NAC Whistler – Week 1 of International Competition 2024/25

Date: Nov. 27, 2024

Location: Whistler, BC

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The team and I just wrapped up our first week of international competition on our home track in Whistler, BC! (I was hoping to post this on Nov. 27, but got caught up in the following race week!)

A typical bobsleigh season includes at least eight races. Teams can choose to compete in any combination of races on the World Cup circuit or the development circuits: the Europe Cup (EC) and North American Cup (NAC). The selection of races is often a strategic decision balancing cost, athlete development, and international ranking.

A pilot’s overall ranking is determined by their top eight results in each discipline. To ensure North American athletes have an equal opportunity to earn points, the NAC circuit features four tour stops across the three tracks in North America, with one location hosting a second event. Each race week on the NAC circuit includes two races per discipline.

A typical race week looks like this:

Day 1	Training Day – 2 runs down the track
Day 2	Training Day – 2 runs down the track
Day 3	Training Day – 3 runs down the track
Day 4	2Man Race #1 – 2 heat race
Day 5	2Man Race #2 – 2 heat race
Day 6	Training Day – 2 runs down the track
Day 7	4Man Race #1 – 2 heat rtace
Day 8	4Man Race #2 – 2 heat race

So as of right now, my team has completed the first of four NAC stops planned for the season. We began in Whistler and are now on our way to Park City, Utah (Salt Lake City), have a break over Christmas, return to Park City, and then end the season in Lake Placid, NY.

Overall it was a pretty successful week in Whistler. My 2man brakeman is Kenny M’Pindou. Kenny was my brakeman last year during my rookie season. Being a brakeman for a rookie/developing pilot is far from glamourous. We were in old beat up sleds, the guy he was trusting to keep him safe was just trying to keep the sled upright, and there wasn’t exactly a long line of backups waiting to give him a day off. So it is exciting for us this season to feel like we can begin to compete for some better results together.

After the first heat of Race #1 in the 2man event we were sitting in third place behind an American and a Canadian team, both of which had pilots with 10+ years of experience (only 0.03 behind the guy currently in 2nd)! Very exciting!… too exciting.. I learned a little bit about myself that day, unfortunately at the expense of our finish place.

The way a two-heat race works is that the start order is either randomly drawn, based off prior rank, or a combination of the two. To go early in the order is often considered an advantage because the ice is still fresh and is typically faster. We were second off that day! We finished our first run and sled after sled came down slower than us. For the second heat, the start order is reverse rank based on times from the first heat. In other words, the fastest sleds go last. This meant that in a 15 sled race we were second off in the first heat and third last in the second heat. That is a long time to think about only being 0.03s slower than the current second place sled.

“Focus” I thought. “Focus. Focus. Focus. You Can do this.”
I spent a little over an hour and a half trying to keep myself focused on the upcoming second heat. This was in addition to the 45min I spent before the start of the race trying to get into the zone. So I had now spent two hours and fifteen minutes trying to focus and not let my mind wander. The longer I went trying to focus, the more mental energy it consumed, fatiguing my brain, making it easier for my brain to wander and continuing the cycle of straining to stay focused.

The lesson learned was that I needed to allow my brain to rest between heats, the same way I make a point of lowering my heart rate between heats. Unfortunately, this epiphany came to me after the frustration of throwing the second run away and dropping 3 spots into 6th.

The nice thing about the densely packed race schedule of the NAC is that you feel as though you get a chance to redeem yourself the following day. I definitely took some time to be frustrated with my performance, but as the night progressed I shifted into focusing on how I would act differently if I was ever in a similar situation.

The next day we were given that exact chance. We were drawn to go third off and my first run went really smoothly. We came down in third place after the first heat and I was given the opportunity to approach the same scenario as the day before. I took my headphones, disappeared from all the noise of the start house where all of the other athletes are, and found a quiet place to listen to some calming music and enjoy the views of the mountains. I spent about 25 minutes out there before beginning my warm up again and starting to ramp up my focus on the upcoming run.

It worked! I arrived at the line feeling alert, focused, and ready to drive. A third place finish and my first podium as a pilot! This was a cheap lesson to learn early on in my career when the cost was relatively low m. I suppose that if it was a lesson I had to learn, it was better to learn it sooner than later.

Following the double header 2man races we had a single day of training before the double header 4man races! It was the first time racing in an international event for my remaining crew members: Brandon, Tobi, and D’Andre! Tobi and D’Andre took a single race each, and Brandon and Kenny competed in both. We pushed well as a team, they got in the sled with minimal issues, and our riding position (aerodynamics) was pretty good! In a 4man race there is a lot that can go horribly wrong during that first five seconds that can cost the team the day before it has really even begun. That was not the case however! We concluded the race week with a 5th and a 3rd place finish in the 4man races!

We are off to Park City, UT for the next stop on tour.