USSA Masters Ski Racing - 2010
I participated in the 2010 Rosenquist Vala Memorial Giant Slalom alpine skiing competition over the weekend.
It was held at Crystal Mountain, WA. http://www.psna.org I had a really great time, met some great people and I got a really nice hat for competing in my Division (Div. III) on Saturday. You get 2 runs one run in the morning then everyone breaks for lunch while they reset the course for the second run. The divisions are broken out into men’s and women’s age brackets, I was the youngest born in 1970, the eldest racer was born in 1937, yeah that’s right I was racing women and senior citizens.
But seriously these guys and gals can ski ‘fast’, really fast, I learned pretty quick that some of these racers are always club favorites for fast times down the course:
· Willi Schmidt in the Men’s Division 10
· Kanut Olberg in Men’s Division 9
· Todd & Grant Haugen in Men’s Division 4
· Craig Reninger Men’s Division 7
The ladies are fast as well some were fasters than me, including:
· Tracy Gibbons Women’s Division 4
· Tamara Lauba Women’s Division 6
· Robin White in Women’s Division 3 (not faster than me :)
These are just a few of the racers who ripped down the mountain all told 60 racers showed up on Saturday according to my calculations I finished 19th overall. Not too shabby for my first time in a race course in 25 years. We were up on the mountain as 7am to start setting the course, those of us that showed up early got a lift on a sled driven by Tom one of the many volunteers who make this happen, much thanks to everyone who volunteered.
Sunday was the second day of competition and Darren Postforoosh who didn’t get a full weekend pass from the boss (read wife) showed up and beat me on both GS runs, props to Darren and his buddy Sam who was also very quick in Men’s Division 2.
The USSA Sanctioned Masters program is open to anyone and is newly expanded to include younger skiers, masters from ages 18 to over 80 compete on the same runs used for World Cup events. Slalom, giant slalom, super G and downhill are all included in the 200-plus races in this seasons schedule. Masters series are conducted within each of the eight geographic divisions of USSA including Alaska, Central, Eastern, Far West, Intermountain, Northern, Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain. In addition to divisional competition, there are opportunities to compete on a regional, national, and international level. The USSA Alpine Masters Program is just one of the participants in the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) International Masters Cup (IMC) in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The highlight of the race season in the USA concludes with the USSA Masters National Championships. This year it is being held at Sun Valley Resort in beautiful Ketchum, ID.
I am not sure how many races I will be able to attend, balancing work and family around skiing weekends isn’t easy. I do know that it’s well worth the time spent for me it is a great release and it puts me in my favorite place on the mountain going fast. The camaraderie is excellent and CMAC is a great family organization plus you can’t beat the feeling of speeding through the gates its exhilarating, especially if you haven’t done it in a long, long time. The competition is good and everyone wants to win, but the feeling of just being at the mountain and going through the process of setting the course, slipping the run and pushing yourself is the best part. There are clubs peppered all over the US, Canada and Europe, I joined the local club Crystal Mountain Alpine Club ,CMAC for short. If you have ever raced in your youth or are just interested in pushing your skiing skills I recommend checking into a local club in your area.
