Tips for New Racers

PREPARATION

Serious racers carry lots of equipment, and pay great attention to the condition of their skis. You needn't get into this too seriously at first, but you will find that it helps to carry a pocket carborundum stone to remove any burrs from the edges you had sharpened last night. Waxing really does help, too, and is not expensive. And yes, you do go faster without the large parka. Lastly, we do not require them (yet), but goggles are essential equipment, particularly for slalom racing.

STARTING

The fancy jump start does not gain all that much time. If you already know how to do it, fine. You will probably have terrible butterflies and be almost nauseous in the starting gate. 90% of the tension is gone after the first turn, and after the second, you'll have forgotten all of it. To start, position your feet a foot or so behind the timing wand. Plant your poles on the other side of the wand. (There will be holes there after only a few racers have started.) To start, just lean forward, and push off. You don't have to recite all the turns in the course. It pays to visualize and "feel" the first two turns before you go, then say to yourself (and it really is true!) "I CAN DO IT".

ON THE COURSE

Once on the course, with the first two turns behind you, RELAX. The relaxed, smooth, stable skier consistently outperforms the hot-shot, who crashes, or makes very costly mistakes at high speed, a long turn carrying him/her way out of line. Furthermore, the more you have a feeling of control, the more quickly, and the more permanently, you will enjoy racing, and the more it will help- the rest of your skiing. most of us need to allow for some bad turns. Ski at about 80% of your top technique; you will probably need the extra 20% for a rut that throws you out of line, or a patch of ice that you ski across and have to recover from. The top racers in "A" can push themselves much harder; their errors are probably only a few percent of their very consistent technique. The rest of us need the margin... If you do have the urge to ski hard, it is best to save it for the second run. Your legs will remember the feel of the course, and will help you through, so that's the time to push a bit, say up to 90%, if your first run was good. Come-from-behind wins are not at all uncommon. People who have very fast first runs often have miserable second ones. Don't worry about those front runners.

Also, even if your run is going terribly, stay with it! Lots of other people may fall, or do badly also. Your team may want to use your time. Don't give up! Do everything possible to support them by at least finishing.

THE FINISH

At the finish, there's the question whether to skate or pole from the last gate to the finish. Usually, you'll be going fast enough that either will slow you down, and risk a spectacular fall just short of the timer. Use your judgment...usually a tuck from the last gate is the best strategy. Through the finish (whew!) please make one more effort: clear the area quickly. The next person will be down soon, and it takes a lot of effort to steer and stop when fatigued. At the scoreboard, times are usually posted four or five at a time--you may have a short wait before yours is brought over from the finish line.

RACE PROCEDURES AND RULES These are summarized and condensed rules. The NAASF Race Rules Handbook is the final authority. Your team Captain has a copy.

ELIGIBILITY: All full and part-time employees with valid ID card may race. Dependents may also race, at the end of each race fun. Dependent results will be posted, but not tabulated.

GENERAL: The rules are enforced. It's the only way to keep it fair for everyone. Some important DO's and DONT's: 

The races are set and run by employees of the resort. Their work is continuous, and interruption could cause confusion. All questions must go through the course "Technical Director" -- TD, an airline person.

When slipping/inspecting the course before the race, DON'T make any practice turns. (Skiing "shadow" turns outside the course is also considered practice turning). You may go through the course side-slipping; just be certain it doesn't look like a sample of how you intend to ski the course.

DO NOT ski through the finish line, at any time, unless you have just successfully run the course. After a ski-release disqualification, for example. The next racers will start before you get down. The penalty for skiing through the finish is disqualification, even if you were entitled to a re-run.

DO check your name, bib number and time at the finish to be sure that they are posted correctly. If you have missed a gate, the notation is made by the individual gatekeeper on the hill. These "gatekeeper" DQs are brought to the finish approximately 15 minutes after the end of each run--check for them.