What do I mean by that title? Well, you'll have to read a bit, because first there are some important details for this weekend. But no, don't hold your breath Rob Burnes (bib 79).
Weekend Schedule
- Friday gate training is SL on Birches at 0930 and 1300 - contact Laurel Armstrong to register
- Saturday gate training is SL on Comet at 0900 to 1030 and 1045 to 1215
- Sunday gate training is SL on Birches at 0900 to 1030
- Fast and Female meets at the top of the National Chair Saturday and Sunday at 0930
- Adult Tech meets at the bottom of the National Chair Saturday and Sunday at 0930
- GDHL race is SL on Comet Sunday at 1300, inspection at 1215
- Interclub is GS at Devil's Glen Saturday at 1300 - more details below
Gate Training Etiquette
As we all know, racers leave ruts racing. So do racers training. Other skiers like skiing in ruts even less than racers, especially when there aren't gates to warn them that there may be ruts. The last few minutes of each gate training session will be devoted to sideslipping the course. Click here for details on techniques. Please don't leave (aka bugger off) without doing your part.
Interclub
Interclub is another great way to take part in ski races, in a different format from GDHL. Click here for details. Desirable qualifications for racers are being reasonably fast for your age, if you're male, being able to finish the race, if you're female, or being willing to race at Caledon, if you're either of the above. Go to the interclub website and "Sign Up Now" if you're new, or log in to your account and register for 2018 if you're a vet. Craigleith is seeking an unprecedented seventh straight championship this year, but it's not too late to jump on the winners' bandwagon.
Calcutta
A splendid time was apparently had by the assembled multitude, with enthusiastic bidding on teams being a highlight.
Did the folks who bid $2700 on Team Cornice think Peter Dyson has been sandbagging? Have they seen his record of DNF's at fis-ski.com?
Could they possibly be worth 2.7 times this fine group of Team Manitou members?
Thanks to Lou Montana for his pictures. See more here. Remember that GDHL racers are entitled to one complimentary digital picture from Lou this year. Contact him through his site to arrange. Lou will take pictures at three races this year, and we'll post them through the newsletter.
Newsletter Subscription
I've added all of this year's racers to our newsletter distribution list based on the email addresses in our records. Sometimes these are the addresses of a racer's parent or spouse. Sometimes racers have multiple addresses. If you're getting more copies than you need, just "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the one you don't want. If someone you know isn't receiving a copy, subscribe at gdhl.org.
So, On to Mr. Burns
"The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!" Or to put it another way, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Despite many more than satisfactory elements to the season opening, your committee had a couple of agley club moments, notably around 1232 Sunday. So:
- Thanks to the Club and the Coyotes for succeeding in running a great race and being prepared when Mother Nature unexpectedly cooperated.
- Sorry for some contradictory communications from the committee as we tried to manage our end of the situation, and thanks to racers for adapting quickly.
- We're aware of a few racers who may not have started Sunday as a direct result of contradictory communications. If you think you're one of them, please let us know by replying to this newsletter email pronto. Those considered justifiably aggrieved may be awarded the average of their best three race scores in place of their DNS's. This will happen at the end of the season only if it affects team or individual prizes - if it doesn't we will not disrupt the programming of the database, which affronts my son the programmer.
- We are developing a policy to deal with similar situations, which will be published in due course.
The lovingly prepared sheets on which team members indicated their interest or otherwise in buying a 5% interest in their respective teams went missing. Through some desperate logic, this has been blamed on the Winstone family puppy, which is young enough to get off with a suspended sentence. Most team members have already responded to a follow up email from Trent on Tuesday. If you haven't, please do so right away if you want to buy in.
Results
To maintain the suspense a bit longer, but really because the database isn't updated quite yet, you won't yet find the results from Sunday in the usual place. Unofficial results are available on Live Timing here. Full commentary and illustrations will follow when the database is updated.
Enough for now.
James Mathers