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2021-2022 USST Alpine Nominations

sparty

Out on the slopes
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Feb 15, 2018
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I'm not going to wade too deeply into the discussion of who's fault it is we don't ski enough speed, but I agree strongly that it is the case. The four speed weeks I participated in as a not-particularly-fast USSA racer were (a) among the better experiences I had; and (b) preceded some of the best tech skiing I did at the time. It turns out that trying to turn 215s with a turning radius better measured in miles than meters helps identify technical faults that are also impacting GS skiing.

I don't find fault with guidelines that freeskiing on speed skis should be on a controlled venue or even one that's netted. It's not 1999 anymore; there are lots of things we used to do that simply aren't in the cards, and the improved venue-security standards are, overall, a good thing. There are a handful of trails I can think of at places that I coach where I'd be pretty comfortable with kids skiing up on SG skis, but a controlled and netted venue provides a significant additional safety margin. It also affords a better opportunity to ski in a suit (something that I wouldn't recommend without a controlled hill), which makes a huge difference at speed. With that said, we should be making the effort to provide time for that skiing within the nets.

One of the points in the McBride editorial was the lack of a real field at DH nationals. If I could wave a magic wand, I'd be tempted to make it so that (a) all post-season events at appropriate age levels included DH; and (b) racing the DH would be required to participate in the series. Unfortunately, that's probably not realistic for a host of reasons, among them being that it's already challenging for some folks who qualify to get to post-season series. Maybe apply that rule to a portion of the quota and make it more carrot than stick—if you can qualify more readily if you race DH, would that increase interest?

I'd also say that Gauge now is one of the best-protected venues I've seen, and I've been to most of the New England speed venues. The last race I was in there was a J1/2 Finals SG, and at the time, contiguous B-netting wasn't the standard at USSA regional races. I remember sliding on my hip towards a very large-looking snowmaking line and suddenly becoming very aware that there was no net there (and subsequently very relieved that I managed to drag enough equipment and limbs to put my direction of travel further down the hill and into the net). These days, that section is contiguously fenced and I think the snowmaking line is buried (at the very least, it's not visible). I wish there was enough interest to run a master's SG/DH series there on an annual or semiannual basis, but that seems even less likely than a resurgence in regional speed events.
 

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