The Calcutta is four weeks away (Saturday, 4 January at 5 pm). Christmas training camp starts in less than three weeks. And most importantly, there is snow on the ground and the lifts are running! Those of you who haven't registered will hopefully be motivated to do so now. For those who have, here is a bunch of info to digest.

First though, I wanted to note the passing of Tracy Dort-Kyne. Tracy lived as a quadriplegic after a bicycling accident while descending Scenic Caves Road. It was the third tragedy to befall members of our adult racing community in 2011, after the untimely deaths of Greg Lee and Anthony Cooper. Tracy persevered remarkably, but ultimately (as with Christopher Reeve / Superman) the effects of her injury overtook her. A glance at her website and Facebook page gives us a bit of insight into the challenges she and those closest to her faced, as well as the widespread support she received. We'll miss her.

GDHL Start Order

There has always been discussion among GDHL participants regarding the preference that should be given to older racers in the start order, especially when they continue to perform well. Traditionally, when one reached a certain age, one became eligible for a preferred starting position. However, the age has varied from time to time, and has been getting older as the men's baby boomer generation continues to participate in large numbers and in many cases with considerable success. As there was no consensus among those who responded to our survey on this subject, after considerable lively debate the GDHL committee has adopted what seems to be a sensible compromise that weights age one-third and results two-thirds. This year's committee has resolved not to change this approach in the future!

It works like this. We assign people notional bib numbers based on ranking / results. Slowest gets bib 1, fastest gets last bib. We also assign people notional bib numbers based on age (YOB). Oldest gets bib 1, youngest gets last bib. Everyone in the same YOB gets the same bib number, which is an average of the highest and lowest bibs that would be assigned to that YOB. We then add the bib number from the YOB list to two times the bib number from the reverse ranking list (this gives the uneven weighting) and then do a new list. Lowest total gets bib 1, highest total gets last bib. There will be a slight gender adjustment, which is that if any women have not started by the mid-point of the list, they start then.

On examination of the output of testing, this approach seems to result in a reasonable compromise of the competing schools of thought (i.e. favouring age or starting strictly on results). It also has the advantage of avoiding big changes as people move into another age band. That is, you won’t suddenly jump 20 or more places ahead when you turn 50 or 60 or whatever.

At the Calcutta, a silent auction gives racers an opportunity to purchase the chance to have bib 1 or bib 30 in a race. Team owners may purchase a bib and give it to a member of their team. New this year, each competitor will only be allowed to use either of these special bibs once each year, although he or she may purchase more and give them to team members etc.

GDHL Schedule and Courses

The tentative GDHL race schedule is now posted on our website. There are three new developments, which arise from the Club's decision not to run races on Partridge. First, the Super G will be run on a new course that will likely start near the top of the Funnel chair, run along the Cruiser cat track to the top of Comet (putting a premium on gliding skills and perhaps accelerator waxes), then turning down Comet to finish at the new Comet finish hut, which is somewhat lower and on the opposite side of the hill from the old hut. Second, the long slalom, which has run the full length of Partridge in the past and exposes short-comings in cardiovascular fitness as well as cross-blocking technique, will find a new home. That has yet to be determined, although one idea has involved starting at the top of Millennium, skiing down the access route to Venture, turning hard left on Venture, then racing all the way to the finish hut at the bottom of Millennium. Third, the long slalom, which has normally been held on the same weekend as the Super G, will be moved to an open weekend in February, to avoid people who are away on the Super G weekend missing two races and to move the schedule a bit more into February for those who are slow rounding into form.

Remember though that the schedule remains tentative. There are a lot of balls for the race administration team to juggle at this time of year, and changes may occur.

Interclub Changes

Some of you will have heard that the Interclub league is reluctantly undergoing a transformation this year. As best I can determine, Alpine Canada and Alpine Ontario have decided that they will not sanction races that focus on team results rather than individual results. (The merits of such a decision are beyond the scope of today's missive.) As a result, team-oriented races don't qualify for insurance coverage through ACA and AOA. Junior racing such as Nancy Greene has also been affected. Taylor Simms-Brown assures me that this decision has nothing to do with the Peaks sabotaging any run by Craigleith at their record for consecutive championship seasons, or with my description of the mysteries of the Interclub scoring system on our website. The form of "new Interclub" is still undecided. AOA has proposed establishing a series of four master's races for individuals that would precede the provincial championships and be open to all. Some kind of team scoring might be done informally afterwards. Taylor and representatives from other clubs have been discussing an independent series that would be much like the old Interclub, but insured outside AOA. Stay tuned for more developments.

Sun Peaks Camp

I was fortunate enough to attend the Michel Pratte camp at Sun Peaks for the first time, and it lived up to expectations. A strong turnout from Craigleith racers, great snow for training, very convenient hill space and excellent coaching. You can expect many of the Pratte principles to show up in our gate training sessions this winter, as Jacques Reid, our new head coach for adult training programs, has been working closely with Michel and Matt Kerr at several recent camps. And get ready to bid for places in the 2014 Zermatt and Sun Peaks camps at the Calcutta! See below for some pics.

*Some of the Craigleith crew at Sun Peaks*

*The OSV run, where training is held at Sun Peaks*

A New Way to Shoot Video / Live in Hope

Here is some video shot in Colorado from a remote control / drone helicopter. Watch for examples of the "deep" line, i.e. completing most of the turn in the quadrant above and outside the gate. You may remember that Michael Walker has one of these heli-camera set-ups.

Mere Rumor-Mongering

Those who have studied the GDHL information page on our website may remember the "questionnaire" that included choices like "I raced with Steve Podborski or Kate Ryley at Craigleith. I was faster, but then ..." and "I am Steve Podborski or Kate Ryley." Seems that we might have someone to (almost) answer "yes" to these questions. When I restored my connections after my flight back from Sun Peaks, I found an email from Megan Ryley asking about GDHL. Her answers would be "I am Kate Ryley's older sister" and (maybe) "I was faster then and I still am." To turn back the annals of FIS history, on 27 February 2003, there were men's and women's downhill races held at Mont Ste. Anne. I don't know whether they used the same course, but from comparing the winners' times they might well have. Greg Cavers, our defending GDHL individual champion, had a FIS licence that year. His time in the men's race was 1:16.01. Since then, he has fathered three children, helped teach them to ski and managed to reclaim the GDHL title that I suspect he won that year. He is also, let's say, not looking forward to age 40. Megan's time in the women's race was 1:14.78. Since then, she has had podium finishes in Nor-Am races, been an NCAA All-American and represented Canada at the FIS World Championships. She is also still in good with those who don't trust anyone over 30. Meg wasn't very specific about her interest in GDHL, but she would be a bit of a challenge for the rankings committee don't you think?

Enough for now. See you on the snow!!

James Mathers