Estonian-Canadian skiier Tiiu Nurmberg, skiing internationally for Estonia as the lone member of the nation's alpine skiier is not getting the press that her cross-country compatriots are getting, but she is certainly notching some very impressive results. The highlight of the season so far has to be considered her victory last week, on March 3rd Tiiu took the gold in the women's giant slalom at Collingwood, the fourth stop on the Pontiac GMC Cup alpine skiing circuit. The Pontiac GMC Cup circuit is a developmental circuit for skiers who aspire to compete at the World and Olympic level. This year's crop is expected to be in its prime for the 2010 Vancouver/Whistler Winter Olympics - Tiiu's stated goal.

Her winning time a tCollingwood of 1:42.35 was convincing in a sport where a few hundredths of a second can mean being out of the medals. Larisa Yurkiw of Owen Sound took silver in 1:42.53, and nepean's Kristyn Hope, who skis with the Ontario Alpine Ski team was third in 1:42.55. It was neat to see her name in the winner's column, followed by Estonia.

Tiiu Nurmberg told reporters that she was looking for a good feeling on her skis. She said "I wasn't totally comfortable on the frst run but I decided to go all out on the second." Go all out she did, as she has throughout the season.

Her coach Ken Ellis notes that technically Tiiu's skiing is very strong, much work is being done in honing her competitive spirit, having her produce her best performances in competitions. The strategy is working - Tiiu has had some very good results at the National FIS level - 6 top 10 finishes, the best a pair of 4ths, one in December in the slalom at Cannon USA, the other in January, in the GS at Mont Tremblant.

At the Provincial FIS level she has done really well. At the Ontario Provincial FIS Championships in Februaryshe won the slalom and took second place in the overall standings.

Her best results this year have come in the slalom. She started the season with "73" points and has now lowered her points to "50", in the process lowering her world ranking by 38%. Coach Ellis believes that Tiiu can continue reducing her slalom pionts by an additional 10+ points, which would result in another significant improvement in world rankings.

Tiiu has also skiied very well in the Super G and is aiming for a goal of under 70 FIS points by the end of the season. The GS remains her strongest event, as evidenced by the Pontiac GMC Cup victory. Ellis is confident that we will see continued improvement in points and world rankings this season there as well.
As winter winds up in Canada Tiiu will be racing at the Nor-Ams in Ontario and the Canadian championships at Mte. St. Anne. From there she is setting her sights abroad.

In April Tiiu will be competing at the Finnish National Championships, as well as doing some national FIS races there, possibly also in Sweden. From Finland it is but short trip to Estonia, where she is planning to be in mid April to meet with Estonian trainers of the Eesti Suusa Liit (Estonian Ski Association) and the Estonian Olympic Committee.

The next weeks will be intense - both from the travelling and competitive perspective. Having a recent victory under her belt will do much to boost her confidence. Tiiu and her coach are very well aware that this is a long-term project, much work remains to be done on the long road to the Olympics, but if this year is any indication, giant strides are being taken on the hills.

Those interested in becoming part of the Tiiu Nurmberg sponsorship team are encouraged to contact her coach, Ken Ellis:

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