Lauren Stavely: NZ update

Cadrona Resort, Southern Lakes

It's been busy so far this season. I started off spending 3 weeks at Mt Buller which was a lot of fun, they had a sweet rail park set up so I spent a lot of time there. I am also the newest Mt Buller ambassador so I got to do a lot with the media up there. Over the three weeks I ended up working with  Sunrise, Southern Cross 10, 96.9 Star FM and ABC3 which was awesome and heaps of fun! So be sure to look out for all of those. 

Landing in Queenstown

I have been in NZ for the past two weeks having an awesome time. We have been riding Snow Park mostly. They have their big jump line up and a bunch of sick rails. 

Rails at Cadrona

I am set to compete in the Billabong Brodown on Friday so hopefully this storm we are having clears up so we can get some speed for the jumps (although I'm not complaining about the Pow)!

Handplanting it up.

I'm here in NZ for another 3 weeks and then I am heading back to Aus for mule high and style wars both of which I am really excited about! I'll be sure to keep you updated but keep checking my website for what I'm up to!! 

Kate Blamey: Update from NSW

Freshies anyone?

 It has been an amazing start to the season in New South Wales with the resorts receiving a lot of snow in late June. There has also been vast amount of cold nights which has allowed for a large amount of snow making. As of Monday all lifts are now running at both Perisher and Thredbo, which means there a large variety of runs to shred. We are also expecting another little top up of 20cm later in the week, so lets keep our fingers crossed. 

Some of many snowguns working hard!

The last three weeks have been crazy up here with a ton of different freestyle events taking place in both Thredbo and Perisher. During the school holidays two Interschool mogul events took place with over 200 mogul skiers competing at each event. The stand out was a girl in division 4 (Grade 5 and 6) who completed a 360 as her jump, this is awesome as it is so great to see a young girl attempting such a hard trick. 

Thredbo Interschool Mogul Course

Last Saturday night was the first of Perisher’s Night Slpoestyle Series for the season. A handful of girls were competing against each other for the amazing prizes and cash giveaways. The girls were out there giving it a go, some competing rails for the first time, hitting the jumps and performing crazy 360’s or just a simple grab. Every girl who competed was seen walking away with a prize, some of which included a pair of K2 skis, ski gear and/or cash.

One of the many bluebird days at Perisher

The next event of the series is on August 18th, it would be great to see more girls out there giving it a go. So why not come, learn and practice your rails and tricks at our Thredbo session on the 11th and 12th of August and enter the next competition for a bit fun and an awesome experience.

Birdie taking in the view at Blue Cow

Mt Hotham Freeride Session

After an awesome weekend at Mt Buller, we were pumped up and ready to shred the steep gullies at Mt Hotham. The weather forecast was calling for some chilly weather and snow. 

Penguin huddle!

Friday night was a little breezy and filled with sleet and snow, so we were a little worried that the conditions would keep some girls inside. We had nothing to fear as by 10am there were an odd 70 chicks waiting under the Roxy banners.

Our awesome snowboard coach, Ali Deane, hanging out before starting the session

 Before setting out we had the privilege of hearing from Aerial World Champion, Kirsty Marshall, a pioneer in female freestyle skiing as well as a new addition to our Ambassador team. Kirsty talked about her experience of being a professional athlete in a male dominated sport and what it was like training with the guys. If only there was a Chicks with Stix back then!!

Kirsty Marshall speaking to CwS

We had two great days of riding over the weekend at Hotham, both followed by a quick get together at the end of the session to give out some well-deserved achievement awards. They included Dragon goggles for stomping new tricks in the park; Armada beanies and hats for positivity and giving everything a go; Roxy CwS tees and Hoodies for shredding both forwards and switch and a pair of Shafted poles for overcoming new challenges.

Ali's freeride group: Kathy, Jing, Christen, Erin, Jess, Alice and Katherine before dropping into a new line down Hog’s Back at Hotham on the weekend, (Sarah and Heidi missed this run, but we caught up with them on the next one.

CwS has such a great time at Mt Hotham, we met so many new chicks stoked to give everything a go, we can't wait to come back at the end of the winter for the CwS Throwdown!

Freeriding with mogul champ, Karinya Turnbull

Saturday Morning Session

Hannah Trigger, CwS Ambassador

A big group of girls showed up Saturday morning eager to ride despite the cold and cloudy weather. The "Hannah's" group led by Hannah Studd and myself started off with a couple of Village Loop laps to get our legs and bodies warmed up for the day ahead. Soon after we headed to the rail park to learn some new tricks. 

Getting the grab!

We were very impressed to see all the girls having a red hot go, whether it was their first time hitting a box or learning nose presses and back 180 outs, everyone was trying something new. In-between hiking the boxes we did a few more runs, practicing some skills on the way down that we could then apply in the park. 

The girls took instruction very well and persisted till they were all stomping their tricks. After a fun and successful morning we had worked up an appetite and it was time for a hot lunch.

Saturday Afternoon Session

Nat Segal, CwS Ski Coach

After a super fun morning ripping down Slalom Gully and popping over trees down Snake Gully, we decided to start the afternoon off with some extreme skiing. While a lot of the chairlifts leading to the 'Extreme Zone' were closed, Gotcha chair was still open and raring to go! 

It wasn't the calmest of chair rides but my freeride girls knew how to handle a bit of wind! After making our way off the chair and out of the wind we found ourselves on a beautiful steep run called Mary's Slide. 

The girls shredding down Mary's Slide

 The vis at the top wasn't the best but as we made our way down the run it got better and better, revealing beautiful steep gullies that with some better weather would be prime for the picking. It was great to be able to take the girls somewhere a little more challenging. For some it was there first time down a double black diamond, a huge achievement for just one day!

After going over some tips for handling more extreme terrain and conditions we scooted back to Heavenly for some more hot laps and a ride down Gunbarrel's natural half-pipe.

Torie Hamilton WIlson showing us how it is done!

Sunday Session

Ali Deane, CwS Snowboard Coach

The soft glow of Sunday morning at Hotham and 18cms of fresh on the ground. Let’s get out there!!

 Saturday night was a night of yoga, reflecting on an awesome day with new friends, and re-fueling for the next day, but most importantly it was a night for snow!

On Sunday the Chicks woke up at Mount Hotham to not only a sun-kissed morning, but 18 centimetres of fresh snow on the ground.

Bluebird pow day on Sunday morning

For some, it was their first ever powder session, but one thing was for sure, and that is everyone was stoked on shredding with their coaches for the second day in a row.


With one coach down (we missed you Mez!) the boarders were lucky to have Hotham local Erin Height jump on board to give her best tips for technique, and help keep my group together.

Erin, always smiling, gives the legs a rest, while my group shred on ahead.

The Hannah’s hit the park, molding the next generation of jibbers, conquering the box-line and pushing their limits.


Karinya, Torie, Nat and Zo tore up the mountain, guiding their girls down everything from the natural half-pipe below Heavenly chair and the extreme zone around Orchard.

Shredding down the extreme zone!

 After warming up our legs down a few fun ones under the Heavenly chair, we decided to try somewhere new, so Kathy led us down the cat tracks to Hog’s Back, where we found some untouched powder.


Cat tracks can be tricky on a board, as your edge sometimes wants to catch, so it was good practice for my group, some of whom did a great job riding noticeably faster and more confidently than the day before. We also popped some fun ollies off the rollers.


It had been a while since I’d adventured around Mount Hotham, bringing memories back of how much fun I’d had there, when I did a season with my brother back in ’02. Hotham truly has some epic terrain.


I could see the smiles of the girls, some of whom I could tell didn’t know what to expect. But I just said “Follow me and lean back!” We picked our lines, and spread out, but took it cautiously through the trees, and Erin had our back, giving a few pointers on the way down.

Alice navigates a new line down Hog’s Back. Nice positioning Alice!

Unweighting through your turns in the softer stuff, keeping your shoulders in line, getting low, and picking a line and committing to it were just some of the elements we worked on over the weekend, and it was that much fun. I can’t wait to all shred again soon.


When I used to work on my tricks, I’d sometimes write down the tips I got and what worked for me when I tried something new. If you guys want, you could write down what you got from our sessions, to keep them on hand, for the next time you head up the mountain. You can always facebook us if you want any more tips before heading up next time or while you’re up there.


See you guys next time! Yew!

Thanks to all our coaches and ambassadors for their awesome input!

Nat went swimming under the car on Sunday afternoon trying to get the chains off!

Karinya enjoying a delicious bite at Alpine Diner after a hard weekend shredding!

Mt Buller Recap

Chicks riding up Howqua lift

Last Saturday was our first Chicks with Stix session for 2012 and we were super excited to be kicking off at Mt Buller , the birthplace of CwS and home-mountain to many of our coaches.  We also knew it was going to be challenging with over 20 girls pre-registered to shred with us on what could be the busiest day of the season - a School Holiday Saturday! At the meeting place, another 13 girls joined us and after a bit of mingling and an intro from Zoe we were off.

Yeah shreddin'

The terrain was a bit limited, but what was open was great snow and the sun was shining….. the word I heard most to describe the day was "awesome" with girls of all ages trying something new, having fun and pushing their skiing and boarding skills to new levels.

We had 7 coaches and one of our ambassadors on hand to show the chicks how it's done. We also had a posse of photographers and a film crew following us around - stay tuned for some up-coming goodies!

We got some great pics and gave away some great prizes, including a pair of ARMADA skis!  It was a really good start to the season for us and we're hoping to meet more of you as we head to Hotham, Baw Baw, Thredbo and Perisher. Check out some more details of the session at Buller below!

    - Lorraine

Hitting rails at Koflers Park

Airtime at Kofler's Park

Torie 

CwS Ski Coach

Hitting the snow for the first time this season, CwS first freeride session was blessed with Mt Bullers beautiful sunshine and scenery. With over 25 girls our 7 coaches Zoe, Nicole, Karinya, Katya, Hannah, Merrin and I were joined by Roxy rider and ambassador Lauren Staveley and our awesome graphic designer Carly.

Torie hiking Koflers park with the CwS

Getting straight into it after tackling the long school holiday lift queues, the girls learnt the basic skills in various disciplines to get a taste of what we each individually do. Katya shared her knowledge in the skiX world while Karinya passed on an insight into mogul skiing. The snowboarders ripped it up along side us with Hannah and Merrin leading the crew.


The afternoon was spent in a female dominated park where every girl tried and succeeded in learning something new. It was great to see all their enthusiasm and confidence in hitting the jumps and rails while many of them were even spotted switch skiing! One of the snowboarders absolutely killed it with 5 new tricks in the bag!

Some mad edging happened at Summit

Coach and skiX rider Katya Crema rider showing us how it's done

Our youngest rider Nicole walked away with a brand new pair of ARMADA skis for her commitment to the rails, nailing them by the end of the day, and her confident skiing.

After a long day of sharing our stories,  laughs and skiing with our new friends our first session wrapped up a complete success.  We can't wait to hit our next stop Hotham, will you be there?

Nicole and her new skis!

Lauren

CwS Ambassador and Roxy Rider

The first Chicks with Stix day kicked off at Mt Buller last Saturday. Buller brought us beautiful conditions so all the girls were super amped to hit the slopes.

In the morning I rode around with some of the girls exploring all the terrain Buller has recently opened, including the new Bonza Lift. We played a game of skate and learnt a lot of new tricks. But before we knew, it lunch time was upon us.

Lauren at the Village Center, getting ready for the day

In the arvo we hit up the mini park on Koflers. All the girls put in a great effort hiking the jumps and rails, we had a great vibe going and there was a lot of progression from everyone! 

I hope all the girls had as much fun as I did on Saturday and I can't wait for the next event Chicks with Stix put on.

I encourage any girl of any age who can get down the hill on skis or a board to give it a go. Not only will you pick up some tips from coaches and some of Australia's best Winter athletes but you can socialize and have a great time as well! 

Coach Hannah Studd playing at Koflers Park

Mt Hotham Freeride Session July 14th-15th

After an awesome weekend at Mt Buller (photos and blog to come),we are getting ready for our next CwS Freeride Session at Mt Hotham.

If you haven't already registered for the weekend, you can email at us chickswithstix.skiing@gmail.com. If you haven't already been sent a waiver please download it here and bring it to the session!

Coaches for Hotham
 

Ski: Zoe Jaboor, Karinya Turnbull, Tori Hamilton-Wilson, Nat Segal
Snowboard: Hannah Studd, Merrin Jokic, Ali Deane
Ambassadors: Hannah Trigger

You’re welcome to participate in one or both days of the CwS sessions

Saturday
9:40am

Coaches arrive/ meet and greet out the front of ski school at the Zirky’s end. Look for
the pink Roxy banners.

10.00-11.00am 

Warm up: Skiers and boarders will ride as a group down some long groomers to
warm up our legs and bodies in preparation for a big day.

11.00-12.00pm 

Skill development: Groups will split into skiers, boarders, moguls, jumping, park, pipe
and free-ride (depending on the facilities at the mountain) and coaches. This will be a
basic introduction into these disciplines and a chance for you to get a taste of what
each discipline has to offer as well as chat to the coaches about their experiences.

12.00-1.00pm 

Lunch: Help yourself to the variety of yummy food that each resort has on offer. You
are responsible for keeping yourself hydrated and full of fuel throughout the day.

1.00-2.00pm

The group will go and shred some groomers together to get warmed up again. Then
you can change groups and try something new OR keep perfecting your newly learnt
skills from the morning session.

2.00-3.00pm

Shredding will continue until 2.45 when the groups will come together at the meeting
point again to award prizes of the CwS session awards and conclude the CwS
session.

Sunday
9:40am 

Coaches arrive/ meet and greet out the front of ski school at the Zirky’s end. Look for
the pink Roxy banners.

9.40-10.00am 

Warm up: Skiers and boarders will ride as a group down some long groomers to
warm up our legs and bodies in preparation for a big day.

10.00-12.00pm 

Skill development: Groups will split into skiers, boarders, moguls, jumping, park, pipe
and free-ride (depending on the facilities at the mountain) and coaches. This will be a
basic introduction into these disciplines and a chance for you to get a taste of what
each discipline has to offer as well as chat to the coaches about their experiences.

12.00-12.45pm 

You can change groups and try something new, or head to the park with some of our
coaches.

Shredding will continue until 12.45 when the groups will come together at the
meeting point again to award prizes of the CwS session awards and conclude the
CwS session.

The sessions are designed to give you a chance to try something new, meet new
lady shredders and get to know our coaches and ambassadors who've made skiing
and snowboarding a part of their lives in one way or another.

For those who have advised that they’d love to grab a Hoodie or Tee, you can collect
these at the end of the session providing that you’ve let us know what size and if you
want a Hoodie/Tee or both. Don’t be alarmed if you hadn’t previously let us know,
you can still order them online!

Can’t wait to see you up there!
- CWS team

Coach Profile: Zoe Jaboor

The one and only Zoe Jaboor- she is definitely thinking about snow.....

This is a bit of a special profile because not only is Zoe Jaboor the head coach of CwS, she is also the inspiration behind the program. In 2010, Zoe with the help of different awesome people in the ski community got the CwS program off the ground. Since the first year, Zoe and Lorraine (our incredible PR manager) have worked tirelessly to turn Chicks with Stix in to a multi-mountain, multi-day program that encourages girls to kick some ass.

Zoe and Lorraine

I first met Zoe, also known by many alias' such as Jibizzle, when I was 13. I was fresh out of race club, wearing my mum's ski parka and lost at the freestyle camp I had followed my older sister to in Silverstar, BC. Since meeting Zoe, I've watched her stomp her first backy,  slide rails I could never fathom, coach kidlets and take podiums all over the place. Zoe was one of the few girls in TBR when I was a kids, one of the coaches who nurtured me during my first year coaching at TBR (her and Nicole were my saviors) and always there to support me in my skiing adventures.

Getting her urban-on in Silverstar, BC

Knows how to mute grab

This chick is many things but the one thing that has always stood out to me is her persistence and hard work. Zoe has been so inspirational to me and many other girls over the last few years. It makes me beyond stoked that she has found such a fun way of influencing so many other chicks in the Australian snow community.

Here's the story from her....

- Nat Segal

Zoe disaster onto a box at Park City

Let me introduce myself. I’m Zoe Jaboor, a skier based out of Mt Buller. I have been an athlete and coach for TBR (Team Buller Riders) for 12 years. I started out competing in moguls and then learnt that bumps really hurt your knees so moved onto free-riding. I have been competing in free-riding events in Australia and North America for 7 years and have been supported by fantastic brands such as Roxy, Armada, Dalbello, Smith and Skullcandy.  

Hiking for her turns in Mammoth, CA

Now I just love anything about skiing. There’s nothing better than getting out first thing and making your mark on fresh corduroy down the summit, getting lost in fresh snow amongst the trees or just having a fun day a park somewhere, it’s all fun and it’s what makes us all skiers!  In addition to my work with TBR, I am also a qualified judge in moguls, aerials and half-pipe for Australia. This means that I am often required to travel around the world to various resorts to judge (it’s a tough gig but somebody has to do it!) My years are often filled up with a cycle of seasons between the Southern and the Northern Hemisphere winters. Somewhere in there I love to get out in the surf with my sister at Jan Juc. 

Zoe and our designer Carly at CwS Mt Buller last weekend

I am super pumped and this season as it marks the third year of Chicks with Stix. Along with my good mates, we get to head up a this initiative called Chicks with Stix which will be rolled out across the Australian Alps, encouraging young girls to get into freestyle skiing. Skiing has given each of us so much and we can't see why other girls shouldn’t be giving as much fun as we are. This program will increase the social connection amongst girl skiers and help them reach their potential as skiers!

So if you are interested in taking the next step in your skiing – come along to our freeride sessions. 

POSTER!

Have you seen these around your mountain! How great does it look?? Thanks Carly for the great designs. Coming to a mountain near you.....soon! x

Anna Segal: Lessons From Boot Camp

I came for a week, but am staying for three. I have an emotional love/hate relationship with water ramping. You get dressed up in your wetsuit, socks, ski boots, life vest and helmet- a most kooky outfit. Then climb 82 stairs to the top, click into your skis, slide down the plastic, jump, swim and do it all over again. After a morning and afternoon session of this, day in, day out, things get monotonous. Often the improvements that are made on each jump are so small that I can hardly tell. Half the time I’m thinking “why the F*@$ am I doing this?” However, I’m a big believer in the idea that hard work pays off.

Utah Olympic Park

 I’m here in Utah crashing at the Australian Aerial team house and working with Britt Cox and her Coach Jerry Grossi, from the Australian mogul team. These girls (and one guy) all work like trojans and I quickly had to switch on intense work mode to keep up.

The aerialist and mogul skiers’ approach to jumping is a lot different to freeskiing. It is far more calculated and focused on detail. Especially their emphasis on the perfect take-off. This is where I’ve been struggling. My take-offs are, as Jerry puts it, home-grown (i.e. amateur). I came here expecting to learn a bunch of new and exciting tricks. Instead, I’ve had my take-off torn to shreds and been brought back to earth.

This is the hate part of water ramping. The feeling that I’m not achieving what I set out to do. The feeling that I’m not learning fast enough, not talented enough. Staying positive has been a challenge. Self doubt and frustration creep in whenever I let my guard down.

Then there’s the love part. Well… I’ve got myself a sweet tan! And I keep telling myself that all the stair laps are getting my butt in great shape… But aside from such vain considerations, I do know that taking steps back (a little blow to my ego), then working on perfecting my baby-steps forward, are the best thing I can do for my skiing right now.

This all starts with drills…. drills, drills, drills. 180s, 360s and back drops. Over and over. At first I hated this new type of military style trampolining. Now I’m actually starting to enjoy it.

 

After an hour of tramp, it’s into the pool. Jumping with Britt and the aerial girls has taught me a thing or two about focus and self restraint. They seem to never get mad! If I miss my trick a few times in a row or feel that I’m not improving, I blow up. These girls keep it cool and I think because of this, are able put their energy towards being productive.

Britt always smiling vs me trying not to get mad

Even if I don’t leave here with a wish list of new tricks in the bag, I’m coming to realise that I will be leaving with skills far more important. Not just an improved take-off, but a new outlook on learning, patience and hopefully a better ability to stay positive.