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MOVING FORWARD
HEAD MEN’S COACH SASHA REARICK EXPLAINS WHAT THE
NEW SKI DIMENSIONS MEAN FOR THE U.S. SKI TEAM AND FOR
JUNIOR RACERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY BY HANK MCKEE
BEAVER CREEK — Next season, the use of GS skis with the proposed new dimensions will be mandatory at the World
Cup and Europa Cup level and — even more problematic — at the World Junior Championships. By the 2013-14 season
they will be required across all levels of FIS approved racing. We sat down with U.S. head men’s coach Sasha Rearick
to find out what this is going to mean to racing in the U.S. and to hear his suggestions for how to make the best of it.
Can we cope with the ski changes as a nation?
The most important thing is that we move forward. This is the decision. At this point my main goal is to say, “OK, this is
what it is, let’s move forward and figure out how we can take this as an opportunity for us to take a step forward when we
start competing on these skis.”
Isn’t this going to make a huge difference in how racers approach a course?
Yes, some things are going to change technically and tactically. Fundamentals-wise, some things are going to be more
important than others on the new skis.
What are the problems we’re facing in making the changeover?
Within the national team, since every level of our athletes will be racing in races where the new skis are being used, it is
important we get the skis as soon as possible so we can start to get used to them. Second is to really start to look at what
we have to do different tactically and then step back and ask, “What are the technical elements that we have to be really
proficient at so we can ski on these skis?”
The main difference, sidecut, is one thing. The length I don’t think is going to be too big an issue to get used to. I think
that will be a pretty quick adaptation period. Having less sidecut is going to take some time, especially in GS because the
