Inzell 2021

Welcome to the information page for the 2021 edition of Yeowie’s superfun summer ice camp. For those who have been on my previous camps in Inzell, most of this information is the same.

The 9th 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 a world cup 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.

IMPORTANT COVID-19 INFORMATION

Last year, we ran the camp during a low-level lockdown during the covid-19 pandemic. It involved strict timing and movement restrictions with regard to entering and leaving the training venue, in addition to a lot of the measures we have unfortunately gotten used to such as having to enter details for contact tracing whenever entering a shop or restaurant. Please try to make arrangements for travel and accommodation with this in mind. It is impossible to predict what kinds of measures will be in place by July, but having to provide proof of vaccination or a recent negative test seems like a likely thing. I sincerely hope that enough progress will have been made by July that things will be mostly back to normal.

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

The Deal

When:

19th to the 27th of July 2021 inclusive. I plan to have the first training on the morning of the 19th of July, so for travel purposes try to arrive in the evening of the 18th or earlier. The last training will be on the morning of the 27th. Friday the 23th of July will be a rest day.

Where:

The Max Aicher Arena is located at the southern end of Inzell, a small town in 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:

I plan on staying at a different place to the one I stayed at for the 2018 and 2020 Inzell summer ice camps (for those who were there, and remember, it is just around the corner from the other place). It is one of many “ferienwohnung” (holiday apartments) which are available throughout Inzell, most of which can be found on the main website for Inzell. I strongly suggest hopping on Google maps and trying to find a place which is very close to where I’ll be staying (Am Kurpark 1, Inzell), just to make things easier logistically. We share meals and stories in addition to training sessions, so it really helps for everyone to be within easy walking distance. There are also a handful of listings on Airbnb, if that’s your thing. A good idea is to get 3-4 friends together and rent a holiday apartment to share the costs.

For those who are into 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/)

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.

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 you can borrow), but boots can be tricky – I do have a few pairs which I can rent out for the duration of the camp. 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 (of course, having a functioning pair of skates is preferable to not having a pair, but you have been warned). 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 (let me know if you need anything from this supplier).

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 200 euros for the whole camp, and there are also a limited number of needs-based scholarships available for those who may require financial aid. 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 (last year, due to coronavirus restrictions, we all dined separately, and this is unfortunately also a possibility this year), 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 20 and 50 euro per person per day (less if you pack a lot of people into one holiday apartment). Altogether that comes to between 55 and 100 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. Click on them for higher-res versions.

Don’t forget to get in contact with me to let me know you’re coming (this is important, and you’ll be surprised how many people forget), 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.