Charlotte Ski and Snowboard Club

Charlotte Ski and Snowboard Club: Racing

From the Racing Director

The racing season is here. Time to get the skis out; sharpen the edges and wax’em up.

Last year’s season. Last year we finished 3rd in our division just behind Raleigh and Greensboro. Let’s win it this year…and have a blast doing it. We have a fun group of teammates. We had three national champions from all of NC last year. And all three were on our team. Jon Grigorian, Margot Payne and Mike Dunn. Because of the Charlotte team, Crescent finished 37 out of 100 teams at Nationals at Winter Park.
Racing Schedule. Our ski season is not that long so let’s make the most of it. The first race is at Appalachian in less than a month on December Saturday 16th (slalom) and Sunday 17th (giant slalom). See the attached racing schedule. You can race either Saturday or Sunday or both or neither. I need to know which days you intend to race by the Saturday before the race weekend. I MUST know for sure by the Monday before the race by 8:00 PM. I have to turn in my final roster by then and no changes allowed for racers. Qualifiers get more time and need a handicap get to sign up by the Thursday before the race. Why? The sequential racing bibs are made during the week by a nice and friendly “non-paid” volunteer who has a real job. The qualifiers bibs can be random numbers for flights 21 or 22 since they are just racing against the clock and not against others.
How to qualify. To race you need to qualify to a minimum speed and to place you in the correct flight to help insure the races are fun and fair. Four ways to do it.

have an existing NASTAR race time within the limits from the past two years
go a any US NASTAR course and get a timed run that qualifies
go the App training clinic on 12/11/11 or Sugar’s three day clinic from 12/9/11 to 12/11/11 and participate in the timed runs on the last day on 12/11/11. (I will send out more info on these clinics in a few days.) Go if you can. Several of us are going to Steamboat for a week of racing training but that deadline is already passed. GO NEXT YEAR!
Sign up for any of the Crescent races for flight 21 (on easier course) or flight 22 (the harder course) and get a qualified handicap.

Does everyone who tries qualify? No, but even if you don’t make it this time it’s still fun to ski in the gates. Most every run you get better plus you will get lots of encouragement and tips from most everyone from all the clubs. It’s so fun its addicting!!! Call or email Mike Dunn for more details.

Friday night practices. This year we (Crescent Ski Council) are going to have Friday night practices at Appalachian Ski Mountain before all six race weekends. You DON’T have to be a racer or be signed up for a race to participate. In fact, the Charlotte club is going to promote this also a general club event for non-racers. So bring your beginner friends. Hey, put your girlfriend or boy friend in a lesson so you don’t have to ski with them. You know if you try to teach them they will be upset with you and you won’t get to ski hard. It’s a win-win. You buy your tickets at the French Swiss Desk on the bottom floor and not at the ticket booth. Let me know if you’re going. It’s the price of the lift ticket plus $10.00 and you will get some instruction form professional racing coaches. Helping “me” take down the gates at the end will be appreciated and expected!!!!
Schedule on a race day. You’ve told me the weekend before via email that you are racing the next weekend. I have you signed up. You have reviewed the paring sheet. You need to be at the lodge two hours before race. Why? You have a lot to do. Here’s the sequence.

Park and get your stuff into the lodge going to the racing area (at App it’s the 3rd floor.) You can leave your stuff there.
Sign any waivers that are needed
Get you bib from me.
Buy your lift ticket (usually cash only)
Get booted up and get you bib on.
Inspect the course twice
Take a few warm up runs
Go the MANDITORY racers meeting at the top of the race course 20 minutes before the race starts. To get any race day information.
If you’re gate keeping make sure you sign in on the paper in the grey box T W I C E/twice or you will be DQed. Twice mean 2X. If you’re late for gatekeeping you will be DQed for that run. Strictly enforced this year.

If you have not renewed your membership for the year go ahead and do it now. Or if you need to join for the first time do it now online. www.charlotteskiandsnowboard.com

It’s just $30 for a single person for the year and $50 for a whole family for the year.
You get a $25.00 gift certificate to Alpine Ski Center with every paid membership via mail so your net is just $5.00.
Then you get free pizza at every ski club meeting.
The $35 racing fee is paid by the club for the 1st 25 qualified racers. Hurry!
Plus you get discount lift tickets at every race
Plus you get a free or discounted “very cool” Charlotte racing shirt
Plus you get discounted trips out west.
I could go on. Bottom line it pays to join this club and team

Gatekeeping. Since we are just an amateur league, we can’t afford to pay gatekeepers for safety and course maintenance. So we rotate which flights have gatekeeping duties on which race weekends. On nice sunny days it’s not bad because you get to watch your buddies from up close. However, this is an alpine sport so some days will be very cold and snowy. Gatekeeping duty is assigned when the bibs are made mid week. If someone has gatekeeping duty or is a no show for the day or just MIA for their assigned gatekeeping duty is the team’s responsibility to fill that position with another racer. Our rule last year and this is if someone is signed up for gatekeeping duty missed that assignment for whatever reason and another teammate has to fill in. The person missing the assignment must pay the person filling in for half a lift ticket in cash. I’ve only kicked one person off the team for refusing to gatekeep five years ago. Gatekeeping tip: on the day you are scheduled to gatekeep wear one or two extra layers and put the had warmers in your mittens or gloves.
I will be in Steamboat the week of signups for the first race. Let me know by Friday 12/9/11 if you plan to race either Saturday or Sunday or both or neither so I can be getting a list together.
I will re-send out the lodging deal I put together our team, our club and all Crescent racers tomorrow. The short version is it’s a nice hotel make up of three properties in Blowing Rock. $100 per room per night. It also included breakfast (not sure of the times yet) and a wine happy hours in the afternoon.
The Charlotte team meal (all Charlotte Ski Club members are invited) will be at Psspaghetti’s in Blowing Rock at 7:00 PM on Saturday December 17th. Let me know who’s going so I can make reservations. Excellent at a reasonable price.
If you want to bring friends with you and want them to take advantage of the discounted racer lift ticket price, let me know who’s coming by Wednesday before the race so I can put them on the list. The need to be a Ski club member…. But for a net of $5.00 and free pizza and save $10.00+ on that lift ticket… Why not.
Crescent racing rules. Hey, it’s your sport. Know the rules better than your competitor. Be smart. It will take you 30 minutes to read the rules. You spend more time than that getting dressed and booting up. Here are the rules. http://www.crescentskicouncil.org/racing/index.html
First of all there are much better skiers on our team than me. Chuck Vance beat a former Olympic Alpine racer AND another guy who was a former pro skier at Nationals two years ago, Ted Lacki is close to Chuck, and Neha was in the Torino Olympics and trained with Lindsey Vonn. That being said, I did get one huge tip that helped win my national championship at Nationals. Here it is. When you go around the gate, lift you inside but cheek as high and as far forward as you can. This keeps you hips level which keeps you from sliding out. Tip #2 sharpen the heck out of your skis every race. Will have a pizza and beer ski tuning clinic at my condo several times this winter.
Car pooling. Who wants to be the carpooling go to person this year? Need a volunteer.
This is as much your team as it is mine. Bring a friend to try racing. We still need some beginning racers if we are going to beat Greensboro and Raleigh. One day last year our team won the whole day with zero division II racers. That is a rarity and we can’t count on that. We’re good but no one is that good. So bring your friends!!