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The Suffolk Vikings Ski Team
The Suffolk Vikings are a slalom ski race team based at the dry slope at Suffolk Leisure Park in Ipswich. It is a club run by volunteers for anyone who is interested in ski racing. We hold two training sessions each week and compete in races locally, nationally, and sometimes internationally. Although we are based at the Suffolk Leisure Park, the Vikings are an independent club, run entirely by volunteers and on a not for profit basis. The Vikings are funded through a small membership fee and various events held throughout the year.
History
Founded in 1983 the Vikings have grown from a small group of ski race lovers to over 100 members, aged from 5 to over 50!
Training
The Vikings have 2 sessions a week Our main session is on Staurday morning at 9:00 - 11:00.
In this session skiers are placed into the groups described below. A a permanent coach is assigned to work with you to improve your technique & racing ability.
Our coaching ethos is based around the Alpine Canadian Coaching Pathway. This is a well proven coaching process, which is designed to progress athletes from early stages of ski racing through to becoming a top-level athlete.
Racers are allocated into coaching groups based on their maturity, concentration span and ability. This way the racers are more effectively engaged in their particular group, learn and progress faster.
The Saturday training groups are;
- Yellow - This is for members new to skiing and the younger ones. The sessions are fun, crazy and wacky designed to engage and improve the skier's balance and stability on skis.
- Green - This is for slightly more experienced skiers who still need high levels of enthusiasm to maintain concentration but are able to begin to develop the core ideas around ski racing.
- Blue - As the racers begin to mature they are able to understand the ideas and technical reasons behind what they do. This group focuses more on this and the mind-set of a racer so they can develop their skiing to the next level.
- Red - This group is mainly aimed at the older racers and adults, although younger skiers can progress to the Red group if their ability dictates. With in-depth video analysis and coaching around power, acceleration and extension they are able to progress into a top level athlete.
We also run a Monday evening session which is open to all Vikings. The session tends to attract the more mature racers to practice the skills and techniques they learned in the previous Saturday session.
Can I join?
If you want to ski race then yes, you can join. Vikings' training is intended for those that can already ski and is not suitable for complete beginners. However, it is not necessary to have skied on snow to join the Vikings. If you can't ski yet, you need to learn first, and the place for that is on one of the courses run by the Suffolk Leisure Park. If you think you are good enough then head over to the contact us page and get in touch.