NASTAR NEWS
Heidi Voelker raced on the U. S. ski team 20 years ago. She hasn't changed much. And she's still fast. Very fast.
Today, Voelker, 38, is a pacesetter for Deer Valley resort in Utah. At the pacesetter trials, her handicap was 3.28. She beat most of the guys, and right now, is the fastest woman in NASTAR. But what makes her so fast?
"It's the timing of my turn and the pressure of my edge where I start my turn," she explains, adding that her previous World Cup experience also helps her in NASTAR.
Voelker, a three-time Olympian who is also the skier pictured on the new Utah license plates, has good advice about timing in a NASTAR turn. She says, "Racers should pressure their outside ski above the gate, at the rise line." That is a racing term for the "line" of the turn where the racer has completed one turn and is just above the next gate. At that point, Voelker says, "You (should be) pressuring your edge, pushing the ski down and pressing the outside edge, working it all the way back to the tail. That's where you get the power."
A good start is often neglected by NASTAR racers. Too many just flop out of the start, which will add a second or more to the racer's time. You can lower your handicap significantly by using Heidi's start tips.
"Get your shins a few inches behind the starting wand. If you come right up against the wand, the chance of kicking it open before you leave is pretty significant. Lean your body out over the wand. Kick up your tails (as you start) and that gives you the momentum to push out over the wand," she says.
She also says to remember to put your poles in front of the starting wand, outside the posts, and push down on them as you start. But once you're in the course, the three-time Olympian advises, "keep your body square to the hill (facing downhill). Everything from the waist up should stay still. You don't want any rotation."
The most important tip Voelker has for racers wishing to lower their handicap enough to qualify for the NASTAR National Championships is get there early! "After a hundred people go through the course, your times will end up being slower because the course will deteriorate a little. The earlier, the better, especially on a crowded weekend," she says.
She also advises inspecting the course just as elite racers do, and plan your run by sections of the course. "If it's flatter, you want to be more in a tuck. If it's steeper, you want to carve more and use your edge more.
Deer Valley has an excellent NASTAR course, with a gentle breakover and a non-cambered turn to the left. It has an average par time of 18.25. Voelker, who sets the day's pace every Saturday, usually skis it in a little over 17 seconds. With her (now) 3.10 handicap, the day's par is rarely more than 3/4 of a second off her actual time, which makes DV's NASTAR racers very happy.