RAVEN NEWS
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RAVEN NEWS
DECEMBER 2004
MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND HAPPY NEW YEAR
TO ALL RAVENS
Sunday Training
If anyone is interested in Training on a Sunday please contact Rob Joyce, Lee Doyle or any committee member and we will record your interest. If we sufficient demand we arrange a suitable AM or PM session with the slope. Slalom pole training will be possible depending upon other slope activities.
Easter Races.
The English Alpine Championships are at Puy St. Vincent from 27th. March to 1st. April 2005.
The British Children and Junior Championships are at Meribel from 3rd. April to 8th. April 2005.
The Scottish FIS championships are at Meribel on the 3rd. and 4th. April 2005.
ARE YOU ENTERING ?
As a ski club, Ravens do not arrange accommodation or transport to these races. However, we can give members advice about Tourist Information offices and their web-sites. Please ask a committee member, if you need information.
However, we will arrange training and coach support at these races for those who require it. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU TELL THE COMMITTEE THIS A.S.A.P. IF WE ARE TO GET COACHES. Last year we had 3 coaches at PSV and 1 at Meribel.
Yes, It’s that time again
With Christmas in mind this is a reminder that local retailers offer discounts to Ravens members on production of their membership
cards. So if your “little darlings” are busy scribbling down ski equipment on their letters to Santa try visiting:
LD Mountain Centre Reynolds Outdoor Centre
34 Dean Street, Newcastle. 6 Derwent Street, Sunderland
Tel: 0191 232 3561 Tel: 0191 565 7945
Ski and Outdoor Warehouse Nevisport
23b Airport Ind. Est. Kingston Park 22 Saville Row, Princess Square,
Newcastle Newcastle
Tel: 0191 286 8914 Tel: 0191 232 4941
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY TRAINING SESSION
Are you interested in some extra training over the holiday period?
If you are please contact Rob Joyce, Lee Doyle or any committee member and we will arrange a suitable day(s) in the holiday weeks.
If we find a quiet daytime slot it may be possible to arrange Slalom pole training, depending upon other slope activities.
SKI WAREHOUSE
Kingstone Park Newcastle.......Telephone 0191 286 8914
Club Members will receive an extra 10% discount on all goods even if they are already discounted prices.
Also preferential rates on ski servicing.
Race protection equipment is also available at trade price + carriage. This offer is a no-profit making service to help support our racers. Rob Joyce
JOE PORTHOUSE.
Sadly, at the end of October, Joe Porthouse, one of the stalwarts of North-East skiing, died, after a relatively short illness.
In the 1970s, Joe along with people like John Exall and Rick Hudson was a pioneer in skiing on snow and the then new fangled artificial surfaces. Before Silksworth was built, Joe might have been found at Seaburn ski slope, or on a NESA trip to the newly constructed Hillend, or, in winter, walking up Cross Fell in the Pennines, for the pleasure of skiing down on new snow – no lifts were necessary.
For many years he was the Ski Instructor at Morpeth ski slope, where he also looked after the condition of the skis and helped to relay the slope on more than one occasion. In this capacity, he taught to ski, literally, thousands of school-children from Northumberland, North Tyneside, and Newcastle, along with their teachers and many other adults. He was a funny, patient and deeply knowledgeable instructor. Joe was also able to point you in the right direction, if you wanted good skis and clothing, at reasonable prices.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Joe was the ski manager of the LD Mountain Centre in Newcastle. He was the man to go to for advice about skis. He also ran the LD’s very busy ski workshop. Despite having access to all the latest designer, technologically advanced ski gear, you never saw Joe ski in it. He just put on his normal jacket and a couple of sweaters. Skiing was important, not fashion. When Ravens were given free prizes for their Club National races, these prizes came from Joe. Young promising racers in Ravens benefited from free skis and boots, or a binding change for which no reward was asked.
Joe was also very well known for his annual May snow trips, organised with Joe Kinnear, to Hintertux. These have been functioning for many years, are still hugely popular, and are responsible for introducing so many people to snow skiing.
Joe left the LD recently, and at the age of 65, was still fit, active and skiing, whilst enjoying a happy family life with his wife Dorothy and new grandchildren. Therefore it was particularly sad, when some 6 months ago he was diagnosed as having a brain tumour. At his funeral service in Ashington, the Church was packed. Ravens past and present were represented by, Ian Bruce, Karl Topp, Garry and Rick Hudson, Dave Rickleton, Brian Morris and Ian Garfoot.
Joe was a gentle, kind, witty man, with huge knowledge of skiing. Many, new to skiing, who have never come across him, unknowingly, owe him a debt for his pioneering work in the North- East. However, Joe was also totally unpretentious, he would not have wanted it any other.
Brian Morris
OLD RAVENS NEVER DIE THEY JUST ………RETURN !
It has been nice to see a number of “old” or should I say “familiar “ faces at Ravens recently. It illustrates the pleasure that the club gives to members
and the continuity is, in itself, good for the club.
Many current members will know Matthew, Gloria and Mark Lowden, but did you know that Mark was a member many years ago before he married.
Scott Appleby was one of the club’s top racers 10 – 12 years ago. In the past year he has returned on a regular basis and is steadily whittling down his times, despite these strange short skis, rather than the195s he used to race on. Scott used to race with the likes of Martyn Lewis, Jamie Wallace and Ian and David Morris. We assured him that they did still turn up at Ravens, on occasions, but Scott had never seen them. Then at the end of November, Ian and Martyn turned up – on the one night that Scott was not there.
Julia Steele , who has been giving some coach support recently, was an accomplished racer for Ravens and Spectrum, a few years ago.
Former Raven’s Champion and BASI 1, Ruth Mosley, paid us a fleeting visit a few weeks ago, between Thailand and Courchevel.
Michelle Stirk, who a few years ago won a Senior Female title at the English Alpine championships, and also a former Raven’s Champion, has been to Liverpool University for some 5 years, studying veterinary medicine. She is now working in a vets practice in North Yorkshire, attending Ravens regularly and winning races.
One of the most interesting new members is Stuart Nelson, who has brought with him his father, Derek Nelson. Along with the likes of Andrew Lockerbie, Derek was one of our most successful racers in the 1980s. He also did some coaching at the club. In addition, I believe that Stuart’s grandfather, Tom Nelson, was one of the 1
st. Ravens chairmen.On the telephone recently has been Margaret Garfoot, long serving NESA secretary, whose husband, Jack was NESA chairman,and whose sons Finlay and Colin, raced for and coached at Ravens. Margaret and Jack had bumped into David Morris whilst skiing pre-season at Tignes and their grand- daughter, who lives in Aviemore, had been competing at Hillend in a race won by Martin Stephenson, whose skiing had greatly impressed. Although they still ski, Jack and Margaret are now in their 70s and no longer drive, so it is difficult to get to Silksworth
Also, seen at Silksworth, freesking with his daughter, former English Junior Alpine team member, James Rochester.
RACE EQUIPMENT.
Dave Morris has recently been obtaining race equipment for ski instructors training with him to do their Euro speed test. Dave is not making any money out of this, but is doing it as a professional favour to friends. The skis are coming from James Lister, a BASI trainer who runs a ski shop, that some of you will know, in Les Deux Alpes. Some skis are last years stock, but unused. Some are race stock. He also has a few bits and pieces that Ross Green (15th. in the Combined at Salt Lake City ) is selling.
Most of the skis are for GS. There are other protection items for sale. Adam Lee has been negotiating to buy a pair of GS skis from Dave in this way, and Dave was wondering if any other Ravens, racing on snow, were interested. The prices on the attached list are in Euros.(take 1.45 Euros to the £ for conversion) You can pay in pounds. If you are interested give Dave a ring - phone number for France on the list.
This race will be brought forward one week to Wednesday 23rd. March.
This is because March 30th. which would be the normal date, will clash with Alpine snow races, which many might well attend.
5th. COACHING GROUP.
For many weeks now, it has been necessary to have a 5th. coaching group, because of the number of racers coming to
Ravens. John Greenwood has performed sterling work in this capacity. The committee has decided to give John an 8 weeks
rolling contract. This will give John some security of tenure, but also protect the club should there be any long term fall in
numbers.
SPYDER RACE GEAR.
The club has received an e-mail suggesting that if you are looking for spyder gear and clothing for 2005, you should try www.kim4snow&bike.co.uk
Ben is just completing his 1st. term at Oxford University and is presently having 2 weeks at Tignes with the university ski club.
Lucky man!
Apologies to CALLUM BRUCE.
Callum was missed out of the results published for the September (1st.) race of the Winter series. He was 16th. in a time of
18.83……….. Sorry!
RAVENS INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS
Do you know that the some of the more established Ravens members are skiing at a very high level indeed. Can you do it too?
SCOTT BRYSON – is in the full Great Britain Development Squad and presently training in Austria and competing in FIS races.
DANIELLE BRYSON – is in the full Scotland Squad and training in Norway for the next few weeks.
ADAM LEE, CRAIG RUDDICK, MARTIN STEPHENSON and CHRIS PYLE were all in the England Squad for the Home Internationals at the British, Welsh and Irish artificial Championships. That is 4 Raven’s members in a squad of 8 racers. It must be a record.
HEIDI KYNOCH and CHRIS WHITE are in the English Schools Squad for the Schools’ World Championships in 2005. They will train in Norway, before travelling to the Championships in Sweden.
***Skier Representation on Committee***
At the AGM it was decided to “co-opt” two regular skiers/athletes onto the committee, so that they may feel more involved in the general workings of the Club.
Only two interested parties put their names forward for election and therefore an election was unnecessary.
Heidi Kynoch and Hannah Bradley are duly co-opted to the Committee.
The skiers/athletes will then be invited into the beginning of the Committee meetings to discuss any relevant agenda points and are
welcome to stay for the rest of the meeting should they not wish to train that evening.
WINTER SERIES DATES for 2005
Race 4 = 26-01-05
Race 5 = 23-02-05
Race 6 = 23-03-05 (before Easter Hols)
Race 7 = 27-04-05
Winter Series Presentation Night = 25-05-05 (provisional)
Tignes cable car drama with a happy ending
90 skiers had to be rescued on Friday 18th from the Grande-Motte cable car, on the Tignes glacier, when the cable car was derailed close to the top station. “Suddenly we felt the cablecar shudder, and we thought that the wind had blown us against the top pylon. I thought to myself: this can't be happening, surely we're not going to fall!” said Eric, 24 years old, one of the passengers.
Bernard Genevray, chairman of STGM (Société des Téléphériques de la Grande-Motte), confirmed that the wind had been responsible for the incident: “there was an extremely powerful gust about 10 am, which caused the cablecar to swing. No advance warning of such strong winds had been given in the weather forecasts. The cable car was therefore derailed as it arrived at the last pylon. It however stayed on its cables and the system shut down. Our engineers were rapidly on the spot, and decided that the passengers had to be evacuated.”
The rescuers opened the two hatches in the cable car and attached the ropes that would be used to lower the passengers. “Safety harnesses were attached and one by one, we were lowered down the rope. Once on the ground we were ferried down to the restaurant in piste bashers, where we were able to get warm and gradually calm down. But it was one hell of an adventure”, Eric admitted. The rescue operation took more than two hours. There were no injuries.
Official statement
According to Bernard Genevray, “at no moment was there any danger of the cablecar falling, the safety mechanisms functioned perfectly. There are two cables, the load-bearing and the drive cable. The cablecar remained firmly attached to the former, and there was no collision with the pylon. It is the first time ever such an incident has occurred with this cablecar. I've been in Tignes for 24 years and I've never seen anything like it.” ifyouski.com
TAKE THE HASSLE OUT OF SKI BREAKS THIS WINTER WITH 'SKI MEET AND GREET' FROM BCP
BCP, the UK's largest airport parking and travel related services provider, has launched a hassle free 'Ski Meet and Greet' service for those planning to head off on a ski break this winter.
This new service means that there's no need to carry bulky ski equipment from the airport car park to the terminal, which can add unwanted stress to that airport dash. With BCP's 'Ski Meet and Greet', customers will be met at the terminal building by a fully insured driver and their car driven to a secure car park facility. Customers just unload their ski kit straight on to a trolley and whiz straight to check-in. No parking, no hassle.
On arrival back in the UK, customers will be met with their vehicle outside the terminal, ready to load their skis and drive home. BCP's 'Ski Meet & Greet' service is available at Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Stansted and Edinburgh.
To find out more about BCP's 'Ski Meet and Greet' service please contact Kelly Johnstone or Keira Garrigan at Brighter PR on 020 7603 2168 or email Kelly.johnstone@brightergroup.com.
Wednesday 22nd December 2004
We will be celebrating Christmas with a fun night at our next club meeting.
Fun Team dual Slalom
Mulled Wine, soft drinks and mince pies will be served and we are hoping there will be a visit from Santa!
All are welcome so bring along your Mums & Dads & Grans.
NO RAVENS NIGHT 29
th December 2004
There will be NO Ravens clubnight on Wednesday 29th as the slope will be closing at 17:00 hrs between Christmas and New Year
The next club night will be Wednesday 5th January 2005, see you all then.
There will be no Ravens News in January next issue February
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