NASTAR NEWS--WHAT THE STARTER SEES
The starter who sits in the shack sees it all. From the racers who snowplow down the course and then wonder why they didn't win a medal, to the ski team hopeful who gets into such a low crouch that he or she can't make a gate and ends up DQing.
Patrick Blackburn is both the NASTAR pacesetter and starter at Wachusett Mountain in Massachusetts. He has a very consistent 13 handicap. His knowledge of what racers do wrong can help you lower your handicap.
When racers are slow, he says, "Most of the time, they have a flat start, not an aggressive start. When I tell them to go, they slide out of the start without any pushing and slide to the first gate."
Another tip that can take half a second off your time is placing your skis in the right position behind the wand. "Make sure your skis are pointing where you want to start your turn. Make sure they aren't in a snowplow position. Point them a little above the gate where you will be starting your first turn," he says.
Imitating a downhill racer is not always a good thing. Patrick says, "I see a lot of people go down into a tuck between the start and finish, and a lot of times it's not to their advantage. You're a lot faster making clean turns than sliding around in a tuck."
The wrong approach to the finish can also add unwanted 10ths to your time. "I see a lot of people stop or start to stop before they get to the finish line. There should be enough room for you to stop safely after you go through the finish. You don't want to start to come to a stop while you're still on the course," he explains.
Here is the big piece of advice, the tip that will make you at least a quarter second faster, and lower your handicap by as much as ten points: "When you get to the next to the last gate, aim for the last gate. You want to take a straight shot into the finish. You don't need to turn at that last gate, which I've seen most people do. In NASTAR, that last gate is almost a directional gate to bring the racer into the middle of the finish corral. It won't bring the mto the far right or far left. So you don't need to finish your turn around the last gate. Go around it enough to clear it, but that's all."
Remember, only the top three in each age group at every resort qualify for the finals; and there are a lot of racers right now trying to secure their place. Only the top three in each age and gender category will qualify for the Nationals, which are March 13-16 at Steamboat, Co. Qualifications close February 18.