Two articles on NZ Uni games!

Article on biathlon in NZ!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10669327

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Article on Mitchey Greig, myself, and the Uni Games!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10669326

Cross-country FIS races

The past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (6th, 7th, 8th) I competed in the Cross-country FIS races up at the Snow Farm, here in New Zealand.  Canadians, Americans, Koreans, Japanese, and Australians were all racing in these races- which made it pretty exciting.

Friday was the 10km classic and it was my second classic ski of the season! But, I decided to do it anyways- Why not!?!?! My skiing actually felt really good, which was a surprise, and I placed 7th, which was the top Kiwi placing. The snow was great and our Russian coach, Alexei, did a great wax job.

Saturday was the sprint day! The usual sprint course here in NZ is usually 800m, but for this race day they changed it to 1600m- perfect for men, but a bit long for women. The weather was crazy! It was great weather for the qualifier, but then the forecasted storm arrived and from then on it was full-on blizzard! It was poor visibility and painful on the face for the rest of the sprints. It was definitely a fun challenge. I won the B-final sprint, which was great.

Sunday was the last day and it was crazy! The race was delayed 2 hours because of the amount of snow that had fallen and the track could not be groomed. Also all cars required chain fitting because of the conditions. The course was changed because of all the snow, so men ended up doing 5 x 2km loop and women did 3 x 2km loop. It was a tough course, with a big up-hill and soft snow, but it was great. I ended up 3rd, which was exciting as a Kiwi was on the podium. Woohoo!

It was a great weekend and I am excited for the biathlon races coming up on Sunday!

Take care, have fun and smile!

Sarah

Ain't no Party like....

WOW! Is it August ALREADY?!?!?!?! I cannot believe it! I have been running around like crazy I have not even noticed the time go by. The beautiful wonderful snow is here, and has been for months now! I am skiing every weekend are gorgeous Snow Farm and studying Monday to Thursday in Queenstown. You will be happy to know I passed last terms papers, but this term is tougher- so we will see!

 

We had an absolutely amazing Biathlon camp here in New Zealand. There is a big group of keen teenagers who attended- learning all about skiing and shooting, and then sticking them together. At the end of the GREAT camp we had a biathlon race where there were 30 racers, including myself and Vancouver 2010 Cross-country Olympian, Ben Koons, a fellow Kiwi. It was great fun and everyone did really well. I am so amazed and excited about the evolving biathlon club in New Zealand and the interest that is now developing! 

July 24th, I competed in the multi-sport race called the Peak 2 Peak- This involves downhill skiing/snowboarding, downhill biking, kayaking, running and a grueling road bike uphill to the next ski hill, and the finish line. I did it last year  and  this year improved my time by 25mins, so that was great. (I did get a flat tire though last year so its more like 15minutes!) That was a great race and a great day. Team Fluoro, which I was a member of 2 years ago, won again for the 3rd year in a row, and my good mate Gavin Mason was 2nd! What superstars!

I am now getting ready for the 3 cross-country FIS races happening this weekend up at the Snow Farm- 10km Classic, 1km sprints, and 5km skate. National Teams from; Canada, USA, Korea, and Japan are all here to compete as well so it should be a party!

Hope everyone is loving life and having fun! 

Lots of Love,

Sarah