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Skiing Camp



 
 
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Old November 1st 04, 02:24 PM
Nordic Skiing Instruction
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Default Skiing Camp

PART 1 - Student seeks Instructor

Masters ski camps offer the opportunity to tune-up and learn the most
progressive nordic skiing technique. Let us share some of our thoughts
on nordic skiing instruction in general and our offerings, to help you
make an informed choice this season.

"Fast-track your skiing development, this season !"

Having returned from years of racing internationally, we were
discouraged to find skiers still being taught technique, which elite
racers had discarded years previously.

During our own early development phases, we learnt pragmatic lessons
that lead to outstanding results, but we also spend many years
floundering, doing things wrong and following paths that lead nowhere;
practicing contrived drills created for their own sake, just wasting
time and developing bad habits. Ski skating evolved while we were on
the circuit. Then, the athletes taught themselves simply because there
were no teachers - and it took a long time. Nowadays, you don't need
to go it alone.

An athletic person is only able to fully apply their fitness
attributes once they can master the basics of technique. First they
must be shown, otherwise, skiing can be an exercise in creative snow
removal.

You can spend a lifetime observing and never catch-on, unless someone,
who has been there, can recreate the right experience with you.


"When you don't know the way,
you'll spend most of your time lost."



Like many instructors, we are looking for good students, as much as
you may be looking for a good teacher. If you are not serious about
learning to ski proficiently, or you just want a novelty winter
outing, then you don't need instructors like us.

Many students seek certified instructors at a given level, or coaches
that have the performances of athletes on their resume by proxy.

Formal qualifications give a measure of assurance that your instructor
meets certain minimal standard for competency. We can count the
highest level of instructors and coaches amongst our students or
colleagues.

Post-secondary education gives someone some theory. For example, David
is a practicing bio-mechanical engineer, and Lise is an exercise
physiologist and professional educator.

But a discerning student with clear performance goals would look
further:

The real teaching advantage is derived from a combination of elite
personal skiing attributes, streamlined pedagogy, well articulated
methods, supporting published documentation, kinesthetic empathy,
demonstrable performance and superior communications skills.

Good teachers are not passive observers, but active participants and
mentors in nordic skiing. When they are not teaching, they are
studying, playing, training or racing.

An instructor/coach should have the courage of their convictions to:
contribute to ski manuals, published books, and produce materials for
the sport. As an example, xczone has a line of products that have
withstood public scrutiny for a decade and achieved best consensus to
date, on a unified approach to nordic skiing technique.

An instructor should be confident but not arrogant or dismissive.
They need to fully understand alternative views on technique, training
or pedagogy, and be able to explain the nuances, in all fairness, to
their students. And remain open-minded.

The Nordic Skiing Project www.xcskiing.tv is an excellent example of
cooperation. The project's mission is to arbitrate an unified approach
to Nordic Skiing Technique by bringing together recognized experts in
the field, generating discussion, consolidating ideas and arriving at
an clear approach to instruction.

An instructor should be intimately familiar with the learning process
and understand what stages each student has to go through. They ought
to know the answers before the questions are asked, because they have
been there, done that. There is no problem that they should not have
seen resolved; first for themselves and then for their students.

Between them, Dave and Lise have 50 years of skiing experience, 17
years of which is racing at a World Cup Level. Lise Meloche has nine
(9) National Championship titles, third place ranking placing on the
World Cup circuit in 1986, leading to the 92 and 94 Olympics, and a
World Cup Gold Medal. Lise has done over 200 World Cup races,
finishing top-ten 21 times (including 7 World Cup Medals.) David
McMahon was National Biathlon Champion in 1993, twice overall Canada
Cup winner and 5 National Championship medals and finished third at
the World Summer Biathlon Championships. We have since taught over
7000 people to ski and coached athletes at the Olympic Level. Several
of the athletes with whom we have personally worked, have won World
Loppets, World Cup, World Championship and Olympic Medals ! We have
dynamic range of leadership skills from grass root coaching of
children to preparing master skiers for racing, or working-out, and
performing, high-risk stunts for feature films.

Look us up in Who's Who in Canadian Sport, Volume 3 1999 by Bob
Ferguson ISBN 1-894282-00-0.

Our Unlimited Nordic Skiing DVD is quoted as "the most complete
instructional and motivational package for nordic skiing, ever
produced!" It is every skier's user's manual and an enduring
product-in-a-box, for the price of a ski lesson. Endorsed by the
National Coaching Program, Biathlon Canada and Cross-Country Canada.

"Cross-Country Canada enthusiastically endorses XCZONE.TV's new DVD as
a key resource for beginning and experienced skiers or coaches looking
for clear, correct and easily-understood guidance for improving their
skiing technique. As the National Ski Team coaches collaborated on the
technical narrative, we can confirm that the theory and practice as
depicted in "Unlimited" are carefully aligned with current and
evolving doctrine."

XCZONE.TV is currently working with the Canadian Association of Nordic
Ski Instructors (CANSI) on a learn-to-ski DVD.


PART 2 - XC SKI CAMP BENEFITS

XCZONE is offering a series of Master's Nordic Skiing camps this
season. The camps cater to fast tracking the technical development of
novice to expert skiers. There is plenty of individualized attention.
We specialize in high-quality instruction by strictly limiting the
size our camps to 20 students.

Will you be empowered to ski significantly faster immediately after
the Camp - not likely. The reality is, that there needs to be a
serious commitment to practice on your part. But what we will promise
is:

We will teach our students key aspects of Nordic Skiing that are
guaranteed to shorten their learning curve and give them the edge.

First and foremost, we can save you years of development effort in one
lesson, by steering you clear of what not to do, and point your skiing
in the right direction. We guarantee superior results.

Although, residual old-school rhetoric persists, as it did in early
days of skate skiing, we are not bound to a particular doctrine.
You'll learn the most progressive nordic skiing technique.

You will know how to train technique in the most optimal fashion, with
a few key, purposeful and high-value drills. You will become
"ruthlessly efficient" in your methods. We know your time is valuable.
So is mine. There will little standing around. We will make the best
use of your time; telling you precisely what you want and need to
know, and bringing you a significant step closer to achieving your
goals.

We will help you make the connection between solid bio-mechanical
principles and a holistic approach to skiing technique.

We will not only tell you how it should look, we will show you; using
imagery to provoke the correct feeling and impart the secrets of
execution drawn from real experience; knowledge that you will simply
cannot get from a passive observer (relying on and critiquing taped
race footage).

The explanations will be tailored to what interests you . We will
explain precisely how you can get there from here, using clear
progressions and meaningful exercises in a open learning approach.

You will be shown how to achieve: perfect form, weight-shift,
increased dynamic range, balance; to apply your force, create power
and move efficiently.

Video analysis will provide objective and immediate feedback,
supported by expert commentary and side-by-side visual comparison with
elite skiers.

Technique materials (Video, DVD, CD-ROM) will be available at a
substantially reduced price to students at the camp.

You will gain confident in skiing, understand the universal truths,
knowing a clear path, opening your eyes to possibilities and steering
clear of pitfalls.

Students can choose to gain a whole-skiing experience that includes:
skate classic, nordix, telemark, norpine, and back-country.

The camps offer an ideal social setting for meeting people with common
interests, and connecting with "kindred spirits" or future training
partners.

Bottom line - You will see a clear return on your investment.

TESTIMONIALS

"My first encounter with the xczone ski camps was as a novice trying
to master the intricacies of skate skiing. Over the course of two
days, we were slowly transformed from ackward, inefficient machines
into a group of athletes who could begin to feel the fluidity and
force behind true technique.This was accomplished with precise
instruction, specific drills and excellent snow conditions. Dave
McMahon and Lise Meloche have been wonderful ambassadors for the sport
of XC skiing. Their camps will appeal to a range of athletes, from
both the novice to the competitive skiier. Their dedication and love
of the sport shines through not only in their technical knowledge,
which is second to none, but also in their warmth and enthusiasm." -
Suzanne R., Triathlete, Osteopath Physiotherapist.

"Thank you for the incredible day on the XCZone camp. I can honestly
say that it was one of the finest days of instruction I have ever
received, and will be sure to pass on to everyone I run into. Your
patience, understanding of the technique, enthusiasm, and atttention
to detail was superb, and it showed in the results by the end of the
day with the majority of skiers. Compared to downhill skiing I used to
teach, you have a far tougher task at hand with X-Country. I only
congratulate those who surpass my expectations, like you both did !
Dave staying with me until dark is just a small example of that.
Thanks again" - Grant T., a rookie but loving the Clean Oxygen Fed
Sport!!

PART 3 - DETAILS OF XC SKI CAMPS

Our Eastern Camps are held in Chelsea, Quebec, Canada (near Ottawa):

● CAMP 1 SKATE skiing , 11 Dec 04. (Intermediate-Advanced)

● CAMP 2 SKATE and CLASSIC skiing , 18 Dec 04. (Beginner-Novice)

● CAMP 4 SKATE skiing, 08 Jan 2005, (Intermediate to Expert
Level)

● CAMP 5 SKATE and CLASSIC skiing, 15 Jan 2005, (Beginner to
Novice)

● CAMP 6 SKATE skiing, 22 Jan 2005, (Intermediate to Expert
Level)

The Western Camps are scheduled for 29 and 30 Dec 2004 at MT.
Washington, B.C. Canada. www.mtwashington.bc.ca (There is already one
foot of snow fell as of mid Oct 04). Novice to advanced levels are
welcome. Meet at Raven's Lodge, Mt Washington B.C. Canada, at 9am. Mt
Washington, BC resort is located on Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada and
is one of the most spectacular nordic skiing destinations in the
World. You can fly into the Comox airport at the base of the mountain
from most major hubs or drive there on the new Island highway.
Western Camp registration only: Call 250-338-1386 and ask for the
Nordic Coordinator.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

We have been running these camps for over a decade, and, in a way, we
became a victim of our own success. We have had people just showing up
by the droves, unannounced and hoping to get in. This detracted from
the high-quality experience that set us apart. So, we now enforce
pre-registration and limit each camp to a maximum of 20 students.
Needless to say, the camps fill up quickly once the snow falls.
Register on-line by visiting www.xczone.tv

For more information please visit www.xczone.tv
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