4: Dec.

SIDELINES.

FREESTYLE SKIING... John Smart, of Lions Bay, finished fourth in the mogul event at the Owens- Corning World Cup freestyle event on Blackcomb Mountain last Saturday. Smart was one of three Canadians in the top four spots, including Jean-

“JOHN SMART |

Lue Brassard i in second |

and Mare McDonnell in ‘third. Russian skier Sergei - Shupletsov won the event, -held’on the Overbite run “on Blackcomb. Smart’s ‘fourth place finish puts : “him i in fourth placé overall “in World Cup mogul stand- ings. leading teammate and reigning World Champion

» Brassard, who is the next: _ Canadian in'the standings"

- in sixth place. The.Lions Bay skier’s. strong perfor- ‘\"mance makes his inclusion on the Olympic team more likely

HIGH SCHOOL SWIM-.

° MING... A headline in the 15° North Shore *. News’ sports section incor- rectly stated that Sentinel’s relay team was the top

eam in the province. The” ;. actual winner of the event

‘was Windseor’s team, which ‘placed first in the

girls’ "200m freestyle relay..

The members of the gold

medal..team -are’ Anne: Marie: Diebolt, Petra and

hs “‘Zuzana.’> Hajek, and

‘| Mlichelle Jones.

- TENNIS... North ‘Vancouver-native Grant Connell has accepted. the “position ‘of touring pro

«with the Whistler Racquet |

‘& Golf Resort. Connell, “who will be using the resort as his training base, is joining former doubles ‘partner Glenn Michibata,

recently appointed as the

resort’s Director of Tennis. “The, Toronto native’s first

duties will be to design the”

“-Connell-Michibata Tennis

Camps, set to begin this

“summer.

Second generation freestyle

North Vancouver skier hoping to follow i in John Smart’s ski-tracks

AS LOCAL Ireestyle skier Jokn Smart continues to shine in World Cup competition (see Sidelines, this page), another North Shore skier is just beginning his ascent up the competition ladder.

By A.P. McCredie . News Reporter

Twenty-one-year-old Glen Mitterndorfer may be a few years away from competing with the world’s best mogul skiers at com- petitions like last weekend’s World Cup tour stop at Blackcomb, but he is one of a handful of second gener- ation Canadian skiers totally com- mitted to the sport.

“People are starting to respect freestyle more because they are realizing there is much more tech- nique involved than just hot-dog- ging,” says Mitterndorfer, who

.Started skiing at the age of three.

By the age of 12, the dream of being a member of the Crazy Canucks racing team was what fuelled his downhill career at Mount Seymour.

_By Grade Nine however, racing was beginning to lose.its appeal, and Mitterndorfer spent time just

‘free skiing at Blackcomb.

The terrain‘of the mountain challenged him with moguls and

‘jumps, and after watching the

Blackcomb Freestyle team train, he

tried out for, and made, the team at :

the age of 17.

After. two years on the provin- cial circuit, under the tutclage of New Zealand head coach Kirk Leslie, Mitterndorfer made the

jump to inter-provincial competi- —

tion.

He is currently in his second season of competing on the Noram circuit, one rung away from World Cup competition.

“The last three years I have placed in the mid-20s at the Nationals,” says Mitterndorfer, who works at Spicy Sports in Whistler. “This year [ hope to place in the top 16.”

The funds to travel on a circuit that includes stops in Utah and New Zealand come solely from the

skier’s own pocket.

“My dad is my biggest sponsor, for sure, and he and my mom are just the most supportive people,” he says.

His: goal at the moment is to make the jump to the World Cup level, but the big prize is the 1998 Olympics in Japan.

“In the next two Winter Olympics, Canadians are going to be known for our hockey players, speed skaters, and freestyle skiers.”

Next month’s Olympic Games in Lillehammer will feature mogul and aerial medal competitions.

The enterprising skier also dab- bles as a video-skiing star.

Mitterndorfer has teamed up with four fellow ski-fanatics, some corporate sponsorship, and a pro- duction company, to form the KneissI/Dachstein Extreme Ski Team.

The five-member ski team has an extreme-skiing video, a /a Warren Miller, already on the shelves, and another full spring sea- son of video shoots lies ahead.

“I must admit, by the end of the spring I get pretty burnt out from skiing, but after a month off I start to get the itch again,” explains Mitterndorfer. “You've got to stay

“ahead of the game. There are 200

other people around the world who

Photo submitted

GLEN MITTERNDORFER eats snow on the Catskinner run at Blackcomb during a recent training session. The 21-year-old North Vancouver freestyle skier is hoping to represent Canada at the

1998 Winter Olympics in Japan.

are willing to go to training camps if you don't want to.” Mitterndorfer often skis with John Smart at Blackcomb, and trains on the glacier. in summer at

the John Smart mogul camps.

“I skied with John just prior to

‘the Whistler competition and he

was really skiing strong, Mitterndorfer.

With skiers of Smart's genera- tion at the top of their sport, skiers like Mittemdorfer are quietly work- ing away at making sure Canada’s

" says

name remains synonymous with the world’s best freestyle skiers. -

As the affable, Mitterndorfer says, “There’s ‘always more to learn, and if you stop leaming you’ might as well quit, ‘cause there’ s

"always more to leam.”

‘Mogul lingo for riding the bumps |

Back Scratcher: Competitor scratches his back with the tails of his skis. Knees bend under the body, shoulders and hips have to lean back to avoid falling for- ward.

Carving: Efficient use of edging to control speed in and cut of the turns during the run. AT! turns should be initiated by carving.

_ Daffy: The splits: legs are widely spread with one in front of the body and one behind — front ski tip up, back ski tip down, skis are parallel.

Double Upright: Combination of two moves in a jump.

Four-point Landing: Both poles plant when skier lands | from jump.

Four-point Take-off: Both poles plant as skier. pops off mogul when jumping.

Helicopter: An upright aerial spin of 360 degrees. (Also known as a chopper and 360.)

Iron Cross: Ski tips cross, skier stays upright.

Mule Kick: 90 degree drop of the skis with a 45 degree twist to the side. Tips drop but heels are kicked out to the side. Imagine scratching one armpit with both tails of your skis.

Multiple Manoeuvres: Any combination of the Double

' Spread, Daffy Twister, Daffy

Twister Spread.

Reverse Trough: Technique of skiing on top of the moguls and turning in the opposite direction of the deep path of ruts.

Ruts: Deepest section between .

moguls. 720: An upright aerial spin of.

720 degrees. (Skier spins around -

twice before landing. , . Spread Eagte/ Spread: Starting position when making. snow angels:. arms extended and legs ° split to the side. Upper body upright, ski tips and tails even and parallel. : Tip Cross: Ski tips cross, skier

. stays upright.

Tip Drop: Competitor scratches his or her back with the tails of their skis. Knees bend under the body, shoulders and hips must | lean back to avoid the dreaded tip forward (Backscratcher), ; Triple Upright: Combination of three moves in a jump. Do Twister: Skis twist 90 degrees to one side of the body, hands and body twist to the opposite side. Zudnik: Upper body leaning for- - ward toward tips of skis: Nordic jumping position.