Summer time!

June 10, 2009 - 0 Comments

Hey Speedfreaks! So the ski season has finally come to a close. Although it is sad, there are still tons of opportunities to ski this summer. I am attending two ski camps and I m so excited!! In in order to keep skiing I also did a couple of May camps at Abasin. There was pond skimming so only half of the day was devoted to drills. There was a competition for the pond skimming and everyone on my team got perfect scores. It was really fun to watch all of the crazy attempts and the hilarious crashes. There are some photos that were taken of me and some of my team mates going across the pond! I just wanted to thank Spyder and everyone else who helped put on the Speedfreaks! This year was a great year and hopefully next year will be even better!! Thank you and I hope everyone has a good summer! Nicole

Spyder Takes on Wind Tunnel Testing in Prep for 2010 Olympics

May 14, 2009 - 0 Comments

Text taken from Daron Rahlves' website: http://tinyurl.com/q77zxm

Spyder came out to the San Diego, CA Low Speed Wind Tunnel to test their latest materials for speed suits and ski cross pants.  Jake Zamansky and Steve Nyman were the two USST athletes who traded off every 5 mins testing at 30,40,50,60 and 70mph.  The goal was to see which material gives Spyder the best advantage in aerodynamics.  This is difficult testing, but test after test helps reduce variables in a controlled environment.  For a consistent test, a bike seat was used in the tunnel for easy repeatability and a high body position.  That exposed more material and it was easier to duplicated every time.  The techs running the test used video monitors and drew outlines of the guys to make sure they were in the same position each time.  Nyman also tested the pants Errol Kerr and I used for ski cross last season and some new proto types.  Thanks buddy!  We've got more speed for passing and pulling away from our competition on the sx track.  You can see he rocked the Spyder stealth to complete his look.  Watch out for him to bust out the half shirt next year on the podium.  Marco, where were you?  You owe these boys. That skin tight suit of yours will be faster than ever. Spyder's commitment in testing like this is the reason they're the world leader in ski competition. 

US Ski Team Names Speedfreaks to A, B, and Dev Teams!

May 07, 2009 - 0 Comments

37 athletes were nominated to make next season's U.S. Ski Team, including Spyder's Steven Nyman (A Team) and Jake Zamansky (B Team). 15 skiers are flagged for the Development Team, including Speedfreaks Rose Caston and Greta Byrne. Greta, one of the youngest to ever be named to the team at the age of 15, was featured in the Vail Daily newspaper.

The team will be officially named this summer after coaches have had the opportunity to work individually with the nominated athletes.

 

CONGRATS, SPEEDFREAKS!

Wrapping the whole thing up

Nick Braun
April 02, 2009 - 0 Comments

What's up freaks

The ski season is coming to an end and we all know what that means.  An agonizing summer waiting for snow to fall.  Not to scare we aren't there quite yet but that means I want to see all of you shredding it at A-Basin for the last day of skiing in Colorado.

I ended my season on a really good note.  JO's were a blast.  We all had a ton of fun and the week was really exciting.  Good results from all the freaks so good job.  At the end of the week I walked away with 1st Overall.  It was really cool cause I skied really well all week long.  Good luck to Bobby and Paula at Whistler Cup representing the US.  Shred it  guys.

As for the end of the season we should all go out and do some amazing Colorado spring skiing.  The spring corn or should I say spring powder should be awesome.  Have some fun!!

Nick

 

J2 NATS

March 23, 2009 - 0 Comments

 

 

Hello fellow Speedfreaks! I am making my debut blogging. Just a week ago we finished the J2 Junior Nationals in Aspen, Colorado (my home hill). The J2 Nationals is the 50 best girls and 70 best boys in the United States for 15 to 16 year olds. We started off the competition with 3 days of Downhill training on the course known as "America's Downhill". I don't normally like speed, but everyday seemed to get better and better. We finished off 4 successful days of racing only to of course have the Super-G postponed due to 12 inches of new snow. We took the day off and skiied the fresh snow and rested up for a new schedule. Instead of having the Super-G we jumped right into Slalom. A little nervous about getting into Slalom right away quickly disappeared after a quick and turny first run set. I completed the Slalom with a 3rd place finish with my Speedfreak friend Greta taking first. The following day we did Giant Slalom, I ended up 3rd again edging out my good Speedfreak buddy Rose Caston by one hundredth :) The last day we finally got to the Super-G, which was not my best event, but I still managed to have some fun. This race is always fun because you get to meet the best kids for you age from all over the country. The atmosphere is very relaxed with everyone hanging out in the lodge blasting music before the runs. Now I am off to Alyeska,Alaska for the US National Championships. I am very excited to test my skills against the big guns from the US Ski Team. Of course I will be wearing my Speedfreaks suit with pride, and want to thank Spyder for supporting me along the way. Everyone have a great end of the season! :) JoAnna