New Season New Plan

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Adam Barwood

Working towards the start of the 2019 NZ season with plenty of time spent in the gym building on strength and condition is keeping me busy, thanks to Alpine Health and Fitness. As one journey ends another begins and with funding from NZ Ski Charitable Trust (Hamish Edwards) coming to an end, it’s time to reassess. This season, after five great years of training at Coronet Peak with the Coberger Academy, I feel it is time for a change and am excited to be heading to Cardrona again. This season I will be under the experienced coaching of Osi Inglin and CAST (Cardrona Alpine Ski Team)

Many thanks to the Skeggs Foundation once again for your continued support. For any athlete in the Otago Region, be sure to check out their funding opportunities, click on the link and head on over to their website.

It was great to experience a breath of summer in Thailand and Bali after a tough season in Europe and get a chance to try something different with a bit of surfing in warm water!

It was a much needed break from winter to unwind and move on from what had been a difficult season. While I had some excellent training in Europe and some of my racing improved, results were hard to come by and the pressure was on. Another season where the elements made for tough conditions with dumpings of fresh snow just before races, or warm wet conditions also adding to the mix. In amongst all the World Cup races, we also headed up to Sweden to Åre for the World Ski Championships in February where it was another mixed bag of weather and conditions! I picked up second place on the podium for the National champs slalom race in Jasna, Slovakia early March which was a bonus. From Europe after the final World Cup race in Kranjska Gora, Slovakia 9th March, we rushed over to catch the tail end of the NorAm races in Burke, USA on the 12th March for four days of racing. Not ideal conditions on top of the stress of travel and changing time zones made for a tough end to the season mentally as well as physically.

Volkl
Are, Sweden Inspection
Slovakia National Champs, Jasna
WC Kranjska Gora
Kranjska Gora WC
Kranjska Gora GS
Norams in Burke USA

Back on Snow – Colorado Nov 2018

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Adam Barwood

After a much needed and enjoyable break from the ski slopes, time has flown by and it’s back to the Northern Hemisphere! Big shout out to Skeggs Foundation for their amazing support over the years – to all you Otago athletes out there, go and have a look at the funding support on their website!

And for all those Dirty Jobs – go ask the dirty Boys at Just Dig It Thanks Blowie! Appreciate the support, always great to catch up with you and Todd.

Before leaving New Zealand I had a quick trip to Snow Planet in Auckland for a Ski Racing Clinic. Thanks John Harman for organizing the morning and to all the athletes who came along. Great to have Ben Griffin, Alpine Performance Queenstown passing on important skills and information.

Many thanks to the Wanaka Ski & Snowsports Club for your funding support and all the wonderful volunteers and parents who work so hard to make such successful race events happen!

Perfect conditions at Copper Mountain, Colorado

Looking forward to the coming months and without the support of so many people it would be incredibly difficult – thank you one and all! Tineke and Hamish Edwards, Ski Racing NZ Charitable Trust, your support and passion for our team has been amazing; thanks to everyone who is a part of the journey! The Team has just arrived in Colorado for the start of the Northern Hemisphere after a last minute change of plan. Not a lot of snow in Europe for good training conditions where we were to be based so we have just started our first training block at Copper Mountain. Excellent conditions, even if somewhat cold at -22°C and some very early morning starts to fit in with all the athletes out on the slopes.

Season Done

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Adam Barwood

After a long Northern Hemisphere season and feeling exhausted, I’ve had a much needed break and it’s time to update and get ready for the new season!

Kranjska Gora World Cup

Moving on from my last post, after the Olympics we headed back to Europe to continue on the World Cup giant slalom circuit. My energy levels were hitting rock bottom and I got sick after leaving Korea. Spent four days in bed prior to the next WC race at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia and almost didn’t race. Conserved my energy in the warm up and was then surprised how well I did in some tough conditions with fresh snow leading up to the race. Starting bib 50 I moved up to 35 just 0.8 seconds off making top 30. On arriving back to our Austrian base, I managed to find a doctor working on Sunday and picked up some antibiotics for what turned out to be strep throat. From Europe we headed over to Canada to race in the NorAm finals but with no NorAm points, flat terrain and more fresh snow I was frustrated to not perform so well. After the NorAms in Kimberley, BC I headed on to Red Mountain BC for the Canadian Nationals, Willis headed south to Sun Valley and coach headed home back to New Zealand.

Canada

Canadian Nationals, Giant Slalom

Frustratingly we had another foot of fresh snow the night before the races but at least there was a little more gradient on the mountain and I picked up a podium spot for the giant slalom, unfortunately without much slalom training the slalom races could have gone better.

After the Canadian Nationals it was finally time for some down time so a couple of days after arriving back home in New Zealand I hopped over the ditch to Australia for the last of summer warmth to recharge. Had an amazing time just relaxing and exploring beaches along the eastern coast before it was time to head home and start back into my dryland programme.

Fraser Island, Australia

Not all dryland happens in the gym, having some fun on the bike

Along the Arrow River

The Northern Hemisphere season was again filled with amazing experiences, along with ups and downs, all of it made possible with help from my Team, generous sponsors, supporters, friends and family, not to mention Fans! Thank you one and all for your ongoing support.

Team Edwards, Snowvision Foundation, One Studio, NZSki, Sotheby’s International, Browns Ski Shop, Wanaka Ski & Snowsports Club, Skeggs Foundation, Community Trust of Southland, Just Dig It, ZoiBri Trust, Robert Moore Chiropractor, Alpine Health & Fitness, Avoca, Merrell NZ, XTM Performance, Auckland Bone & Joint Surgery, McClean & Co, One Square Meal, Adidas, Remarkables Physio

Europe October 2017

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Adam Barwood

We arrived to a very spring looking Europe with a lot of green! First race of the season on our programme listed as World Cup GS, Sölden Austria. Training got under way and we got time on the race piste which was invaluable. Starts with a bit of a flatter section then most of the course goes to a pitch around 65 degrees then flattens out again at the finish. As described on the official Sölden website: – the superb slope features a different shape every year. It’s easy to explain: the race track is built on glacier ice which moves permanently. Especially in its lower part, the slope has become steeper and steeper over the last years – as if a 65% gradient wasn’t enough!

We also trained on the piste beside the race area (called The Icebox – with good reason!) and got some more great training. The World Cup race was cancelled due to blizzard conditions so we packed up and got ready to head on to Colorado for the next training block. Was great to pick up some new skis from HEAD as well.

Soelden training

Soelden with Willis

Blizzard conditions race day at Soelden

After a few delays with flights (mechanical problems, re-routing) we finally arrived into Denver start of November on to home base for the next month in Dillon. Training has started at Copper Mountain and it’s incredibly tiring at the moment getting into the new time zone as well as coping with the high altitude (approx 12,300ft – 3,750m)

Big thank you to Skeggs Foundation for their funding support, always appreciated! Now we will concentrate on the next training block before the NorAm races at Copper Mountain and Vail followed by the World Cup at Beaver Creek.

End of Season Review

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Adam Barwood

It’s been a long season but I am now back home after a couple of weeks getting away from the winter life, enjoying company of friends, warmth and a change of scenery in Utah and also exploring a very small part of my home country. Thanks Tucker Marshall for the Utah images!

Beach rugby

Moab Arch

Friends at Moab

Exploring Moab

with Tyler

And a quick road trip visiting some pretty cool spots around the South Island, NZ

By the light of the Stars

Hot Pools

Hokitika

Sunrise

Wharf at Kaikoura

To cap off this Season, I have posted the review by my coach, Nils Coberger and his take on our season!

TO ALL OUR FRIENDS, SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS,

Warm in Aspen!

What a season 2016/17 has been for the New Zealand Men’s Ski Team, arguably our most successful in 25 years! Adam Barwood and Willis Feasey went from strength to strength during the northern hemisphere campaign. The season started early November in Colorado at our base in Dillon where we had four weeks of excellent training at Copper Mountain. When the racing season started in December we moved to Panorama, Canada to focus on the Nor-Am tour. Kicking off in Panorama the boys achieved some great results. At the 2nd Panorama Nor-Am Super G, Adam skied from bib 47 into 3rd place and followed that up with two 4th places in the Slaloms. Willis finished 4th in the next day’s Super-g and then 7th in the GS. After eight weeks on the road in North America it was time for a well-earned break so we headed home to spend time with our families over Christmas and New Year’s.

Soon enough we were back in Europe and racing again. Our first World Cup was in Adelbolden, Switzerland and the boys got valuable World Cup experience after having Beaver Creek cancelled in November. Having had just ten days in Europe we were off to South Korea and the Olympic test event in Yongpyong, the venue for next year’s Winter Olympic GS and Slalom events. Willis finished every race of the Yongpyong Far East Cup tech series in the top 10, and Adam was only slightly behind finishing inside the top 20. After our Asian excursion, it was back to Europe to prepare for the 2017 World Ski Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Swiss put on an amazing World Champs, the slopes were prepared perfectly and the location was breathtaking. Willis started the World Champs well, finishing the Super-g in 34th. That afternoon we returned to our base in Maishofen, Austria to train and test skis at Hinterreit for five day before heading back to St. Moritz. Because the boys were both top 50 on the start list they go into the main event and didn’t have to do the qualifying race so this gave us a day of GS training two days before the main GS race. We were paired with the French and Austrian GS teams for training, the two strongest GS teams in the world. Hirscher, Leitinger (Gold and Silver 2 days later) and Pinturault, Faivre and Muffat-Jeandet (Adam’s doppelganger) were all training. After the training session was finished, Adam had the 1st and 3rd fastest times of the day and Willis was only a couple of tenths out. ‘Belief’ is a powerful thing, once earned! But training is just that – training! In the GS race Adam finished 31st overall, but in the second run, starting 42nd he had the 28th fastest run and was top 15 in the middle split (very steep), finishing only 1.9 behind winner and World Champion Marcel Hirscher. Two days later in Slalom Willis started bib 65.and at the first split he was 37th and at the 2nd split he was 38th. Unfortunately he crashed at the last roll over, but he could have qualified top 30 and made the flip – in Slalom! And if Adam had skied the first run like his second, he could have qualified top 30 and made the flip in GS!

WSC Kit

St Moritz WSC

This event was the real turning point in the season, or light bulb moment, for both Adam and Willis, although surprisingly not in their preferred events. So even though they didn’t qualify, these series of events over the six days at St. Moritz proved to be highly valuable. Both saw their own potential and what they were both truly capable of achieving! The process of believing in oneself is not easy. Confidence needs to be earned through hard work, tenacity and experience. Embracing the environment and living in the moment, today, now! Competing without fear of failure and only thinking about how to succeed. In this regard, this World Championships was huge, and in my opinion, will be remembered as a key moment in the boy’s careers. Having the All Blacks manager Darren Shand there with us was a real treat. His mental skills knowledge about ‘belief, winning, process and culture’ is inspirational.

Mont Ste-Marie

Sugarloaf SG

Sugarloaf Nationals

After the World Champs our focus was back on the Continental Cup tour. We originally planned on more Far East Cup races in Japan and eastern Russia at the end of March, but we made the call to go back to North America for the Nor-Am finals and the U.S. Nationals. We knew the Canadian and US World Cup men’s teams would be racing and this would give us minimum penalty races and a better bench mark of where we were at. Willis started the Nor-Am finals with a 4th, 5th and 7th in the speed events and a couple of solid top 20’s in the tech races. Adam started with a 6th, 7th and 11th in the tech races and then 6th and 12th in the Super G.

Time out before Aspen and Vail races

On the 29th March the programme was over but we felt the boys were skiing fantastically well and should seek more opportunities to lower their points. We decided to send them to the FIS Spring Series in Aspen and Vail, Colorado with the help from locals Tim Cafe and the Derwin family, while Oli and I made our way back home. The Aspen series turned out to be the most successful race series ever for the NZ Men’s Teaml! Adam won 3 of the 4 races and Willis was 2nd twice, 4th, 7th and 8th. The end of season internal base points list has now been published – Adam 82 and Willis 88 in the world in Super-g, and in GS, Adam on 9.40 points is #44 in the world and Willis 10.12 is #60. This puts the boys in the same league as the greats of NZ ski-racing, like Simon Wi Rutene.

I feel the success of the season is only the beginning. Both the boys now have goals well beyond what was achieved this winter, which shows me that a vital step has been taken and the belief and path way is there.

Farewell Canada!

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Adam Barwood

Toby Creek, Panorama

The Panorama NorAm series are over and now it’s time for a quick break. For the most part, the weather stayed clear for the week however it was incredibly cold with a couple of days approaching -30°C. The snow-making clouds were more of a problem creating some poor visibility at times. My toes suffered a little with the extreme cold but hopefully the numbness will disappear over the break.

Alpine Combined, Panorama

It has been an exciting week of racing for me with some great results and PB’s. Starting with Super G and bib 47, I moved into 22nd spot and made a good points result. Day two, still bib 47 I had an amazing run and finished on the podium in 3rd position and made a points result of 19.36 (currently on 53.48) surprising quite a few people as well as myself! Day 3 was super combined and I had bib start 61 as I haven’t raced a combined for a while to get any results. In the super g portion I came 12th, also a points result 21.95 and skied the slalom portion a little conservatively finishing 17th, scoring 39.73 (currently 155)

Moving on to the giant slalom, I made a mistake on day one and came out on a fall-away turn. Day two I started 21 and skied into 9th, couple of mistakes but pretty happy with the way my skiing is improving. In the slalom from bib 18 I moved into 4th place, a frustrating 0.19 sec off the podium. Final day, also slalom I moved into 4th spot missing the podium again by a small margin.

Race start for Super G and GS

On the morning we packed up to head out of Panorama, the temperature warmed up by almost 20 degrees to a balmy -7°C and snowing. After a successful NorAm series and the long trip home, I’m looking forward to a few days of warmth and leisure before the next section of training and races in Europe.

Many thanks to all the volunteers and workers who braved those cold temperatures for us, putting on an excellent series. Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and all the best in the new year.

early season

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Adam Barwood

It has been a little while since my last post, however it has taken some time for the snow to be sufficient for some training to begin. Much of my time has been spent on strength and conditioning as well as a short back to snow camp at Mt Hutt in June. We have had a couple of S & C Camps with Ben Griffin in Queenstown and Methven with some testing to see our progress from last year, as well as where we are on a National level. Pleased to say progress on last year has been good with some personal bests achieved.

Coronet Peak View

The last couple of months have been much warmer than usual and much less snowfall. The training at Mt Hutt went well although the snow cover was a bit lean in places. Back in Queenstown our on-snow start was delayed due to lack of snow but we have since managed some free skiing drills on the main runs at Coronet Peak which was a bit of a challenge with the school holidays in full swing. The last few days we have been doing more drills and started on stubbie training at the Remarkables ski field. Little bit further to travel but conditions have been OK – snow is a little soft and dry but it is good to be back on skis.

Remarkables

We had about a foot of snow last night so hopefully it will be enough to get Rocky Gully up and running for some serious training!

US Bound!

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Adam Barwood

Many thanks Blowie! Just Dig It – Awesome Team, thanks for your support. Final moments packing bags and trying to get everything I need into as small as possible excess luggage but still looking at 90kgs! On my way to Denver to arrive 2nd Nov ready to hit the slopes for the northern hemisphere season. I’ve just finished off a couple of weeks of intensive dryland training building on my fitness and happy with progress.

Had a bit of fun with the Lululemon team tackling the MuleNZ course out at Moke Lake with team mate Willis and physio Robbie Moore – rather exhausting morning but a lot of fun diving through mud, running up rivers and over mountainous obstacles to complete the course.

Thanks also to continued support from Avoca with more awesome mid layer merino tops, beanies and socks. Looking forward to getting some mileage out of them in the States.

For the first four weeks I’ll be based in Dillon just outside Denver, with the first races in Vail, 20th November so I’ll have a little time to get used to the altitude.

Northern Hemisphere 2014

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Adam Barwood

Snow Planet – Nick, Willis, Adam

The time from our last race until the start of another Northern Hemisphere season seems to have been very brief this year, with the visit to Auckland’s Snow Planet for some fund-raising and poster signing just weeks ago. Thanks to Snow Planet for hosting our NZ Ski Racing Club Supporters Event – it was an interesting experience racing the indoor slalom. Great to meet all the young athletes.

Over the past month, my focus has been on gaining fitness and strength – it has been so beneficial having Alpine Health and Fitness supporting the Team, allowing us the use of their gym – thanks! And the task of sorting gear for the NH season – thanks once again to POC, Australia New Zealand for providing me with helmet, goggles and shin guards. Also got some excellent Avoca gear which will be great in the colder Colorado altitude; Merrell shoes and clothing also a very welcome addition. Skeggs Foundation is a tremendous and supportive organisation who have once again helped me out with some funding for the coming season, along with the team at Just Dig It – thanks Blowie! Many thanks also to Guenther Raedler – appreciate your continued support. ZoBri Trust – great to have you on board again for another season. Hamish Edwards – truly amazing to have you along for the journey! A huge thank you to all my sponsors and supporters who continue to help me to continue with the sport I love.

Adam Barwood, Willis Feasey, Nils Coberger (coach)

1st November and we have arrived in Colorado where we will be based just outside of Denver in a place called Dillon until early December. Not a lot of snow on the ground yet, but hopefully we will get in some good training before our first lot of races. This will include a couple of NorAm races before we head north to Panorama, Canada for some more races before Christmas. The team includes Willis Feasey, Nick Prebble and coach, Nils Coberger and we will be joined by Australian athlete, Luc Chevalier.

2014 NZ Season Underway

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Adam Barwood

It’s been awhile – had a tiny break from the Ski Life after Europe and the past two months I have been concentrating on fitness with the start of on-snow training a little delayed due to lack of snow but it’s all go now. All sorts of crazy weather but we have finally had a good cold spell and even though a bit dry, Coronet Peak and their 212 snow guns have been super busy making snow so the start of our training season has been awesome. Home base is always a great place to train and it’s working well with all the National team members together.

Wakatipu Basin on way to Coronet

Training has been going really well with early starts, on snow at 7.30am – which has been a little dark. The snow is finally falling today! Always thinking of my sponsors and supporters who have contributed so much towards allowing me to continue to follow my dream – thanks again Team, truly value your continued support. Now wearing the awesome clothing and gear from Merrell and Patagonia and getting our way through many a healthy One Square Meals!

The Team

We have been fitting in two sessions each day, sometimes a block of slalom and then giant slalom or a double block of either. Then maybe a gym session in the afternoon. Today, with snow falling we had our first super g session followed by GS – after the fresh snowfall overnight there was some slipping to do but was still a good day.

Adam Barwood

Check out what I am up to, where in the World my skis take me.

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