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You might not be able to ski like Lindsey Vonn or skate like Apolo Ohno, but you can still get a taste for most sportst in the Winter Olympics
CRAIG HILL; The News Tribune |
Whether you head north to attend the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C., or just tune in a couple nights to watch, you're bound to wonder what it feels like to be one of the athletes.
What does it feel like to clip a gate while skiing at 80 mph? How much pounding does your body take during a 60-second bobsled run? And what does it feel like to land a triple-triple while figure skating in front of 14,000 people?
OK, we can’t help you with the last one, but we can help you get a taste of some of the Olympic sports.
ALPINE SKIING
The sport: Skiing has five Olympic disciplines. Downhill (all about speed), slalom (navigating a course of gates), giant slalom (the gates are farther apart and the speed is faster than slalom), Super G (a longer version of the giant slalom) and the super combined (a downhill run followed by a slalom run).
Try it here: The Summit at Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass. There are drop-in ski races today at the Summit at Snoqualmie. Need more time to get ready? Stevens Pass will host slalom, giant slalom and super G races March 12-15. Those races are only open to United States Ski and Snowboard Association members but nonmembers can buy a weekend membership, usually $20, at the event.
Experts recommend starting with a speed event like Super G rather than a technical race like slalom.
Cost: $25-35 plus lift ticket
Info: pnsamasters.org
BIATHLON
The sport: Combines cross country skiing and target shooting.
Try it here: Methow Valley and Stevens Pass. The Methow Valley is the center of Nordic skiing in the Northwest. The community is hosting the Methow Olympic Festival through Feb. 28, the same dates as the Olympics. Visitors can try many Olympic sports and others such as snowshoe softball. Biathlon will be offered Monday-Friday and Feb. 22-26.
The Washington Biathlon Association is holding a clinic for newcomers Feb. 27 at the Stevens Pass Nordic Center.
Cost: The Methow events are free. The Stevens Pass event is $25.
Info: Wabiathlon.org, mvsta.org and mvnordic.com
CROSS COUNTRY
The sport: Skiers compete at sprint and endurance distances using classic or free techniques. With the classic technique, skiers keep their skis parallel most of the time. The free technique is often called skating because skiers push off on their inside edges in a skate-like motion.
Try it here: White Pass ski area. There are numerous sno-parks and ski areas where you can try this sport, but White Pass is considered one of the best cross-country ski areas in Western Washington. The Nordic center is open Thursdays through Sundays.
Cost: $12. Rentals are extra. Lessons start at $68 for an hour and $90 for two hours.
Info: skiwhitepass.com
CURLING
The sport: Teams of four slide granite rocks across a sheet of ice, trying to get them to stop as close as possible to a target called the house.
Try it here: Seattle’s Granite Curling Club. The West Coast’s most successful curling club produced current Olympian Nicole Joraanstad and numerous national champs. The club holds open houses throughout the year to introduce the sport to people. The open houses are popular during the Olympics, so show up early. Open houses are scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 27-28 and March 27.
Cost: $15 per person or $40 for family
Info: curlingseattle.org
FIGURE SKATING
The sport: Skaters jump, spin and dance on ice as individuals or pairs. A third discipline, ice dancing, does not allow lifts or jumps.
Try it here: Spanaway’s Sprinker Recreation center. The Sprinker figure skating program has participants ranging from 4 to 70 years old, said skating director Janice Forbes.
Cost: Private lessons are $12-16 for 15 minutes but do not include rink access or skate rentals. An eight-week program is $66 and includes eight 30-minute lessons and skate rentals.
Info: 253-798-4000
FREESTYLE SKIING
The sport: Freestyle skiers compete in aerials, moguls or skier cross. In aerials they launch themselves 30 feet into the air while doing acrobatics maneuvers. In moguls, they race down a bumpy ski run while doing aerial tricks. In skier cross, a new event, four skiers race down a rolling, twisting course at the same time.
Try it here: Summit at Snoqualmie. The Triple 60 run at Summit Central is where current Olympian Patrick Deneen honed the skills that won him the moguls world championship last season.
The Summit’s ski school is equipped to teach the freestyle disciplines in private lessons.
Cost: $75 for one hour, $130 for two hours or $174 for three hours.
Info: summitatsnoqualmie.com
HOCKEY
The sport: A fast-paced and physical game where teams of six try to shoot a puck into their opponent’s goal.
Try it here: Puget Sound Hockey Center or the Greater Seattle Hockey League. Tacoma’s Puget Sound Hockey Center offers numerous ways to sample hockey from the Rainier Hockey League to drop-in games on Friday nights.
The GSHL has 100 teams that play games at rinks between Kent and Everett, with players ranging from beginners to former professionals.
Both organizations offer learn-to-play programs.
Cost: Puget Sound Hockey Center’s learn-to-play program is $195. The GSHL program is $300. Gear will set you back at least an additional $300. The PSHC has long-term gear rentals starting at $50.
Info: Call PSHC at 253-272-1757. For the GSHL visit gshockey.com
SNOWBOARDING
The sport: Snowboarders compete in halfpipe, snowboard cross and parallel giant slalom. In halfpipe, boarders perform stunts as they launch themselves high above the walls of the pipe. In snowboard cross four riders race down a rolling course. And parallel giant slalom is the snowboarding version of its skiing counterpart except to boarders race at the same time.
Try it here: The Summit at Snoqualmie is the state’s most popular snowboarding playground. The Summit is offering a series of snowboarding clinics that will help people learn how to ride in the halfpipe and on other park features. The classes are March 6-7 and 13-14.
Cost: $125
Info: summitatsnoqualmie.com
SKI JUMPING AND NORDIC COMBINED
The sport: In ski jumping, competitors launch themselves the length of a football field. In the Nordic combined, the ski jumper finish with a cross-country race.
Try it here: The Leavenworth Ski Hill offers the only Nordic ski jump in the state. Neither of their two hills are even close to the size of the Olympic towers. A helmet is required. The ski area also has cross-country trails, a small alpine hill and a sledding area.
Cost: $12 or $10 for half day.
Info: skileavenworth.com
SPEEDSKATING:
The sport: The Olympics feature long- and short-track speedskating. Their names explain only one of the differences in the sport. In long track, two speedskaters race in separate lanes reaching speeds faster than 35 mph. Short track is more manic, held on a smaller rink where collisions, falls and disqualifications are common.
Try it here: Puget Sound Hockey Center. Olympians Apolo Ohno and J.R. Celski both took to the ice for the first time here. Rink director Donna Kaufman says speedskating is offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Former South Korean national team coach Chang Ho Lee coaches the program.
Cost: $10 for ice time plus lesson fees. Kaufman says call for pricing.
Info: 253-272-1757
craig.hill@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/olympics
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