Sunshine and Broken Ribs

The season has begun! I took part in two FIS races at Copper Mountain, a two day GS series. Unfortunately, both days ended prematurely as I managed to jar my knee coming through the middle section of the course on the first day, and landing hard the second day leading to a hairline fracture on a rib on my left. All taped up and ready to get back to training now, I've found that the best way to address to mobility issues the injury brought up is to stretch, for hours at a time while listening to old jazzy music.

Here's a picture of me looking rather happy on the first day of racing. The weather cooperated, giving us two days of wonderful racing on possibly one of the best surfaces i've had the privilege of shredding down. Hopefully we'll be seeing more races coming after winter break, with lots of confidence leading into the bulk of the season. I'm hoping to lay out qualification as soon as possible, and the pre-fall moments of the last couple of races showed that it's a goal well within reach.

Ski Malaysia in Motion

Here's a video from last season, to provide an idea of the speed and accuracy required for Ski Racing. Follow my channel, Othman Mirzan on YouTube for more video blogs and updates about our progress.

Here Comes the Snow

As we come into the end of November, the ski season switches over from Dryland training to actual on-hill skiing. Very exciting. I'll be heading up tomorrow for the first day of training for Slalom, preparing myself for the speed and excitement once again. With races coming thick and fast these next few weeks and at the beginning of next semester, I hope to achieve my long term goal of qualification for the Winter Olympics as soon as possible, which would help free up my schedule to focus on promoting winter sports throughout Malaysia.

In my time playing competitive sport, i've come across lots of sports that push the individual to be better, but none more so than ski racing. The sport has an individual facing off against the most bitter of conditions, while making decisions in a split second with apparent danger every second. On top of this, there is the element of competition where races are decided by tenths and hundredths of seconds. Competing against others and your own personal best results is an element that I find most challenging, knowing that the margin for error is incredibly small and passing by at such rapid speeds. It's a sport that heightens all senses, in the process allowing the athlete to find out more about what they are capable of.

I hope, that with the right work and direction, ski racing and the values that it promotes will reach a larger audience in Malaysia. A tough task certainly, but not one that I find to be out of reach.

What's This About Anyway

In September 2014, I made the decision to focus my attention on learning how to Alpine Ski Race. Coming from a background of all-mountain skiing and a skill set that promoted skiing in difficult terrain, Alpine Ski Racing came as a shock to the system. Skiing out of Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine, I honed the basics alongside Doug Williams, Chip Cochrane and Sean Chantillard, top quality coaches that helped me to get up to speed quickly and effectively. With firm goals in mind for qualification and competence in the sport, I set about entering races and seeing how my performance stacked up against my goals. After a stutter at the start of the season, I found myself finishing 40 points from my intended goal (roughly 10 points per second faster), which set me up well for the coming season where I would hopefully race more and qualify for the ultimate goal of the Winter Olympic Games in 2018.

Raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I had often idolized the successful sportsmen and women of our small, but proud nation. Though the gold medal in the Olympic Games remains an elusive prize for Malaysia (and I don't believe Alpine Skiing is our best bet at getting it, though it would certainly be special), I hope that by expanding our horizons on the world stage of sport we will become more competitive across the board. It is my sincere hope that our struggle and journey will ignite a desire amongst the youth today to be better, in sports and in their lives.

Currently, I'm preparing for the 2015/16 Winter Season, at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The facilities and proximity to some of the best mountains and resorts in the world mean that CU Boulder is the perfect platform on which to launch our Olympic bid. Come late November, I'll be reigniting the on-snow drive to do better, preparing for races come early next year and hopefully reaching or getting closer to our target of 140 FIS points, the Olympic Qualification level. I hope that you, the reader, will join me on this journey of celebration for Malaysian Sport.

-Othman Mirzan

Introduction

Malaysia has a long and illustrious history of competing at the highest level of athletics, at the Olympic Games. However, in our long history, Malaysia has never raised it's flag at the Winter Olympics. This is the goal that we wish to accomplish, at Ski Malaysia and personally as the first hopeful Winter Olympian in Alpine Skiing.

In this blog, I'll be documenting my progress through the qualification process. A long season awaits, with clear goals set that will see me prepare for the Asian Winter Games and the World Championships in 2017, before hopefully reaching my ultimate goal of competing at the Winter Olympics in 2018. Currently enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder, I've found myself in a unique position to train and race amongst the best university skiers in America and indeed the World, in a bid to get the results to mark a new chapter in Malaysian Sporting History.

Thank you for joining me on this journey, subscribe/favorite this blog to keep up with the latest in pushing the envelope for Malaysian sport.