03-04 Season

December 23, 2003

I have decided to take this season off from competition in order to train fulltime.

I bruised my right heel and tweaked my left knee on 12/12/03. My knee has recovered quickly and I could do doubles on it today if I needed to but my heel will take another couple of weeks. These injuries are not the main reason that I've decided to skip the rest of the competitions this year. The timing is OK because I could be back in time to not miss any competitions. However, when I was unsure of my recovery time, I considered skipping some events, then all events. If I would have considered that earlier, I probably would have reached the same conclusion; that it is better to spend this year training than competing.

I have spent most of the last fifteen winters doing just enough training jumps to get used to a site and warmed up for competition. Focusing on peaking at the end of short term cycles has made it difficult to improve my skills on snow. In order to make certain changes to my technique concrete, lasting and instinctual, I must take the time to achieve specific incremental goals that lead to an overall improvement of my skills.

The jump site at Utah Olympic Park, just three miles from my home in Park City, will be maintained all winter with a hill crew and coaches. I’ll train there on a consistent basis, much like I do on the water ramps every summer, and I’ll continue to do shows, appearances, photo shoots and interviews.

I am determined to maintain my focus of peaking in 2006 and this is the best path to take towards achieving that goal.

Eric Bergoust
US Ski Team Aerialist