One of the cool things about watching ski racing on TV, especially the kickoff in Solden, Austria, is it gets you excited for the upcoming ski season. Now I don’t need much encouragement to get excited for ski season, but watching the races on TV definitely gets your amp meter up and running. However, the interesting thing about the coverage is that there is technically so much going on that enables you to see the turns in slow motion as well as from above with the new drone photography. The coverage has become so much better with the advances in broadcasting at race venues.

I like to watch the turns to see exactly how the World Cup racers do it. The slow motion definitely helps the visual but the new drone coverage from above the skier on the way down the course enables to you see their body position as well as the bending of both skis in the turn. Drone photography has been such an improvement. This fall, I spoke to the drone engineers at the World Cup Mountain Bike races in Snowshoe, West Virginia and they had some interesting things to say. First of all, they told me that they programmed the course GPS coordinates in the drone logic so that the drone has a definite path on the way down the course. It is also locked into the rider and the GPS course lock enables those great shots down the course in the middle of the woods. A little easier with skiing because the racecourse is open and the drone can fly unobstructed. They might not need the GPS technology but then again, they might. In any event, it has been a really good enhancement to the ski coverage.

Peacock, the streaming platform for NBC, is contracted to broadcast all Austrian races as well as the World Cup races in the US. The women’s races at Killington are next on the docket Thanksgiving weekend. All other races are able to be viewed on www. skiandsnowboard.live This is a subscription based streaming platform which is not very expensive and enables the enthusiast to see basically all the other races. Kind of a shame that the mainstream sports broadcasting does not jump on board seeing that the winningest ski racer of all time is in her prime right now and is an American- Mikaela Shiffrin. But, I will log into Peacock and the subscription based platform because I am a fan.

One thing that you do notice when looking at the leader board is how close the races are. I mean, Federica Brignone of Italy lost the race by .02 seconds to Laura Gut Behrami. This was over two runs. It shows you that the slightest slip or loss of concentration can put you out of the win or out of the top ten. Technique is so important and for that matter, a little luck never hurts either. The men’s race was cancelled due to a winter storm that made it impossible to race. But watching the women is great because their technique is solid and their fitness is apparent.

You know, it is never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. My friend Eric has been working with me on lowering my stance and using both skis in the turn. He wants me to ski a little wider, but I have to stand where it is comfortable and try to work both skis from a comfortable stance without the old “A Frame” technique. Tough to change after so many years of skiing “old school.” But watching the races and seeing the new technique, enabled by equipment that gives you a fighting chance……well, just maybe I can change. I won’t be able to do it like the World Cuppers, but I can at least improve my 62 year old technique. Yes- that is how long I have been skiing. Yikes! Thanks for reading and watch Paula and Mikaela. You will learn something.