout January.  The entire mountain, including the backside (Putnam) and the Silver Woods area was open 3 days after the camp began ensuring we had maximum terrain to utilize. With the lifts turning from the first to the last day and not one single day lost due to wind, rain or inclement weather, Silver Star once again proved why's it's one of Canada's premier resorts with consistent and reliable snow and weather conditions. During early to mid January the snow gods were listening and opened the heavens dumping copious amounts of super dry powder over the resort for the remainder of the month. Most of the group had never skied or ridden snow as deep and as dry and by the end of the camp most had become pow experts. To have consistent knee deep days is something that most people only dream about but with AWSC this year it was reality!

Once again the on snow training facilities here in Silver Star we amazing with the AWSC skiers and boarders having access to some of the best facilities around. The big air site was built and up and running by the 18th December. This facility is still unmatched by any other program and provides AWSC skiers and boarders with an opportunity to jump in a safe and controlled environment. To make it even better it's only five minutes from our accommodation and has a quad chair right beside it which ensures quick turnarounds. The Silver Star grooming team led by Tim McCoy , the Olympic downhill groomer, maintained the site nightly to ensure the in-run and landing were in perfect condition. The mogul courses (we have two) were completed around Christmas with Toppa (Australian Mogul Coach) and the AWSC coaches working with the Silver Star winch grooming crew. The guys put a lot or work (and snow) into getting a straight fall line and course on ‘The Face’ and the skills course on the ‘Coaches’ turned out awesome. Not only was there a fast turnaround due to the access from the Summit chair, but it also allowed for a lot of show off runs being had, as it can be viewed from almost any location on the chairlift. The terrain park was up and running around the 20th December and the park crew worked hard for the duration of the camp building and adding new features just about every day.

Our accommodation was once again at the Samesun building in the centre of the Silver Star village with awesome ride in-out access. The facility is perfect for our group and had plenty of in-house activities like pool, foosball and table tennis tables and Xbox. We had two private lounges both equipped with TV’s, DVD’s so there was plenty of chill out space. Our secure floor had its own private access doors, two computers with high speed internet, cable TV and direct access straight onto the slopes - a fantastic set-up for all of our staff and athletes. Thanks to Dan and Emma and all of their staff for an amazing experience once again!

Emma, our amazing chef once again provided all the food for the AWSC programs. Catering for 50+ people for breakfast, lunch and dinner day in day out in no easy task and Emma and her crew of staff did an amazing job. Trying to keep everyone stomachs happy all the time is a challenge but she did a great job and I’m sure everyone would agree that the food was awesome. Whether it was her super tasty daily homemade soups to the Sunday night roasts of the massive Christmas feast she put on, everything was always spot on and most importantly came with a smile. Thanks so much Emma for all your hard work!

In order for these camps to be a success and for the kids to have fun and learn, there needs to be input and assistance from a lot of people. So, the following are the people who not only contributed to making this years camp the absolute success that it was, but went above and beyond at every turn to ensure that all our athletes had the best experience possible.

First of all I'd like to thank all of the staff collectively for doing an amazing job both on and off snow. The right staff mix is what makes a program like AWSC the success that it is and without the commitment and dedication they give to the kids, and our program as a whole, we would simply not be here.

The AWSC mogul program was under the leadership of Ridley Plummer (Riddles) who joined AWSC for his first time this year. Ridley was a last minute replacement for our head coach Pete Mc Niel who unfortunately broke his ankle a couple of weeks before the camps begun. Ridley had absolutely no problems fitting in with the AWSC model and instantly gained the respect of all his athletes. His quick wit and ability to easily interact with the athletes and other staff made him an instant hit on the camp.  He did an amazing job with all the skiers in his group and they all took their mogul skiing to the next level. Great job Ridley and hopefully we’ll see you back with us again later in the year for the 08/09 camps.

Chris Ebbern (Ebbern) also returned to coach with AWSC for another year. Chris’ vast competition experience in North America and Australia plus his coaching and instructor knowledge was a huge benefit for his entire group and he was able to utilize his fantastic skill base to teach each of his athletes all the latest free ski skills. Chris' group of skiers all had fantastic progression and increased their repertoire on the big air site, and also throughout the park and not to mention their general ski improvement.  Off snow Chris was our main driver for the camp and if he did not already, he now definitely knows the road to Vernon like the back of his hand. Chris once again did an exceptional job and I look forward to seeing him back with us again later in the year.

The freestyle snowboard program also had another strong year with our head coach Adam Begg (Beggsy) returning for another year. Joining him was Ben Mates (Matesy) who also returned to coach again with AWSC before heading off to compete on the remainder of the World Cup half pipe circuit. Beggsy's technical knowledge and ability to be able to communicate and mix with the athletes is fantastic and this make the learning experience and time riding very positive. Matesy did a great job on snow with the group and his smooth riding and ability to show how it should be done was a real asset to the program. Both Beggsy and Matesy’s dedication to the athletes, both in training and in free time was amazing and really contributed to the overall success of the camp. The guys were incredibly innovative and kept the training varied on a daily basis. There were plenty of big air sessions as well as heaps of time in the park as well as plenty of time free-riding. The improvement that the riders showed over the past 6 weeks has been phenomenal and I would like to thank them for an amazing job and hope to see them back next year.

The alpine ski racing program was once again under the direction of John Armstrong.  John and his team of coaches are super experienced and did a great job of passing on the knowledge and experiences. The AWSC racers trained alongside skiers from New Zealand and Canada which really added to the diversity of the group and helped expose the skier to techniques from different countries.

Now in its sixth year, the Alpine Snowboard / BX program was under the direction of Canadian Phil Bereube, This was Phil’s first year with AWSC and his World Cup and Olympic experience was a huge benefit to the riders in the AWSC program. The four week program started on December 30th and all the riders made strong and steady improvement over the month. Phil did an excellent job with all the group and we look forward to welcoming him back again next year.

What would AWSC be without this amazing website! Sam (Pez) returned this year for his second year with AWSC to take up his role as website coordinator, photographer, videoligist and IT mr fix –it.  The website is definitely one of the biggest assets of the programs and a great source of information for parents and friends back at home. Pez worked endlessly over the past two months making sure the site was updated daily and is kept fun and informative. He has raised the bar again this year with the amount of work he puts into the website and since the camp began Sam has loaded an amazing just under 400 movies and nearly 2000 photos onto the site. We constantly receive positive feedback from family and friends back home commenting on how comprehensive our website is, and Sam can take much of that credit. Special thanks must also go to Sam for all his hard work completing the AWSC DVD this year.

Melinda Cleland (Min) joined AWSC programs this year and took over the big role of AWSC off Snow Operation Coordinator. Min did an excellent job and worked tirelessly throughout the camp making sure our accommodation and off snow activities ran smoothly. She was always happy and cheery and also took on the role as friend and confidante to all. Along with regular AWSC activities such as ice skating, tubing, swimming and diving, movies, bowling, pool and trampoline, Min organised some unique activities such as Curling, Laser Tag and Paintball. Along with all the above, Min worked what seemed 24/7 in our accommodation and at the cabin to ensure that everything ran according to plan and all the crew were happy. Thank you so much Min, you did a great job and we are looking forward to seeing you back with us again next year!

I’d also like to thank Fiona Cooper, a long time friend of mine who was responsible for all of the AWSC artwork and brochure design. She donates her time each year to help me out with the brochures and I’d like to once again give her a big thanks for all her support and help.

Thanks again to all the coaches and staff , the 50+ athletes who took part, and the people of Silver Star for making the 2007/2008 AWSC Silver Star Program the best yet and by a long way the biggest, best and most professionally operated overseas training camp in Australia. AWSC is incredibly proud of the excellent reputation we have developed over the years and strive hard every day to maintain it.

We are always looking for feedback regarding anything pertaining to the camps so we can make changes or improvements for future years. If you have any suggestions or comments, please email it to feedback@awsc.com.au . We would love to hear from you.

Good luck to all for the upcoming Australian winter or where ever you are, and we hope to see you all again next year.

Until then....

Stowie

Stuart Aldred
AWSC National Programs Manager