Long Slaloms AND Long Newsletters!

We are now at the penultimate weekend for the GDHL. The season has been unfolding in wonderful fashion with many feel-good stories, and successes. This week’s newsletter is loaded with information on the events taking place during the remainder of our season, including the End of Year Banquet, and the Interclub Championship Race. You will also find a short summary of the race last Sunday, and the updated team and individual rankings which are starting to paint a clearer picture of where everyone will end the season.

Big John Slalom

It was another Big John Slalom for the GDHL! This one was just as fun as the first, with similar excitement. The course was set down the middle of Big John, with a nice rhythm, and lots of rhythm changes. The early leader was Bridgitte Mingay, who finished 2nd overall on the ladies’ side, with a time of 47.72. Very soon after, Cheryl McConachie continued her Slalom dominance, laying down the 4th fastest time of the day, 43.31 to lead the ladies’. Mackenzie Irwin finished in third with a 47.78. This was Bridgette’s first appearance on the podium, while both Cheryl and Mack are vying for the overall ladies’ lead.

The men’s side became interesting when many of the top racers skied out in their first run. This gave an opportunity for different looking top 10 racers, however there weren’t any surprises on the podium. Ben Williams won the race with a time of 42.69. Alex Libert followed closely with a time of 42.97. Gordie Bruce continued his impressive campaign, finishing in third, with a time of 43.22.

The top ten had only Greg Cavers representing the “not in their 20s” crowd. In possibly the race of his life, Robert Vitols finished 10th. You may have to go through lots of old Alpine Ontario results to find the last time he finished top 10!

Next Up: Big John GS, Sunday, February 24, 1 30 PM Start time.

Rankings

Rankings can be found here. Start to review them, find your rival, plot your success, and check in on the team ranks too! The top three teams are very competitive with only 72 points separating Team Comet in first place, and team Vortex in third. Sandwiched between those two is Cornice. You can also sort by gender (Cheryl and Mack!) to see how close you are to the overall title!

Now onto the guest writers. Find below info on the End of Year Banquet and the Interclub Finale!

End of Year Banquet, Saturday, March 2nd

From Carrie Lenauskas:

Sadly, it's the end of the year almost.  Only 2 races are remaining, but this means that we have our end of the year banquet coming up!

Not only will we find out who the big winners are on both the team and individual side, we will also see who won the family competition as well as all the other awards we have!

The event start at 7pm with some awesome music from BAM, Craigleith's resident pump up man. We will have appetizers, a family style dinner and of course, dessert.  Lost Craft Brewery will be there will be there with some samples as well.

Corkage is $10/bottle (paid at the bar).

Everyone is welcome!  Ticket are $35 or $25 for intermediates 35 and under – Available at the front desk starting today.

Last Year’s GDHL Harware on display at the end of year banquet

InterClub Finals are this Saturday!

From James Mathers:

Since the last update, Craigleith's Interclub masters team has completed an undefeated regular season with victories at Jozo Weider and the Peaks.  One key to success was a Few Fast Females.  Thanks are due to Anne Mathers, Mary Riopelle, Tiana Boyman, Kate Veer and Samantha Higgins, who collectively ensured that we had the minimum number of women required for a full team at each race, without which we wouldn't have been undefeated, and scored lots of points to boot.  I tried to find an "m" word to replace "fast" and achieve a more alliterative version of Many Fast Men, but the thesaurus offered none.  It did suggest "debauched," "dissolute," "profligate" and "loose" in addition to "speedy," "expeditious" and "winged."  You can decide which best suits LaChance, Sutherland, Blaylock, Fregren, Winstone, Burnes, Raymond, Patten, Cavers, Shipton, Simms-Brown and Ruffolo, among others, all of whom contributed notably to the team's success.

The local heroes will now seek a record-setting eighth consecutive victory at the Finals, to be held on home slopes.  Captain Taylor Simms-Brown has some tough choices to make in choosing a final roster from all the "prompt" talent.  Come out and help celebrate or, if necessary, console on Big John this Saturday afternoon (and drop off your completed proxy at the South Lodge while you're at it).

See you on the slopes!

-Doug Jarvis

Scheduling Change - Slalom this Sunday moved to Big John - 10 AM Start

GDHL Racers: Our Race on Sunday, February 17th, has been moved to Big John. The start time remains the same, 10 AM.

See you there!

-Doug Jarvis

Snowmageddon Part 2

Family Day weekend is upon us (and today is Valentine’s Day), and we’ve now been blessed with two impressive winter storms. We hope everyone has been commuting safely through the intense snow, and thanked the gods of precipitation for the continued support our ski hills.

After multiple temperature swings and some wacky storms, we are back to having lots of snow and ice on the ground. Just like the roads in southern Ontario, the hills at Craigleith were pretty slick last weekend leading to an exciting, and speedy race!

Craigleith wasn’t the only host of fast races though, as the World Championships were in full swing last weekend, and the performances were remarkable. A small highlight of the best performances is included below.

Last Week’s Recap

There is a lot of credit due to our exceptional course setting team. Last Sunday’s GS race on Big John could have easily been a repeat of the first race of the season, and no one would have complained. However, that is what we received. Our coaching team set a great GS course down the middle of Big John, on bullet proof ice, to create an exciting and adrenalin pumping race. Right from the start gate, racers could feel their edges cut into the ice on the flats before the pitch, and once over the pitch it was up to the racers to decide how fast they wanted to go.

The fastest of the day was Gordon Bruce (29.12)! An exceptional finish through the first run held, even though lots of seconds runs were faster. Following Gordon was Duff Isberg (29.46) and Phil Ruffalo (29.49). It was a very tight cluster of finishes from the top echelon of our racers. Of note, Phil beat out long-time rival Alec Libert, which is a rare occurrence and one that Phil celebrated exuberantly.

Mackenzie Irwin’s second run won her top spot among women (31.23). This is Mack’s 2nd win in the category, to tie her with Cheryl, who also has two category wins to her name. Cheryl came in second among women (31.37), and Lindsay Brazill (32.75) came in third. This is Lindsay’s first podium in her GDHL career!

In the “Top 20 racers, not in their 20s” category, Scott McLorie (30.41) and Greg Cavers (30.47) came 7th and 8th. David Raymond, Al Lachance, and Richard Usher-Jones put great performances finishing 18th, 19th, 20th, respectively.

Next up:

This week we have Slalom Sunday morning at 10 am, on Comet.

World Championships in Are, Sweden - Results

Both Aksel Lund Svindal and Lindsey Vonn announced that their final races would be at the 2019 World Championships in Are, Sweden, starting last week through to this weekend. It was previously mis-reported (FAKE NEWS) that Lindsey was retiring at the start of the season, however it was always her intention to race this season as her last. Following some pretty intense injuries from crashes this season, Lindsey’s race schedule was limited. She felt that this World Championships was the last race she could push herself through the pain of a chronically injured body.

Aksel, no different from Lindsey, has had a storied career dominating the speed events and putting his stamp on all disciplines. In 2014 he tore his achilles tendon and missed the majority of the 2014/2015 season. He then came back to start the 2015 season and won the Lake Louise downhill in his third world cup race back from injury. Aksel recognized his body was aging and he wanted to make sure he could leave racing on his own terms. He too announced that his final race would be at these world Championships.

Below are each of their runs.

Aksel finished his career with exceptional results.

• World Cup: 36 wins, 80 Podiums.

• 2 Overall World Cup Titles, 9 Discipline Titles

• World Championships: 5 wins, 9 Podiums

• Olympic Games: 2 Gold medals, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze.

Lindsey Vonn was the most dominant Female ski racer ever.

• World Cup: 82 Wins, 137 podiums

• 4 Overall World Cup Titles, and 16 discipline titles

• World Championships: 2 wins, 8 podiums

• Olympic Games: 1 Gold medal, 2 Bronze

Enjoy the posts from each of them, saluting their final runs.

With all of the injuries, the setbacks and the pain it wasn't perfect but I couldn't have finished my career any better... it's as close to a fairytale ending as I can get and it's all still sinking in.... ❤️🙏🏻 #thankful #againsttheodds #nevergiveup

182.7k Likes, 1,821 Comments - L I N D S E Y * V O N N (@lindseyvonn) on Instagram: "With all of the injuries, the setbacks and the pain it wasn't perfect but I couldn't have finished..."

That moment when you realize you've crossed the finish line for the last time as a professional athlete🏁. Thanks for all the kind words and support these last days. This couldn't have ended in a better way✌️😊

76.4k Likes, 1,161 Comments - Aksel Lund Svindal (@asvindal) on Instagram: "That moment when you realize you've crossed the finish line for the last time as a professional..."

See you on the slopes. Safe driving out there!

-Doug Jarvis

Over the Hump of Winter

We have passed the mid-point of our GDHL Season and are now coming into the home. Last weekend was our inaugural Dual Slalom and Après Ski event, and we’ve got another Big John GS this coming weekend. For those of you looking to enjoy some ski racing during the week, the World Championships are currently taking place in Are, Swede, and Friday is the ladies Alpine Combined event. You’ll find a full write up on all these items and more

Retro Attire was on Full Display on Saturday Afternoon

Sunday’s GS Race will be on Big John

This Sunday we have our GS Race at 1 pm. The location has changed, and it will take place on Big John. This is a great opportunity for those of you who love the 40 second hill to score more points on our flagship piste. As usual, please be ready to inspect at 12 15.

Greg Cavers - one of the GDHL Committee members to contribute many late hours to last weekend, enjoying a well deserved drink at the Apres event!

Dual Slalom and Apres Ski Event

Our inaugural Dual Slalom event was an absolute blast to host. Thank you to the racers, the cheering squad, the helpers, the videographers, the announcers, the COYOTES, and the GDHL Committee!

The event began at 1 30 pm (ish), with an impressive dual slalom set on Comet. Both Red and Blue Courses were running well, and the first 32 racers took two runs to determine the who would go forward onto the next round. The next round of 16 was an exciting display of lots of our top talent in the GDHL. The round of eight became increasingly competitive as the four races were each determined by hundredths and small tenths of seconds. Going into the semi-finals, Andrew Athey raced Alec Libert, and Gordon Bruce raced Duff Isberg. The Big final was Duff Isberg up against Alec Libert, with the former taking the win! The two races were tight and the winner was separated by less than 6 milliseconds. The small final was won by Gordon Bruce, in a similarly exciting fashion.

The Apres Ski event was wonderfully fun with the live band and awards. The entire committee is so excited by the success of the entire event.

Even with all the excitement going on, we weren’t oblivious to some areas of improvement. This being our initial year, we missed a couple things here and there, and we definitely want to expand the racer selection. All ideas and suggestions are welcome from the GDHL Community and we will work to building a bigger and better event for next year!

Final Four Racers Celebrating a Great Day with a ShotSki!

LR: Andrew Athey, Duff Isberg, Alec Libert, Gordon Bruce

World Championships

The World Championships in Are Sweden began on Monday. The races will finish up at the end of Family Day weekend, so take some time to watch the best in the world. Just as we tried to recreate last weekend, the Dual Slalom will take place next Tuesday, February 12th! Aksel Lund Svindal and Lindsey Vonn will both be handing up their racing boots following their respective downhill races, on Saturday and Sunday. Make sure you check out the schedule here for timing!

Looking forward to another great race weekend ahead!

-Doug Jarvis

The Dual Slalom is Here!

As young racers, many of us would have butterflies in our stomach as we woke up the day of a the race. Today should feel the same!

Whether you are racing today or not, there is guaranteed fun to be had at our Dual Slalom and Apres Ski event!

• For Racers:

  • Please be on Comet at 1 15 to begin inspection

• For Spectators and Team Mates:

  • Come join the party at the bottom of the race course, Race begins at 1 30

Following the race, there will be a full awards ceremony in the Apres Ski, taking place at the North Lodge. Please join us, and remember it is BYOB. There will be finger food provided.

We are so excited for the day. See you on the hill!

-Doug Jarvis

A Nice Fireside Read

It is colder than Planet Hoth in most of Canada, and we’re in the dead of winter. Weather like this invite temptations of settling in beside the fire, relaxing with hot drinks, and enjoying the warmth of being inside. As ski racers, we have decided to ignore these temptations and jump head first into the cold winter weather!

There is without a shadow of a doubt, people on this mailing list who enjoyed the skiing yesterday, in -17-degree temperatures. That shows some incredible dedication to the sport! For the rest of us, we need a bit more motivation to get ourselves on the slopes when the mercury nose dives. The GDHL is that inspiration that gets us out on Saturdays and Sundays, when the skies are grey and the windchill can freeze the skin off your cheeks. This past weekend’s Super G race was a prime example of racing through some chilly and challenging weather. Below you’ll find a full review of our annual speed challenge! This coming weekend, the GDHL committee has put together something special to continue to motivate you to get outside following this cold snap, all the information you need is below. Finally, the standings are slowly forming, so it’s time to take a look at the top performers of the season so far!

The top 3 racers in last weekend’s Super G Race: Alec Libert (3rd), Duff Isberg (1st), Ben Williams (2nd)

Super G

Last weekend’s Super G was beautifully set! The course pushed most (if not all) racers to toe their personal threshold of speed/control. The day concluded successfully with no big crashes or injuries, and only smiles and deep breaths at the finish line. Cheryl McConachie came down as the early leader, about half way through the pack, with a time of 50.81. Jeff Sutherland was able to wedge himself in the leader box for quite a few racers before Scott McLorie overtook him.

In the end, the young guns prevailed with overall finishers Duff Isberg 1st (48.89), Ben Williams 2nd (49.22), and Alec Libert 3rd (49.33). The ladies finished strongly with Cheryl 1st, Mackenzie Irwin 2nd (50.95), and Sarah Latimer 3rd (53.38). Other notable finishes included: Brad McMullen - 13th overall and ranked 29th; Tom Squires – 19th overall and ranked 33rd; Jeff Craig – 28th overall and ranked 52nd; Brian Holland – 42nd overall and ranked 67th. Many more spectacular finishes were recorded. To see the rest of the results, click here.

Special mention to Ray Murakami who disqualified himself after missing a gate. He reported himself to the race hut, which is the honorable thing to do! No race points were earned by Ray on Sunday, but lots of karma and respect.

Event this coming weekend

This weekend we’re hosting the GDHL’s inaugural mid-season event! A dual slalom hosted on Comet, Saturday, February 2nd, starting at 1 30. For more information on the event, click here.

To be brief, the race will have 32 racers competing in a dual slalom bracket. Each head to head run will eliminate one contender until a winner is crowned. If you believe you are one of the 32 racers involved, please continue to check your email as this is how we are communicating details and confirming positions.

If you are not racing, we would LOVE to have you join us! The crowds and energy make racing that much more fun! Following the racing on the hill, about 3 30, the BYOB Après will begin in the North Lodge.

Please remember your own accessories, such as wine glasses, cork screws, and garnishes!

Standings Update

The standings are now posted! This is when you get to see how your race points stack up against your childhood rival, your best friend, your spouse, or kid! The standings currently show a disadvantage to all racers that haven’t completed three races. These standing will become more competitive as racers complete their minimum four races. Our next GDHL race is Sunday, February 10 - GS on Millennium at 1 pm.

We are so excited to host you this weekend. Please be liberal in your invites, and bring along as many friends and family members as you’d like!

Stay Warm!

-Doug Jarvis

Wait, we’re not done yet!

It seems that people enjoyed yesterday’s newsletter so much, they requested more! Well, maybe we should have included a few more details about our upcoming Dual Slalom and Après Ski event on Saturday, February 2nd.

This is all great news! It means two things: 1. You read the newsletter, or at least bits of it, and you recognized you needed more information; 2. You are excited about the Dual Slalom Event and Après Ski!

Here is how the race will run, with racer list below.

• Racers

  • Each GDHL Team will have five racers selected to race in the dual Slalom event. Only four will race per team, the fifth is for substitution purposes.

  • The racers selected for the race are the top five seeds for each team

  • It is up to the teams to discuss and choose who they would like racing/representing them

• The Race

  • This is a one run elimination event, run to FIS standards. There will be a master bracket that tracks the winners of each 1 v 1 ski race, and moves the winners on to the next round.

  • The goal for each team is to have their racers progress the furthest in the bracket.

  • For those of you who are not on teams, you are illegible, sorry

The race will commence at 1 30, so assume it will take up your afternoon. Following the on-hill activates, will be a retro Après ski event in the North Lodge.

On Another Note:

It seems some of our close friends have decided to visit Kitzbühel to enjoy the festivities surrounding the races there this weekend. For those of us stuck in Ontario, below is a great video depicting the most dangerous, and excited ski race!

Thank you for the great feedback this week. Your emails, texts, and phone calls were received and acted upon. Please continue to provide feedback!

See you Sunday!

-Doug

The Super G Weekend - And The Big Event Reveal

This past weekend was a chilly one! With temperatures on both days in and around -20 Celsius, the only challenge to skiing was keeping your face and extremities warm. We had no race and so it became an optional ski weekend for a few of us. The brave InterClubbers travelled over to our neighbour, Alpine for their second race of the season. Read James Mather’s review of the InterClub team’s performance last week and on the season. You’ll also find a detailed description of our Mid-Season event, both on hill and après. Most importantly, there is a link to instructions for participating in this weekend’s Super G, which every racer needs to review and heed.

Today was a beautiful cold winter day! #sunrise #craigleithskiclub #craigleith #skipatrol

338 Likes, 6 Comments - Craigleith Ski Club (@craigleithskiclub) on Instagram: "Today was a beautiful cold winter day! #sunrise #craigleithskiclub #craigleith #skipatrol"

The Super G Race - Sunday, January 27, 1 PM - Landslide

The Annual Super G race is on tap for this Sunday, January 27th, at 1 pm. The race will take place on Landslide, beginning at the top of the Millennium Chair, just as it has in recent years past. GDHLers are expected to roll the B-Netting (stuff that keeps you out of the forest when you fall) at the end of the race to help speed up take down.

For the entire set of rules, please click here. Below are the three generic rules each racer must follow to qualify to race. They are as follows:

• Each racer must inspect the course during the posted inspection time, and sign in with their bib number to the responsible Coyote at the top of the course

  • Inspection will open at 12 10 and close at 12 40, but you must begin your inspection before 12 30 – don’t be late

• Each racer must have a hard eared helmet for their race

• Each racer must have appropriate Super G safety equipment including: no faceguard on the helmet, no slalom guards on the poles, pole baskets on both poles

This is always a spectacular race and you can expect nothing less this year!

The 2018 Super G was won by Joel Charron - Will he defend the title in 2019?

Mid Season Event - Details Here!

Hello GDHLers and fans... Carrie here, keep reading.  I swear, it’s good.

So you’ve been hearing about this ‘mid season event’ on Saturday, February 2. 

What is it? What are we doing?

So we’ll start with the main reason for having a mid season event.  People are on teams, but do we ever meet the people on your said team other than when Mary and Rip auction you off at the Calcutta or if you happen to be the winning team? So we thought... let’s do something team based - exhibition event - not part of the regular season - still competitive -  but for fun!

So the GDHL committee though - ‘what’s more fun than doing a team dual and then doing a BYOB Apres in the North lodge?’ 

DUAL SLALOM

WHEN: Saturday, February 2, 1:30pm
WHERE: Comet

RULES:

Each team will have 4 skiers race in the dual (32 skiers total).  It will be a 1 run elimination.  The racer and team standing at the end - wins all the marbles! Note: the GDHL committee will not be supplying any marbles and there will be no marbles on site to win (unless someone’s kid happens to have them in their pocket).

The super TD, Peter Dyson has worked with us to make this as close to FIS regulation as we can get and will be running the race.  

FAQs

• How will you know what team to cheer for? Each team will have T-shirt’s of a different colour. Make sure all your racers have picked up your T-shirt’s from Julie at 12:30pm in the North. 

• What does the rest of the team do?  Bring your cowbell, pom poms, create a cheer, listen to some tunes and watch the battle ensue.

• Individual racers: Sorry about your luck this year. Sign up earlier (you know who you are) or change your mind and be on a team next year!

Now the good stuff...... we’re kicking it old school.

APRES

The BYOB Après Ski in the North Lodge

Let’s clarify 3 things:

• BYOB -Bring Your Own Beer (or wine, etc)

• Apres Ski - Social activity after a day of skiing where you wear your ski clothing and boots.  People who shower and show up in jeans will be mocked. 

• Do you have to be a part of the GDHL to attend?  NO! Anybody can join in the fun, just remind them to bring their own cocktails

The details:  Let your Craigleith bar bill take a rest this weekend. Bring your beverages for Après to the North.   There will be no bar there so if you forget your booze... you’ll be running to Mac’s/Circle K. Don’t forget your cork screws, bottle openers and cups!

After the race we will roll into the north and start the party.  We’ll have fondu, charcuterie, poutine and some classic apres tunes by the amazing band, NOT OTTAWA.  Make sure your ski boots are dance ready.

We’ll also have a quick awards ceremony for the Team and Racer who wins the imaginary marbles (read: shot).

Hope to see everybody out there cheering on your team and Apresing. 

Housekeeping:

• Please take home all your empties and clean up after yourselves. 

• Cabs and the shuttle will be provided from 4:30pm-6:30pm.

PLEASE DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE 

Craigleith InterClub Team Update

The Craigleith InterClub team has an exceptional track record, winning multiple interclub adult race league titles, and this year they are doing nothing different. The team is on pace for a great year, and James Mathers has contributed below:

The Interclub race season is off to a great start for Craigleith.  The first race at Devil's Glen saw Ben Williams, Duff Isberg and Trevor Jackson sweep the overall podium and Samantha Higgins and Ali Banfield finish first and third among all women.  Trent Winstone and Samantha Higgins won the special MVP prizes as highest point scorers among all age groups.  Other Craigleith age group winners were Anne Mathers, Leslie Sims, Jeff Sutherland and Greg Cavers, and Craigleith's team took the overall win by 29 points.

The second race was held at Alpine last Saturday.  Ben Williams was again the fastest overall and Mackenzie Irwin was the fastest woman.  Anne Mathers, Leslie Sims, Allan LaChance, Jeff Sutherland, Greg Cavers and Taylor Simms-Brown all won their age groups and Craigleith won the day overall by 20 points, thanks to more strong results of many others.

Craigleith is well on the way to an eighth straight Interclub season's championship, which will be decided at the finals to be held at Craigleith on 23 February.  Part of the team's strategy is to have as many racers as possible qualified to be in the final by participating in two of the four regular season races.  It's not too late to join the fun, although competition for places can be tough!  The next races are at Jozo Weider (Blue Mountain) on 2 February at 10 am and at the Peaks on 9 February at 1 pm.  Contact Taylor Simms-Brown if you're interested.

Big message, and lots to take in. Remember to heed the rules of the Super G on Sunday and have a great race! See you on the slopes!

-Doug

Cold Winds Blowing In

Congratulations to everyone who raced and finished Sunday’s Big John Long Slalom! There are few hills on the escarpment that offer the challenge that Big John does.

Below you’ll find a wrap up on the past weekend’s race, review of the upcoming schedule, and of course another plug for our mid-season event which is now only two weeks away!

For those ready to watch the speed week races at Wengen and Cortina, here is a brush up on some things you should know!

Slalom on Big John

When it comes to Slalom races, Big John has always been the ultimate challenge. In recent years, we’ve seen more slaloms run down Millennium, however for many racers who grew up before the V-Hill chairlift, the Big John Slalom was the only FIS homologated race course at Craigleith. For some of us, the thought of finishing this slalom course is only a dream…

On Sunday morning, the Coyotes maintained an exceptional course, that had only one small wrinkle. Ten gates from the finish line there seemed to be trouble for racers, and it forced the really fast youngers racers to gamble on how they would master it.

Congratulations to a well fought battle for the top of the standings. Cheryl McConachie returned to her dominant form providing a smoking fast 51.48 seconds down the course, and was only beat by Joel Charron, who finished at 50.85. Rounding out the top three was Gordon Bruce who’s second run clocked in at 51.68.

The women’s field finished strong, with three ladies in the top ten. Mackenzie Irwin, 52.09, came in second (to Cheryl) and 5th overall, and Brianna Machej, 56.84, finished her career best in tenth!  

Again, congratulations to all those who were brave enough to participate AND finish!

Up Next

This coming weekend is a training weekend. There is no race in the calendar, but there is training to be done! Upcoming events will prove intense, as next weekend is the Super G down Landslide, and the following weekend is our Dual Slalom event.

Take your rest, training and get your skiing legs back! The season is underway and there is lots of racing left to do!

Dual Slalom Event - Saturday, February 2nd

There has been lots of great energy and excitement surrounding our mid-season event, and developments are coming through weekly. Next week we’ve got a guest contributor to deliver a specific message regarding the competition and event. Until then, you can find last week’s write up below:

“We are on! The Committee is super excited for our debut, mid-season event. The race is a dual slalom on Comet, pitting the top 32 racers from the GDHL teams, up against each other. Teams are encouraged to come out and support their racers, with cheers and cowbells. There have been rumors that the winning team will receive a free shot-ski at the 80’s style Après Ski … but these are unconfirmed.

Following the exciting dual slalom, the 80’s style Après ski will be BYOB, with some delicious food available in the North Lodge. Themed outfits are encouraged, however skiboots and downhill suits should fit right in. The event will be family friendly, and open to all.”

A special thanks goes to the guest contributor this week, James Coulter, for providing a great post-race brief. If anyone else would like their thoughts heard here, please feel free to email them in. Just keep in mind, there is no guarantee your opinions will be included!

For more distractions (there aren’t many in this newsletter), click below!

World Cup Downhillers Are The Biggest Badasses in Skiing

Enjoy the weekend on the snow! Stay Warm!

-Doug

One Race in the Books

The season has started! Welcome to the first in-season newsletter for the 2019 GDHL Race Season! Below you will find a wrap up from this weekends events, a reminder about our mid-season event, and details on the new timing chips that have been acquired by the GDHL.

Carrie Lenauskas demonstrating how to properly parent and dry land train simultaneously

SUNDAY’S RACE ON BIG JOHN

We are now one week into the 2019 GDHL race season. Our first race is behind us, and it delivered as advertised! The Big John GS is a staple Craigleith race, and we are fortunate enough to get to race it on the first weekend of every season. This edition of the race was as exciting as ever! After some strange mist/rain turned to frost in the early morning, the hill was shimmering like you’d expect from a hockey rink! The moment inspection began, you could hear the scratching of ski edges as they carved down the hill, perpendicular to the fall line and tried to gain traction on the icy surface. Once the race started the hill softened up and the racers enjoyed a great inaugural race to the 2019 season.

The spectators near the finish corral watched a speedy class of racers come through the finish line. Early in the race, Jeff Sutherland came down wearing bib 20 and put up the top time that stood for the majority of the first run until Mackenzie Irwin overtook over the lead! When all the snow settled, the top three overall racers were 1. Alec Libert (36.35), 2. Gordon Bruce (36.93), 3. Joel Charron (37.02). Mackenzie Irwin stood strong in her racing comeback, leading all women with a blistering time of 38.26 seconds, following her were Cheryl McConachie (39.90), and Alex Kappelle (40.36) in second and third respectively.

As mentioned in James’ previous news-blast on Sunday, the race was packed with new GDHL members, including lots of coaches. This is an exciting time for the under-30 age bracket in the GDHL and could be a promising foundation for the future of the league.

Results should be up shortly under the results tab on the GDHL.org website

Next Up: Sunday, January 13th, @ 10 am, Slalom on Big John

Find below a small compilation of Marcel Hirscher’s best slalom skiing for inspiration. Just make sure no one is filming with a drone!

CALCUTTA WRAP UP

On Saturday night we hosted our annual Calcutta event, and it was as fun as always. Team bidding ranged in the many thousands raising a total purse of $15,400. All of us can thank the outstanding committee members and their significant others who helped organize. Team listing should soon be up on the website. If you missed the event and would like to buy into your team, please ensure to let us know. If you have any questions about the event, you can email us and we’ll do our best to assist!

Mid Season Event! Saturday, February 2nd

We are on! The Committee is super excited for our debut, mid-season event. The race is a dual slalom on Comet, pitting the top 32 racers from the GDHL teams, up against each other. Teams are encouraged to come out and support their racers, with cheers and cowbells. There have been rumors that the winning team will receive a free shot-ski at the 80’s style Après Ski … but these are unconfirmed.

Following the exciting dual slalom, the 80’s style Après ski will be BYOB, with some delicious food available in the North Lodge. Themed outfits are encouraged, however skiboots and downhill suits should fit right in. The event will be family friendly, and open to all.

Timing Chips

Timing chips are nearly sold out! For those of you who bought them, you may pick them up at the race office. For those of you who have now realized you need to shave a couple seconds off of your times to keep up with your childhood rival on the slopes, you can purchase one of the remaining four by emailing Dave Henderson here. If you miss those four, you’ll need to sign up at the race office to include yourself in the next order of these chips.

For those unfamiliar with the chips, they are inserted in athletes ski boots and they communicate with sensors set up in the race course. Late last year, the GDHL purchased the infrastructure to run the system and the burden to athletes is only purchasing the timing chip for $100. The true benefit to this technology is that it integrates with any mobile device to deliver live results from the skier’s previous run(s). The idea is to enable athletes the opportunity to use objective metrics to measure their progress. It is revolutionary in the ski racing world that most of us were brought up in. For more information, find David Henderson.

Good Luck in the Big Slalom on Big John this Sunday! If you feel you’ve got some content that people will find interesting in the newsletter, please respond to this email with it!

-Doug

Not My Privilege Any More

As you know, I’m passing along my past GDHL duties to newer models that inevitably have more RAM and bigger hard drives. However, they haven’t yet locked out my password to the GDHL website, so I thought I would provide some details concerning the last 24 hours or so of GDHL history.

Those with a passing interest in professional sports will recall that Michael Jordan made the NBA championship-winning shot with 5.2 seconds left in his final game with the Chicago Bulls. Those with a more acute interest may know that Fabian Cancellara won the Olympic gold medal in the individual time trial in the final major race of his cycling career. Conversely, I mark my retirement (remembering that Michael Jordan retired three times) with the somewhat controlled chaos of an unprecedented number of last minute entrants into GDHL. From the time we “finalized” the teams and bib allocations on Friday evening until the start of Sunday afternoon’s race, we added 15 racers, changing the picture from being a bit light on registrations to having a few more than last year.

Of course, this was a real team effort, and couldn’t have been achieved without all those who were uncertain or uninformed, or simply succumbed to peer pressure and the lure of potential glory in our convivial GDHL environment. More seriously, we’re delighted to welcome all comers to GDHL, particularly those who are young enough that they may still be racing in GDHL 40 years from now. But we respectfully remind them that it’s cheaper to sign up in October, and you can be on a team and are more likely to get our great swag if you sign up before the last moment. Also, less stress will be inflicted upon our Race Office (notably Kylie Deacon) and our Coyote timing crew, both of whom it must be said passed the stress test in a way that would bring joy to the hearts of the occupants of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

So, a few final details:

• Those wearing bibs 120 to 130 have been assigned to start out of numerical order. Most are latecomers, but Dave Raymond signed up in good time and was assigned number 84, only for us to find at the last moment that it is missing. Many of them are young females and are starting in the late 40’s. Most of the young male latecomers are very strong skiers and were simply given bibs at the back of the start order.

• If you have friends or family among the newcomers to GDHL, please remind them to sign up for the newsletter at gdhl.org. We don’t take anyone off our distribution list, so if you’re not getting newsletters in the usual way, check your spam filter and/or sign up again. If you’re getting multiple copies of the newsletter, “unsubscribe” at the bottom of the one(s) you don’t want.

• It takes a little effort to set up our database for the new season, and this can’t be done until the start list is finalized, which it now is. Results will be posted on gdhl.org in the Database found in the Results dropdown on the main menu. In the meantime, results are available on Live Timing, which can also be reached through the Results dropdown. Congratulations to Alec Libert, Gordon Bruce and Joel Charron as the top three overall and Mackenzie Irwin, Cheryl McConachie and Alex Kappele as the first three women. And compliments to your ranking committee, as there don’t seem to have been significant departures from expectations among the finishers.

The view from the timing hut - best seat in the house!

See you next weekend. Watch for news from Doug Jarvis on Thursday.

Cheers,

James Mathers

The 2019 GDHL Race Season Is Here!

Happy New Year! The start of the 2019 ski season is here, and it is exciting! The Going Down Hill League is all set for another exceptional season of ski racing, training, and a few fun après-events.

Below you will find information about the Calcutta, race schedule, our new mid-season Event (with lots of teaser media), training schedules and a friendly reminder to register before the season officially kicks off.

🔵🔴 Ready! 16:30 CET go time. @holmenkollenalpint

14.5k Likes, 18 Comments - Audi FIS Ski World Cup (@fisalpine) on Instagram: "🔵🔴 Ready! 16:30 CET go time. @holmenkollenalpint"

Registration

Late last night, James Mathers sent out a reminder to check your registration status. Please click here to do so.

“If you are listed, but the details aren’t correct, please reply to this email pronto and provide the correct details.
If you aren’t listed and want to race, or if you have friends, family, rivals etc. who want to race, sign up through the program registration page in the members’ section of the Club website or contact Kylie Deacon in the Club race office if you think there’s been a miscarriage of justice or some other cataclysm, none of which will be new to Kylie. PLEASE DO THIS RIGHT AWAY.”

— JWM

The Calcutta

The Calcutta will begin at 5:30 pm (17:30) on Saturday, January 5th. As is tradition, we will be at the South Lodge, and our sponsors Northwinds Brewery, and Side Launch Brewery will be in attendance to provide libations paired to some delicious finger food. There will be lots of door prizes and some great auction items. The action will be centred around the live auction for each of the teams.

Race Schedule - 2019

The Race Schedule was released last week, and it is below. Please be prepared to inspect the course on Big John, at 12:15 on Sunday.

• Sunday, January 6th, @ 1 PM

  • GS ON Big John

• Sunday, January 13th, @ 10 AM

  • Slalom ON Big John

• Sunday, January 27th, @ 1 PM

  • Super G ON Landslide

• *Saturday, February 2nd is our new Mid Season Event! * (details below)

• Sunday, February 10th, @ 1 PM

  • GS on Millennium

• Sunday, February 17th, @ 10 AM

  • Slalom ON Comet

• Sunday, February 24th, @1 PM

  • GS ON Big John

• CLUB CHAMPS: Saturday, March 2nd

  • GS ON Big John @ 10 AM

  • Slalom ON Big John @ 1 PM

Mid Season Race Event and Après

Our mid-season event is official! It is being promised as the race event of the season, and you won’t want to miss it! It will be on Saturday, February 2nd, beginning at 1 pm on the Comet. The afternoon will pit the top 32 GDHL skiers head-to-head, in a bracket-style dual slalom. All GDHL skiers, and fans are invited to join in the festivities—either racing or cheering—cowbells welcome!. After the winner is determined, (approx. 3 pm), there will be a BYOB Après Ski Party, at the North Lodge. This will be a “true” Après; think 70s style, with lots of fondue and dancing in long-johns and downhill suits. If you have further questions, or outfit concerns, find Marlene Jackson or Carrie Lenauskas, as they can both provide sartorial suggestions.

For your inspiration, you’ll find the two final races from the Oslo City Event Races last weekend below. Take a moment to watch the style of the racers, and the way they double punch the super-slalom panels.

Training Schedule - From Newsletter Published October 24, 2018

This year the gate training program has expanded to include an exclusive women’s class! Women of all levels of skill are invited to join as long as they are comfortable in gates. There will be 2 different days of women’s gates, on Fridays and Sundays, with multiple training times.

Last year we bifurcated the Saturday unisex program into two time slots, early morning and late morning, and that will continue this year.

Our 2019 Gate Training Schedule is as follows:

• Fridays:

  • Unisex and Women only gate training

  • Mornings begin at 10 am, afternoons at 1pm

• Saturdays:

  • Unisex gate training at 8:30, and 10:45

  • Early group is full, late group has limited space (Most likely both are full by now)

• Sundays:

  • Women’s gate training only 10:45 - 12:15

  • Unisex gate training 9:00-10:30 (Space is probably available)

See you at the Calcutta! Saturday, 5 30, South Lodge!

Happy Holidays!

The 2018-2019 Ski season is underway! Many of you are already on the hills enjoying the early season conditions and working off the holiday feasts.

There is lots to share! The 2019 race schedule is below, as well as a small preamble to the 2019 Calcutta (Saturday, January 5th). We’ve got an update on the training timing system being implemented this year, and a brief overview of our wonderful sponsors! Finally, we’ll take a look at what is new in skiing social media!

The race schedule has arrived!

• Sunday, January 6th, @ 1 PM

  • GS ON Big John

• Sunday, January 13th, @ 10 AM

  • Slalom ON Big John

• Sunday, January 27th, @ 1 PM

  • Super G ON Landslide

• *Saturday, February 2nd is our new Mid Season Event! *

• Sunday, February 10th, @ 1 PM

  • GS on Millennium

• Sunday, February 17th, @ 10 AM

  • Slalom ON Comet

• Sunday, February 24th, @1 PM

  • GS ON Big John

• CLUB CHAMPS: Saturday, March 2nd

  • GS ON Big John @ 10 AM

  • Slalom ON Big John @ 1 PM

Please be advised that we will do our best to stick to this schedule, however changes may happen, and we will communicate those changes through these newsletters and emails.

As we have had in the past, the 7th GDHL race will be the Club Championships races. You will notice a bye week from the formal race schedule, so that we can host our mid season event on February 2nd. More information on the afternoon Dual Slalom event and evening party can be found here in our earlier newsletters. Both the Calcutta and mid-season event are family friendly and we hope you bring along yours!

Calcutta 2019

The Calcutta will be held Saturday, January 5th, at the South Lodge. We’ve got some great prizes lined up as well as an improved format to keeps the night moving along through all the excitement! Our wonderful Sponsors: Pratte Ski Camps, Sutherland Insurance, Budget Propane, Locations North, have been generous to support the event with some amazing auction items and giveaways! As mentioned above, it is a family affair, so please bring your spouses, significant others, children, aunts, uncles, etc

Your 2018 Race Season Champions - Team Vortex

Timing Systems

Our new training Timing System has been acquired! The team will have it in place during the first week of January! There are only 8 timing chips left. To buy yours, you must contact David Henderson here. For those who missed the previous note that detailed the equipment, please read:

“Our team of experts have started consulting with a company out of the USA – Free Lap – that supplies timing equipment for amateur and pro training. The system is meant to be cost efficient, user friendly, and exceptionally responsive. It will enable GDHL gate trainers to learn about their skiing as they train for a very low cost, and see the live updates on their phone app as they ride the chair between runs.”

The FIS Circuit:

The story this year from the women’s side has been Mikaela Shiffrin’s scorching season! She has won a race in each discipline and has put down impressive runs nearly every weekend. This is quickly turning into a historic season for her and the sport! On the Men’s side, Marcel Hirscher (video below) is leading the overall points standings, however things may get interesting as the season progresses and the points spread closes.

Enjoy your time on the hills! As some of us are stuck working in the city, make sure you carve some great turns, regardless of the weather! We’re looking forward to re-connecting with you on January 5th at the Calcutta!

Have a Safe and Happy New Year!

Winter has arrived!

It most definitely has at the Club! It looks as though the Blue Mountains will receive continuous sub-zero temperatures over the next two weeks, which might mean some great December skiing! The GDHL Calcutta and first race are just six weeks away and there is lot of content in this newsletter to get you excited!

To get you started, check out this sensational video done by Salomon – pitching an Olympian Skier Vs a Drone:

For those who have recently joined the mailing list, and would like to review previous newsletters, you can find them all at www.GDHL.org/News.

The Craigleith social media pages are showcasing two very important elements of a GDHL racer’s life… snow and beer! The snow pictures are below, showing the new snowguns working hard. The big news from the club last week though was the partnership with Northwinds Brewery and B&B catering to bring a special Craigleith beer to the club! Now all they need is a name, and with all the creative talent in the GDHL, maybe an adult racer can get their name chosen! Click Here to check out the post!

PRATTE CAMPS

For those of you who are yearning for time on snow before the light dustings hit Craigleith, there are the Michel Pratte camps available here: https://bookings.pratteski.com/adult-and-family/. Michel Pratte is a sponsor of ours, however this is not a plug (at least not intended to be). The newsletter’s previous editor, James Mathers has just returned from a trip to Sun Peaks with Pratte Adult Race Camp and he will undoubtedly tell all about his experiences. There are camps in December in Mont Tremblant that are worth looking at, as it a closer destination and the camp is condensed into four days.

The Calendar

Events have started to book up and your calendars will soon be full! Below are some exciting social and race dates:

• Intermediate Apres Ski: Thursday, December 27th

  • If you have to ask if you are too old to attend, you are

• Calcutta: Saturday, January 5th

  • This will follow the LumberJack Apres

• First Race (GS on Big John): Sunday, January 6th

• Wine Festival: Saturday, January 19th

• NEW Mid Season GDHL Race And Dinner Event: Saturday, February 2nd

• Athletic Fundraiser: Saturday, February 9th

FIS World Cup Update

For those of you looking to catch up on ski racing results while waiting for our season to begin read below.

The FIS season kicked off during the last weekend of October with GS at Soelden. The women’s races were exciting as Tessa Worley (FRA) finished as the leader, with Fredrica Brignone (ITA), and Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) behind her. Valerie Grenier (below) – of St.isidore, Ontario – put up a very respectable 11th place finish. Bad news hit when Candace Crawford – Georgian Peaks – fell and broke her ankle during her race.

"I am so excited, I still can't believe it. Sölden is one of the toughest World Cups, this is my own personal best result, a great way to start the season!" - Valerie Grenier 11 - @valeriegrenier DNQ (32) - @mmgagnon DNF1 - @candacecrawford "Je suis tellement excite, j'en reviens pas encore. La Coupe du Monde de Sölden est l'une des plus difficile, je ne me faisais pas d'attente et je suis très contente de ma journée. C'est mon record personnel, une belle façon de débuter la saison pour moi". 📷: GEPA #CANskiteam #TeamCanada #ÉquipeCanada #FISalpine #Sölden #Soelden #worldcupsoelden

1,391 Likes, 18 Comments - Alpine Canada Alpin (@alpinecanada) on Instagram: ""I am so excited, I still can't believe it. Sölden is one of the toughest World Cups, this is my..."

Last weekend the Slalom races were hosted at Levi, Finland, where the host club gives social media the opportunity to fall in love with Reindeer at the finish line! The Women’s race finished with Mikaela Shiffrin 1st, Petra Vlhova (SVK) 2nd, and Bernadette Schild (AUT) 3rd. Erin Mielzynski of Georgian Peaks, finished respectably in 11th place.

"Mr. Gru, would you please stop trying to eat my ski boots and LOOK AT THE CAMERA."🤦‍♀️😂😜🦌 PC: @christophepallot

51.9k Likes, 416 Comments - Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷💨 (@mikaelashiffrin) on Instagram: ""Mr. Gru, would you please stop trying to eat my ski boots and LOOK AT THE CAMERA."🤦‍♀️😂😜🦌 PC:..."

The Men’s race was their first of the season as their previously scheduled competition had been called off due to bad weather. Two of the best technical skiers had their day as Marcel Hirscher (AUT), beat out Henrik Kristofferson (NOR) by 0:00.09 to win, and Andrew Myhrer (SWE) came in third.

Up Next: The men race SG/DH in Lake Louise this Saturday/Sunday, and the women are racing in Killington with GS/SL on Saturday/Sunday.

If you are interested in timing your training runs, please reach out to David Henderson: dghhenderson@gmail.com

Enjoy your Black-Friday shopping, and make sure to squeeze in your final off season workouts before we hit the slopes!

New Beginnings!

Ski season will soon be upon us! We are quickly getting cooler temperatures below zero and less-urban areas are getting flurries of snow.

The GDHL Committee is excited for another great season on the slopes! We’ve got a new event to launch and some fun ways to track your training progress, both of which will be detailed below. We’ve also included important upcoming event and race dates for you to put in your calendar, and information regarding the different training programs.

Just in case you hadn’t noticed, ski racing is just around the corner! The GS races at Soelden begin on Saturday, but it looks like no one told Mikaela:

Everyone keeps talking about Saturday..."Are you ready for Saturday?"..."Who is going to be fast on Saturday??"..."We hope the weather stays good for Saturday!" Honestly-it's all I keep hearing about all day, every day! So, could someone please tell me what the heck is happening on Saturday?!! 🤷‍♀️😝😝⛷💨#4daystillSölden #AreYouReady 📷: @gettyimages / Alain Grosclaude

31.3k Likes, 193 Comments - Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷💨 (@mikaelashiffrin) on Instagram: "Everyone keeps talking about Saturday..."Are you ready for Saturday?"..."Who is going to be fast on..."

IMPORTANT DATES AND INFORMATION:

• Registration is open! Early Bird deadline is November 15th, so get to it!

• Calcutta will be January 5th

• First GS race will be January 6th

• Our NEW mid-season event will be the afternoon/evening of February 2nd

• End of year banquet will be March 2nd

GATE TRAINING

This year the gate training program has expanded to include an exclusive women’s class! Women of all levels of skill are invited to join as long as they are comfortable in gates. There will be 2 different days of women’s gates, on Fridays and Sundays, with multiple training times. Last year we bifurcated the Saturday unisex program into two time slots, early morning and late morning, and that will continue this year.

Our 2018 Gate Training Schedule is as follows:

• Fridays:

  • Unisex and Women only gate training at

  • Mornings begin at 10 am, afternoons at 1pm

• Saturdays:

  • Unisex gate training at 8:30, and 10:45 going until 12:30

  • Early group is full, late group has limited space

• Sundays:

  • Women’s gate training only 10:45 - 12:15

OFF SEASON REPORT

Every summer the GDHL committee members take time while drinking beers on their docks to brainstorm new ideas, and fun activities for our membership. Traditionally this has produced mixed results without much action… Not this time! There has been some new blood added to the committee and they have brought some inspiration and creativity.

Mid Season Dual Slalom Afternoon Event and Evening After Party

On the afternoon of Saturday, February 2nd, we will host our inaugural competitive and GDHL Homologated, Dual Slalom! The event will pit respective teams up against each other for the glory of the Dual Slalom title! Think World Cup Dual Slalom Night Event! Pundits have already chimed in with commentary concluding that this event will be an instant classic.

Following the afternoon race event, the GDHL will be hosting a family friendly dinner event at the club, to award the winners of the races, and bring the teams together. There are still details to be finalized, however we guarantee this to be a fun afternoon and evening!

We’re expecting a crowds similar to this:

For those of you with 25 minutes on your hands, here is a video of Team Canada coming 2nd to the Austrians at the 2015 world championships. It is definitely worth the watch! Fun note, three of Canada’s four skiers are from the escarpment, Erin Mielzynski, Phil Brown, and Candace Crawford!

Timing equipment

Since the beginning of Jeff Sutherland’s career in the GDHL, he has always asked himself “how do I know I was faster that run, than the run before that?”. It is tough, we skiers tend to think slows runs are fast, and fast runs are slow. It looks like we have found ourselves a solution…

Our team of experts have started consulting a company out of the USA – Free Lap – that supplies timing equipment for amateur and pro training. The system is meant to be cost efficient, user friendly, and exceptionally responsive. This would mean that GDHL gate trainers could learn about their skiing as they trained for a very low cost, and they could even see the live updates on their phone app as they ride the chair between runs.

If you’d like to hear more and/or would like to invest, please email David Henderson here

So Long and Farewell

After a million (probably) publications, and countless hours of research and writing, James Mathers has retired from writing the GDHL Newsletter. You will still see lots of James, as he will be racing and training with us, and busy around the club in his role on the Alpine Committee.

I know I speak on behalf of all GDHL members past and current, with a giant THANK YOU! James, your Thursday morning e-blasts have always been a source of great entertainment!

Your new writer is Doug Jarvis… if you buy him a drink around the club he may include something nice about you in the newsletter (just a thought).

FIS SEASON BEGINS IN 2 DAYS!!!!!

Some of us haven’t even raked leaves yet to welcome in fall, however the ski racing season begins in Soelden on Saturday! Women’s GS race Saturday, Men’s GS Race Sunday. If you’d like to catch up on your favorite winter athletes you can follow them on their Instagram pages, which feature tons of training content, below!

3 days and it's go time! #sölden2018 #calmbeforethestorm #CANskiteam

430 Likes, 5 Comments - Candace Crawford (@candacecrawford) on Instagram: "3 days and it's go time! #sölden2018 #calmbeforethestorm #CANskiteam"

• Candace Crawford – candacecrawford (above)

• Erin Mielzynski – erinmielzynski

• Phil Brown – philbrown77

• Marie-Michèle Gagnon – mmgagnon

• Mikaela Shiffrin – mikaelashiffrin

• Ted Ligety – ted_ligety

• Marcel Hirscher - marcel__hirscher

• Aksel Lund Svindal - asvindal

And for those of you who want to see the fun side of skiing and life, you can check out:

• Slalom Tokyo Drift – slalomtokyodrift

• Jerry of the Day – jerryoftheday

Lindsey Vonn

Yesterday, Lindsey (lindseyvonn) announced her retirement from racing! For those who would like to read her release you can find it on Sports Illustrated here. For those who would like to familiarize themselves with Lindsey’s accomplishments in ski racing click here. Below I’ve pasted a nice piece that she uses to sign off her article in SI.

“I have nothing left to prove to myself or anyone else. I am not the nervous little girl standing on top of a mountain anymore; I am a woman ready for the next chapter. I can do this! My legacy will be more than skiing and there are many chapters left to write.”

REMINDERS:

Remember to sign up before the early bird deadline, and to mark your calendars with all the important dates! We are beyond ecstatic to see you on the hill in nine weeks or so!

-Doug

Summer Reruns, and a Special Offer

For various reasons, I was motivated to write a dog days of summer edition of this periodic epistle.  One was that I came across a draft of a pre-website edition of the newsletter, when it was my practice to include an accumulation of past highlights at the bottom of each week's news.  No one has been sending me good jokes recently, so I thought I could repeat some, fittingly at the bottom of this message.

Many of us have some interest in summer cycling but watching the Tour in its entirety can be a challenge.  Here's an eight minute highlight package from the organizers.

Here's a different perspective, apparently compiled by an indie producer, with time on his hands and some arrangement with Eurosport.  It's probably the first video on the site, but you'll likely have to click "no, please help" when it tells you it's not available.  How the Race Was Won - Tour de France 2018 - Full Race.

Special Offer from Pratte Ski International

Buying propane, insurance, real estate and Dynastar skis, Lange boots and other things at Squires are pretty much year 'round propositions, and we trust you'll keep our loyal GDHL sponsors in mind when the time comes for you to do so.  (Just click on their logos in every newsletter.)  However, our friend Michel Pratte's training camps are very much focused on the off-season and now is the perfect time to book a trip to the premier camp - Zermatt from 22 September to 2 October - especially when Michel is offering a $100 discount to GDHL racers and their friends.  Click here for the website, or better yet click here to send an email to Michel.  Below are a few of my favourite reasons for going to Zermatt.

Wake up to this every morning!

• Apart from the skiing, Zermatt itself is a pretty cool place.  It's mostly only electric vehicles, but some of the posh hotels have horse-drawn carriages to collect you at the train station.  The horses wear diapers to avoid fouling the footpath.  The churchyard cemetery is full of reminders of those, many British, whose motto regarding the Matterhorn was perhaps "Veni, vidi ... and whatever the Latin is for I fell off."
• Skiing there is a genuine Alpine experience - a gondola and two cable cars to reach the top of the glacier.  Skiing is almost always under blue bird skis in my experience, sometimes after breaking through clouds on the top cable car, which arrives at a landing station bolted onto the Kleine Matterhorn and drops you off for a couple hundred metre trek in a tunnel bored through the mountain before you reach a most pleasant cafe to put your boots on.
• Even on the glacier, the runs are much longer than anything on the escarpment, and the snow is astonishing.  It's often fresh, and there never seem to be ruts in the course.
• There's nobody skiing there except people in the Pratte camp and rock stars.  The Swiss ski team, World Cup mogul skiers, the Swiss Interski demo team - all riding the same t-bars.  Didier Cuche was there sometimes.  He tended to have a minder on the t-bar and arrived by helicopter instead of cable car, but sometimes you would get a t-bar with a minor World Cup racer.
• The coaching is excellent, and the group dinners at the Hotel Hemizeus are most convivial.
• You will come away feeling certain this is the year you'll break through to your rightful spot at the top of the leaderboard.  I leave this part of the news with pictorial proof that even a decidedly middle of the pack racer can look and feel relatively glamorous training at Zermatt. 

Your correspondent doing due diligence.

Reruns

Top 10 Things to do at the Mall
10. At the bottom of an escalator, scream "MY SHOELACES! AAAGH!" 
9. At the stylist, ask to have the hair on your back permed.
8. Ask a saleswoman whether a particular shade of panties matches the color of your beard.
7. Sneak up on saleswomen at the perfume counter and spray them with your own bottle of Eau de Swanke.
6. Collect stacks of paint brochures and hand them out as religious tracts.
5. At the pet store, ask if they have bulk discounts on gerbils, and whether there's much meat on them.
4. Hand a stack of pants back to the changing room attendant and scornfully announce that none of them are "leak proof".
3. Ask appliance personnel if they have any TVs that play only in Spanish.
2. Try pants on backwards at the Gap. Ask the salesperson if they make your butt look big.
1. Show people your driver's license and demand to know "whether they've seen this man."

Now Bode's classic ride on the fence at Kitzbuhel:
 

GROUP THERAPY..  - A psychiatrist was conducting a group therapy session with four young mothers and their small children.  "You all have obsessions", he observed.  To the first mother he said, "You are obsessed with eating, hence you named your daughter Candy".  He turned to the second mother.  "Your obsession is with money. Again, it manifests itself in your child's name, Penny".  He turns to the third mum.  "Your obsession is alcohol.  Otherwise, you wouldn’t have named your child Brandy".  At this point, the fourth mother gets up, grabs her little boy by the hand and whispers, "Come on Dick, we're leaving!"
 
HOW TO START A FIGHT - Someone else (not me) took his wife to a disco on the weekend.  There was a guy on the dance floor giving it large; breakdancing, moonwalking, backflips, jiving, the works.  His wife turned to him and said, " See that guy? 25 years ago he proposed to me and I turned him down."  The husband said, "Looks like he's still celebrating!!"  And then the fight started ...

And one of my favourite bits of Ted Ligety.  Perhaps his line isn't quite as fashionable now, but good watching nonetheless.
 

HOW TO START A FIGHT – Having read that variety is the spice of life, so to speak, some other husband ventured to ask his wife “Shall we try swapping positions tonight?”  She replied “That's a good idea - you stand by the stove and sink while I sit on the sofa and do nothing but fart.”  And then the fight started …
 
A man was seated next to a boy in an airplane.  The man turned to him and said "Let's talk."  The boy replied "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"  Thinking he would have a bit of fun, the man said "How about nuclear power?"  The boy countered "That's a very interesting topic.  But let me ask you a question.  Horses, cows and deer all eat grass, but deer excrete pellets, cows produce flat pies and horses have big clumps of manure.  Why is that?"  Puzzled, the man said "I don't know, what does it matter?"  To which the boy replied "Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear issues when you clearly don't know sh*t?"

A longish analysis from Reilly McGlashan of why Ted's line isn't so fashionable anymore:

A man doing market research for the Vaseline Company knocked at the door and was greeted by a young woman with three small children running around at her feet. “I’m doing some research for Vaseline. Have you ever used the product?”
She said, “Yes. My husband and I use it all the time.”
“If you don’t mind my asking,” he said, “what do you use it for?” “We use it for sex,” she said.
The researcher was a little taken aback. “Usually people lie to me and say they use it on a child’s bicycle chain or to help with a gate hinge. But, in fact, I know that most people do use it for sex. I admire you for your honesty. Since you’ve been so frank so far, can you tell me exactly HOW you use it for sex?”
The woman said, “I don’t mind telling you at all. My husband and I put it on the doorknob and it keeps the kids out.”
 
HOW TO START A FIGHT – Someone’s wife (to be clear, not mine!) sat down next to him as he was flipping channels.  She asked, "What's on TV?"  He said, "Dust."  And then the fight started...

A very amusing episode regarding the front falling off an oil tanker:

HOW TO START A FIGHT  - Someone else’s wife was lamenting her difficulty in maintaining the recommended body mass index.  Her husband said “I’ve noticed that married women are usually heavier than single women.  Why is that?”  She replied “Single women come home, see what's in the fridge and go to bed. Married women come home, see what's in bed and go to the fridge.”  And then the fight started...
 
HOW TO START A FIGHT – Thinking that the budget was looking a little stretched, a man said to his wife “What have you been doing with all the grocery money I give you?”  She replied, “That’s pretty easy to demonstrate.  Turn sideways and look in the mirror!”  And then the fight started…
 
HOW TO GET DISCIPLINED BY YOUR PROFESSIONAL SELF-GOVERNING ORGANIZATION - My psychiatrist told me I was crazy and I said I wanted a second opinion. 
He said okay, you’re ugly too.

And a snippet from Conan O'Brien's show on racism (really not) in skiing:

Things that are difficult to say when you're drunk: cinnamon, indubitably, innovative, preliminary, proliferation
Things that are VERY difficult to say when you're drunk:  British constitution, loquacious trans-substantiate, passive-aggressive disorder, speciality
Things that are downright IMPOSSIBLE say when you're drunk:  "Thanks, but I don't want to have sex."  "Nope, no more alcohol for me."  "Oh, I just couldn't!  No one wants to hear me sing."  "You are quite right, I can't jump over that table."

And finally, not previously published in this space, not exactly new, but hopefully entertaining.

Enjoy the rest of the summer safely, and be ready to race before you know it!

James Mathers

Observations From a Lifetime

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

Oh the Drama!

What a glorious weekend!  Brilliant sunshine, three races on Saturday, a fabulous dinner Saturday evening and lots of fun in the dual start ramps on Sunday.  The combination of extra races, different bib numbers and non-GDHL racers starting seemed to overload our data management processes.  We got some issues sorted, but left some suspense for the post-season. 

So, what do we know now?

On Saturday evening, the team standings looked like this:

However, we discovered that one racer in each of the two GS races was inadvertently scored as DNS.  Chris Fregren in fact finished 30th in the first race, and Rob Bruce, a member of Comet, has now been properly credited with a fine 23rd in the second.  This not only increased Rob's season total by 12 points, it pushed down the scores of other racers.  So now the database looks like this:

But wait, that's not all!  These results don't take into account any adjustment arising from the first race of the season having a few instances of what sailors used to call "Yacht Materially Prejudiced."  Join us on or near the Base Lodge patio at 3:00 on Saturday afternoon for the awarding of the team medals.  Randy Dalton will have individual medals available as well, if you didn't get yours on Saturday night.

What else happened?

Kate Ryley won the Club Championships wearing animal onesies, and beat all the men in SL

Bob Callow had good results too, returning from a double knee replacement in September

Full Club Championship results are posted on the GDHL website here.  They're quite intriguing.  Kate Ryley beat all the men in SL, as did Katie Farrow, and Cheryl McConachie was 5th overall.  On the men's side, Taylor Simms-Brown was 1st (3rd overall), followed by Phil Ruffolo at a hundie back.  DNFs were the theme of the day among the men, as Libert, Charron, Farnand, both Bruce brothers, Cavers and Winstone were among the high profile abandoners.  TSB took full advantage and claimed the overall men's Club Championship, although Phil's unofficial second run time would have left them tied had it counted.  Leslie Sims won decisively in the vintage women's category, while Allan LaChance combined a smoking SL run with some DNFs and a case of "what happens in Vegas keeps hurting even when you come home" to win the men's vintage category again, in his 16th year of eligibility.

On the GDHL side, Joel Charron narrowly won both GS races to claim the season's championship by one point over Alec Libert, with Scott McLorie in third leading a group of five racers separated by only four points.  One of those was Cheryl McConachie, who handily claimed the women's title, followed by Samantha Higgins and Brianna Machej.  Jeff Sutherland and Dave Raymond tied for the men's over 50 title, with Allan LaChance just a point behind, while Leslie Sims had a wider margin over Tiana Boyman and Mary Riopelle in the women's category.  Greg Lee awards were given to Stu McFarlane, Dave Henderson, Mark Shillum, Samantha, Cheryl and Leslie.

All smiles for the women's podium

Family award winners, the Bruce Bros, sons of Rob, brothers of Rob but not related to D. Rob.

Something in the water seemed to make the crowd a bit giddy.

A gallery of dinner pictures courtesy of Lou Montana can be found here.  Many more pictures from Saturday's first race can be found here.  Remember that GDHL racers are entitled to one free digital image from Lou.  Do some clicking on his site and you'll find ways to contact him to get yours.

Other things to remember

Erin Latimer begins her Paralympic races imminently.

9:30 a.m. in Korea is 7:30 p.m. the day before in Toronto

If you haven't returned your GDHL bib, please drop it off in the race office pronto.

If you didn't get your etched glass GDHL beer mug at the dinner Saturday, contact Julie Hughes to claim it.

Extra gate and gateless training is offered this weekend and next.  Contact Laurel by noon Friday to book.

We have tried various timing systems in training several times, with limited success.  A new chip timing system is drawing some interest.  If you'd be keen to buy a timing chip so that you could get a time for your training runs, let David Henderson know.  If there are enough enthusiasts, we'll look at getting the rest of the infrastructure in place.

See you on the weekend!

James Mathers

Time Please Ladies and Gentlemen

Time for the last races, time for dinner, time to celebrate, time for anything you haven't done yet this season.  Here's what we know so far:

• Club championships are morning and afternoon Saturday - pick up special bibs in the South Lodge - for the first time, we'll use the Interclub start order, which will move women's age groups ahead a bit, rather than being in sync with their male counterparts
• Our Finish Line dinner is Saturday night - get your tickets by Friday noon at the latest - don't call me, call the Club's front desk or order through the members' section of the Club website
• Dual SL training for everyone on Sunday morning

Apparently the details aren't quite settled, so there will likely be an update in the next 24 hours.

Interclub Results

The smiles tell the story

Despite some last minute attrition in the lineup, Craigleith dominated the Interclub finals last Saturday beating Alpine and the Peaks by 36 points, the same as the spread between second and fifth.  Each woman on the team (Anne Mathers, Mary Riopelle, Patti East, Leslie Sims and Kate Veer) won her age group and Craigleith won all but two of the men's age groups in which we were entered.  Leading point scorers on the men's side included Allan LaChance, Glenn Blaylock, Chris Fregren, Trent Winstone, Craig Shibley, Rob Burnes, Jerry Patten, Greg Cavers, Chris Shipton, Richard Usher-Jones, Alec Libert and Duff Isberg, while Captain Taylor-Simms Brown and Scott McLorie won their smaller age groups.  Full results are here.  This makes an unprecedented seven in a row for Craigleith.  This is attributable to a large group of racers, who have contributed over the years.  The most recent unsung contributor is Brian Holland, who answered the call when the team was short-handed at Caledon then was a late strategic addition to the finals lineup, resulting in other team members' scores being increased by three points.  So all aboard for number 8!

Odds and Ends

• Please drop your GDHL bibs off at the race office if you didn't return it Sunday.
• Remember you're entitled to a free digital image from Lou Montana and a free 30 minute massage from Sonya Lee Reimer at Living in Balance - check past news for full details
• Your committee was gratified to see the generally very positive results for GDHL in the members' survey, but please feel free to let us know if you have suggestions for improvement, or if you want to join the committee and keep things moving forward positively - just reply to this message.

Watch for an update soon.  See you at the Club!

James Mathers

Rivalries

Rivalries, both real and imagined, are a great part of the fun of masters racing.  We're coming to the point of the season at which the rivalries get resolved temporarily and those who may perceive that they've come up short this time have months to plot their next moves.

Things to think about in the meantime:

• Adult gate training is GS on Millennium Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the usual times
• Adult Tech and Fast & Female meet Saturday and Sunday at the usual times and places
• The next installment in the great Interclub rivalry will be resolved on Big John Saturday afternoon, as Craigleith seeks a record setting seventh consecutive Finals championship
• GS continues on Big John Sunday afternoon, with the sixth GDHL race at 1:00 pm, inspection at 12:15 - please leave your bib at the bottom of the corral when you've had your run(s) or drop it in the race office
• Club championships are on Saturday 3 March, GS in the morning (which is also race 7 for GDHL), SL in the afternoon - GDHL racers are automatically entered but we will have a different start order and bibs - others look for sign up sheets outside the race office
• The GDHL "Finish Line" dinner is Saturday 3 March as well - more details below

GDHL Results

A rare Saturday start for GDHL saw firm conditions that led to five of the first seven placers in the SL having a DNF as their second result, but allowed many second run improvements for those who judged the opportunities correctly and saw those who are truly skilled at this pastime set themselves farther apart from the rest of us than usual.  

The Healey family celebrated patriarch Ron's life on the run that is named for him (Healey's Comet) by forerunning or racing.

Janeva Healey, Keira Lavery, Dave Healey and Rich Lavery

When all was said and done, Alec Libert had avenged his Super G loss to Joel Charron, recording a most impressive 33.96 on his first run, although he may have had some nervous moments after his second run DNF, as Joel improved from 34.84 to 34.08 on his second run.  Keith Farnand rebounded from his narrow loss to Cheryl McConachie in the long SL and finished third, while Cheryl bounced back from a first run DNF with a 35.92 that was almost two seconds ahead of the fifth place finisher.  Allan LaChance, Stu McFarlane, Colin Gaffney and Dave Henderson all posted second run improvements to finish in the top ten, while Brianna Machej and Samantha Higgins were second and third women behind Cheryl, finishing 12th and 13th overall.

Cheryl McConachie and Samantha Higgins in their Austrian team suits.

Other notable improvements over rankings from last year's results included Jamie Coulter with a GDHL career best 20th, Mark Shillum and Paul McCool.

As we go into the last two races, Alec Libert in first, Cheryl McConachie in fourth and Keith Farnand in fifth are all still carrying 10 point penalties for missing races, which they can eliminate with one more finish.  (Sorry Cheryl, no more slaloms though.)  Joel Charron, meanwhile, isn't far back and is carrying 20 points in penalties, so good attendance and results could see him challenge Alec by the time we're finished.  Things are tight in the team standings as well, with several of the leaders having opportunities to eliminate penalties.  Remember that, even if you have your four races, missing one may let your rivals finish one place higher, and that can mean 10 points difference for a team.

Finish Line Dinner

• Saturday 3 March in the Base Lodge
• Drinks and nibbles at 7:30 pm, awards at 8:00, very nice dinner shortly thereafter
• $25 per person for those 35 and under, $35 for those over
• BYO wine with a modest corkage fee, or buy at the bar
• Opportunities to compete at other refreshing activities, supplies graciously provided by GDHL
• Generally a fine time to be had by all
• Tickets through the front desk or online soon

Finally, we may have to offer sew-on labels for soft goods to complement last year's equipment stickers.  In the meantime, if you have the wrong pair of black Karbon slalom shorts with suspenders, please contact Roger Chiu.

See you on the weekend!

James Mathers