Skiing in Summer?

Jolena's a young girl

Who adores the sky,

So much, in fact,

She's learned how to fly.

Over and over,

Like thread from a spool,

Until (with a splash)

She lands in the pool.

Jolena is learning freestyle skiing and has been training at the Olympic Park this summer. Freestyle skiing is a set of winter sports where skiers do fancy tricks in the air before landing. 

Here's what she looked like when she came home on the last day of her first week of training. She was so tired.

How can you ski in summer? You could get on a plane and fly to another part of the world, where's it's cold. That isn't really skiing in summer, though, because it's winter there when we have summer. You could go there to ski, but it costs a lot of money to travel far away just to practice skiing, especially for children, who are just learning--or for dolls, unless they're on a team. Besides, Jolena didn't want to have to get back into her box to travel, and she didn't want to go alone.

Instead, children (and dolls) who are learning to ski freestyle can practice in the summer where there is a swimming pool at the end of a steep ramp. There's no snow in the summer, so the ramp is carpeted with a special kind of plastic grass, with the blades all facing downhill. It feels just like skiing on snow, but it isn't cold. The pool is there to land in, so the skiers don't get hurt.

Today Jolena's sisters came to watch practice. They sat together on the bleachers.

They brought their water bottles, because it's hot outdoors. They didn't need sunscreen because the bleachers are in the shade...and because they're made of something called vinyl. They could melt if it were hot enough, but they don't get a sunburn, and it never gets that hot where they are.

Charlotte, Mandy and Veronika watched as Jolena came down the ramp, faster and faster. Then, at the end of the ramp, Jolena flew up into the air.

While her sisters watched anxiously...well, two of them watched...

Jolena crossed her skis and did a flip in the air...

coming down to land, skis-first, in the pool.

When training was over, Jolena came to find her sisters in the bleachers.

Veronika asked, "Weren't you scared?"

Mandy said, "You're so brave!"

Charlotte said, "I missed it because I was afraid to look!"

"The hardest part is getting out of the pool with skis, ski boots, poles and a helmet," Jolena explained. "We have lots of training before we get to jump into the pool. We take gymnastics and use ropes, always with a teacher to show us how. We have to be good at swimming and diving, too, because we go into the water. Some of us take dance lessons to improve our balance and help us look good when we do our tricks."

Jolena has a good teacher to show her how to do tricks in the air. Dolls can be hurt or damaged if they fall from way up high and don't land right. So can real girls and boys. 

You can practice drawing when you're alone or you can let another child teach you.

You can get a glass of water by yourself. It might make a mess, but a mess can be cleaned up.

Some kinds of practice need human grownups to help, so you don't get hurt. Like flying.

Cast--

Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz or Classic Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to a charity that supports pediatric cancer, such as St. Jude. (Our fundraising page is here.)

“The Doll’s Storybook” is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.

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Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from the Doll's Storybook and soon Classic Tales Retold: Stories from the Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to St. Jude. Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author for $20 including shipping. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Image on Mariah's yellow T-shirt used with permission, from Free To Be Kids, where human-size shirts with this image are available.

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