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Team USA |
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Tuesday afternoon and evening in Australia consisted of opening ceremonies. Teams presented themselves adorned in their country colors and carrying their country's flags. It was a very formal and well organized event. National anthems of each country were played as teams were introduced. The evening was spent hanging out and talking with skiers from other countries.
As the competition gets closer, the US team is starting to gel and focusing more on the task at hand than anything else. Bill Brzoza's back is feeling much better and so is Rachel's shoulder. Rachel is scheduled to be the first US skier on the water at around 2:30pm Aussie time on Wed. Remember, Australia is 15 hours ahead of US Central Time, so that equates to 9:30 pm CST on Tuesday evening in the US. The time/date change is way too confusing, but we'll do our best to keep it straight. As we write this, she'll is due to ski in about 1 hour. The Group A boys consisting of (Keith, Mikey, Billy, and Lane) aren't scheduled to ski until the next day (Wed evening US time). They are scheduled to ski Tricks and Slalom and will follow-up with Jump on (Thur evening US time). Ryan Boyd is in Group B and his first event will be Jump on Wed afternoon/evening US Time. John Kretchman is getting more focused and intense as the event draws closer. Rachel's performance is very important and will set the tone for the rest of the events. The team is feeling good, is loose, and is looking forward to representing the US well.
Click Here to check out the Lane Bower's Update on Team USA
Monday, Feb 2 (Tues, Feb 3 in Australia) The latest information we have from Australia is that Ron Scarpa has decided to forgo skiing worlds. Rumor has it that he sustained a back injury while training and has decided he is not up to the competition. He sent a letter to ABC President Lee Stone expressing the reasons for his decision. When we tried to reach Ron for comment, we were informed that he and his wife Elisa had decided to take a short vacation and would not return until Feb 6th at the soonest. Reaction from the US team was mixed. Some skiers thought it was OK knowing the pain of lower back injuries and how plain flights can only make them worse, while others thought he should have at least attend the Worlds in support of the US Team, especially after all the controversy surrounding his eligibility to ski. A quick update on the US Team: Bill Brzoza's back is feeling much better. Rachel George's shoulder is feeling better after skiing on it today. Lane Bowers makes some comments about all the trash talking going on about him in front of the US Team, and Keith St. Onge snaps back. It was a very intense situation where the top two US skiers were on the verge of having it out. The argument ensued and Keith, who typically avoids such conflict, got in Lanes face and reminded him of the things Lane had done to warrant his cold shoulder. Lane ended up making apologies (which seemed sincere) to Keith for some of the comments he had made in the past. Before the conversation could play out totally, team coach John Kretchman jumped in to separate the skiers and addressed them each in private. Though having an argument in front of the team wasn't the best place, it was something that has been in the works for quite some time and at least is off their chests. Now the question is whether they can put their differences aside and support each other over the next few days.
Sunday, Feb 1 (Monday, Feb 2 in Australia) Keith St. Onge called in on Sunday afternoon (Monday morning Aussie time) to update us on the US Team's progress. Here are some quick updates: Billy Brzoza injured his lower back jumping the weak before leaving for Australia, so he's been taking it easy so far in Australia. He's taken a few jumps and worked on some slalom, but hasn't pushed it to his limit. His back is making progress and hopes are he will be ready for the tournament next week. Racheal George dislocated her shoulder during a front slalom fall. The shoulder popped out and then back in. After being checked out by the doctors, and taking a couple days off, things are feeling OK and she's ready to ski. Keith has been skiing strong, hitting all his tricks, good slalom runs, and even landing good jumps (his weakest event). If Keith stands up his trick pass at Worlds, and it's scored as a clean run, he could put up 9600 plus points and set a new World record.. Mickey Carruso skied well in tricks and jump on his first day of training and has opted not to ski since. He's chosen to go with the philosophy that less is more. Coach John Kretchman is letting each skier chose the amount of skiing that puts them in their comfort zone. After a rough first day of tricking that included several face plants that he tumbled out of, Lane Bowers has settled down and is tricking and jumping well. Keith informs us that the weather has been unseasonably cool (65-70 degrees) and fairly windy. The US team has been training at the Worlds site and has been very pleased with the conditions of the water and the local Aussie hospitality. The US Team also got a chance to attend a local Aussie tournament with included the likes of Brett Sands, John Pennay, and Andre deVilliers of South Africa. Brett Sands and John Pennay will both be skiing as Aussie independents in the Worlds. Brett will be Jumping and Slaloming only. John will be Tricking and Slaloming. John put up a 8500 point trick run at the local tournament and looked great. Andre de Villiers fell at the beginning of his second pass. The good news (or bad news for other skiers), he had already posted 5100 pts in his first pass. UNBELIEVABLE! That will surely send some shivers up Keith's, David Small's, and Ron Scarpa's arms. Speaking of Ron Scarpa, everyone is surely interested in what he's up to. The news is we have no news on Ron. Word has it he plans to arrive in Australia the day before he's scheduled to ski and leave the day after. Seeing as though most people take a few days to become accustom to the time change, Ron's decision to arrive at the last minute could affect his performance. Our bet is Ron has already figured out a way to overcome the time change issue. They real question is whether his back has been holding up to all the skiing he has been doing. Defending World Champion David Small has been in Australia the last week training with Brett Sands, just down the road from the Worlds site. Many countries and independent skiers decided not to attend the Elite Worlds. There are less than 40 skiers signed up to ski in the Worlds. The lack luster skier turnout will not diminish the Aussie fans from attending. Aussie barefoot events are known to draw anywhere from 5000-8000 spectators. That's a lot of crazy Aussies yelling for their team. It's sure to be an exciting event to watch.
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