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Show " ! ; 1 . -----) t j : ' ' A II t i . . l L A v ToriPillinger Jason Lawson . . . . Camp prepares ril linger, Lawson for competition by Randy Hanskat "By the end of the season they will travel somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 miles." Who? A pair of corporate executives? No. That estimate from Park City Ski Team Coach Bob Marsh describes the extent of a busy winter for local skiers Tori Pillinger and Jason Lawson, two of the best I young ski racers in the country. coun-try. ; Pillinger and Lawson travelled Tuesday to Killington, Vermont to con- ! tinue with a U.S. Ski Team Development Camp, the first part of which was recently l held in Keystone, Colorado. For Pillinger this is her second such camp, but it is a first for Lawson. Both were l invited to the camp by the U.S. Ski Team. The camp will be the start of a heavy race schedule for the two. After the eight-day camp is completed, Pillinger j and Lawson will compete in ! the Eastern NORAM races, part of the North American j Ski Trophy Series. They will I race on and off. until late j March, with February and March being the heaviest competition times. At the development camp there are only 13 kids, seven boys and six girls. Only two other skiers, in addition to Pillinger and Lawson, have been invited from the Inter-mountain Inter-mountain area (Idaho, Wyoming and Utah). Technique will be worked on at the camp in both slalom and giant slalom. Pillinger outlined a typical day: 5:30 a.m. wake up, eat a big breakfast. On the lifts at 6:30 a.m., training gates until 10:30. Then after some hot chocolate on a short break, the kids free ski until 12:30 or 1:00. Lunch. After lunch is an afternoon activitysuch ac-tivitysuch as football, tennis, ten-nis, or something else. Finally at 5:30 p.m. comes a meeting. Afterwards, dinner, din-ner, studying, and bed at around 8:30 p.m. Doesn't sound like much fun, does it? But it is the kind of dedication which is needed if both Pillinger and Lawson are to achieve their goal of making the U.S. Ski Team. Pillinger said there are three levels on the U.S. team. First is the "A" group. Currently the only men in the "A's" are Phil and Steve Mahre, and the only women are Tamara McKinney, Cindy Cin-dy Nelson, and Christin Cooper. Below the "A's" is the "B" group, probably around eight people, she said. Then below the "B's" are the "C's". From "A" to "C" encompasses about 25 people, she estimated. Pillinger and Lawson are a step below the "C's" in the U.S. Ski Team development group. And Bob Marsh described the levels of competition in the world. First he put the World CupOlympics. Next, the Europa Cut, and then the NORAMS. Racing against' Pillinger and Lawson in the NORAMS will be all members mem-bers of the U.S. Ski Team, except the "A's." "The best kids in the U.S. race NORAM," said Marsh. Then out of the NORAM competition a few are picked to go to Europe and the Europa Cup. 1 Both Park City kids have raced in some of the Western NORAMS before, but have not really had to travel to the extent which this year will involve. Last year Pillinger made the NORAM team just like this year, but then became too sick to make the travel requirements needed, she said. After the camp, the first races start Dec. 5. Lawson said they will race twice in Quebec at Mont Tremblant and Mount St. Anne, and twice in the U.S. at Stowe - i and Stratton, Vermont, to start the season. After those races, said Pillinger, there will be a lull, allowing the kids to be at home during the holiday season, racing in this area. Following that, the pace will be intense until the end of March. ' And then at the beginning of April, said Marsh, the two stellar skiers will return to school. Neither has been in regular class since Nov. 11,: but are not missing out as in past years. This year the Park City Ski Team" has hired a tutor, Lyle Nordin, to. teach the kids. Nordi has" the . kids followthe same, material as their classmates, then tests them on it,r In ac j tuality, Pillinger I v anQ Lawson, for all their abgenc,flj from class, may corne.ou ahead in the end due to the one-on-one instruction. : J ' For Pillinger and Lawsonj-both Lawsonj-both of whom have competed, and placed in Junior Olympic Olym-pic (also known as Junior National) competion, the' current camp on the hard snow of Killington could be! just the beginning of a long1 productive ski racing career. Not since Roxanne' Toly has the future looked so( bright for any Park City skiers. l'''M: - |
