This issue has been compiled at my leisure after the urgency of a coming weekend's events has passed. I hope you'll have an opportunity to absorb it all at your leisure as you have transitioned into off-season activities, perhaps having enjoyed a stretch of post-Club Championships skiing that was almost as long as the stretch before it. I always think I'm skiing better in March and April than in the height of the season, although maybe it's just the absence of those pesky gates dictating where I have to turn. My bucket list includes skiing at least once in every month of some year, with a view to keeping that feeling into the next race season.
Housekeeping
The last news left open the possibility of team results being affected by adjustments from the first race's minor confusion. Fortunately, the adjustments would not have made a difference, so the results stand as in the last news and on the database. Winners were paid out through March statements from the Club.
As of my last visit to the Club, some of you hadn't returned your GDHL bibs. Please do so before Christmas comes. As an aside, the GDHL balance sheet includes more than one set of old bibs (asset or liability yet to be determined under GAAP), so if you know of a third world ski race league or another charitable use for them, please speak up. If you didn't get your GDHL team or individual medal, follow up with Randy Dalton, and if you didn't get your GDHL commemorative mug, see Julie Hughes.
Here is a link to Lou Montana's pics of one of the last GDHL GS races. Remember that you're entitled to one free electronic image from Lou's collection, so contact him through his website to collect yours. Here is a link to a large collection of pics from the Club Champs GS and here is the link for the SL.
Non-Skiing News
I'm delighted to pass along news from Carrie Grinter Lenauskas that Luke Sarunas Lenauskas was born at 8:04 pm on 30 March, weighing 5 lbs 13 oz. and that Jackson Vytas Lenauskas was born two minutes later. Jackson was somewhat smaller at the time, but the difference will be a rounding error before long. Their short term focus is eating, sleeping and gaining weight. Depending on your perspective, this represents measurable and achievable goal-setting or just what a male of Lithuanian heritage does naturally. A picture taken on their arrival home from the hospital follows.
This was a few weeks ago - they're probably shaving and drinking beer by now :)
Glenn Blaylock sent the photo below from his visit to St. Moritz. It depicts events from the celebration of the 100th Cambridge-Oxford hockey game, the first of which was played in St. Moritz over a century ago. Glenn was captain of the Cambridge team when he studied there. Elaine, now his wife, had a supporting role in team administration. Glenn apparently managed to also visit the mountains during his time in St. Moritz.
A scenic spot for the great Canadian pastime.
What Do You Think?
The end of the season brings a chance to reflect on opportunities for improvement, although fortunately it seems that none is critical at this stage of GDHL's evolution. Let the committee know what you think about the points below. (You can just reply to this email.)
We've not had much fuss lately about bib allocations. Several years ago, we moved away from placing all older males in a preferred spot and now allocate men's bibs based on weighting age 1/3 and performance 2/3, but switching to 50/50 at age 60. (Women are ranked in the same way, but we group them together a bit more, as they seem to thrive in clusters.) For reference, Jeff Sutherland will turn 60 for next season, so he will get a small bump towards the front of the line despite his continuing fine performances. Based on the past season's list, Jeff would move from 82 to 73. Allan LaChance has been in the 60+ adjustment regime for a while. This past season he was bib 62 instead of bib 75 as a result.
Some have suggested that ski-cross racers got it right by not allowing alpine-style race suits. Certainly pre-race ablutions etc. would be facilitated, although Cynthia Waite's fine pink and white suit would be missed. Ski-cross apparently has a rule about minimum loose fabric measurements, which sounds like a sexual harassment lawsuit in waiting for GDHL inspectors, so I would be inclined to simply stipulate that the fabric content has to be less than 10% Lycra, and if you split your pants during a race you're disqualified.
The past season's scheduling led to slalom being overweighted at the outset, although we were able to restore the traditional mix of three GS, three SL and one Super G with two GS on the final day. It's been suggested that we should perhaps switch to four GS and two SL. Supporting arguments include straighter, simpler races being safer and GS being easier to grasp and less intimidating for newcomers. Conversely, some prefer slightly slower races, and SL seems to give women a better chance of beating men.
Although there has been little fuss about bib allocations, there is no shortage of inquiries about scoring adjustments for those who are injured or appear in hindsight not to have been properly ranked. I'm sure this is all in an altruistic spirit of justice for all, coupled only coincidentally with the positive effect on one's own team's ranking. I had one such inquiry from a racer who seemed unaware of his team already being in first place despite an injured member who had missed all of the races to date. I believe my answer has uniformly been that the Calcutta is gambling (shocking I know) and you take your chances when you pay your money. Your committee is not keen on the prospect of weighing the merits of the excuses for non-attendance that racers would inevitably propose. Having said that, it has occurred to me (often when adjustments leave a low ranked racer who has missed all races to date with a negative score) that the adjustment system favours higher ranked racers. (If you don't have four races, you get your average score minus 10 points for each missing race. If you have no races, you get points based on your ranking, assuming everyone showed up, minus 10 points per race, which would leave you with something like minus 36 if you were the lowest ranked racer and missed all races.) We could instead make the adjustment say 10% of your average score, and if you have no races give you a score based on the score of the person who is in your ranking spot, less 10%.
So, let the committee know if you have a strong view about:
- bib allocation rules
- not allowing speed suits (except maybe in the Super G)
- having fewer SL races
- adjusting the penalties for those who don't complete four races
And of course, if you just feel strongly about keeping GDHL a great place to race, please volunteer to join the committee. Skill testing question is "who are you" and 75% accuracy is required - we have standards!
Observations
I was surprised and delighted to be given a lifetime achievement award at the GDHL dinner.
Thank you! I don't normally smile this much.
It behooves me to say that mine has been a very short lifetime on the GDHL committee to date and that Marlene Jackson and Mark Reidl in particular have much greater accumulated service. But nonetheless I will take the implicit invitation to an honoree to offer a few reflections.
First, I don't want to minimize the amount of work that it takes to run GDHL, as that would diminish the efforts of many others, but I must say that it's not overwhelming, especially with the benefit of recent routines and the support of Club staff, and it's uniformly gratifying. J-F Courville and Byron Darlison had a sound vision for building on the legacy that Mark Reidl left, and the website and related features that they contemplated have been key to making GDHL what it has become. And they, followed now by Marlene, have succeeded in assembling a capable and congenial committee who in an informal way have managed to get everything done with a minimum of fuss and a high level of results.
Second, having generous sponsors has confirmed my suspicion that life is much easier when you don't have to worry too much about money. Squires, Ron Warren and Locations North (Des von Teichman) were recruited by Mark and have been key supporters of GDHL and much else at the Club for many years. Michel Pratte was recruited by Byron and J-F after several of us had a great time in Zermatt despite wind-related interruptions. Do try to go there or to one of the other camps sometime! And then Bob Callow (Budget Propane) and Suzanne Sutherland (Sutherland Insurance) literally or figuratively walked into the Club office with their cheque books asking to be sponsors. We are indeed fortunate. Their support and an underlying sentiment that most of us don't need too many more giveaways from our activities have enabled GDHL to purchase a lot of gates and other equipment that has been dedicated to adult training and racing, subsidize the North Face jackets that many of us are pleased to wear, underwrite the construction of the Landslide start hut and the Interclub website and scoring system, and much more over the years.
Third, it's been very gratifying to see what I think has been a significant increase in the number of younger racers in GDHL in recent years. This may be an inevitable result of the number of baby boomers' children who have reached the age of GDHL eligibility and re-embraced the idea that it's possible to enjoy a limited amount of time around their parents. I hope it has something also to do with GDHL providing a high caliber but relaxed environment in which to pursue a pastime by which we're all very excited, to be with longtime friends, to meet new friends and, for many of us, to watch a few friends who have skills we can only wish we had and to hope next year might be the year in which we finally improve enough faster than everyone else that we have a few moments of our own glory, however we define that.
Enjoy the summer, train hard, stay safe and we'll be in touch in the fall. (Unless you have thoughts or want to join the committee, in which case we'll respond promptly.)
James Mathers