I had my final races of the season this past weekend, and it was a truly international event. In the women's field there were Canadians, Americans, Brits, Koreans, Japanese, Italians, Germans, and the Audi-sponsored Swiss, among others (the others being Jamaica, U.S. Virgin Islands, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Finland).

Normally the America's Cup competitive field is not so diverse, because the Europeans race on their equivalent Europa Cup circuit. However, next year the World Championships are being held in Lake Placid, which means there are a whole lot of people who want as many runs down the track here as possible. Wait, let me be more specific: there are a whole lot of WORLD CUP SLIDERS who want as many runs down the track here as possible.

So let's talk about the competitive field in the two races this past weekend, which included:

• Shelley Rudman, 2006 OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALLIST.
• Anja Huber, current WORLD CHAMPION.
• Noelle Pikus-Pace, 2007 WORLD CHAMPION.
• Louise Corcoran, 2006 OLYMPIAN.
• Marion Trott, ranked top 10 IN THE WORLD.
• The entire Swiss WORLD CUP TEAM.
• Oh yeah, and me. 2008 Alberta Skeleton Association Cup #3 bronze medallist.

Ummm ... let's just say that they beat me. Twice.

The first day of racing was disappointing. In a typical race there are two heats, and the lowest combined time wins. When there is a large number of racers, the field is cut after the first heat, and only the top 20 move on to the second heat. On the first run I beat my personal best on both the start and the downtime, which is nice until you find yourself in 21st place ... Let me tell you, I never again plan to be sidelined during the second run. It feels about as good as being pantsed at a high school dance.

The second day of racing I had a solid first run that put me in 13th going into the second heat, and I finished the day in 14th. Which I guess isn't so bad considering there were seven world cup sliders finishing ahead of me and four other Canadians. In this sport, I suspect that my teammates are going to be my biggest competition. Turns out, Canada is REALLY good at skeleton ...

And this brings a long season to a close. I have been on the ice since October 1st (almost seven months), spent close to 16 weeks in Calgary and have done almost 200 runs. And now I am ready to ditch the spandex and parkas for flip flops and shorts. Because I need to be comfortable while I prepare myself for the thrashing I hope to have the chance to receive from the Whistler track in October.