Rose and the X-Factor

.)) From Ski Racing online

Raising the bar for junior success — specifically girls — is the main goal for the USSA alpine department, so having a camp just for the J2 girls seems like a good way to get started, and SRD Team racer Rose Caston was there.

“We’re calling it the X Factor. Do you know why? Because women have an X chromosome,” said USSA Competition Director Walt Evans. Last week, five of the top female juniors in the country — Lauren Samuels, Abby Ghent, Foreste Peterson, Rose Caston and Jackie Meier — met at Mammoth for the “X Factor” camp. The main goal at the junior level continues to be broadening the skills base, but at the same time moving the athletes forward, which was the purpose of X Factor.

Though competitors, the five girls came to this camp open to new experiences and came away with better skills and new friends. The girls fine tuned the fundamentals, focusing on balance and stance, specifically for giant slalom and super G races. They were also able to work in with the Development team, which was training during that week, and be exposed to the athletes and take away pointers from the D team coaches.