Top Japanese skiers choose Turoa for "summer" training

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 258, 11 October 1988, Page 5

Top Japanese skiers choose Turoa for "summer" training

Japan's fastest ski racers left Ohakune yesterday after spending three weeks enjoying the Ruapehu ice that most skiers dread. The racers skied at Turoa only before lunch, before the ice softened completely. This is because they love to ski fast on the hard and fast snow surface that Turoa has to offer early morning in Spring.

In Japan the ski runs are salted to soften ice, while because Turoa is within a National Park this practice is not permitted. The party is made up of 44 skiers, coaches and ski technicians. The men's team of 31 has been at Venturelodge while the 13 women have been staying at the Ruapehu Homestead in Rangataua.

Their training day began with a run before the 7 am breakfast. By 7.30 they were in the minibuses for the journey to the slopes to work on ski race technique. They returned to their bases by 12.30 for lunch and then travelled to Waiouru for training in the ATG gym and swimming pool. Thirty racers make up the bulk of the group with seven coaches and six ski mechanics in support. Nine of the men were downhillers with twelve slalom racers as team mates, though the downhill racers also practice GS and Super G. This year there was not enough snow for them to train at downhill or Super G but there was for giant slalom training. In October the team would usually be in Europe training on glaciers but Chief Downhill Coach Mikio Katagiri said the snow then was not good. He said it was a difficult time of year to find good places for training. He said despite the

poor weather conditions this spring the team will be looking at returning next year. Ski training was definitely the prime reason for coming to New Zealand, he said, and

they ran to a very tight schedule. This meant the visitors didn't get to see much of the country apart from during their runs back to their lodges from Waiouru.

Some of the team managed to fit in games of golf at the Waimarino Golf Club on their free days. Last week the team were to be joined by the New Zealand A

Team skiers Simon Wi Rutene, M a 1 1 i a s Hubrich and Chris Mosaed for training before the New Zealanders leave for the Northern Hemisphere Winter.