From news at lists.farwestmasters.org Fri Nov 7 10:12:30 2014 From: news at lists.farwestmasters.org (Far West Masters news) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2014 10:12:30 -0800 Subject: [FWM News] Race Registration is open! Message-ID: Race registration is now open for the 2014-2015 season! Complete information is available on the Season Schedule page of farwestmasters.org. You can register online at SkiRaceReg.com or print and mail an entry form with checks directly to the race organizer. We encourage everyone to use the online race registration, it's easy and reliable, no worrying about whether your entry got delivered by mountain mail! You will need to open or re-activate your account on SkiRaceReg before you can sign up for this season's races. If you already have an account, the account signup pages allow you to review and update your contact information, and also to provide current charge card information for charging race entry fees. PLEASE NOTE: The first time you log into your SkiRaceReg account for the season, you'll be taken to the signup page "Renew Membership - Far West Masters" with an explanation of the activation process for your online account. Please remember that "membership" in the Far West Masters race series on SkiRaceReg is only for your race signups; it is *NOT* your annual Far West Masters membership. There are no fees for opening your account on the system - charges are made only for race entry fees at the time a race is held. You will get a charge notification message when your account activation is completed, but the amount will be $0 - that's just a confirmation that the system has successfully recorded your account information. You aren't being billed for anything yet! Complete season schedule: http://farwestmasters.org/raceinfo/2015/schedule Far West Masters series on SkiRaceReg: http://skiracereg.com/races.asp?selected_org_id=13685 The entry deadline is published for all races and you can enter (or cancel without penalty) anytime up to the deadline, which is usually set to provide a one-day setback to allow the race organizers to pull entry lists and prepare the race operations computer systems for the event. Entries after the deadline or on the morning of a race at checkin are at the discretion of the organizing area; day-of-race signups will generally *NOT* be accepted this season - you must be on the start list prepared the day before the race in order to compete. New for the 2015 season, the early registration deadline for all races will be midnight of the Sunday prior to the start of the event. After the early registration deadline, there is a $5/race late entry fee. The late fee is designed to encourage early signups so that we can plan and prepare to put on the best possible event and give everyone a good experience on race day. You can cancel without penalty anytime up to the published entry deadline, so there's no downside to early signup if your race plans are tentative - just cancel before the final deadline if you con't make it. Race Entry process (from Fall 2014 Forerunner): http://farwestmasters.org/faq/FWM-RaceEntryProcess.pdf From news at lists.farwestmasters.org Fri Nov 7 11:57:00 2014 From: news at lists.farwestmasters.org (Far West Masters news) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2014 11:57:00 -0800 Subject: [FWM News] Mammoth season opener and training camp Message-ID: It's warm and sunny here in the Far West (yech?!!) but Mammoth's opening day is scheduled for next week on Thursday Nov. 13, so ski season is nearly here! Our opening races of the 2014-2015 season are coming up soon with a two-day, three-race SL/SL/GS weekend event at Mammoth on Dec. 6-7. Details and information are posted on the Season Schedule page of the web site. Discounted group lodging rates are available from Mammoth. Competitor lift tickets are $53 ($45 for 65-79 years old; 80+ skis free!) and specially priced parent and family tickets will be available at registration. http://farwestmasters.org/announcements/2015/RaceInfo-Mammoth-Dec2014.pdf http://farwestmasters.org/announcements/2015/RaceAnnouncement-Mammoth-Dec2014.pdf Mammoth will once again offer a masters training camp on Mon-Fri Dec. 1-5, following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. This is a great way to kick off your season with some time on snow and gate training going into the season opening race weekend on Dec. 6-7. Drills, gates, and video sessions will be provided, with coaches from the Mammoth masters and ski team. You can attend by the day or for the full week; see the camp information flyer for details or visit the Race Department's web page on mammothmountain.com Mammoth Masters Camp week information and registration: http://farwestmasters.org/announcements/2015/2015_Mammoth_Masters_Race_Camp.pdf Mammoth Race Department: http://www.mammothmountain.com/winter/ski-ride/race-department From news at lists.farwestmasters.org Tue Nov 25 21:56:46 2014 From: news at lists.farwestmasters.org (Far West Masters news) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 21:56:46 -0800 Subject: [FWM News] USSA Masters Comp Guide and Newsletter Message-ID: The 2015 USSA Masters Alpine Competition Guide with information about USSA masters racing around the country and this season's major regional and national events is available from the ussa.org web site. If you would like a hard copy of this year's guide, email Bill Skinner at bskinner at ussa.org with your mailing address. Far West Masters will also have some copies available at our opening race in Mammoth in December. http://alpine.usskiteam.com/sites/default/files/documents/athletics/compservices/2014-15/documents/2015_mas_comp_guide.pdf The Fall USSA Masters newsletter has also been sent out to all masters. You should have received a copy in the mail, or you can download a copy using the link below. This issue contains some great articles about technique and tuning as well as reports from all the masters divisions. http://ussamasters.org/newsletters/2015/Masters_Newsletter-2015-01-Fall.pdf The fall newsletter also features an excellent article about competition rules, highlighting some of the key rules to be aware of this season. New this season, missing a gate in DH, SG, or GS is a DNF - you may no longer hike back if you have missed a gate or have come to a complete stop after a fall. (Hiking is still permitted in SL, as long as you have not been passed and do not interfere with the next competitor.) Important to know about is a new rule coming next season with stricter helmet requirements to meet FIS standards for GS, SG, and DH. Helmets that meet the new standards are recommended this season and will be required for ALL USSA competitors U14 and older in the 2015-2016 season. From news at lists.farwestmasters.org Wed Nov 26 07:15:24 2014 From: news at lists.farwestmasters.org (Far West Masters news) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 07:15:24 -0800 Subject: [FWM News] Mammoth race registration reminder Message-ID: Please submit entries for the opening weekend Mammoth races if you're planning to compete, or even if you're just considering at this point but not sure yet if you can make it. Remember that we have introduced a new late fee policy this season - entries submitted after the early registration deadline of midnight of the Sunday prior to the start of the event are subject to a $5/race late fee. The late fee is intended to encourage early signups so that we can plan and prepare to put on the best possible event and give everyone a good experience on race day. You can cancel without penalty anytime up to the published entry deadline, so there's no downside to early signup if your race plans are tentative - just cancel before the entry deadline if you con't make it. Event announcements and information: http://farwestmasters.org/announcements/2015/RaceInfo-Mammoth-Dec2014.pdf http://farwestmasters.org/announcements/2015/RaceAnnouncement-Mammoth-Dec2014.pdf Event: Dave McCoy SL/GS: 2 SL races Sat. 12/6, GS race Sun 12/7 Location: Mammoth Mountain, CA Early registration deadline: Sunday 11/30 Entry/cancellation deadline: Thu 12/04 Entry fee: $30/race ($35/race after 11/30) Racer lift: $53 ($45 65-79; 80+ skis free!!) Checkin: 7:30 ? 9:00 am daily in the Race Dept. office (Team HQ bldg adjacent to Main Lodge) Specially priced parent and family tickets will be available at race checkin. Lodging: Call 1-800-Mammoth for a special discounted group rate and mention ?Booking ID 19706, Far West Masters SL & GS, Dec 6-7, 2014? when making the reservation. Additional lodging information is available through the Town of Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau http://www.visitmammoth.com ~ Deb -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Deb Lewis Director of Race Services and Scoring; Webmaster Far West Masters From news at lists.farwestmasters.org Sat Nov 29 13:56:34 2014 From: news at lists.farwestmasters.org (Far West Masters news) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 13:56:34 -0800 Subject: [FWM News] Mammoth Schedule Changes Message-ID: Due to limited coverage and hill space, our opening weekend races at Mammoth on Dec. 6-7 are being changed to two SL races - one race Saturday, with the second SL race originally planned for Saturday moved to Sunday to replace the planned GS. It is not currently possible to hold a GS race. Mammoth's race crew is doing their best to put on our event under challenging conditions as we enter another race season with continuing dry conditions. Mammoth currently has a number of runs open in the Main Lodge area - Broadway, Stump Alley, Unbound park, Mambo, Saddle Bowl, and Powder Bowl are all open, with race training on Andy's Double Gold, and the snowmaking guns are cranking out as much as posisble. We will post additional details on the weekend race schedule early in the week, as soon as evolving plans stabilize. For those coming to the Mammoth Masters training camp next week on Dec. 1-5, all training will be SL. A mix of free-skiing, drills, and gates will be provided. Meeting time is 9:30am at the Super Sign in front of the Main Lodge on Monday and Tuesday, with training from 9:30-1pm. On Wed-Thu-Fri, meet at 9am for drills and gate training until noon. Additional training will be available on Friday Dec 5th on ADG from 12.30pm till 2.30pm.