Speedskating in Sardinia

November 2005

I first met Sebastian Baumgartner in 2004, when he came to London to spend some time with Eddy Matzger.  Sebastian needs no introduction and is well known for his quality training camps in Sardinia, amongst many other accomplishments.  At the time I was really impressed with his instructor skills, and since then always wanted to attend one of his workshops.

A German workshop?

Since the camp is organised by Experts-in-Speed, you might expect that most of the camp would be run in German.  Wrong, it was almost entirely English, and I expect this may have surprised the Germans on the workshop.  With just under 50 participants, 15 of those from LondonSkaters Speed Team, and most of the German folk speaking English anyway, perhaps not so surprising after all.

Daily schedule

The workshop was extremely well organised and planned, and the whole week ran like clockwork with a published schedule of daily activities, usually covering technique training in the morning, followed by either a skate tour or a video review session in the afternoon.  Evenings would usually have a lecture on subjects such as weight lifting for endurance, nutrition, and mental strength.

Most early mornings before breakfast there were tai-chi and swimming lessons, I'm ashamed to say I usually just managed to wake up for a rushed breakfast and immediate departure on the coach, but otherwise I'd have liked to take part in more.

During the technical sessions we'd each be assigned to a particular instructor, usually the same one.  On the first day we'd been split up into groups based very roughly on our skating ability and fastest marathon times.  This worked brilliantly, both for the technique and the tours in the afternoon, where the groups would go a distance and speed appropriate to the abilities of their members.  I tended to drop to a slower group for the afternoon tours since I was sick with a cold and didn't want to hammer my body too much.

Video Review

This was probably the highlight of the week, with Sebastian's awesome video review setup.  He's built a large metal mirror that fits behind a Sprinter van, together with a video camera mounted on the towbar.  The camera is then remote controlled by Sebby, who also has a radio-microphone so he can skate behind you and make comments for the video, whilst you can skate and watch yourself in the mirror.  Whilst all this is going on, the driver does a steady speed with minor speed adjustments depending on the ability of the skater.  The whole system works very well, and is an amazing way to watch yourself skate, check your corrections, and get top quality feedback on your stride.

I'd say the entire camp is worth it just for the video review.  I wonder if there's anything even nearly as good anywhere else in the world?  Unfortunately the weather wasn't ideal, and we ended up having to skip the second session of video review, instead replaced by a rain skate tour.

Fun and party time

Ouch, there was almost too much of this.  Wednesday evening was the local flavour trip, with local food, dancing, and lots of drunkenness.  I didn't indulge too much, but others did, to the extent that the bus had to keep stopping all the way back from Thiesi.  Saturday's party at the end of the workshop?  I'll say no more, far too much drunkenness, that was quite likely party of the decade for me.

One of the highlights of each day for me was the "Gav and Sebby" show on the bus microphone.  I'm not sure professional comedians could better their show, LOL!

Skating in Sardinia

In Italy skating isn't permitted on the road, perhaps because skates are considered toys.  That said, Experts in Speed have a dispensation for the training camps, as each group of skaters is under the control of an instructor/group leader.  It did amuse me to see this graffiti on the local skate park:  "Skate is not a crime".  We saw the odd local skater too, but usually when we were on the bus.

Getting there

Easy via one of the budget airlines flights to Alghero Airport.  Most of us flew RyanAir from Stanstead, and owned the back of the plane.  We got quite a few strange looks from the other passengers as many of us were wearing LSST jackets and carrying our skates.  Sebastian organises the coach to pick you up from Alghero Airport, and it's all taken care of from there.

In Conclusion

I was thoroughly wow'd by Sebastian's speed camp, and I'm going to do my best to go again in 2006.  The price was a little under 700 euros, which is very cheap considering the quality of the hotel, and that all the food and transport is laid on.  I think that many of us got away with spending less than 50 euros during the week, mostly on quality coffee and some alchohol.

The final Saturday was another highlight of the week, with a 45km skate tour up towards Stintino, followed by a swim in the Mediterranean.  Although it was November, the sea was nice and warm, rather warmer than the air, and very welcome after a nice long skate.  After lunch we were back on the bus for the ride to the hotel and preparation for the party.

Useful links

Experts-in-Speed

LondonSkaters Speed Team

Speedteam Freiburg

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