USSA Masters National qualifiers... in MACC!
October 2010. Bill Skinner, USSA Alpine Masters Manager, has approved three MACC race weekends as National qualifiers for the midwest -- the USSA Central Division. To have your race count as a USSA Masters, you must have a USSA Masters license, and register as a guest of MACC ($10 per race), or join MACC for the season ($60).
A total of six MACC races will count as National qualifiers. Two races per weekend:
- Jan. 8 - 9, 2011 GS, Slalom at Boyne Mountain
- Feb. 19 - 20, 2011 Slalom, GS at Boyne Mountain
- March 4 - 5, 2011 Slalom, GS at Boyne Mountain
Less travel, more convenience, more Masters points, better return on your membership fee, chance to win awards in age categories, and to qualify to represent Central Division at the Masters National Championships. Hope to see you at the MACC races at Boyne Mountain.
Gary Konsza -- USSA Masters Michigan Representative MACC Team Representative
Searchmont
April 20, 2010. Racers voted, and we are indeed returning to Searchmont in 2011. (Races are on Feb 4, 5, 6.)
The races are planned to be the same format as the past few years, with the Ski Runners doing all the work of setting courses, gate judging, timing, etc.
Read more about the Searchmont weekend.
Cary Adgate Goes to Hall of Fame
PARK CITY, UT (April 4, 2009) – Four legendary skiing athletes were
inducted Saturday into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in ceremonies
at Deer Valley Resort in Park City. Olympic freestyle medalists Liz McIntyre
(Granby, CO) and Nelson Carmichael (Steamboat Springs, CO), along with ski
mountaineering legend Bill Briggs (Jackson Hole, WY) and two-time alpine
Olympian Cary Adgate (Boyne Falls, MI) were honored as members
of the Hall of Fame's class of 2008.
"Recognition by the Hall of Fame is a great personal honor for each
of these four athletes who have made outstanding contributions to their sport," said
U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and CEO Bill Marolt.
Adgate was a Midwesterner who made his first race turns on Boyne Mountain
in Michigan. In 1971 he won the U.S. Junior National Championship at age
17. He joined the U.S. Ski Team in 1973 and in that year won the Can-Am Overall
Championship, the Can-Am GS Championship and the Roch Cup downhill/overall
championship. He earned the U.S. Alpine Championship title in slalom or combined
six times, and was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1976 and '80.
Adgate turned to professional skiing in 1981, competing in Bob Beattie's
World Pro Skiing Tour. He became the only skier to win back-to-back races
in his pro debut, going on to win 25 professional victories and the 1984
U.S. Pro Championships.
In 2005 he won three U.S. Masters Championship events and was named Ski Racing
Magazine's 2005 Master Racer of the Year. He currently is Boyne USA Resorts'
Snowsports Ambassador and mentors several racing programs.
The induction was held at Deer Valley Resort's Silver Lake Lodge and according
to Hall of Fame President and CEO Tom West, a formal enshrinement ceremony
will be held in September at the U. S. Ski Hall of Fame in Ishpeming, MI.
SEARCHMONT SKI RUNNERS HONORED
On November 12, 2008, Searchmont Ski Runners (SSR) was selected as Club of the Year by Alpine Canada. The nomination was brought forward by Alpine Ontario. Nancy Esson, President of Alpine Ontario and Mike Richter, Marketing and Partnership Development Manager, congratulated SSR on their achievement shortly thereafter the official letter was received. This prestigious award was a surprise but was a well deserved recognition for the extraordinary efforts by the SSR volunteers, officials, coaches and athletes.
Those of us from the MACC appreciate their efforts and know the high level of experise that they bring to running our races. The race fee that we pay is a major source of their funding and supports youth ski racing in the Searchmont, Ontario area
Recent changes in MACC (2010, 2011)
October 2010. There are no changes in the rules for 2011. However, you might see some changes in 2011 based on registration numbers that are mentioned here.
If you missed last year, we had some minor changes that are also mentioned below.
Numbers and Classes
The 2011 application lists every possible vet and supervet class. Please indicate the one you would like to be in, if available.
Our rules guarantee that there will be at least one class in every ability class for men and women. The existence of the various vet and super-vet classes will depend on registration numbers at the start of the season. Classes with only a few racers signed up will be merged to maintain competition.
Ages are 40 and over for vet, 60 and over for super-vet. As always, you can choose to register in a younger class in the same ability group. (The handicaps and times are equivalent, so the age division is for comraderie and to let older racers go first; the young racers in a given class are no faster than the older ones.)
Numbers and Courses
Last year we had four courses. As racers, we love the schedule. But we had trouble filling jobs for some of the races last year. Depending on our registration and turnout for the first weekend, we might have to go to a three-course system.
Helmets
We require that you wear a helmet at the Searchmont Super-G race. All other FIS-style programs require helmets for all racers; we strongly recommend helmets for all races. Most racers use helmets; if you have friends who don't, then please try to talk some sense into them.
World Cup Tie-Breaker
World Cup Awards are given to the top three racers in each class.
Starting in 2010, in cases of ties, handicaps are used as tiebreakers. The sums of the slalom and giant slalom handicaps of the tied racers are summed and the higher award goes to the racer with lower handicap sum. The handicaps used for the tie breaking are the official averages that are posted for the end of the season on the web site.
Team Points
Team awards are based on an average of daily team averages accumulated over the 11 races in a normal season prior to the Saturday night Mark II awards. Other team leagues have limits on size (typically 6 or 7) and take the best 4 or 5 results.
Because our teams cover a wide range in size, going from about 5 up to 30, the number of racers dropped in scoring is 1/3 or less. For example, if there are 6 racers, we use 4; if there are 7, we use 5; if there are 30, we use 20. Details are in the rules.
The practical effects?
- Don't worry about the calculation details. The computer does the work.
- There is a minimum turnout required, as in past years. You need at least 4 racers for a Boyne weekend race, and at least 3 racers for a Searchmont race or Friday Boyne race.
- If your team has more than the minimum, then some of you can crash and not hurt the team. Go for it!
New for 2010: Single-Pole Slalom
Jan 19, 2010. Starting with the 2010 season, MACC will set some single-pole slalom courses as allowed by FIS, USSA, and MHSAA (Michigan high-school racing). A single pole slalom is set the same as our traditional double-pole slalom, except most of the outside poles are not set.
When are Single Pole Gates Used?
Course setters are instructed to eliminate outside poles for all gates in slalom except the following:
- First and last gates on the course.
- All combinations (flushes & hairpins).
- All through and delay gates.
What Does It Mean to "Miss a Gate?"
When outside gates are in, then the racer's ski tips and both feet must pass between the imaginary line connecting the turning pole and outside pole. The racers may cross this line in either direction. If a racer misses the gate, he or she must climb to cross the line, and then continue properly through the rest of the course.
Where there is no outside pole, both feet and ski tips must have passed the turning pole on the same side, following the natural race line of the slalom. (The natural race line is an imaginary line from turning pole to turning pole, which the racer has to cross to ski around the poles on the intended side.)
If a racer does not pass on the correct side of the single turning pole, then he/she has missed the gate. To correct this, the racer has to climb back up and pass above and around the missed pole from either direction. After going around the pole, the racer should continue properly through the rest of the course.
This PDF file from FIS shows the concepts and the steps necessary to avoid a DQ if the racer misses a gate: Click here for pictures.