Lots of results on which to report. That and more below, but first:
Weekend Schedule
Gate training is GS all weekend, i.e. Friday, Saturday at 0900 and 1045 and Sunday at 0900. Hill space isn't available as of press time, but watch for the Club race bulletin (for which you must subscribe separately from the weekly update bulletin).
Adult Tech meets at the bottom of National Chair and Fast and Female meets at the top, 0930 Saturday and Sunday
Interclub race is GS at Jozo Weider (Blue Mountain) Saturday at 1000 - sign up for the season at interclubski.org and let Captain Taylor S-B know by email that you've done so if you want to be considered.
GDHL has an off weekend.
More Race Etiquette
As was evident with the windy conditions of the first race, GDHL doesn’t have a fancy system of on-hill officials, juries etc. Sometimes this leads to a bit of scrambling, but mostly it lets you get on with enjoying your race and not be burdened with formalities. Since we don’t have gate judges, we mainly rely on self-policing. This year’s second race showcased a different aspect of our legal system. On Sunday evening, I had a note from a racer saying he felt obligated to disqualify himself after he realized he shouldn't have skied a number of gates during inspection. That is something one isn’t permitted to do. (Inspection is sometimes for sideslipping and sometimes not, depending on what the Coyotes tell us. It’s not a practice run.) Turning oneself in like that is unusual but certainly commendable. I had notes from more than one other racer pointing out that there had been several other racers taking practice during inspection and asking that I emphasize that this is not done. Consider yourselves admonished.
I had another note from a racer who saw the results and thought that another racer had erroneously been given a time for one run despite missing several gates. The other racer readily acknowledged having done so, and thought that the timing hut would have seen the problem and entered a DSQ. In fact, the timers rarely do that. It isn’t their job. In other races, the jury would make the ruling, but since we don’t have a jury, we ask that racers who ski out of the course stay out of the course and don’t cross the finish line at all. If you can’t avoid crossing the finish line despite not completing the course correctly, please go immediately to the timing hut and ask them to change you to a DNF.
In short, we rely on people to police themselves, always recognizing that there are sharp eyed interested parties in the vicinity who may raise a hue and cry if you don’t. Changing the results after they’re posted is a nuisance for which we pay our programmer and, despite that, he gets a bit grumpy about doing so :)
Illustrated Interlude
The video above shows a practice run by Daron Rahlves on the Streif course in Kitzbuhel. There's a little compass in the top left of the screen that allows you to rotate the view through 360 degrees.
Results
Sorry it has taken longer than usual to get results posted in the database. FYI, we can’t set up a new season until registration is complete, which inevitably seems not to happen until after the Calcutta. This year, a few other elements of life took precedence thereafter. GDHL results are found on gdhl.org in the Database under the Results drop down. Before they’re posted, they can usually be found through the Live Timing site, which is also accessible under the Results drop down. Finally, Interclub results are available on interclubski.org, for which a link also exists under the Results drop down. As of the time of writing, the DSQ relating to missing gates hasn't been implemented yet (oh the suspense!) and the rankings recorded in the database are indeed rankings but not the ones we normally publish. That may all be done by the time of reading, just to confuse matters.
So, what actually happened on the hill? In the opening GS on Big John, you will recall that reaching the immaculately prepared course was delayed by high winds shutting down the chair at a critical juncture, but people sprang into action once Mother Nature co-operated. Scott McLorie, who reminisced during the delay about racing when one inspected a course on foot from bottom to top, and professed a willingness to hike to the start, didn't need the advantage many thought that would give him. Although the GDHL database shows only one race in which Scott has finished outside the top 10, and many in which he's been top 5, it didn't show any wins until 7 January 2018. Scott had the fastest time in each run, ultimately winning by 0.3 over Phil Ruffolo, with Jeff Sutherland grabbing third, the Bruce brothers taking fourth and fifth and the preferred bib holders (Trent Winstone and Doug Jarvis) following them. Richard Usher-Jones and Patrick Pedlar broke into the top ten for the first time in a while, sandwiching Duff Isberg. Other notable placings included newcomer Aaron Maybin (a Peaks refugee) in 11th, Peter Dyson (14th) and Chris Knight (first top 30). Defending champion Sarah Latimer led the women in 26th, followed by Leslie Morgan (first top 30, at least recently) and newcomer Brianna Machej.
Weekend 2 saw the first Interclub event of the season. There's some question, at least in my mind, whether Craigleith is seeking a record-breaking 7th consecutive championship season or a record-breaking 8th consecutive championship season, but in any event the quest got off to a fine start at Devil's Glen. Despite being short one woman and the database scoring being caught off guard by one of the teams changing its name since last season, Craigleith won by 13 points over the Peaks. Leslie Sims, Al LaChance, Glenn Blaylock, Kate Veer, Jeff Sutherland (leading a 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 in the biggest category of the day), Greg Cavers, Keith Farnand and Duff Isberg all won their age groups, as Craigleith won all but one of the categories in which we started.
Weekend 2's GDHL race (SL on Comet) brought more excitement. I'm told the course set was challenging, particularly towards the end. In any case, Cheryl McConachie apparently found no difficulty, as she impressed the onlookers in winning by an even second over Jeff Sutherland, who's now tied for first place in the overall standings with Scott McLorie, who was fourth on the day. Cheryl became the second woman to win a GDHL race. You can find the results of the first female conquest here and decide for yourself which was the more dominant. Greg Cavers was third, Trevor Jackson fifth, Samantha Higgins joined the fast and female team in eighth., and Allan LaChance was ninth. Brianna Machej was third female in 13th. David Henderson (17th) and Chris Knight (29th) continued their consistent improvements in their sophomore seasons, while J-F (The Schnoz) Courville struggled bravely a bit further back.
One More Thing
Last but far from least, Margaret Isberg sends us an early reminder of the Friends and Family Race Day in support of Track 3. It's a great chance to train, race, eat, drink and have fun in many other ways, all in support of a great cause. It's Friday, 16 February at Craigleith. More details and tickets here. More reminders will follow.
Cheers,
James Mathers