This season Club National event entry lists and results are showing a large number of sub 10 point racers taking part. While everyone enjoys watching and appreciates the skills of these accomplished racers, is their presence good or bad for the majority of racers in these events?
Racers, organisers, seeders and spectators may all have different views on the subject. What is your view? Do these sub 10 point racers deny or hamper the racers ,at whom this level of race is aimed, from achieving their true or even their false Seed Points?
Is the 10 point minimum penalty there to discourage the top racers from taking part or does it reflect the level of course and skill needed to ski an easier slalom course where the racer can have three attempts?
Do the sub 10 point racers take part for the fun, because they are there and have incurred the expense to travel for a Grand Prix or is it to make it more difficult for the opposition to reduce their Seed Points as the penalty may inflate the base point by up to 10?
What are your views or explanations about this? Let's have an open discussion.
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4 comments:
It is fantastic that top racers including David Ryding still race in club nationals. How else do young racers see what they can aspire towards and learn from watching the UK's best racers? Of the Juniors and Seniors who entered the Scottish at Courchevel, who didn't enjoy racing against Alain Baxter?
The best way to improve your points is to train harder!
There is perhaps an over emphasis on points - the best way to measure your performance is against your contempories who are just ahead or just behind you
Seed points measure performance on a percentage behind the best skier in the UK, who is seeded at 0. If points are easier to make when the best are absent, perhaps the penalties applied are too low?
It is unrealistic to expect racers to travel perhaps 4 or 5 hours, and only be able to compete on the Sunday.
Congratulations to skifast on being the first to post a comment on Ski Racing Blog.
A very comprehensive and excellent comment but please be mindful that we are not talking about individual racers. Please restrict posts and comments to generalities where possible. The subject is "Sub 10 point racers in Club National events".
The SSE manual defines Club Nationals as being races for performers over age 10 to who wish to obtain or improve their seed points in order to gain entry to the Grand Prix Series.
The Seed Point system has worked well for many years but with the changes in equipment, possible broader span of professionalism amongst younger racers, less choice of venues etc. does the present system need revisiting? Should certain slopes carry their own "penalty"? There are slopes like Hillend and Pontypool where some racers never race. Others like Pendle and Rossendale have their own peculiarities but this is another question to be discussed.
We need more points of view on the main heading which revolves around races primarily run for performers in the earlier years of racing.
I have heard various points of view being expressed between small groups and also understand the subject has prompted discussion between race organisers.
There is no doubt that what you say is true, everyone loves to compete alongside the best but there are those that view the subject from a slightly different perspective and a full spectrum of comment may stimulate debate and even lead to improvements to present system.
The quality of your comment was excellent and hopefully sets the standard for others.
The club nationals give all racers a chance to get a few runs on an unfamiliar slope that they might only ski on once or twice a year.
This should help all racers performance in the following days Grand Prix events, giving a truer reflection of the different levels and standards.
As a parent of a middle ranking racer, that will occasionally fall foul of the 'points killers'. I've got to say that if certain of the top guys are in attendance, why bother turning up and wasting fuel, time and effort. It is scant reward for our juniors to put all the effort in to get blown out of the water, where if we chose our races more carefully we will be able to pick up a few points.
It's great to be able to catch up with the gb team lads and see the great improvements they are making year on year.
However, it is a real kick in the teeth for some of those that are trying so hard at all the lower levels to find themselves finishing fifty points further back down the pile! I would raise the same point as 'skifast' the best way to improve is, indeed to train harder. But to acheive anything within the league structure you actually need to train harder than those around you!
There is no real reward for these top racers, yet another medal on an already crowded shelf and another zero point finish! So, heres an idea to chew on, as we really need the elite contingent to show their faces, and they obvoiusly enjoy the role as mentor to the younger racers, how about using them firstly as forerunners and secondly to have a 'big guns shoot out event', a premier league if you like.
It would be something for the up and coming racers to aspire to, get your points in single figures and get promoted. It would be a relatively simple thing to achieve, and probably increase numbers attending races. Due to the added excitement of the day with a seperate comp that would not affect your childs points in a negative fashion. It could be easily run in the same way as the minis comps.
Admittedly, the idea is just an idea, to bat around, and I won't get upset if someone says it's a dumb one. However, at ground level we have a serious lack of these being communicated to us by the governing body. But theres another can of worms that needs opening!
So, my message to all those involved in running SSE races would be "Be Creative!"
Until then I guess it's a matter of being careful which races you choose to attend.
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