The New England MASTERS RACER
Welcome to the 1997 edition of The Masters Racer. Despite the rocky start to the season, the competition quickly moved into high gear, and the Sise Cup is up for grabs on both the men's and women's sides. During the first 10 races this season there have been seven different women and six different men on top of the podium. In addition, there's new blood challenging the old guard-though Doug Tucker is making sure the neophytes respect their elders!
Especially encouraging, there have been several new faces in the women's winner's circle. Kirsten Burnap, Tica Benson and Meg St John have all posted multiple victories and are poised to contend for the overall title held by Kim Wolff. Not to be outdone, Lisa Feinberg Densmore, Polly Lucier, Polly Tanner and other veterans of the circuit have increased their level of competition and promise to keep things interesting right until the final dual slalom at Haystack.
The men's side is also very competitive, as Bill McGrath is fighting off more than a few who would like to ascend to the Sise Cup throne. Besides Tucker, Jim Harding continues to get faster, while Pat McNamara and Chris Johnson continue to power on through. And Stowe's Andrew Morse has joined in the chase along with perennial winner Bob Hill.
In the age class wars, more than a few battles have resumed after a summer of planning (scheming?) and training. Betsy Strong Kent is ahead of Alice Pepper and Jane Cooke in Class 9. Diane Jones has a slight lead over Wendy Hill and Carol Sweeney in the 8s, while Tamara Marcinuk is tops in the 5s, ahead of Linda ZamviI and Gay Folland. For the guys, Egil Nilsson is barely ahead of Tony Hyde in Class 11. And Arne Rostad may have the kudos, but he's trailing Duffy Dodge in the 10's. One of the tightest battles is between Larry Voelker and Paul Rich in Class 9. Similarly, George Merrill holds a slight lead over Bill Brennan in Class 4.
Off the hill, there have been a number of changes during the off season. Among them is a changing of the guard on the Board of Directors. Chris McAleer has been elected president, assisted by VP Peter Whitehead, Treasurer Steve Foley and Secretary Kristin Macomber. Kim Wolff and Paul Berton join the Board. Besides the devoted efforts of the Board of Directors and Executive Director Gary Colwell, New England Masters Skiing would like to thank Nordica, Kastle, ARTECH, Swix, and our newest sponsor, Warsteiner Beer, for their support. Please give them your business.
As usual the Stowe Reporter will serve as the weekly news vehicle with which to keep posted on race results. In addition Bob Hill is working with Gary to get [this] web site running, with plans to post results as soon as they are available.
I hope you have it all figured out, because I don't. Is this really a revolution in GS ski design, or just some tremendous marketing? It is interesting to see what percentage of racers are using shaped skis for the 1996-97 New England Masters Sise Cup series, as well as how it changes during the season. My bet is that the percentage will increase dramatically.
Some very good vibes are coming out of Park City. In what appears to be a turnaround, the Masters are welcome once again in the USSA. Tom Kelly of the USSA made the trip to Sunday River for our Nationals and promised a concerted effort by USSA to make the Masters feel both welcome and that we are getting our money's worth.
Toward that end, USSA has hired a full-time employee, Ron Shepard, to function as the coordinator for both Alpine and Nordic Masters programs. Ron came east in September to attend our New England Masters board meeting. You have probably seen the first Masters Newsletter that Ron has put together. I'm not sure we'll see dramatic changes, but things are on the right tack and Ron is enthusiastic about marketing Masters ski racing.
What is important to us in the East, perhaps less so in other regions, is the involvement we have with USSA on the local level. It is the local USSA-sanctioned ski clubs in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine at the various mountains, who staff and run our races. We should be pleased that this will continue under the umbrella of the USSA.
Well, that's the good news. However, there are some potential clouds in the future and, unfortunately, they don't all mean snow. The ski industry as we have all noticed, is now big business. That means better snow, better lifts, more services. But not necessarily more races. And probably not at current prices, either. It is hard to tell what may evolve, but it will probably mean change. There is pressure on ski racing at all levels as the impact is measured against the "paying" skiing public.
As Masters racers interested in the future of our program, as well as eveiy race program from Buddy Werner through juniors and college, there are things we can do. We all need to make the effort when at ski areas to show that we appreciate being there. But we also need to let folks know that we bring economic benefit. When we go to the ticket office to buy our spouse or friend a lift ticket, we need to tell them we are with the Masters. Same with the local hotel, restaurant or bar. It goes without saying that going into the base lodge with three coolers and a knapsack of chips probably doesn't sit well with ski area management.
On the hill our image is just as important, if we want to be invited back. Last year complaints centered on two topics. First, we have been lax in enforcing rules for skiing on the race hill. Complaints ranged from creating distractions to putting course workers in danger with fast skiing on a closed hill. Second, our methods of side slipping for course preparation and maintenance (see Bob Burr's piece). We are all guilty here. Side "slipping" shouldn't become a fast wedge through the correct line. That takes away the advantage of reaching the higher age classes (doesn't it, Arne?). Nobody wants to be a police officer here, so it is up to all of us to think smart and cooperate with race organizers and officials.
In response to a number of Masters who have expressed interest in wanting to do something for our sport and the Masters program in particular, we are in the process of creating a separate entity and filing for tax exempt status with the IRS under section 501C3 as a charitable arm of New England Masters. This would give us the ability to support amateur ski racing on many different levels and help our visibility in the skiing and ski racing community. Andy Mikel, Esq., is helping here.
Our thanks to Gary CoIwell for putting together a great schedule. Hopefully you're finding the time to squeeze some training in during the week. As for all you trust funders, the internationals and Nationals promise three weeks of sun and fun!
Also, we are pleased to welcome Kimberly Wolff and Paul Berton as new members of the Board of Directors. Finally, thanks to Bob Burr, past president of New England Msters. Bob does remain, however, under his lucrative contract to present awards!