Website updates and new results Beaver Creek, Colorado proved to be a good venue for me again this year. After training speed at Lake Louise, I felt like I could attack the Birds of Prey DH course in the Super Combined. We had only one training run due to weather, but I managed a time in the DH that set me up for the Slalom leg where I finished 10th. That added up to 17th overall, a personal best in WC competition. I hope the folks at President’s Choice enjoyed seeing the PC on my helmet in Canada and the US. Now, I am in Europe preparing for the Slaloms at Bad-Kleinkirchheim and Alta Badia before the Christmas break. My site now has updated sponsors, articles, photos and videos. As well, the TV schedule for this season is up. Check it out! 2007-12-05 - 14:25:35 PST Off to a good start. The first trip to Europe for the 07/08 season was a good one. I won back to back FIS/Europa Cup races in the indoor complex at Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is a huge confidence boost. Indoor racing was a new experience. The runs were shorter, and, obviously, the weather was perfect all the time. The first World Cup Slalom of the year was supposed to have been in Levi, Finland, but snow conditions caused the change to Reiteralm, Austria. I know and like this hill near Schladming. Qualifying for the second run was the step I had to make starting from number 45. Finishing 28th gave me a good start position for the second leg and, with over a metre of new snow in Austria, it was important. Finishing 28th in the race was solid despite a huge mistake in the middle that cost me over a second. Moving on with a few WC points and a lot of confidence going in to this season. 2007-11-15 - 10:21:15 PST Wind Tunnel…and cars… While down east, I had the opportunity to train in the General Motors facility outside of Detroit, where vehicles are tested for aerodynamics. Every advantage for increased speed is critical in ski racing. I tested downhill suits, helmets and physical positioning in front of a fan the size of a two-story building. The sensors on the floor under my skis reported the data that showed me the most efficient tuck. I appreciate the work of the technicians there for their skill and attention. And, you can’t go to GM without playing with cars. I took the defensive driving course with a driving coach. We pushed cars to their limits maneuvering through skids and spins. I'm sure the Driving Force will be happy with my new skills while I am behind the wheel of their vehicles... 2007-11-15 President's Choice I am so happy to announce a new headgear sponsor. I now wear PRESIDENTS CHOICE on my helmet. This company stepped up as a team sponsor as well, and recognized the need for athletes to be well nourished as we train and compete at national and international levels. Many thanks to the great people at Presidents Choice for the way you welcomed me at the press conference in Toronto. I will represent you proudly. 2007-11-15 - 10:17:17 PST Summer is over…season begins… I realize how long it has been since updating you on my activities, but I know it has been busy and productive. The summer started with the ACA Tour of Champions road bike trip from Lake Louise to Whistler. We cycled in snow, rain and sun and symbolically paved the way to Whistler 2010. The repetitive motion resulted in tendonitis in my knee, but good physio has taken care of that. We returned to Argentina for summer technical training. It is amazing to be at the bottom of world in Ushuaia, the southernmost town on the planet. I gained strength and improved skills on excellent training runs. We trained with other nations and that gave me an opportunity to compare times against some of the best in the world, and I fared well in time trials. We competed in two South American Cup races where I earned a silver in a slalom. Home just three days and I was invited back to SA for training with the speed team in Chile. This was an amazing training opportunity for me. I stayed on my feet, unlike last year when I had a spectacular wreck in Portillo. I challenged and managed that same jump this time with precision and confidence. This sets me up for competing in the World Cup Super Combined races this season. Again, I had timed runs against my teammates and athletes from Austria and Norway and was not far behind guys with a lot of World Cup medals. Camp Green at Farnham Glacier again proved to be an outstanding facility for our team. Snow conditions and the tireless work of crews and coaches gave us countless runs simulating race conditions. Thanks also go out to the camp chefs, physio and medical staff, and the techs who kept us in shape and ready to start each day of training. I was back and forth to the camp in September and October and saw much improvement in my GS technique. I am off to Detroit this week to train in the wind tunnel at General Motors. It tells me that the coaches have added confidence in my DH. More on that later… And, there will be good news to report in late October. Website updates with new video, photos and media, as well sponsorship updates. 2007-10-22 - 14:55:58 PDT Great end to the year... Its definitely nice to be back in Canada for the last race series of the year. With such poor snow conditions in Europe all season, its nice to be back in winter. Even though we have been caught in the rain for the last week here in Whistler, all scheduled races at the Canadian Championships were completed and finished today. I am proud to be coming home as the 2007 Canadian Slalom Champion. After suffering from illness in Europe, I struggled to get my health back, and after several doctors and hospitals, came home from Europe a few pounds lighter but confident going into NorAm Finals and Canadian Championships. I was proud to represent Canada at the World Championships in Are, Sweden and was close to a career best result. After sitting in 20th position after the first run, I was winning the second run by half a second until crashing close to the finish. I know that I have to keep working on my consistency but I will always be going all out on every run and these things happen. I have proved that I can ski with the best in the world and I only want to work even harder to reach the podium. At Panorama two weeks ago for the North American Finals, I skied to a fifth place and a second place in the slaloms. I was really happy with these results coming back from being so sick. That momentum carried me to Whistler and I earned the National Slalom title ahead of my teammate, and now retired, Thomas Grandi. Today at our last event, I placed 7th in the Downhill and 2nd in the Combined. Next season has already begun and we will be on snow for the whole month of April testing all of the new equipment for next year. With World Cup points under my belt, I now can strive for even more and look forward to next race season already. Media Link: http://www.tsn.ca/skiing/news_story/?ID=200934&hubName=skiing 2007-03-27 - 14:23:55 PDT Where is the snow? With the lack of snow here in Europe, It's starting to look like we should move the whole World Cup circuit back to Canada. Its now the middle of January and our race schedule has literally changed daily. With the lack of snow and the Slalom cancelled in Wengen, I am now in Val D'Isere and have a scheduled Super-Combined for Sunday, but we have learned to stay ready for anything. The original Val D'Isere race was cancelled earlier this year and moved to Reiteralm, Austria but because of lack of snow in Chamonix we are back here again. They are actually flying in snow to Kitzbuhel from 90 km away in preparation for next week. People all over Europe are asking me how the snow is in Canada and with the few days I had at home during Christmas, and the snow reports I'm hearing, there seems to be a great ski season to be had in western Canada. As far as my race season has gone so far, I am proud to have stepped up another notch and earned World Cup points with my 20th place finish in Beaver Creek, Colorado. This was the next step for me and now I have refocussed and realized that the podium is within reach. With the entire Canadian Ski Team's success this year, everybody is riding this wave of momentum with a ton of confidence and the will to win. After the last two Slaloms in Alta Badia and Adelboden, I failed to complete these runs and crashed. My interval times and the level I was skiing at would have qualified me for the second run and put me in a solid top 30 position. I am training well and have nothing but confidence for the upcoming races. The next Slaloms will be in Kitzbuhel and Schladming and I am lucky to have my parents coming over to Europe to watch. I love being in the start gate and am always anxious for the next race. I am looking forward to the rest of a great season. The messages I have received in my guestbook are fantastic. Thank you so much for the support you have shown. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you all a snowy winter 2007-01-19 - 04:24:44 PST Go Canada! Well, I have reached my goal of Top 30 in a World Cup with a 20th place in the Slalom in Beaver Creek, CO. With a solid first run in 28th position, I started 3rd in the second run. With a fast intermediate time, and a big mistake just before the finish, I hung on to 20th spot and earned my first World Cup points. I am very happy to have reached this step and am hungrier than ever. I am confident in my skiing and very anxious for the next race. Well it has been an amazing couple of weeks for the Canadian Ski Team. With Manny's 2nd in the DH and Kucera winning the SG, both on home soil at Lake Louise. The bar was raised for the technical team but we rose to the occasion with Janyk's 2nd place in the Slalom at Beaver Creek. Even the women kept the momentum with Vanderbeek's bronze at Lake Louise. This is only the beginning of the season and we have a lot of racing left. This just gives us the opportunity to prove that Canadians are back as one of the dominant nations in ski racing. The support I have recieved has been amazing and I am so thankful. I am proud to display Banff Lodging Co. on my helmet again as well as Ski Banff Lake Louise Sunshine all over the world. The continued support from Rocky Mountain Telecom is very gracious and very much appreciated and I am always proud to be behind the wheel of a Driving Force vehicle. Its very motivating to have such a great community behind me and I am so thankful. Next races: WC Super-Combined- Reiteralm, Austria December 10 WC Slalom - Alta Badia, Italy December 18 2006-12-05 - 16:28:42 PST 1 1/100th of a second... 1 1/100th of second can be the difference between earning World Cup points and not qualifying for the second run. After the first World Cup race of the year in Levi, Finland, that was the difference between my 31st position and the Top 30. My finish was frustrating but not discouraging. My teammates held their own with two Top 8 results so it was a successful day for Canada. With the first race behind me, I proved that I am skiing well and the summer of training has been great. In August, I skied for three weeks in Ushuaia, Argentina and Portillo, Chile in perfect conditions. Ushuaia is at the southern-most tip of South America and at a low elevation so it was ideal to get a high volume of skiing. We had the opportunity to race in a South American Cup Slalom where I finished second behind Thomas Grandi. With hard snow and steep terrain, race simulated training was great. After two weeks, we moved to Chile to train with the downhill team. I was named to the Super-Combined team so I will be competing in the full circuit in two World Cup events. I did get a taste of the ugly side of downhill with a high speed crash off of a large jump. I was in the air for 70 meters before I hit the ground, and not on my feet. I was banged up but very lucky to stand up after that one. I continued to train for that week, with good success, but after more tests once I returned to Canada, I found that I had fractured my sternum and a rib. I had already proved that I could ski with this injury so I was not discouraged. With several weeks of intense physiotherapy and excellent training on the Farnham Glacier near Invermere, BC, we were all eager to race. Staying on the foot of the glacier in a temporary tent facility, we had easy access to as much training as we could get. The preparation phase is now over and it is officially race season. Our next stop will be Lake Louise where we will use the World Cup training runs as downhill training for the Super-Combined circuit. I am looking forward to the season and will keep in touch with news and results. Take care, thanks for visiting my site. Paul 2006-11-15 - 19:25:22 PST Welcome to paulstutz.com! New website launched Welcome to my new website. Here you will be able to find information about me and my skiing career. Be sure to check out the media pages for videos, photos, and wallpapers. Also stop by my messageboard and drop me a line. Thanks, Paul 2006-09-21