- A positive tool to bring out periodically.

The first Snow School in Canada now is equipped with a new experience. Mount St. Louis Moonstone is one of the largest family owned ski resorts in Ontario. It was founded 48 years ago by Austrian Alpine skier Josl Huter. The resort is located in the snowbelt region of Ontario. Today, it contains 36 different ski slopes in addition to 9 chair lifts and 3 carpets. The resort is known for being family friendly and prides itself on accommodating everyone, from the beginner skier/snowboarder to the most advanced in their discipline.

Mr Frank Perchinig, rep for Pole Position in Canada now have introduced the Pole Position into Mount St. Louis Moonstone Snow School where he met with Jim Morris and this is what he said:

- My initial impression was that Pole Position was restrictive, however…

- I have tried POLE POSITION STRAP a few times throughout the season. Its use is very user friendly as far as portability for loading and unloading chairs/lifts. On the whole I feel it is a positive tool for highlighting stance and amount of upper body involvement while changing directions.

- My initial impression was that the device was restrictive, for active balancing when skiing advanced/expert terrain. However, with proper guidance and fitting POLE POSITION STRAP can benefit the intermediate skier in highlighting proper stance and importance of lower body independence.  A positive tool to bring out periodically.”

Jim Morris, Snow School Director, Mount St Louis Moonstone Ontario

Helmut Grassl, Swedish Race-Coach at Stjerne Skigymnasium Torsby

We met Helmut Grassl in late April, 2012 in Sälen, Sweden where the annual Ski Funtastic, the Swedish Alpine Finals. (Ski Funtastic is perhaps the largest ski race in the country). Other celebrities included Anja Pärson and Ingemar Stenmark.This year’s winner was Andre Myhrer finished over a second ahead of the competition.

Helmut Grassl is a well-known Swedish Ski Academy Race Coach at Stjerneskolan, Torsby, Sweden. During his active years (1980′s), Helmut represented Sweden as a Racer on the National Team. Helmut is renowned for his result-oriented training methods and the success of his program seems to run in his family; Helmut’s daughter, Paulina Grassl, just won the Junior World Championship silver medal in Slalom in Italy last month.

Helmut knows what he is doing. As we talk to him, he makes a great comparison between timed turns in the slope to that of the golf swing. Helmut gets more detailed as he explains to us how his racers use Pole Position in the gates; the strap prevents racers from over-rotating the opposing arm, which in turn force the racers to concentrate on a more square position as they hit the gates.   Helmut says: “…racers understand, intuitively, how to control their upper bodies in each turn.” Helmut explains how his slalom racers practice timing to maximize speed. In slalom, racers are faced with about 60 gates, or possibilities, as Helmut rather put it. Each gate is an opportunity to accelerate thru timing. In GS, Giant Slalom, this aspect is even more important to improve upon as the gates are fewer – hence fewer opportunities to make up ground. Helmut continues to explain the how´s and why´s to the group as he hands out Pole Position straps to his racing team. Thanks for your time Helmut!

Emma Hector practicing with Pole Position, April 2012

Evelina Eråker 16, gate training with Pole Position

Red Girl

Daddy Cool

Ingmar Stenmark and Anja Pärson

Takuji Kambayashi Ski Racing Director, Japan FIS Racers (published in March 2012 issue of Ski journal)

“You can sense your own position in the run that will lead you to the optimal position. By keeping upper body tension the direction of rotation is fixed, which leads to real-time orientation of the arms and control and possible modification of lower body.”

From Canada WC Team:

“The team tried out the Pole Position during some freeskiing in in Hinterreit, Austria. It seems like a great tool. It attaches to the pole effectively and the grip maintains its position. The construction is solid and the buckles allowing it to detach during the ride up the hill are great. It is a little restrictive for some athletes that need to move their arms, but in general I think that it’s current format is perfect for its purpose”.

Tim Gfeller, Canadian Alpine Ski Team, Women’s World Cup – Technical

From Finland WC Racing:

“While using Pole Position and keeping upper body tension a consequence is the dynamic balance. Especially for young ones it’s a good instrument to teach basic position of the arms.Pole Position is a support for the upper body to get the basic position of the arms. From a technical view it´s important to know that stability also depends on the lower part of the body – knees, ankles, edges and snow contact.”

Christian Thoma, Head Coach Women’s WC team Finland

http://www.rockymountaingearguide.com/inews/?page_id=1944

Review Pole Position By Henrik Thorsen, Danish Demo team and Educator Danish Ski Federation.

Bring a ski instructor in your pocket!

I’ll be honest: I was skeptical. When I first heard about the product, I thought: Oh, what’s this all about? A strap between your ski poles? Now I have tested it and I truly got a great eye-opening experience!

I’ve known about the product since it came on the market a few years ago but it was first this year that I have had a chance to try it out. The product is called Pole Position, and is simply explained an orange colored strap that is attached in between the ski poles.

The company call its product “A Ski Coach To Go” and was invented by Swedish racecoach Pelle Stenbäck who launched the product in March of 2009.

Pelle explains that the product was developed to fill the need of a hands-on tool that could communicate the importance of a strong balance on skis, something that could work out the dynamic balance in a simple and effective way.

Pole Position was born out of a principle: “Learn to Ski While Skiing”.

For years, I’ve been incorporating pole exercises in lots of different skiing positions – both in my ski classes, but also in my own private training to fine-tune various small details of the dynamic balance. I still do, as a matter of fact. I believe that these visually powerful exercises are easy to understand and they are usually very effective.

So is Pole Position something new? Can it replace all of the many pole exercises? Do I now no longer being taught by an instructor?

Yes, Pole Position is something new. It adds something special to my skiing and myteaching that I have not experienced before. No, it does not replace all my exercises with ski poles, and no, it does not replace the ski instructor, but it is a great complement to these exercises, and it is a powerful tool to train the dynamic balance, body tension workout, exercising arm movements and much much more.

I’m really positively surprised by the effect Pole Position has had on my skiing. Stretched out between my ski poles, it provides body tension. And since it is a flexible strap and not a static rod across, I can still use my poles as I normally would and by such focus on my free skiing. I’m constantly reminded of how little my arms should move. I have long battled a problem of too much arm movement: I’ve been dipping the inside arm too much while flexing the outer one at the end of the turn delaying the next pole plant.

Quite frankly, I did not believe that an orange strap could cure these issues but once I snapped Pole Position to my poles it was as if I instantly became wiser. As I put tension on the strap by pulling the poles apart I no longer could dip the inner arm too low. Incredible simple but man what an eye-opening experience for me. Fantastic!

My opinion is that while Pole Position is an excellent compliment for myself and my ski classes, there is no one individual tool that can offer a direct route to enhance the simple, free, playful, and dynamic skiing that I love and seek. These goals are attained by a combination of drills and tools – each contributing its own point and aha-feeling.

But in my world, a new strong contender have entered the arena of ski training. It’s orange and it can be strapped between your ski poles. It’s fun and different and it brings about something new. It’s name is Pole Position and I carry it in my pocket.

I am a fan.

Henrik Thorsen

Pole Position from Skiteori.dk on Vimeo.

Also a warm welcome to new Ski schools in St Moritz, Grimentz and Airolo Switzerland and new Austrian Schools in Maria Alm, Bad Hofgastein, Mittersil, Dorfgastein and Mühlbach. Finally we got Snow.

Also Included in the picture, Pelle Stenbäck, Stefan Andersson and Mr X. Photo: Peo Sjöberg.

We will use Pole Position in the future for:

• On the first trainings in the start of the season, to improve basic position
• For corrective exercise in the start and during the season

Brane Ceferin, Slovenian Head Coach EC-team Women

I found Pole Position an interesting tool. It helps the skier:

• To find the best body position, especially those who have problems to get easily into the turn.
• To get rid of bad habits on upper body position (shoulders, arms and hips).
• To keep focus on details.

Thanks for your comments Mauro and we will see you

In August 2011 the Russian Coach of Women’s Alpine Team Marian Cernigoj trained with a Slovenian ski demonstrator and incorporated Pole Position in different exercises with four Russian girls. You can see the racer Dario Kolomova and how Pole Position stabilizes and is completely leveled to the hip and shoulders aiming straight into line of gravity.

Thanks for comments and picture Marian and we do like your skiing Darja, and we are looking forward to see you on a podium.