Gear for 14 y.o. girl beginning to race

Question
Hi, Cynthia. Our daughter Elizabeth is 14, 5'6, about 130 lbs. She's skiied a handful of times and picked it up pretty quickly, and can negotiate low intermediate runs pretty competently. She's a freshman, and wants to join the ski team, which is open to newbies (they say they've had kids snowplowing at the start of the year and racing at the end).

The question is gear. She has a pair of older (not very parabolic) Salomon X-Free skis, no length stamp but 5'0 long so about 152 cm.; Salomon 500 bindings that are length-adjustable (ie rental or youth style); and Dolomite FX-1 Sport boots that fit her well.

The big local gear swap is two days BEFORE the ski team's parent meeting, so we won't have a chance to ask her coach questions before our best chance to buy newer/better gear. Money's a significant issue, but we'll scratch if needed. Are we better off letting her start on her current gear and looking to upgrade when we know better what she'll need, or should we be looking at more shaped or longer skis right out of the gate? Help! and Thanks.

Answer
Dear Scott --

You can help your daughter quite a bit by getting her more parabolic (super sidecut) skis with lighter bindings.

With the super sidecut skis, she can ski a shorter ski, than traditionally used, with continued control, even at fairly high speeds.  Since she is still an intermediate skier, avoid a big jump in length and in stiffness.

If she likes the Solomon flex, their super sidecut ski is excellent and performs well.  She might also like the Head, and the Dynastar skis, but many other skis will be suitable too.

For this year, I would recommend super side cut junior race skis in the 150 cm length.  She will get the best performance for the best price during this "developmental" year.  That means she may well outgrow her gear by the end of the season.  However, I don't think you should put her on women's or men's race skis just yet.  She needs to move from the intermediate parallel turn, to the advanced race turn, and ski most terrain with confidence before you have her make that jump in equipment.

Please write back, if you have additional questions.  If you would like specific recommendations on skis, please tell me how your daughter skis: fast and aggressively, or long sweeping turns or short hop turns, etc.  That will help me narrow the selection of skis that will help your daughter improve quickly.

Good luck to you all.