NASTAR NEWS: HOW TO QUALIFY FOR NATIONALS
Monday, February 18. That's the deadline.
If you're within the top three in your age and gender category at some resort by President's Day, you qualify to race in the NASTAR Nationals. If not, if you're only fourth---well, tough luck. You didn't make it.
The Nationals are at Steamboat Resort in Colorado, March 13-16. Larger than ever, there will be more racers at this year's event and more hoopla. Instead of the one thousand racers at previous Championships, the first 1,400 who register to race will make it in. Plus, just like at World Cups, Steamboat will have a large screen jumbotron in the base area to show all the action as it happens.
The resort is beefing up its base area, and a new high speed lift has been installed to take racers to the top of the competition area in six minutes; no more poking along and shivering in your speed suit.
Nate Smith of Vail, Co. and Bonnie Snow of Sagle, Id. don't have to worry about qualifying. They are currently the top man and woman in the nation. Smith, in the 45-49 category, has a .70 average handicap. Snow, in the 17-20 cat, has an average 6.87 hcp.
If you didn't qualify but want to go the Championships, you can always hope that one of the qualifiers in your category had a better handicap at another resort. All racers qualify at the resort where they had their lowest handicap. That removes them from any other resort, meaning the next racer in line moves into the qualifying position.
But hope is not a strategy. Here are six ways to make it in, and one important caution, for these final days:
1. Run NASTAR early. If you run right after the pace is set for the day, you get a clean course, and you may be able to follow the pacesetter's line for the fastest way down.
2. Try soap. If you can't afford an expensive rub-on wax for an overlay, try soap. Rub it on your skis, then click into your bindings at the start. The soap will wear off by the first gate, but it will make your skis more slick out of the start, giving you some extra speed. Use Ivory, it has no additives.
3. Go to another resort. Go to the NASTAR website (nastar.com) and check out your competition. Look at the menu on the left side of the page, and click "View Rankings." Enter your gender and age category and a nearby resort. If you have a better handicap than the top three, or if there are not three racers listed in your category, get there and spend the day racing until you qualify.
4. Get closer to the gates. This is the easiest, and most sure way of improving your speed. By skiing closer to the gates, you take a shorter, and thus faster, line. Look at the marks of other racers on the course and try to ski inside them.
5. Reach forward at the finish. Bend and hold your hand forward in front of the timer, so that your hand breaks the timing light before your legs get there. An aggressive finish can take several tenths off your time.
6. Race all day. The more familiar you are with the course, the faster you can go. Don't just do three or four runs. Run the course until you start to slow down, then take a rest and do it again.
7. Watch for category breakouts. You may qualify, but you may also bump yourself up to the next highest category---a silver racer breaks into gold, a gold racer into platinum. Once you get the qualifying handicap you need; stop. Once qualifications end, you can relax about bump-ups; the cat you qualified in is the one you will race in.