Author Archives: raceradmin

Tri-State U14 Championships

Gang,

The following U14 athletes have qualified for the U14 Championship event this weekend at Blandford (SL, Saturday) and Berkshire East (GS, Sunday). Please register today by midnight on www.AlpineReg.com if you wish to compete.

U14 Girls:
Maya Simkowitz
Annika Carlson
Emily Chudy
Marie DiVecchio
Grace Howard
Eleonor Andersson
Lauren Edwards

U14 Boys:
Vincent Van der Linden
Ethan Mullen

In addition, the following boys have pre-qualified for the Piche Cup event at Gunstock, NH. Registration information will be getting sent out later today when available.

U12 Boys:
Achille Sarachek
Sam Devorsetz

Congrats to EVERYONE, even those who didn’t qualify for post season. This was one of our strongest years EVER for the U12-14 age group, and it’s been a blast so far seeing everyone ski so well. Let’s keep up the good work. Details on plans for this weekend (for those at Catamount, and more specifics for those at Championships) will be e-mailed later today. Please also find attached the U14 Championships race flyer as well as the final standings for the U12-14 age group.

Cheers,

-Stefan

Big Weekend

Hey Gang,

Don’t let this rain confuse you, we still have a big weekend coming up. Attached is the final standings for our U16’s, those of you who qualified for U16 Championships have already been notified. Great job to ALL our U16’s, this has been one of our best showings in that age group to date. U16’s who are not attending championships are still welcome to come and train with the U12-14’s at Catamount.

The U12-14’s will be training SL all day Saturday, and we have our last regular season race at Butternut (SL) on Sunday. If you are a U16 who will not be at championships and would like to train on Sunday, please let me know and we will make sure to arrange for some form of training should interest exist. Bruce & Mark also plan on doing some evening training on Friday, weather permitting. Please shoot either them or myself an e-mail if you would like to attend so we can get a better grasp on the numbers.

In addition to the U16’s final standings, I have also attached the race flyers for the U12, U14 & U16 championship events. I’ve gotten some questions regarding the U12 Championship event, similar to last year, we will not be using this event for any further race qualification. Qualification for Gunstock / Piche Cup will be done for U12’s using the regular season results.

See some of you this weekend, and to those headed to the post-season, congrats and good luck!
Cheers,

Stef

U16 2014 Standings Final

Butternut Results

ButternutGreetings,

Catamount’s IC race team entered 87 racers in last weekends combined SL/Skills Quest event. The total left us a few shy of our record setting attendance achieved @ the Catamount GS race. On average, we continue to register close to an equal number of girls (41) and boys (46). Of the total boys competing in the single run SL segment, 14 (30%) secured a top five ranking. Nine additional comrades (total 23) joined the ranks to expand top 10 numbers to 50% of total. Out of 7 divisional first place finishes, Catamount boys are credited with capturing 5 or approximately 70% of the pinnacle slots. On the other side of the ledger, eight (8) girls or 20 % of total negotiated the challenging course and earned a top 5 result. Expanding achievements to register top 10 results, we find that 18 (44%) of total girls earned times to qualify for this ranking. In spite of an array of DSQ/DNFs that plagued some of the previous weeks fist place finishers, one Catamount girl reached the pinnacle spot on the podium. Sixty seven or 77% of our racers successfully completed the demanding course. The completion rate is down somewhat from the earlier two races. Arbitrarily splitting our racers into two groups, U9 and younger and U10 and older, an almost equal number of DSQ/DNF surface. The younger racers totaled 9 miscues, whereas the older totaled 11. Looking at these numbers it is probably safe to generalize that the older racers forced tactical errors, whereas the younger group misjudged entry and exit segments while negotiating the three “combination” gates. In time, as we all know, our younger racers will develop stronger course identification skills. Our older racers (veterans) do not lack the desire to ski fast. Over time “tactical” strengths will evolve along with the ability to recognize where tactical adjustments are required in order to increase their chance to complete a course set. The coaching staff will continue to strive to assist our racers improve their tactical decision making development. Just a reminder, no races are scheduled for the immediate weekend. One additional SL race remains @ Otis and the final race, either a GS or “Kombi”, is set for the first weekend in March.
Regards,
John Greaser

Weekend Schedule

Hey Gang,

Another snowy week for us, seems as though ol’ Man Winter is making up for being mostly asleep the last 4-5 years. This weekend is going to be all about slalom, hopefully the olympic Super Combined gave you all some inspiration this week.

U12-16’s will all be on Catamount Saturday. U16’s are away at their last race of the regular season at Blandford on Sunday. U12-14’s will be at Catamount again on Sunday – same deal as Saturday, SL on Catamount.

Monday we will have limited half-day training with Doug. If there are any changes to this plan, I will let you all know. If you are at Catamount Sunday, feel free to check with Doug at the end of the day for a more direct update.

I know I had promised you all a standings report for the U12-14’s, but after beginning the process, I don’t have per-run results available for some races so I won’t be able to calculate things properly. I will send out a separate e-mail with more post-season information later today for interested parties. Just keep up the good work, we’ve had strong results thus far, and I wholly expect more strong results to come.
Cheers,

Stef

Catamount Race Summary

catamountresults

Greetings,

Well we almost eclipsed the century mark for Catamount race attendance. By my count we sent 94 racers out of the gate to compete in the Catamount home GS race. Out of a possible 188 total runs (94 x 2) our racers completed 93% of their runs. This number falls well within the “very acceptable” range when considering the degree of challenge a course set should present for club racers. Out of the 46 girls competing, seven skied to a top 5 finish, and 19 or 41 % secured a top 10 finish. The boys managed 15 top 5 (31%), and 24 (50%) earned top 10 recognition. When girls and boys top 10 finishes are combined (43), the result indicates that 46% of our racers skied fast enough to earn this recognition. Racers comprised a total of 14 classes (U8-U15); 7 classes for girls and an equal number for boys. Disregarding ties, a total of 14 first place finishes were possible for the Catamount race. Eleven catamount racers earned this mark. Another way to view this achievement is that 78% of the possible first place rankings went to Catamount racers. A number of the age groups had a banner day as well. In particular, the U12G entered 5 competitors and all five achieved a top 10 finish; six U12B entered the race and 5 scored top 10 recognition; eight boys comprised the U13 class and 5 raced to a top 10 finish, the 2 U15G and 3 U15B raced to a top 5 finish. I began this report with the total number of racers that finished the course. If 173 attempts were completed without a fault, that leaves 15 attempts that resulted in either a DSQ or DNF. What I find of interest with this number is that all but 2 racers attempted a second run. I believe one of our racers or perhaps both incured an injury that impeded their return. The underlying message here I believe is one of a desire to improve (resiliency) regardless of an outcome. This attitude is contageous in the sense that the racers who got back in the start gate are role models for everyone. The achievements that our racers earn week-to-week by no means should be ignored, but behaviors such as this deserve special recognition. Saturday we will be focusing on SL training for Sunday’s SL race @ Butternut.

Regards,

John

Weekend Schedule

Hey Gang,

The plan for the weekend is as follows:

Saturday
U16 — Lower Alley Cat GS Training (w/ U18) — Be ready to load quad and assist with setting at 8:30a.
U12-14 — Catamount SL Training — Load double at 8:30a and begin cycling around doing SL free-runs until course is set.

Sunday
U16 (Qualified 2nd Year’s) — GS @ Jiminy Peak (U18 Event, arrive 7:15 – 7:30).
U16 (All Racers) — GS @ Bousquet (Arrive 7:15 – 7:30, registration is upstairs in lodge).
U12-14 — SL @ Blandford (Arrive 7:15 – 7:30, registration is in lower lodge on the left as you walk into the area).

I know a few of you have had questions regarding championships and likelihood of placement. While we can’t guarantee anything at this point, I am working on a spreadsheet today and should have some rough guesstimates available later today or tomorrow. Obviously this weekend will change things a bit and give an even better perspective. As always with championships and post-season, remember, the primary goal of all our racers should be to improve and become the best racers they can be – NOT simply concern themselves with making it to the post-season. It’s a nice icing on the cake, and certainly acknowledges those who have really excelled this season, but is by no means the be-all end-all measure of success.

See you all tomorrow!
Cheers,

Stef

Thank You

I would like to thank everyone for their efforts on putting on a successful ski race yesterday. Enough already with the rain, it absolutely poured during the race at Berkshire East and I heard it was not any better at Catamount. Everyone who got their early, stayed late, did extra shifts, and hung tough in the rain you really made a difference.

We should give a special thanks to Charles for stepping up again to keep an overall eye on the day’s needs and Tara and Megan for taking the leadership on registrations.

And of course let us not forget coaches, course crew and ski patrol for all they did for the race and every weekend.

It is really fortunate that the kids get a home race. (and this year the super bowl was not even that super)

Peter Chudy

Catamount Ski Team PA

 

Assistance Needed For Catamount Race

We are not too far from the Catamount Interclub Race on Sunday Feb 2rd.

I have attached a list with the current volunteers but we need many more. Please forward me a cell phone address as this will make life a bit easier on race day if something comes up or someone does not know where to go.

These races depend on a large number of parent volunteers to pull off and make the process smooth. It really is an advantage for the kids to have a “home” race, but it only happens with Parent Volunteers.

As I am with my daughter at a Tristate Race, I would really appreciate an experienced parent to be Race Day Volunteer Director and just ensure everyone is at their assignments.

Key Race Day Tasks are as follows:
Morning Registration;
Score Board: writing times as they are announced
Bib Collection: grabbing bibs after the second run
Awards: Set up of trophies and Medals
Gate Keeping: I know this intimidates some people but it is not difficult (rarely does anyone ski out and you only watch a few gates) and it really gives you a great feel for the race and the kids experience.

Appreciate your support

Peter Chudy
Catamount Ski Race Team
Parents Association

Blandford and More

Greetings,

Arriving @ Catamount Saturday morning for the usual day of practice, turned out to be not so usual. Shortly afterwards, Coach Michael Purpura arrived and parked along side of my vehicle. We both glanced at each other and surmised that the Mountain was closed. Brillant deduction. After all, we both learned how reasoning flows from “If such-and -such is present, then such- and- such can only be certain” from our combined years of higher education experience . Hey a few weeks earlier we skied the lower terrain off the green chair in the rain. Trying to convince ourselves that same scenario would play out this day as well, we proceeded up to the door of the bubble. Nothing doing. Still feeling undaunted, we spent some time discussing assessment options for the racers, and chatting with a parent and her son, Bode, no not that Bode, regarding the opportunity to join us this weekend. Fortunately, the clouds cleared Saturday night, and without much fanfare, we went on to successfully complete our first race of the season. As a matter of fact 83 of our racers showed up with parents in tow. The average race turnout last year was 74 Catamount racers. Forty four girls competed and slightly out numbered the boys’ turnout by 5. I won’t go into great detail with numbers and results because most of you have access to “live-timing” results on the web. A total of 26 racers qualified for top 5 finishes (31% ). From this total we see that 11 (25%) girls and 15 (38%) boys made the walk to the podium. The percentage of top 10 finishes bumps up for each gender ( girls 34% and boys 59% ). The fastest overall time for the day was earned by Catamount’s John Mueller. Not far behind John are a strong contingent of boys separated only by a ski length or two. Going neck-and-neck for the fastest female Catamount racer was Lael Cashen and Francesca Mann, with Francesca edging out Lael. Now our catamount results certainly deserve applause and recognition. Racers who demonstrated fast times have been showing up for training week after week and training hard. Overall our racers have exemplified a commitment to learn skills and techniques to become a stronger and faster ski racer. And there in lies the key to ski racer development ,i.e., to develop is to grow, to evolve, to move toward fulfillment, Webster dictionary. This is the underlying goal of USSA and Catamount race progran as well. To become a stronger and more skilled ski racer one must develop the requisite skills and techniques. Many of the top Catamount finshers at Blandford achieved this status because they have been putting forth the effort for 2-4 years in the IC program.

Here is a quote from Chip White (USST Head Women’s World Cup Speed Coach):

“Just going fast will only take you so far. If you learn the skills first and build from that base, then as you progress, learning how to ski fast will be easier and eventually lead to a longer and more successful ski racing career.”

Here is another quote to share with your racer:

“Mikaela has been fortunate in having had a coach who views skills acquisition and quality training, particularly during key developmental years, as critical elements to future success. Racing was always secondary to mastery. Mikaela is continually striving for improvement. She can then race feeling well prepared, confident, and supported, which makes that part of the sport so enjoyable for her.” Mikaela’s parents, Jeff and Eileen.

Our coaching staff will continue to provide the necessary support to enhance your racer’s skill foundation on their way to becoming a better developed skier and hence ski racer. In the next few weeks we will be piloting several skill assessments with our racers. The information will subsequently be shared with parents. Please remember to volunteer for the Catamount home race

Regards,

John Greaser