This email is a summation of questions that have been asked of me so far this season and the answers I have been able to give along with a way for me to pass along info from the Head Coach Jeremy to you all.  This email has the following if you are interested in these points:

Welcome to DEVO race groups

Plans for this coming weekend

Detailed info on YSL races and sign up

Locations to get race gear

Summation and THANK YOU!

Thank you for being part of DEVO and part of DEVO race groups.  It is an honor and a privilege to be working with you and your children as they grow in their ski and life experiences.  This is my first email of many to come regarding DEVO race groups and what I hope will help you with any questions you might have regarding what we are doing and what our plans are as the season progresses.  First of all if you know of anyone that is participating in DEVO and is in a race group that is not receiving this email please let me know right away so I can get them on the list to receive our weekly updates/notes.  Second if at any time you have any questions that I am not addressing, please let Head Coach Jeremy or Assistant Head Coach Jill know and they will be addressed.  Finally, thank you for letting us help your children to become better skiers and racers along with letting us enjoy getting to know you and them thru the coming season.  With all this in mind this email is going to be bit long as I am going to try and cover all the questions that have been asked of me so far this season.

Now onto the good stuff!   We will have regularly scheduled DEVO on Saturday and then Sunday is an optional race specific training day.  To participate in the Sunday extra training you need to go to the DEVO web site ( www.vaildevo.com ) and click on “COMPETITION 411″.  There you will find the web pages with all of the relevant racing information and the “Race Training Sign Up”.  Here is a direct link to the sign up page (Traininig Sign Up). The cost is $86 for the day which will be like a normal DEVO day but will be entirely focused on racing, running a race course and the skills associated with racing.  This is great training for everyone and really will help get our athletes ready for the first YSL race that is the following Sunday, the 29th.

Regarding the first YSL race there has been questions on how, what, where and what to do.  The YSL races are entirely optional but we really hope you will participate in some if not all but definitely our Vail YSL Race on the 26th of February.  What is YSL?

1.      The YSL ( Youth Ski League) is a race league where our team competes against other ski area teams and children that our the ages of our children athletes.

2.    A race day consists of arriving at the location of the race around 7:30-7:45.  There you will meet up with the race coaches attending that competition.

3.      Your athletes will then be divided by age and gender into groups that will be overseen by a DEVO coach.

4.      That coach will then take your athlete up to the race course and inspect the course with them.  They will then compete in the morning race.  Upon completion of the morning race the coach will then take them to eat lunch.  Then after lunch they will inspect and compete in the afternoon race.

5.      When that is done they will be released back to their parents or do a few post race ski runs with the coach if that is what the athlete and parents desire.

6.      Then at an arranged time all athletes will gather for the awards ceremony for that race.  There they will find out the results of morning and afternoon races and then call it a day.  What is great about YSL races is that the morning and afternoon races are two separate races, one does not effect the others results.

The top ten children in each age class with receive awards for each race and then the team will receive the overall team awards.

So we hope you will participate in the YSL races as they are a great introduction into the world of ski racing and a fun and great way to explore what it is all about on a simple and reduced stress environment.  To see what the costs and locations of the YSL races are, please go to the DEVO web site ( www.vaildevo.com ) and click on “COMPETITION 411″.  There you will see a pop down menu that has Alpine racing and YSL Race Registration. Also to participate you need to have your athlete registered with the USSA.  The link to register is located on the Alpine Racing drop down link within the COMPETITION 411 tab.  We hope you will try some races and if you need more help in working thru getting registered, let Jeremy or Jill know and they will try to get you thru the process and get you registered for the race or races.
Finally I have been asked where to find race gear and clothing.  Locally in Vail you have Vail Sports, Kids Sports Vail, Off Piste Sports and Fuxi Racing in Beaver Creek.  On your way back to Denver you have SRD in Dumont along I-70.  Foothills Ski and Bike in Golden and Alpine Base and Edge in Boulder.  If none of these can get you what you want then I suggest the following web sites:

www.artechski.com

www.the-raceplace.com

www.reliableracing.com

www.ski-depot.com

Many of these stores and online web sites will give you a discount once your athlete has a USSA membership (don’t forget to mention that you are a part of a race team, DEVO, and that they are USSA members).  This is another great thing about doing YSL and joining USSA.  The cost of joining USSA will almost immediately be offset by anything you purchase at a discount from any store that will give you a USSA member rate.

So this is my first attempt to bring you all up to speed on everything with DEVO race focus groups.  I hope I have not overwhelmed you but made you more interested and excited about what we are going to get to do with your athletes this season!  If you have any questions, concerns or thoughts please do not hesitate to contact Head Coach Jeremy and Assistant Head Coach Jill.  They may also pass along the questions to me if I can help them and you as well.  Thank you for being part of DEVO and especially for being part of DEVO Race Focus!

Sincerely,

Coach Preston Kelsey