Inzell 2018

Welcome to the information page for the 2018 edition of Yeowie’s superfun summer ice camp

The 6th edition of Yeowie’s mostly-annual summer ice camp returns to beautiful Inzell for 9 fun-filled days of running, jumping, walking, ice cream eating, and (of course) ice skating in circles very fast.

Whether you’re a world cup skater needing to hone in on small technical details, or you just watched the Olympics and have decided that speed skating is your thing, there is a place for you on this camp. Every year, a small but dedicated group of enthusiastic speed skaters gathers for a summer camp where we train together and share ice time, stories, technical advice, as well as meals. By popular request, this year’s camp will focus heavily on technique development. Get in quick, places are limited!

Please get in contact with me to let me know you’re coming, and also leave a comment at the bottom of this page to let others know you are coming, and potentially coordinate travel and accommodation with them.

Here is a video that gives you an idea of what goes on at the camps:

The Deal

When:

9th to the 17th of July 2018 inclusive. I plan to have the first training on the morning of the 9th of July, so for travel purposes try to arrive in the evening of the 8th or earlier. The last training will be on the afternoon of the 17th. Friday the 13th of July will be a rest day. If you elect to attend only one half of the camp, then might I suggest the 5 days spanning the 9th to the 13th or the 13th to the 17th inclusive. I would, of course, prefer if people stay for the entirety of the camp. People are welcome to come as early as they want, or stay behind in Inzell for as long as they want, it is a very pleasant location. For those curious among you, I will be there from the 8th to the 22nd (taking a mini-holiday after the camp; goodness knows I’m going to need it)

Where:

The Max Aicher Arena is located at the southern end of Inzell, a small town in the southern Bavaria, close to the Austrian border. The closest airport is Salzburg (SZG) which is about 45 minutes from Inzell by car, followed by Munich (MUC) which is about 90 minutes from Inzell by car.

The most common ways of getting to my camp are to either fly to Salzburg, where pickup by car can be arranged, or fly to Munich, then take a train to Traunstein from which a pickup can be arranged (or a bus can be taken). If one lives sufficiently close to Inzell and has access to a car, one can also drive there. I will be driving from my home in Berlin.

Staying:

Inzell is home to a number of guesthouses and hotels. The following are hotels I have personally stayed at and know are centrally-located.

Gasthof Kienberg (http://www.gasthof-kienberg.de/)

Alpenhotel Gastager (http://www.alpenhotel-gastager.de/)

Hotel Bavaria (http://www.hotel-bavaria-inzell.de/)

Alpina (http://www.alpina-inzell.de/)

Chiemgau Apartments (https://www.chiemgau-appartements.de/)

Hotels will generally offer to include meals, but we’ll be cooking dinner as a group every night and lunch will be your own responsibility and can be had very cheaply from supermarket supplies, so try to talk them down with that in mind.

Airbnb is another option, as is perusing the ferienwohnung (holiday apartment) section of Inzell’s tourist information page. These apartments and houses are generally larger and my advice would be to get some friends together and rent one as a group (note that, even though I’ve linked to the English language version of the page, many descriptions are still in German, and be prepared for your interactions with renters to be in German. If you have a friend who is a native German speaker, now would be a good time to call in favour)

Bring:

Skates (duh). If you do not have your own long track ice skates, we may be able to arrange something, but please let me know well in advance (Arranging for spare blades is not too difficult (I have a few sets), but boots can be tricky). Clothes to train in – we will be running and jumping a lot in addition to skating on the ice. If you have running spikes, bring them. It is also the middle of summer, so be prepared for warm weather – experience has shown that most days are in the high 20s (celsius) with the occasional rainy day/thunderstorm. If you wish to go to the trouble of bringing a bicycle, I won’t stop you, but I have not written any training rides into the program. There is ample opportunity for hiking, road cycling, and mountain biking in the area around Inzell. Bring nordic walking poles and crocs to wear at your own peril…

For those new to long track, coming from either inline or short track please note that short track and inline boots are not suitable for long track. If anyone is looking to purchase cheap long track boots, let me know and I will ask around shops and clubs that I know to see if anyone has second-hand skates in your size. We have also identified an inexplicably cheap supplier of new beginner-oriented long track equipment and have gotten as far as testing the boots and found them to be quite good (we have not tested them long enough to know how durable they are compared to established brands).

Costs:

Ice time during summer ice is unfortunately more expensive than during the regular winter season (this is because of physics – it costs a lot more to cool an indoor ice hall when the outdoor ambient temperature is high), and you should plan to spend 15 euros a day for ice. My time as a coach is on special for summer ice and will only set you back 10 euros a day. Breakfast and lunch are your own responsibility, and can usually be had very cheaply from a supermarket. Dinner is cooked together and we share the costs, in the past we’ve averaged between 3 and 4 euros person, per meal. Depending on how ‘nice’ a room/apartment you book and how many people you manage to organise to share with, accommodation can be had from between 25 and 50 euro per person per day. Altogether that comes to between 65 and 90 euros per person per day.

Travel costs will obviously depend a lot on where you’re travelling from. Here’s a hot local tip though – if you fly into Munich and take the train to Traunstein, there’s a ticket you can get called the “Bayern ticket” which is a little cheaper than normal if you travel alone, and a LOT cheaper than normal if you travel in a group of up to 5 people.

The Past:

Here are some photos from the 2015 camp. Below are some group photos from all of the previous camps.

Don’t forget to get in contact with me to let me know you’re coming, and also leave a comment at the bottom of this page to let others know you are coming, and potentially coordinate travel and accommodation with them.