New England Masters Sking Experienced racers conduct guided course inspections before each race run. This helps novice racers to understand the race line, learn course inspection protocols and skills, and it also helps novice racers to "break the ice" and get to know other racers. This isn't expected to be a highly technical program, but will cover the basics. The inspection will start at the top of each course, one hour prior to the start. To carry this out, we need volunteers! You don't need to be a top racer to be a guide. We are simply looking for people who can help new racers understand how to legally go through the course and generally where they they should be relative to line. The race coordinator (board member) for each race will assign the Guide. If you wish to help please speak to or e-mail the coordinator for any race, listed on the schedule. We thought this was a great suggestion that will help promote a more pleasant experience for racers who would like to learn about racing but don't know other racers and may be a little bit intimidated by their first Masters race. Sara Sherter offers the following testimonial: Speaking for myself, this was a GREAT idea-particularly for the SG @ Mt. Snow since some of us rarely, if ever, do that event and approach inspection w/ clueless trepidation, (again speaking only for myself of course), the 'tour' (thankyou Lisa and Doug), really helped tip the 'butterflies scale' from the fear and trembling butterflies side to the anticipation butterflies side- (no one could do anything about the fear of imminent hypothermia side)!! In the SG, even if I only managed to nail 2 of the critical set-ups they pointed out and blew the other, I was fully aware of exactly WHY I was fighting the teeth-chattering-sideways-fall-away, even as it was happening!! A real-time enlightening experience! As for SL & GS, it was really helpful to listen to one of the pros talk it through(pete d, bill b etc)- although perfectly comfortable chatting-up post-race, I think most of us try to respect everyone's 'race karma', and would never approach these revered folks during an inspection- (plus eavesdropping is so difficult when its gusting about 30!) but the yellow bib renders them fair game for that slip! Again, the guided tour was really helpful for me personally. even though, thanks to lisa's GS line pointers, I limped home fr mt snow w/ yard-sale facial & equipment lacerations and tin-man body stiffness after trying to follow her line and getting launched onto my head off the kicker after the undergate run#2, I was ecstatic to have been halfway into what was surely the run of my life! It was far more satisfying than loping to the finish to collect a cup I would have rec'd simply because Nadine was ill and didn't do a 2nd run! |