Ramone Cooper

My Olympic Story

2010-03-15T12:51:00.001+11:00

Sorry it has been a long time between posts. It has been an exciting few weeks since my event in the Olympics, and now I have the time to digest and give you a run down on how things went.

I just want to start off by saying thank you to everyone for all your supportive messages and for following my journey to and throughout the Olympics. It has probably been the most "up and down" few weeks of my life, and I really appreciate all the thoughts and well wishes. It is certainly not lost on me.

(At the Press Centre in Vancouver. Photo: Steve Cuff)

My preparation hit yet another hurdle while training for the event. On the first run of the last training day before the event, I crashed while pulling out of the line, being cautious of my knee. It wasn't a bad crash by any means, but I fell awkwardly onto my elbow, and subsequently separated the AC joint in my shoulder. What can I say... When you're on a roll... You are on roll!

We had a day off between the last training day and the event, while the women's competition was run. I was supposed to march in the Opening Ceremony, but with my body the way it was, I couldn't really spend a couple of hours on my feet and away from ice. I was getting injections of cortisone and local anaesthetic in my shoulder and found that it functioned quite well with the pain relief.

(The Course on Competition Day)

We were blessed with some great weather the day of competition - something the women did not experience the day earlier. It was a warm 5 - 10 degrees, and with the torrential rain the night before the snow was wet, slushy and without any hard base. With my knee taped and braced and my shoulder taped and injected, the training went well, and I was able to hit the jumps and train my tricks for the first time. I snuck in 3 runs in the short amount of training time. The most I had done since I blew my knee 4 weeks earlier. It was intimidating hitting the bottom air with a D-spin for the first time. Normally with a lot of time off snow, I have maybe a slight bit of apprehension, but when doing it for the first time, trying to land on my knee the way it was... I wasn't sure which way it would go.

(Training prior to competition)

Standing at the top, the crowd was huge. The cool thing about moguls is that the crowd can see the whole event from top to bottom. As an athlete, if you lift your eyes from the mogul line it is just a sea of coloured dots 250m down the from the start gate.

(Sami and Dani in the crowd with a killer sign)

(Mum, Dad and Jemaine being interviewed in the crowd)

I was fairly disappointed with my run, and missing out on the finals. I skied slow, and my jumps were not big enough. I made mistakes in the middle section, and at the Olympic level... You cannot make mistakes. I scored somewhere in the 21 points and finished a disappointing 27th.

(Skiing through the middle)

(Jumping the bottom Air)

I am proud of my achievement to make the Olympics, and at the end of the day given the circumstances that was probably the best run I could have managed. It's hard to enter an event, especially one you have been training towards for a very long time, stand at the start gate and feel like you can not show your full ability or potential.

(Waiting for the scores to come in)

After my run, I had to wind my way through the maze filled by media, officials and fans and once getting to the end with a chance to finally digest and think about what had just happened, I got snapped up by the pee-testing guys and had to go pee in a cup.

(With Shirvo at the bottom after my run)

The finals were exciting. The crowd was massive and probably 99% canadian. There were a lot of mistakes in the finals, with guys giving it everything and the snow conditions very catchy and changing all the time. In the end it was Alex Bilodeau from Canada who took home the Gold in front of my team-mate Dale, and Bryon Wilson from the U.S.

(Mens Podium)

The Day after the event, we had to move from the West -Vancouver "sub-site" back into the Vancouver Village. Feeling extremely hung-over from the big night celebrating after the event and surviving on barely any sleep it was no fun task. The Village was great. I had my own two bedroom apartment looking over the water and downtown Vancouver for the first week. The second week Scotty Kneller from Skier-X moved in with me.

(View From My Balcony)

With two weeks of the Games left after my event, I tried to make the most of the experience and see as many events as possible. My family were in Vancouver for another few days after my event, so I showed them around the village and hung out with them amidst the madness in downtown. I saw 4 men's hockey games, the finals of the short track speed skating, men's and women's half pipe finals where I saw Torah win Gold, Skier-X where Scotty Kneller finished 7th, men's super G in Whistler, and a few others. With the athlete accreditation you could go and watch any outdoor events, and apply for tickets to the indoor venues.

(Russia V Latvia)

(Torah winning Gold)

(Mens Super G)

(Scotty Kneller at the Skier-X)

(Shawn White winning back to back Golds)

(Short-Track speed skating stadium)

The nightlife and atmosphere in the city was madness. There were different "houses" set up all over the city, where as an athlete you were treated with free entry and free booze. The highlights were the Molson Canadian Hockey house, the Budweiser House and the free 24/7 maccas at 5am in the village after each night out.

(Stealing Lydia's Gold medal for a minute)

(With Patto, Jacqui Cooper and Johhny Weir at the Bud House)

There was an athlete lounge (dry bar) set up in the Village with video games, pool tables, table curling, projectors, vitamin water bar and live music every day from 2pm until 10pm. It was fun to sit in there and watch the events on the screen with live music in the background.

(Athletes Lounge)

We got to go an check out the Vancouver aquarium and had special access to play with the Beluga Whales and the Dolphins. It was awesome, and everyone around was obviously jealous we were treated to the experience.

(At the Vancouver Aquarium)

(Patting the Beluga Whale)

(Hanging out with the Dolphins)

On the last day of the Games I was lucky to get a last minute ticket to the Gold Medal hockey match between the U.S and Canada. It was much hyped and the whole country stood still while the game was being played out. It was a sea of Canadian shirts, pride and chants in the stadium... And luckily Canada came through with the gold in extra time. I would hate to think what would happen if they did not beat the U.S and win gold.

(At the Hockey with Scotty and Scotty)

(Canadian Pride)

After the hockey we were assembled at BC place for the Closing ceremony. Everyone was pretty relaxed and excited that it was all over. I was a little disappointed, as I was having such a great time, and wished that I could relive my event again and put down a better performance. I guess that all gets churned up and provides a little fire in the belly to go another 4 years to another Olympic Games.

(Closing ceremony team)

The Closing ceremony was fun, and stacked with an all Canadian line up. It was cool to see Neil Young come out and play and feel the anticipation for the Sochi Olympics in 4 years. The crowd was packed with 60,000 people there to farewell the athletes and celebrate the end of the games. It was fun to be at the centre of all the action.

(Marching out)

(Lyd waving the flag)

(Flame about to be extinguished)

(Me and Bud in our goofy hats)

The next day we all packed up and went our separate ways. Some were going back to compete in the final World Cup events of the season, some were going home to relax and go to school, and some (me and Jenny Owens) were going back for Surgery.

(A couple of days post surgery)

After being held up in San Francisco for 24 hours I made it home on March 3rd. I went in for Surgery last Tuesday and had a PCL Reconstruction (with a hamstring graft) and a Lateral Meniscectomy. The surgery went well, and my surgeon was very happy. I was quite sore after, and have been in a bit of pain for the past 5 days. At the moment, I am confined to being in a splint and will be for the next month. It makes it difficult to get around and to begin rehab, but it is all part of it.

(A couple more days post surgery, with bruising starting to come through)

Once I can drive, I will move up to Uni in Canberra and begin my Studies in Sports Science and Sports Management. My rehab will continue for several months and I hope to be back on snow and begin light skiing in 6 months time.

Thank you to everyone for all you support.

The First Days Of Training

2010-02-11T18:44:00.001+11:00

Over the last few days we have begun official training on the Olympic course. The first day I was a little nervous. It was "test" day. Will the knee work, or will it fold up like a cheap lawn chair in Hawaii. Turns out, that it does work and without pushing it too hard yet it works better than I expected.

(Getting some range into the knee)

(Warming up in the West Van sub-site)

(Trying on my new knee brace)

There has been a lot of talk about the conditions and the lack of snow up on Cypress Mountain, so driving up to the mountain for the first time, I wasn't really sure what to expect. Turns out "they" were right. There is basically no snow. However, the course was pearly white sticking out in contrast to the brown surroundings.

(Riding the chair, with barely any snow in sight)

(Catching the sleds to the chairlift)

The course is in great shape. Similar to last year and everything is as you would expect, exact with the specifications. A constant 28 degree pitch and 250 metres long. The snow however, is a little strange and kind of resembles sand. It's like, once upon a time it was slushy, and then with the sky opening up it has dried right up and left a layer of mini ice balls on top of a firm base.

(The Cypress Freestyle Arena)

The first day of training I took it very cautiously and just did a few half sections of moguls and no jumps. My coaches were happy with that, and (like me) were surprised and relieved that my knee works and I can ski. On the second day of training, I stepped up with a little more intensity and skied some full sections with a bit more speed and hit both the top and bottom jumps, just with straight airs.

(Chopper bringing in more snow over the mogul course)

It was strange approaching the course for the first time. When looking at and inspecting the different elements of the course you get a clear picture in your head of what you want to do, and how you will go about certain things. I liked the course on first inspection and had a good idea about how I would approach it, but before I pushed out of the start gate I was like "oh yeah, thats right... I have this freaking knee to worry about". It's hard to get that out of your mind, and ski the course like you normally would, but with the sport being so dynamic, physical and technical, if you approach it with any apprehension or being overly conservative you risk further injury and really don't stand a chance.

(Mogul Course from the top)

I had the day off today, just focussing on more rehab and making sure I am not taking any steps in the wrong direction. I will train again tomorrow, and the next day with a focus on trying to bring some tricks in off the jumps, and increase the speed and the overall length of the sections I am skiing. My goal is to show up to the start gate on the 14th in the best health possible and if that means with minimal preparation over the next few days, then it is just something I am going to have to deal with.

(Ready to start training)

I am planning to walk in the opening ceremony on Friday night, as I won't be able to attend the flag raising ceremony and team reception tomorrow night due to a clash with our training schedule. So, I will have more photos up soon. You can also check my picasa page where I have an Olympics album.

(Britt and I in the Athlete Village)

Thanks for your interest and support.

Ramone

Arriving to Vancouver 2010

2010-02-07T19:37:00.000+11:00

So, it is all real now. I am in Vancouver, checked into the athlete's village, picked up all my uniform and had my first press conference.

I successfully completed the AOC medical assessment last week and earned my spot back on the team. The testing was a little different and more difficult than I expected. Instead of meeting a certain score or criteria - each test was based on the relative strength in the other knee. I needed to achieve a minimum score of 80% in my bad knee with showing promise to achieve 92%.

The test involved a physio screening, doctors screening and the physical tests which were then compiled to give a score out of 100. I scored a 92%. Only just over 2 weeks from the date of the injury, scoring that high on the tests surprised the medical staff, and also myself. There was a hoping test, a lateral hop test, balance test, running agility course test and a 3RM leg press (all single leg). In the leg press I pushed 3 times my body on my bad knee - more than enough to satisfy the test. I was thrilled and relieved to have passed the exam and I finished off my stay at the AIS in the same fashion as it begun - rehab, rehab and more rehab.

(Me, Mel, Matt at the UDC)

My flight over to Vancouver yesterday was great. I was relieved to get on the plane and just "relax" for 14 hours. Using an upgrade certificate to get business class helped! When I arrived in Vancouver, the Olympic vibe was definitely all around. There were billboards, flags, merchandise and volunteers everywhere. I picked up my accreditation and headed into Richmond to the uniform distribution centre. I have never been a fan of wearing uniform, but the Olympics are different. The uniform has meaning and shows pride in your nation. It represents all the hard work in order to get to this point, and everyone who has contributed along the way. And, the uniform is awesome. There is so much variety in styles, colours and purpose. We were given 2 over-flowing suitcases packed full of Olympic uniform.

(Britt, Sophie, Me at the Broadcast centre)

After the uniform fitting, and a few interviews with the Australian media I was taken to the athletes village. The village is right on the water in the heart of downtown Vancouver. Driving through the city, the buzz was incredible. People everywhere, and always a sea of Olympic rings, Vancouver 2010 art and blue jacket volunteers. There is tight security getting into the village, with all athletes and every bag being screened, just as you would expect to see in an airport.

The first thing you see when you walk past security and into the village, is the massive 7m x 7m Australian boxing kangaroo flag. It a hot topic at the moment, with the VANOC wanting to have it removed, while all the athletes and volunteers think its the best thing ever. The apartment blocks have just been built and after our short stay during the Olympics, will be sold off to private owners for top dollar. From all reports, this is the best athletes village anyone has seen. Inside the village there is everything you could ever need. The mess hall has its own free 24/7 Mcdonalds, and cuisine from all over the world.

(View of the city from our balcony)

(The controversial flag hanging from our balcony)

(The first thing you see walking into the village)

(Free Maccas in the dining hall open all day everyday)

Today Britt and I went to our first press conference of the games. There was a lot attention with Britt being our youngest Winter Olympian in a billion years and me, making an unexpected recovery from injury. Britt was very surprising and spoke well in front of all the cameras. I'm really happy that we are represented in these Olympics in female moguls, with it surely having an impact on participation and success in the future. Britteny is certainly shocked by it all, but there couldn't be a better role model for other girls than Britt.

(Sooo cliche'... except for the moe)

(Press conference clip)

This afternoon, we checked out of the athletes village and moved into the "sub-site" in West Vancouver. The AOC have rented a number of house here, with close proximity to Cypress Mountain and with great facilities. The houses are super nice, and we have two live in chefs who will cook what ever you ask for, gym and recovery equipment, physios and the whole works.

(Cool seating area in the athletes lounge)

This afternoon I got back onto the rehab, gym program with my knee pulling up very well after the long flight. Tomorrow I will begin to ramp up the intensity and get back into on snow training on Monday.

Lots going on here, and a lot to write about... Will check in again in a couple of days.

Ramone

P.S
Here are a few recent press clips.

Cooper to visit his old school

Remarkable Recovery – Owens and Cooper to compete

Ski star defies doctors

Moguls man's miracle recovery

Aussie moguls skier Ramone Cooper's Olympic dream hanging by a thread

Nothing Is Impossible

2010-01-27T22:27:00.000+11:00

Sorry it has been a while since I updated my blog. I have been feeling so good, and making so much progress, I didn't want to jinx myself. However, I am over that now and with my progress to date, I feel like if I had to... I could ski the Olympics today.

After returning home from Utah last week with a 24 hour delay in LAX, I met with my surgeon as soon as I landed in Sydney. He said if I wanted to have a crack at the games, he wouldn't touch it with the knife. He was less optimistic about my chances than I was, but said he would love me to prove him wrong. He said to come and see him after the Games for surgery. So with that, I hopped on the next flight to the AIS in Canberra to begin intensive rehab.

The team up at AIS all sat down, and mapped out a plan for my recovery. They have been great, and have gone above and beyond to help me out. My days are full, and intensive but the results so far have been better than I think any of us imagined.

I am doing 6-8 hours a day of rehab, consisting of; one and a half hours in the morning of ultra sound and magnetic therapy, followed by an hour of physio, then a 20 minute cold bath recovery session. Lunch, followed by a two hour gym session, then back to the recovery centre for another 20 minute cold bath, then back to physio for the same ultra sound and magnetic therapy.

Today, is exactly 2 weeks since the accident happened, and I still have more than 2 weeks until the event.

At the moment I have 120 degrees range of movement. I can contract my quads at full extension. The MCL, and medial retinaculum tear shows symptoms of a grade 1+ (from an original 2 +), I have no irritation from my lateral meniscus, and my PCL is not really a concern in the short time, as it is not overly important in skiing, when the ACL is healthy.

In the gym, I have been doing 80kg decline squats to 90 degrees, Single leg more than 90 degrees squats and leg press. I'm doing lateral jumps, single leg dynamic balancing, mogul specific knee angled weighted squats and weight transfers amongst other things. A lot of balancing, stabilising and strength exercises. I can cycle, jog and almost run. Tomorrow I will begin some more dynamic exercises on the trampoline. With all that in mind, I am confident I can pass the medical assessment coming up in a few days, and get back on skis in Vancouver shortly.

It has been such a shock to be back in Australia at this time of year, mainly because of the intense heat. The room I'm staying in at the AIS is a tiny heat box with no air conditioning. With temperatures hitting 37 degrees over the past week, the fan in my room has been working at capacity 24/7. Luckily I'm half deaf and the sound doesn't bother me too bad. I've been staying in "block 7" with a bunch of post-grad physiology interns which has been great!

Thats it for now. I'll update again once this medical assessment is behind me.

A big Congrats to Scotty Kneller, Katya Crema and Britteny Cox for qualifying for the games!

Ramone

Scrap that... Don't count me out just yet.

2010-01-17T18:39:00.000+11:00

So, circumstances have changed. Today, I am feeling much better on my knee. More range, less swelling, more stability and able to contract my muscles.

I had a long talk with Jacqui Cooper, about her experiences with injury, and what is possible. Needless to say, I am feeling much more up-beat and confident about my chances of skiing in the Olympics.

I am still heading home tomorrow, where I will meet with the surgeon to gain a second opinion, and make a decision whether surgery will be necessary, or if i should just begin rehab.

I figure... I still have my ACL, so that'll cover for my PCL. Meniscus is no big deal. MCL and retinaculum will heal by itself in time, and I can brace that up hard to hold into place.

Will update, with my progress... But I am feeling very confident I can be there in Vancouver.

Olympics Over...

2010-01-16T12:00:00.000+11:00

Unfortunately, there is some bad news to report. While training for the Deer Valley World Cup this weekend, I sustained an Olympic/ Season ending knee injury.

I'm Pretty shattered right now. I’ve had a rough few years with some minor injuries, and the one knee surgery, but it all came together this season and I was feeling at the peak of my career (so far). To be so close to achieving something I set out to do a long time ago, and have it so quickly taken away is devastating. Especially given the circumstances were completely out of my control.

I was skiing down the middle section of the course in Deer Valley, when the binding toe piece snapped in half and blew off the ski, shooting the ski away from under me. I held it together for another turn on one ski, before I tried to pull out to the side. When I attempted to pull out, my boot dug into the front side of a mogul and sent me tumbling down the remainder of the middle section. I felt sudden pain in my knee early in the crash, however once I came to a complete stop, the pain subsided.

I had an MRI yesterday and got the results back today. I was hoping it might have been something simple I could maybe jimmy up with a quick surgery and still make the games, but not to be by the sounds of it. I tore the PCL, a partial tear of the MCL, partial tear of the lateral meniscus, a torn medial retinaculum , and some bone bruising, etc.

Here is a video of the crash:

I am liaising with the insurance company to try and get on a flight home to Australia soon, where I'll meet with the surgeon, and go from there. Who knows, maybe he'll open me up, do some voo doo surgery and fix me up in time. But at this stage I am 99% sure the Olympic dream is over. Looks like my good mate Sammy Hall will get to go in my place.

Here are some photo's pre-injury.

Ramone

(At least I have a good moe)

(D-spin, bottom air)

(Back X, Top Air)

It's Tough Out There For The Middle Class Gentleman

2010-01-12T07:10:00.000+11:00

We flew from our training base in Park City, Utah to Calgary, Alberta for the next stop on the Freestyle World Cup Tour. We had heard rumours that the course was to be gnarly, and situated down the landing of an old ski flying hill. This turned out to be true. The top of the course, down to half way was pretty modest and although challenging, compared to the bottom half it was a walk in the park. From half way down the middle section the line dipped over a knoll to a descent of 33 degrees.

(The course at the COP looking from the top)

(The course lit up by lights)

(Downtown Calgary - View from the top of the course)

The event was located at the Canada Olympic Park, just 20 minutes from downtown Calgary. The organisers put all the teams in a 4 star hotel in downtown - something we're not usually accustomed to on the tour, but very welcomed.

In training on the first day I overshot the bottom jump, landing backseat in the moguls of the bottom section, straining my Tibialis Anterior. Although, not a long lasting injury, it prohibited me from doing any more training until the day of the event.

This was frustrating for me, as my approach to training is normally real "workman like", where I like to get in there and do plenty of sections, jumps and full runs, trying to familiarise myself with the course and adapt my technique to the different conditions. I was forced to adopt more of a Begg-Smith approach, visualising the course more so than physically practicing.

(Backflip on the Top Air)

(Still running the moe)

On the first day of competition, I had a very average run. I made mistakes coming over the knoll and down the steep face and skied overly conservative. I finished a disappointing 25th.

Sam, had a good run and added a top air 720 to his run. He was a little out of control though, and finished 28th.

Dale skied great. Back to his best. On a difficult course where people were making mistakes, Dale just put down as usual a technically superior and flawless run. He definitely deserved his first win back from injury.

(D-spin on my second competition run)

On the second day of competition my leg feeling significantly better I was more confident. I skied a better run, still conservative but with no real mistakes. Disappointed to finish again outside the finals, this time in 27th. As in the title of this post "It's tough out there for the middle class gentleman", the "middle class" all skied well, and with the extensive depth this season, I was in the middle of the middle.

Sam had a better run in the second event. Landed both jumps, but had a slow time. He was happy. He finished in 32nd.

Dale skied at an entirely different level to the field in finals. Alex Bilodeau from Canada (last years overall winner) laid down a good scoring run, setting Dale a high score to beat for the win. People were doubtful he would be able to do it so soon after coming back from injury. But as usual, he calculated to perfection what he needed to do to win, and just blew the field away. He skied a 21.90 second run, 1 second faster than the next guy. It was one of his greatest runs, and left people shaking their heads.

(Dale, back in the Gold Bib)

(A group of Aussie supporters came to watch us at the COP)

We're now back in Deer Valley, Utah for the next two and final events for the Olympic Qualification. I am sitting in a good position, and all is looking good for me to remain inside the Olympic quota of 30 athletes.

I'll write again after the next events. Thanks for reading.

Ramone

New Years In The U.S.A

2010-01-12T06:23:00.000+11:00

After leaving the eternal darkness of Finland after the World Cup events in Suomo, we travelled to sunny Park City, Utah to hook up with "Toppa" and our Development team for X-mas and New Years.

(Flying over the snow capped peaks on route to Salt Lake City)

Toppa and Patto took Sammy and myself under their wings and allowed us to join in with their teams training up at the Utah Olympic Park.

(Training at the UOP, Photo: Patto)

(Gymnastics Training, Photo: Patto)

It was another quiet X-mas away from home and our families. But there were a lot of familiar faces floating around Park City, so we still managed to get into the festivities.

Sammy and I joined the development guys for some bowling, only to teach them a lesson or two.

(Bowling in my home-made jeans moments before they ripped to shreds)

Utah, experiencing another below average snow season provided little training opportunity for us, so we took a road trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado for a weeks training over New Years. With a full length course set up from the U.S Olympic Trials, the training was super great. Fresh, soft colorado powder blanketed the course each night, which meant skiing was easy and with little to no impact on our bodies.

(Steamboat Springs)

From Steamboat it was back to Park City and then onto Calgary, Alberta for the next stop on the World Cup.

Details in the next post.

Ramone

First Events Of The Season

2009-12-15T05:16:00.000+11:00

Over the weekend we had the opening World Cup events of the season in Suomo, Finalnd. Suomu, a tiny ski resort in Northern Finland, apparently has the mogul course running over the Arctic Circle line.

(Mogul Course in Suomu)

Prior to the first World Cup events, Sammy and I headed from Ruka to Suomu for a warm up Europa Cup event. Aiming to mainly to clear out the cobwebs and gain experience, the event was successful. I was finished in 8th place in a finals that was dominated by world cup guys who were there for the same reason. Sammy took a while to warm up and finished 35th in the first event, and 21st the second day.

(Sammy in Suomu, sportin' a pretty half-a*se moe)

After the event, we were back in Ruka training again for a few days before moving over to Suomu. The last days of training were productive and the course was still world class.

(Ruka Course)

In Suomu, all 5 of us (Dale, Des, Pete, Sam, Me) squeezed into the same Apartment. We decked it out pretty well though, with our usual entertainment set-up. Pete was in his element cooking us all omelettes every morning, and pizza slices in the afternoon. Pressure is on for the next physio to top that.

Instead of the originally planned single event, there was a second event re-schedualed to make up for the event cancellation in Meribel. In the first event on Friday, I skied a good run in qualifications to qualify in 10th position for the final. It was a good feeling to be back in the finals again, and I was so happy that my body was finally cooperating with me. Dale put his usual flawless run down to also qualify for the finals in 4th position. Sam had difficulty with his 720 on the top air and crashed out.

In the finals I skied probably the best run I have put down in competition before. I was really stoked on my performance and at that stage, results weren't really in my mind. However, I ended up finishing in 9th position, the second highest finish of my career. Dale put down the same run again, and remained in 4th place. The event was won by the Swede, Jesper Bjornlund. He deserved the win, and I am so happy everything is coming together at the right time for him.

(Me, Competing in the Qualifiers)

On Saturday, we had to back it up early after only finishing finals at 10pm the night before. I had a good qualifying run, similar to the day before but with a lower quality D-spin on the bottom air. Unfortunately it didn't judge well, and I missed a place in the final by less half a point and finished a dissapointing 26th.

Sam had a better run, a clean top to bottom which placed him in 44th and has given him confidence going to the next event. Dale, again backed it up with no mistakes and unique precision to finish in 5th place in the finals. His comeback a success.

After the events, we had the after party which blended into our 5am departure to the airport. After a long day of flying, me and Sam arrived in Park City last night, where we will spend the next 2 or so weeks preparing for the coming events in Calgary (First week of January).

Here, I have uploaded some training footage from Ruka, and my finals run from Suomu.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbea8RJ_bn8&feature=youtube_gdata)

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj95gtiejoE&feature=autofb)

Ramone

So far north...

2009-11-23T17:50:00.001+11:00

So, we (Sammy and myself) arrived in Finland a couple of days ago. It was hard to front up to yet another 24 hour plus flight for the third time in a month, but it paid off, as I am now a 1k member with United - so I can now travel in style for the rest of the season.

We're currently in northern Finland at a small resort called Ruka. So far North we are, that the closest thing we have to sunlight and warmth is the 30 minutes we spend in the sauna each day.

The snow and the course here is great, and the training so far has been good. After the first three days on snow, we were both so sore that we were walking around like a pair of geriatrics, complaining about hips and backs. However all is good this morning after a day off, and with a bit more coffee I should be ready to start training again this morning.

(Mogul course to the right)

(Our condo)

( Training from the first days - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qja3jOuJiFQ )

Write again soon,

Ramone

Home From Zermatt

2009-11-04T19:25:00.002+11:00

Finally, I'm home. Settling back nicely into my couch mold and big TV screen. It has been a busy past few weeks, and I'm now home for only two weeks before I fly back over and do it all again.

We (Myself, Sammy Hall, Dale) left for Zermatt, Switzerland at the beginning of October for 3 weeks ski training on the Klein Matterhorn.

(The last of three gondolas up to the glacier)

I was rooming with Sammy, in a small studio apartment. We were living at the Casa Vanessa, just 100m from the best Calzone Pizzas known to man and the base gondola.

(Our Room)

(Outside our apartment)

The course was as good as it has been in years and most of the World Cup was in Zermatt enjoying super good training conditions. However, we were unlucky with the wind and weather and had to spend a lot of days down in the village while the glacier was closed. We managed to keep ourselves busy and went for a few hikes through the mountains.

(Mogul course from a distance)

(The Matterhorn - the view from our hike)

Training went well for me, and my body managed to stay relativity injury free, so I was able to ski consecutive days and make good progress. The camp was focussed on mainly fine tuning skills rather than full top to bottom runs, so the 3 800m altitude didn't effect me too bad.

(Training Footage - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4avWuecmP0I )

After returning home from Switzerland last week, I headed straight down to Melbourne for training on the water ramps. The ramps out at Lillydale, were the same as always (slow, and with filthy water), but the training was productive and the weather was nice.

So, two more weeks of semi-summer, training in the gym and playing golf until I head back over to Finland. I wish I could stay and enjoy summer a little more, but I am excited to go over and get the season started.

Update you soon,

Ramone

It's About time I wrote...

2009-10-03T22:56:00.001+10:00

It’s been a while since I’ve written something in this space. I said last time, I would write once something interesting occurs. Too much time has passed to remember the specifics, but overall it hasn’t been such a great few months.

When I thought that all the injury blues were behind me, I managed to come up with a few more. First, I damaged the labrum in my hip… yes that is Labrum and not labium, just by doing a regular squat in the gym. Next, I tore my hamstring again – this time on the other side.

Having said all that, I’m feeling healthy and strong at this present moment. I must have a few injections into my hip next week though (cortisone and anaesthetic) and then I should be right to go… For a while.

I still managed to have a fairly fun and productive domestic season, with plenty enough skiing. My boy Tito from Greece came down under and stayed with me for the majority of the winter. He was a good house-mate with plenty of stories to tell, mainly about the girls. He did all the cooking while he was here, which made me lazy (gladly).

My coach (Des) shot through to the U.S mid season to work with Dale on the water-ramps, so I had a lot of time to ski alone, and become more aware of the things I was doing, and the concepts I was trying to achieve. I had fun, and the training was good.
I unfortunately missed out on skiing in our events due to my hamstring injury, but I remained involved a judged instead. I can safely say that after the Abom event in Mt. Buller, I never want to be a judge. The judging panel was situated on the side of the course due to heavy fog, and the course was terrible. Perhaps the panel did not see the same things from the side as the coaches from the bottom, and big Austrian, Harald was not a happy camper… He tore me to shreds.

I was back on snow in September and did a weeks training on the course with Dale. It was a good week, and Dale was back to his old form, which was good to train along side. He is just 7 months out of an ACL reconstruction and is basically skiing at 100%, pretty remarkable. We had our AIS physical testing this week. I went well in most tests – 3RM Bench 105kg, 76cm Vertical Jump, 57 VO2Max.

I’ve got just over two weeks now until I head to Zermatt, Switzerland for three weeks training up on the Glacier. It was the best camp of the season last year, so I am looking forward to it. In the meantime, its training as usual… hoping to see a bit of summer before I head away but knowing my luck, I’m in for another endless winter.

I’ll write from Zermatt.

Ramone

P.S Here’s a short video with what I’ve been up to.