Team Racing -- 2009

Another racing season is around the corner and now is the time to start building a team. Last year was the third year of the program and each year has seen a different winner. While the winning teams have differed, the Comets have held firmly onto the coveted bridesmaid position. Will 2009 be the breakthrough year for the Comets, or will yet another team keep the Comets from the podium?

Rumor has it that several of the teams may be juggling their rosters: Team Hochebirge, the 2008 champions may form two separate teams, while Hot Like Fire and Edgewise may be looking to strengthen their line-up’s. Ideally, NEMS would like to see 10-teams racing in the program. During the first year we had 8-teams, but several disbanded prior to the second year and we have had 5-teams during each of the last two years. Over the three year history of the team racing program several people have talked about starting a team, but most have not followed through. Some have declined to form a team because of the organizational demands, while others have concluded that it isn’t possible to form a competitive team. I cannot dispute the first concern – somebody needs to handle the organizing, especially if you want to be sponsored. But there are rewards – if you need proof, just look at all the cool jackets that the Hot Like Fire team racers wear! On the second point – that it isn’t possible to form a competitive team – the reality contradicts the perception. A few years ago one team had the overall women’s Sise Cup champion plus the second place men’s overall finisher. That team did not win, and wasn’t even close. Why? Because consistency is more important than speed when building a team. Certainly picking a racer who wins their group and races frequently is a good choice, but when that combination is not available consistency appears to trump speed. In other words, racers who race frequently and finish consistently help a team more than someone who might win their group once or twice but races infrequently.

The program is largely unchanged from last year with one notable exception. For the first three years, we applied a penalty whenever a team failed to have a racer finish in one or more of the four racing groups. During the first two years, the penalty equaled the total number of team racers who finished plus one, while last year the penalty was different for each group and equaled the number of group finishers plus 1. In either system, the same penalty was applied to a team that did not enter a racer in a group as a team that entered a racer but did not have a finisher. This year teams that do not enter a racer in a group will be penalized 3-points, whereas teams that enter at least one racer in a group but do not have a group finisher will only be penalized 1-point.

If you are interested in building a team, you can begin by completing the attached team form and forwarding it to Gary Colwell. Alternatively, if you would like to join a team but don’t want to do the organization you can forward your name, age and gender to Fred Dieffenbach (fdieffenbach@bigfoot.com) who will begin compiling a list of eligible and interested racers. Another twist that we are considering is the creation of a mystery team using racers that are interested and available, but are not currently on a team. If we choose to test the mystery team concept, the names of the team members will be unknown – the team members themselves will not know and the results will be masked to keep everyone guessing.

Is this the year that the rag-tag group of racers from Stratton will get their act together, or will the downeast tea-drinking crowd from Maine try to make a point before holding the Nationals on their home turf?

The New England Masters Team Program Coordinators
Fred Dieffenbach, Co-Chairperson
Steve Foley, Co-Chairperson

2009 New England Masters Team Racing Entry Application
Team Name:
Sponsor's Name:
(if applicable)
Roster:		Racer Name		Group (A,B,C, or D)
Team Captain	1.
	2.
	3.
	4.
	5.
	6.
	7.
	8.
Entry Fee:	$100.00 for 4 racers, and $25.00 for each additional racer up to a maximum of 8 racers per team
Payment Rec'd:
		Amount	By		Date
Guidelines:	Age group A = men's classes 1 - 4; age group B = men's classes 5 - 7; age group C = all women; age group D = men's classes 8 and above. New racers may be added at any point until a team reaches the maximum of 8-members. A team's captain is the primary point of contact for that team, and must be listed on the team's roster.
Return Form and Entry Fee To:	Gary Colwell NEMS Team Racing 186 Haverhill Road Topsfield, Ma 01983