Lee Borowski's new skate tape, the analog to his booklet, The New Simple
Secrets of Skating, arrived Saturday. It costs $25 and runs 62 minutes.
While it has the same backyard feel of his earlier tapes, including that
same sleep-inducing music, and some of the script editing appears to have
been a little rushed to get it out before the holidays, as an instructional
tape it easily ranks alongside Dan Clauson's now outdated 1988 classic and
Torbjorn Karlsen's version of the Norwegian Ski Federation's video, which
was more analysis than instruction (I haven't seen Zach Caldwell's Jenex
tape, but have viewed the USST one). I don't know what Lee had in mind,
but it will definitely help a beginner who's been out a few times and had a
lesson or two. Primarily, though, it seems aimed at intermediates on up
through those a lot faster than me, and certainly anyone who teaches
skating. It covers a wide range of topics, from weight transfer to taking
corners, and there are subtlties of technique demonstrated that I had
wondered about but never heard anyone discuss before. The emphasis is
self-consciously on images, with lots of SLC Oly and WC tape used, as well
as some street rollerskiing and a little WI backwoods action. Among the
topics discussed and visualized, here are some of the more salient:

--How is weight transfer achieved?
--Is skating stepping or skating? (hint: both)
--Why don't common phrases such as "athletic stance," "catch-a-sandbag"
position or similar adequately convey the best skate (ski) posture?
--How much turning from skate to skate should there be? How much leaning?
--How wide should the feet be when skating?
--Where should poles be placed relative to the forearm, elbows and head?
--How much forward bend should there be during compression in doing the
different skates?
--Do women skiers skate the same as men?
--How does newer skate technique differ from the older (late '80s/early
'90s)?

I imagine the video will show up in some ski shops momentarily, if it
already hasn't. Reading from Silent Sports, you can order it directly from
Borowski for $26.75, $28.02 in WI, including shipping. His address can be
found via a Yahoo people search in Brookfield, WI. Disclaimer: The
kickbacks wouldn't be worth it even if my endorsement were.

Gene Goldenfeld