That’s a wrap! The GDHL racing finished with an exciting, and entertaining dual slalom last Sunday, leaving us with only our end of year banquet to cap it all off. Thank you to all our racers, the race staff, our Coach – Glenn Blaylock, Coyotes, volunteers, and Craigleith. There were certainly doubts that our season could come to fruition through yet another Covid winter, but we have succeeded, and we have had a lot of fun along the way.
Even in the coldest of winters, like what we have been experiencing this year, ski racing gives participants something to look forward to every weekend. It keeps us moving forward, and excited about the falling snow. It is our great fortune that we were able to enjoy the winter take advantage of our ski hills and give us all an athletic outlet.
We are not done yet though! There is still one more event to take advantage of the End of Year Banquet! This will be a perfect moment to reconnect, live, indoors, with your fellow racers. More details on the banquet, Saturday, March 5th, below. Also, the full recap of last weekend’s race, an update on the Fantasy GDHL, a look a head to this weekend’s Interclub Race Finals, and one final word about the results on the season.
BANQUET
This year’s banquet will be in the Base Lodge, starting at 7 pm, Saturday, March 5th following the Club Championships. Tickets will be on sale on the online Craigleith portal starting this Saturday. The evening will include great food, drinks (care of Lost Craft), and entertainment.
This is the night we anoint the champions of our season and highlight some other performances as well. Our own, insta-famous Paul the Ski Racer – Peterson will be MC, so be prepared to get roasted for your early season struggles, or your busted zipper on your DH suit in the Super G race.
Also, there is a small rumour, unsubstantiated of course, that there is an attendee gift for the evening.
THE DUAL SLALOM
Last weekend Craigleith fell victim to wicked winds… so wickedly windy that there were sightings of Dorothy and Toto making landfall. But just as Dorothy prevailed in Oz, so too did the GDHL. On Sunday morning when all other lifts at Craigleith closed due to the hefty breeze, the Little John Chair opened up on time, enabling us to run our season finale race, the Dual Slalom!
The course was certainly fast! Starting in the morning the new snow was moved off the track by the racers while they completed their seeding runs. The first two runs were over quickly, positioning all racers in a competitive order for the afternoon’s race. Final results were only based on the afternoon’s runs, which provided plenty of opportunity for racers to improve from their morning’s finish position.
As the afternoon races began, the wind subsided a bit, the sun beat down on the patio and ski hill, and the crowds gathered at the finish corral. For those watching, the enjoyment and excitement of two racers going head-to-head was memorable.
Racers began in descending rank from the mornings seeding runs, building up anticipation as each pair of skiers reduced the times to get down the hill. In the end, there were only two racers that could eclipse the 20-second mark, Benjamin Williams (39.41 Total) and Spencer McCool (39.92) who came first and second respectively. In third came Andrew Athey with a total time of 40.83. Ben Williams, of course has already secured the Men’s title for the season, and this was icing on the cake.
Spencer and Andrew both follow up last week’s podium results from the Comet slalom, with their second consecutive podium performances. For Andrew, he has raced to 32 results in the GDHL, and the last two have been podium finishes, truly remarkable how he has steadied his adult race career to be performing at such a high level. For Spencer, this is his first-year racing GDHL, and he may have been slightly mis-ranked to start the season, but even he may not have understood his own abilities in January. Coming off a bummed knee, and a year of boredom during the pandemic (we can all relate) he has bounced back to ski better than ever. We are all excited to see how Andrew and Spencer continue to perform in the Club Championships and future GDHL seasons!
The women were led by another fearless performance from Megan Peterson, who has now solely locked up the women’s title for the season. Her first GDHL title in her storied athletic career, it is certainly one of her most impressive and important. Her combined time of 41.34 bested the times of Mackenzie Irwin (43.54) and Madison Staples (44.30) who both finish of their seasons with podium performances. This is Mackenzie’s third year in the GDHL, and she has always finished the season on the overall podium. Madison’s inaugural GDHL season includes one race win, this third-place finish with some top five performances. In recent memory, there has not been a more competitive and complete women’s field to GDHL, and it is so fun to watch!
Craigleith Interclub Captain, Taylor Simms Brown enjoying the sunshine on Sunday
INTERCLUB – THIS WEEKEND
For those who are still reeling from the high of watching the best compete head-to-head on Sunday afternoon, there is another great opportunity to cheer on your favorite Craigleith Racers! The InterClub finals are on Big John on Saturday afternoon, and to make it more exciting, it is winner take all.
This of course following a big win by the Craigleith Interclub team at Alpine two weeks ago (with a little help from the GDHL Dyson preferred start, and Milgram's sled) to secure the Hetherington Cup awarded to the top regular season team. It will be down to the wire, and your cheers and cowbells will be needed!
FANTASY
Some cruel person suggested making you wait to hear the final winners of the GDHL Fantasy League, and we support that suggestion! The is no better way to find out if you won the jackpot than by attending the banquet next Saturday. For those who cannot make it, the updated scores will be posted at https://gdhl.org/fantasy-gdhl-1
FINAL RESULTS
The season results are all on the GDHL website but be warned there are still a couple data errors that must be sorted ahead of the banquet. There is still some uncertainty because some unnamed individuals took weeks to report their DSQs in Slalom races.
That is all for now. Another great GDHL race season is behind us. Now to look forward to Club Championships, the Banquet and Spring Skiing!
-Doug