NEXT RACE: Winterberg World Cup #5

Next Race - Winterberg Germany

When:       This Saturday - January 4, 2014
Where:     Winterberg, Germany
Time:        5:45 a.m. & 7:15 a.m. MST, Heat Start Times
Start #:     Noelle starts 7th off
Watch Online:      Heat 1 on YouTube:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf28N7m5Pok
                                           Heat 2 on YouTube:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIMG8-QDC_Y

Insider Info

Noelle Pikus-Pace is feeling good this week. Her back has been healthy so far, she has a tender hamstring but is working through it carefully. Annie O'Shea - USA flew in for this race because Katie is trying to recover from her head injury from sliding preseason.

Olympic Qualification:

Noelle is in a good spot right now ranked 4th in the World and 1st in the US. The Olympic team is not officially named until after the Igls, Austria race on January 18th, but it would take some real opposition to keep her out right now.

Here are Noelle's past results here on the Winterberg track and the competitors to look out for in the race:

2004: Noelle Pikus-Pace 1st Place
2007: Noelle Pikus-Pace 3rd Place
2012: Noelle Pikus-Pace 3rd Place

Competitors to look out for:

Shelley Rudman -GBR
Anja Huber - GER
Melissa Hollingsworth - CAN
Lizzy Yarnold - GBR

Christmas in Germany!!

Christmas Break in Frankfurt!!

If you remember our story last year about meeting the missionaries in the grocery store, then you might understand why we decided to spend Christmas here near Frankfurt, near the missionaries and the Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We planned a location near Elder and Sister Eyre (pronounced air) of Wyoming and have enjoyed every minute of it!

We were welcomed quickly by accompanying them and Elder and Sister Gubler to our first Christmas market of the year. We met them in Friedrichsdorf and hopped on a train down to Wiesbaden where there was a pretty awesome Christmas market!

The next morning, while adjusting to our new time zone, we woke up early and went with the Eyre's to the Christmas market in Bad Homburg. This small town has a beautiful castle and a small market around it during Christmas. Inside they had more vendors and a little, yet very powerful authentic steam engine that was actually giving kids and adults rides around the tower.

We spent Christmas morning in the presence of about 40 senior missionaries who are serving mostly in 2 different offices here in Germany. We had a great time and a wonderful breakfast. French toast, parfaits, hot chocolate, breakfast casserole and plenty more to bring home the memories and aroma of great tasting food. We will be on our way up north to Winterberg on Friday for the race to take place the following Saturday on January 4th.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The Pace Family with Elder & Sister Eyre and Elder and Sister Gubler in Wiesbaden.

 Bad Homburg Christmas market

 Elder & Sister Eyre and the AWESOME CHRISTMAS DINNER Sunday after church.

 My family traded me for a nutcracker!

 Noelle & Lacee on our Christmas Eve talent show.

 Our humble little Christmas tree! We were excited we even had one!

 In front of our apartment in Usingen.

Frankfurt lunch in the courtyard.

Steam engine in Bad Homburg!

Lake Placid Skeleton Race Results!!!

Lake Placid Skeleton World Cup Results

About the Lake Placid Track:

Length to finish: 1455 m 

Length to end of track: 1680 m 

Curves: 19 

Maximum G Forces: 5.1 

Maximum Speed: 130 km/h 

Average Grade: 8.6%

The first track was built in 1930 for the 1932 Olympics and remained there in use until about 1980 when they built a new track for the 1980 Olympics. In the late 90's parts of both of those tracks were torn apart to make way for the new track to be complete by 2000 for the Goodwill games.  The old track still remains but is not in use. Lake Placid is the location of the Olympic Training Center and houses hundreds of athletes.

Friday - Women's Skeleton Race #1

Noelle Pikus-Pace finished the race with the 2 fastest runs and claimed the Gold Medal!! Anja Huber of Germany finished 2nd and Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain finished 3rd.

Sunday - Women's Skeleton Race #2

With a small delay on the bobsled/skeleton track (the groove was sending sleds crooked from the start, they sent down about 20 forerunners (practice sleds) and still couldn't fix the problem). So the race was shortened down to a 1 heat race.  Noelle was having fun and just enjoying her last run down the Lake Placid track. She finished with the 3rd fastest run and claimed the Bronze Medal for that race. Janine Flock of Austria took 2nd (Congratulations to Janine, that was her first podium finish!) and Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain finished 1st.

Pictures of Our Lake Placid World Cup Week

 Happy Birthday Noelle! 31 years old on Dec 8, there's no turning back now!!!

 Traycen getting a little Luge training in the OTC (Olympic Training Center) gym.

 Our AMAZING hosts (Bob & Karen Peters) and adopted parents let us help cut down and decorate their Christmas tree.

 Lacee holding the Gold Medal flowers after the skeleton race on Friday.

 Traycen wanted the helmet on after the race and wouldn't let me take it off for quite a while.

The kids found some fresh snow and started eating and playing. All during the race, I couldn't get them to come watch, they were busy turning into snowkids!!

Lake Placid Race WC #3 & #4

Lake Placid Skeleton World Cup Race #3 & #4

IF THERE IS NO VIDEO?????  Watch the times post from the link below:
http://www.fibt.com/races-results/results/live-results.html (this will not show up until race time)

Lake Placid World Cup Race 1

When:      Friday December 13, 2013

Start #:   Noelle will go off 15th on her first run.

Heat #1:  10:04 a.m. MST  -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rPnEuD8YRs
Heat #2:  12:19 p.m. MST  -  http://www.youtube.com/user/bobskeletv/featured

Lake Placid World Cup Race 2

When:      Sunday December 15, 2013

Heat #1:  7:00 a.m. MST  -  http://www.YouTube.com/user/bobskeletv/featured
Heat #2:  8:30 a.m. MST  -   Universal Sports TV

And the Last Shall be First!! :)

Park City & Track Records

12 Years of nothing even close to the record. I don't think anyone got within a half a second since then.

Starting #24 (Dead Last) Noelle Pikus-Pace blasted down the track with her supersonic, cold fusion, hybrid tape and set a TRACK RECORD!!! 49.80 from the previous 49.91.

Now starting #20 (Dead Last Again, this time a good thing) Noelle Pikus-Pace blasted down the track with her injection turbo, NASA confounding, self generating TAPE and set another track record of 49.74! Finishing in first place and claiming the Gold Medal!

If you couldn't watch it, IT WAS AWESOME!!! If you weren't there, IT WAS EVEN AWESOMER!!! My voice still hasn't fully recovered. if you completely missed it, SHAME ON YOU!!! :)

Thank you everyone for your support, we had a great time and were ready to keep it going this week in Lake Placid.  Check out some of the awesome pictures from the race below.

Lake Placid Races will be on Friday and Sunday this week.  I'll update that shortly.

Die Hard Noelle Pikus-Pace Fans. (Heads compliments of Mt. Crane)

 Noelle Pikus-Pace with her new and improved load.

 Noelle Pikus-Pace's first track record with her biggest fan in the sunglasses! :)

 Noelle Pikus-Pace celebrating after her track record first run!

 Noelle Pikus-Pace celebrating after her gold medal performance!

 Noelle Pikus-Pace in the winners box!

 Me (Janson Pace) with the kids right after the race.

 Noelle Pikus-Pace with her gold medal! (with Sarah Reid, Lizzy Yarnold, Shelly Rudman, Michelle Steele and Elaina Nikitina)

 Noelle Pikus-Pace on her throne! Where she rightfully belongs!

Me and Noelle after the race!  Happy Moment!

Park City Race

World Cup Race Park City - Women's Skeleton

https://m.youtube.com/user/bobskeletv

COME WATCH NOELLE PIKUS-PACE ON HER HOME TRACK!!! 

This will most likely be her last race in Park City and she needs all of the support she can get from last weeks BLUNDER in Calgary.  Please come and make some NOISE!!!

Where:  Park City, UT
When:   Friday, December 6, 2013
Time:    10:15 a.m. - Heat 1 Noelle 11:00, 12:15 p.m. Heat 2 Noelle 1:00
Awards:  Will take place about 40 min after the last sled (1:40ish)
Watch:  Click "Live Race Online" (Yellow Box above)
Cost:      FREE!!! If you are going up to watch there is no charge :)
Start #:    It looks like Noelle will be going off last due to the 0 points that were stolen last week :(

Going to the Utah Olympic Park?

If you are going to Park City to see the skeleton race, they have asked that you park at the bottom (before the gate arm) and they will shuttle everyone to the start or finish of the track.

Thanks for your support!!

Glory & Unfairness

Gold in Calgary!!

Noelle after rightfully winning the race!

Note the tape under the thumb.

The Case

As many of you may know already Noelle posted the fastest combined time for the World Cup race in Calgary last Friday and was named the winner.  Shortly after, the British team complained about something on Noelle's handle (a  nickle sized piece of tape that is used as a marker for placement of Noelle's hand on her handle, see pic above).  It was put in the minds of the jury that this piece of tape was considered an extra handle, which it clearly is not.  The jury then proceeded with a sled inspection, which consisted of pointing out this piece of tape being an extra handle which is not allowed. Noelle's sled went into a pre-race inspection earlier that week where the sled passed the inspection with this piece of tape and had not been altered.  When the jury asked the sled inspector if this was on the sled, he pronounced that it was not there during the inspection, or he would not have passed the sled off. We assured him that it was indeed there, but had not been noticed. We provided evidence that earlier that day Noelle had slid in training with it present and brought it into sled inspection right after training.
We were denied our argument and instead of using a warning or a fine, they decided to jump straight to disqualification from the race.

Emotions & Integrity

As you can tell we are devistated by this result and false accusation. It has been difficult to deal with having a DSQ next to your name when you know that you are in the right and did nothing wrong. The rules are very very vague and have been interpreted poorly, resulting in Noelle's DSQ. We have worked very hard to maintain a good reputation and have done nobody harm in what we do and what we stand for. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions from anger to peace and back again. Our integrity means much more than trying to sneak a piece of tape on the handle past the jury, there is no real added value by having it there.

Hypothetical

Lets use a hypothetical scenario here and assume that this piece of tape is indeed an extra handle and that it was not present in the inspection. So this would mean that we did break a rule and should pay a price for it. Now, does this piece of tape, which offers no advantage to Noelle as she slides down the track, merit a warning? a fine? or a DSQ?

The Real Penalty

So the real kicker here is receiving "0" points for that race.  That now puts her ranked 63rd in the world and makes it that much more difficult to qualify for the Olympics.  There is definitely an added pressure to do good in every race and allows no room for errors. (For a description on what Noelle must do to qualify for the Olympics click here or click the yellow box "Olympic Qualifications" at the top of the screen.) Here we are again chasing points, just as we did in 2006 after Noelle was hit by the bobsled.

Thank You

Now I want to take a moment and thank everyone for their thoughts, comments, prayers, encouragement and concern on our behalf. We are truly grateful for the support that we have and believe that we can move on and get past this rough moment. We believe that there is a real battle of good and evil taking place on this earth, and we stand strong in our belief that we are on the side fighting for good. We have a great army of help and encouragement to help us every step of the way. So Thank You!!!

Race is starting in 4 min.

Sorry that the video is not working.
You can view live postings here:

http://www.fibt.com/races-results/results/live-results.html

Thanks and sorry again!

Skeleton Race Tomorrow

World Cup Race Calgary - Women's Skeleton

After the race draw today, Noelle's name drew #7 and Katie will be going 8th.  We have had a good day of training and hope for Noelle and Katie to both finish in the top 6.  That's the goal this race.  Thanks for your support!

Where:  Calgary, Alberta Canada
When:  Friday, November 29, 2013 (Day after thanksgiving, opponents trying to slow the US down)
Time:  1:15 p.m. MST - Heat 1, 3:30 p.m. MST - Heat 2
Watch:  Click Link Above "Live Race Online"

Calgary Race Day & Crooked Backs!

1st World Cup Race - Women's Skeleton

Where:  Calgary, Alberta Canada
When:  Friday, November 29, 2013 (Day after thanksgiving, opponents trying to slow the US down)
Time:  1:15 p.m. MST - Heat 1, 3:30 p.m. MST - Heat 2
Watch:  Click Link Above "Live Race Online"

 Noelle threw her back out on Saturday stopping her sled.  She has 3 herniated discs that keep acting up.  She has been resting and working to back healthy for race day. (She's not faking the crooked back, if she is, she has me fooled and she is going to pay for it! :) If all else fails, she will be able to at least lay on her sled to finish the race, but we're hoping for better.

 This is the view the Racers have from the start of the Calgary track.

 Lacee doing what she loves to do on the Water slide! We have swim lessons everyday.

Just an idea on how to entertain your kids while grocery shopping.  I didn't recommend this, Traycen just started doing it on his own.

Airport Rodeo to Calgary :)

Calgary in Sights!

We had a long week of commercial shooting with our new Sponsor AT&T! (Stay tuned for some pics of the shoot later). It took up the whole week and left us only Friday to pack and get ready for our now 2 week trip to Calgary for the first Skeleton World Cup race of the season.

Airport Rodeo Caught Live!!!

Reminder..... NEXT WEEK!!

1st World Cup Race - Women's Skeleton

Where:  Calgary, Alberta Canada
Temperature: 9° F (Feels like -12°, don't believe me? look it up, IT'S COLD!!)
When:  Friday, November 29, 2013 (Day after thanksgiving, opponents trying to slow the US down)
Time:  10:15 a.m. - Heat 1, 12:30 p.m. Heat 2
Watch:  On YouTube (Direct Link to come soon)

Below you will find some pics of us finally relaxing a little on our way to Calgary.

Just a little crazy with 2 kids

13° Costco trip = Instant nose crystals!

Noelle caught an awesome view of the track (on her new AT&T LG G2 Smartphone) with the snow-makers in the background.

That's right! Our hotel has a pool and a slide!  The kids love it!

US Skeleton National Trials Race 4: Park City

Race 4 Finished a week ago with Noelle winning the 4th and final National Team Trials race.  For some reason it always seems harder to update the blog when we're home. But here are a few pictures from that night.

Thank you everyone for coming out to support Noelle!  There was an amazing crowd, one that would rival the Olympic crowd! 98% of which was there for Noelle!  Check out the night below.

 Noelle is waving to the enormous crowd at the start, just after she loaded onto her sled! 

 Noelle Pikus-Pace after her 4th and final run!

 Noelle Pikus-Pace having fun with some of the fans!

 This is just a portion of the many people there to cheer Noelle on!

This is the Noelle's perspective as she gets ready to slide down the track.  It looks pretty intimidating knowing that all of these people are expecting you to do your best!  She does a great job at that!

US Skeleton National Trials Race 3: Park City

Park City Skeleton Race #3
Race #3 is done and Noelle claims victory!  Inspite of the race time change we still had a great turnout of fans there to support Noelle Pikus-Pace.  Thank you all for coming!!

Park City Skeleton Race #4
When: Tuesday October 29, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Where: Utah Olympic Park

Where's Noelle? See if you can find her.  She is in 2 out of the 3 Pictures.

Here is most of our small crowd of Fans for today!