How to LRT, By Mike Piispanen,
LRT Parent
Everything you ever wanted to know about LRT, but
didn’t know who to ask…..
Introduction
Parent Liasons
One Man's View
Club
Operations
Your Part
Race Prep and Race Day
USSA and NHARA Registration
Race Registration
Qualifiers
State Finals
Equipment and Reference
Race Equipment
First the Basics
Now you are getting SERIOUS
Miscellaneous
Resources
Introduction
The purpose of this guide is to serve as a reference for new
families to the LRT experience. Having gone through this myself
three years ago, I know how lost you can feel during those first few
weekend mornings. Once this document is distributed, I will take
feedback and questions and try to add additional information where
appropriate and we will eventually get it posted to the site.
Parent Liaisons
The following individuals have volunteered to provide their
contact information should you have any questions about the club,
races, racing work commitments, tuning etc. They are all great
resources and can help in instances where your question might not
directly involve the coaching staff. Please don’t ever feel afraid
to approach your coaches with questions as well – just respect the
time they are with your athletes on the hill and approach them at
lunch or
the end of the day.
Rut Riders, J-V or J-IV
Mike Piispanen michael.piispanen@thomson.com
Joe Sugar jsugar@ternharbormarina.com
Rob Carbonaro rcarbonaro@courseadvisor.com
Dan Axelson
daniel.axelson@ubs.com
J-III’s Bill Suglia
William.suglia@citizensbank.com
J-1, J-II If you don’t know it all by now, good luck!
One Man’s View
With so much to talk about, I thought it would be best to break this
document up into three sections: Club Operations, Race Prep and
Race Day, Equipment & Reference.
Club Operations
They say it takes a village, well in the case of LRT this is
certainly true. As a club we have to hire coaches, produce several
races that serve well over 200 visiting athletes, manage a large
budget, ensure that we have good relations with the mountain, and
get our kids to and fro every weekend. Oh and by the way, it’s all
done with everyone’s spare time. Thankfully we are all the
beneficiaries of a lot of past work by parents of alumni and older
racers but as I have observed over the last few years, the club has
been growing at the junior racer level and we are still relying the
same people every weekend. With all of the new families, we have
more than enough people to support what we need to do and so many
new faces have been showing up to help drive our success. But… we
can always use more help.
Your Part
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a. The biggest responsibility for each family is to fulfill race
work commitments each year. Each family is asked to contribute five
(5) man days. It is critical that on race day that you show up and
complete this commitment.
b. You can check the website for job descriptions.
c. Keep in mind, the races go on regardless of weather. Dress
appropriately and arrange to have someone help with lunch with your
younger athletes as the morning run can sometimes last through the
lunch period.
d. Each fall, NHARA runs officiating and timing clinics. If you want
an inside job (timing) you will have to attend one of these
sessions. It will also be critical that we get a few more
individuals to obtain Alpine Officials licenses. There is a test
(open note) that you are required to pass. We need at least four
licensed officials at each event to appropriately staff and we will
lose at least one or two of our current AO licenses this year so
look for those on the NHARA site in early September.
5. Racing and Preparation
In no particular order, here is a list of just about everything I
think you probably need to know to get your athlete(s) ready for a
ski race season.
RACE PREP AND RACE DAY
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USSA & NHARA Registration
• Each year you must register each of your athletes with both
United States Ski Association (USSA) and the New Hampshire Alpine
Race Association (NHARA). Without this registration your child will
not be allowed to race.
• When you complete registration, you will receive a wallet size
card from both organizations. You must bring these cards with you to
each race and turn it over during the registration in order to
receive a race bib. (It is much easier to replace a NHARA card than
it is to replace your driver’s license or a credit card.
Race Registration
• Early each season Troy will send out a note identifying what
races we are going to send coaches to. This does not mean that these
will be the only races available as schedules will change and
certain races will sell out. This schedule is also incorporate into
the calendar on the LRT home page.
• OPEN RACES: One strategy that has worked for several families
is to sit down when the schedule is published and send in all of the
race vouchers at once regardless of whether or not you have your
families schedule laid out that far in advance. The races are
announced for the season in mid-September and you can view these on
the
NHARA website. It is easier to cancel a race registration (at least
3 days in advance please) than it is to try to work your way into a
race at the last minute. Many of the open races will sell out well
in advance so this strategy insures that you can attend the races
you want to.
• Check the NHARA website frequently as well as Live-Timing.com.
Both will post lists of competitors a few weeks in advance and you
can see if a race is still open or if there is an issue with your
registration. Better to know before you get up at 5:00 am and drag
the family to another mountain.
Qualifiers
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• You don’t have to pre-register for qualifiers. Our Race
Secretary takes care of this. Each member of the team is
automatically entered. All you have to do is show up on race day
with your USSA/NHARA card and cash/check.
• This one took me a season to figure out. J-IV’s & J-V’s race in
the Buddy Werner League (BWL). We compete in the Northern Division
with Waterville and Franconia. Each season there is a year-end State
Championships (only exception is 8 year old JV’s are not eligible
regardless of how they ski in qualifiers). In order to qualify for
the
State Championships, your athlete must qualify at one of three races
(1 slalom and 2 GS). Each racer gets two runs at each of these races
and the place points of the best 2 of the 6 runs comprise their
total for qualifying, i.e. athlete finished 3rd, 7th in the slalom,
12th and 23rd in the first GS and 6th and 12th in the second. Place
points would
be 9….first Slalom run and first run in the second GS….confusing,
yes…but the NHARA website will take care of calculating the totals
for you.
• Not every skier qualifies via this method as it is highly
competitive. There is a quota that is provided to each of the four
NH junior racing divisions in early February. Each division is
allotted a proportionate number of slots for the Championships based
on the total number of racers in that division. We are fortunate in
that the three clubs in
the North division are all relatively large in comparison to the
rest of the state so we typically are allotted 15-20 slots in each
of the age/sex classes. This means that in order to qualify, most
racers will have to post two top 15 finishes. Don’t ever quote me on
that because these numbers are very dynamic and we won’t know until
the final qualifier when the participants are announced. But there
is another way…..
State Finals
• The FINALS used to be held after the championships and were a
place where any athlete that did not qualify for states came to
compete for fun and lot’s of medals. It is a terrific event and
gives the younger athletes a chance to see the entire NH field and
gauge who they may be competing against next year. In 2007, NHARA
changed
the format and moved the FINALS to the weekend before the
Championships and added the incentive of allowing the top 3
finishers in each age/sex class an automatic entry into the
Championships the following weekend. This added a lot of excitement
and helped those athletes that were right on the bubble get into the
State Championships. I would highly recommend that all that are age
eligible attend as it is great experience and the host mountains
usually try to make it extra fun for the kids.
EQUIPMENT AND REFERENCE
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Race Equipment
• There is no right answer here and there is no way that I can
possibly impart all of the collective knowledge of the staff and
parents but here are just a few tips. Please keep in mind that your
child can have a good LRT experience without all of the bells and
whistles. They can survive early on in the program with just one
pair of skis (though not later), and always know that there are
basements and closets all over the Lincoln- Woodstock area with
unused, older but perfectly functional equipment that people will
probably pay you to take away so please ask around if you are
looking for something.
First the basics….
Helmet: You really should not be on the hill without a
Helmet: This is the one place where you must not skimp. Even the
littlest racers are going 25-30 mph in training so a good quality,
well fitting race helmet is a must (race helmets have the extra
holes for chin guards that you’ll need later).
Boots: The other place where comfort and fit take some
time but you must make the commitment to get this right. Ask a coach
for recommendations on models but everything starts with the feet so
this has to be right.
Make sure you get your athlete dialed in early on boot fit. The
first few days on snow you will want to check in after the first few
runs. Be prepared to go back and make some adjustments. Finding a
good boot fitter is the best thing you can do. Check with your
coaches and they can make recommendations on the local bests.
Skis: Rut Riders and first year J-V’s can get away with
just a single ski. There are many hybrids out there will work great.
Otherwise go with a good GS ski. As they get older, you will
probably want to have your athlete on a slalom and a GS ski. Again,
the best place to get a recommendation is with your child’s coach.
Bindings: Most race skis will be partnered with the
appropriate race binding. The key factor is buying a binding that
puts your athlete’s weight and ability in the middle of the DIN
setting. Never buy a cheaper binding meant for a
smaller child where your child is in the top 25% of the DIN
settings. As your athlete gets older, you may see many carrying 4
sets…two pair of slalom and GS…one to train, one to race. This is
extreme (and expensive) and
if you get really good at tuning is not really necessary. In fact,
the best thing to do is to find a cheap pair of twin tips that they
can ski on and use pre-race to inspect the course so that the race
tuned ski can be done the night before
and left for the two runs. Twin tips are also nice for free ski
afternoons when they are bound to explore some tree skiing….will
ultimately save you on having to have the bases re-done. I’ve
personally taken the really cheap route and have my racers use their
GS ski to inspect a slalom course and vice versa (I have no room in
the condo for more skis!).
Poles: I was shocked to find that not only do they need
special skis for each discipline, but they have special poles as
well. A GS Pole is usually shaped to allow for better tuck position.
A slalom pole is straight and usually has a pole
guard attached to protect the hands. The truth is if you only want
to buy one, buy the GS pole. Most of the younger racers won’t start
hitting the slalom gates with their poles until they are older and
it’s one less thing to have in the
trunk on the way home. o Race Suit: So you bought the nice ski pants
and the LRT jacket and then you find them on the ground and your
child running around in a lycra body suit. There are racers that
could do just as well in Levi’s but if you look at every kid in a
race, most if not all will be equipped with a GS suit. Padded is
better because it does offer some additional protection. This is one
of those items that you can get from another family for a lot less
money.
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Now you are getting serious…
Stuff you will probably buy when everyone starts getting serious:
Custom Bootfitting: The youngest of racers can be
comfortable in an off the shelf boot, but as your athlete’s skills
grow, they will begin to demand more performance from their
equipment and this starts with the boot. We have
several expert boot fitters within the club (Mike Cosman and Jim
O’Donnell) and there are several specialists within the local shops
that can help…best thing to do is to ask a coach when he/she thinks
this will help.
Body armor: Probably won’t need to have this until late
J-V or J-IV. Once your athlete starts “shouldering” GS gates, and
“shinning” slalom gates, having the protection there becomes a
necessity. Hitting a solid plastic pole at speed
hurts and they can be quickly discouraged. A chin guard appropriate
for the helmet and pole guards are a must at this stage as well.
Extra skis: See above…again, there are strategies here to
save cost. Also make sure to pay attention in Oct/Nov for the
special sale weekends held by both Rodgers and Sport Thoma.
Backpack: Get one that holds their boots, helmet and some
extra gear. Time for them to start hauling some of this gear and
your back won’t be getting any better.
Miscellaneous
Pro-Form or Race-Form pricing. This is the rate that the
ski manufacturers will place on race equipment. This pricing is the
same for all shops and is based on the model of the ski, boot or
binding. The local shops in Lincoln-Woodstock will work with you on
this and if you establish a relationship at your local shop at home
you should be able to have access to this pricing. Keep in mind it
only works on race equipment so you won’t be able to buy that new
pair of Volkl Race Tigers for yourself with this discount! Peruse
the websites (list below)…you can often shop around for good deals
after the New Year or at the end of the season. You can save a lot
of money buying brand new, last years gear. In most cases, the only
thing that will change year to year in a junior ski is the graphics
on top.
Put your child’s name on EVERYTHING. There are only so many
race brands so whatever you buy for junior, somebody else’s junior
has as well. And just be willing to accept the fact that we will all
see each other on the slopes every weekend, and we will all see each
other at Roger’s, Lahout’s or Sport Thoma every weekend.
Resources
Here is a list of websites that I’ve come across that can be
helpful. I’ve tried to categorize as best I can and this list is by
no means comprehensive a. Other Race Clubs and Mountain Sites (great
for directions or trail maps to try to figure out where to go when
you get there)
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i. Waterville
Valley Black & Blue Trail Smashers
ii.
Cannon Mountain Franconia Ski Club
iii.
Gunstock Mountain Gunstock Ski Club
iv. Bretton Woods – Bretton Woods Ski Club (BWSC)
v. Cranmore
Cranmore Race Team
vi. Attitash
vii. Pat's
Peak Pat's Peak Ski Club
viii. Mount Sunapee Ski Area Mount Sunapee Alpine Program
ix. Wildcat Mountain Wildcat Ski Team
x. Ford Sayre
b. Ski Tuning Sites
i. Gunstock Tips: Found this page a couple of years ago on
Gunstock’s site. Great if you are new and wondering what the heck
you need to get started.
ii. Holmenkol: They sell wax and equipment and have some videos on
the site to
guide you.
iii. The Race Room: Site for Eric Larson who operates out of Sport
Thoma. Great resource and if you are looking for a race tune in
Lincoln/Woodstock – highly recommend.
iv. Swix: Click on the Swix School Link on the right hand side of
the page. This is a great video to watch on how to handle edge prep,
waxing and race prep. Keep in mind they are trying to sell you A LOT
of Swix gear…you don’t have to do everything they say but this gives
you a great look at what works.
v. www.artechski.com See below…There is also a CD or DVD that you
can buy from the site that shows George Merril, the owner, race
tuning a ski.
vi. YouTube: There are several videos linked from this page but you
can always search for more.
vii. Ski Tuning Guide: Great site that gives you some photos to help
explain what each tool does.
viii. Summit Ski & Snowboard: For you Metro-Westers, excellent race
tuning shop.
Mike de Santis was the former World Cup Race Director for Volkl and
does a fantastic job of setting up the brand new ski. Pricey but
worth it once a year.
c. Ski Equipment Sites (no matter how much you spend in October,
you’ll be spending through the end of March so these sites will help
you comparison shop or find unique equipment)
i. Artech Ski They will show up at several of the late season races
and you can get some great deals. Service is always great when you
order online (usually 2-3 day turnaround).
ii. Reliable Racing
iii. The Race Place
d. Miscellaneous
i. www.techsupportforskiers.com: Great ski review site
ii. Weather.com: Check before you head up for the weekend
iii. NOAA: If you’re crazy about using the right wax, check here
first.
iv. Lincoln Cinema: For that grown up night out.
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