Coaches: Scott Northrup, OES
Team Parents: Dave and Karen Millar
Treasurer: Karen Millar
Fund Raising Chairman: To be determined
Transportation Coordinator: To be determined
Equipment Manager: To be determined
Lodging Coordinator: To be determined
Web Master: John Rowley
The Tigard High School Ski Team is a member of the Metro Ski League, which is made up of 13 schools.
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Aloha
High School |
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St.
Marys Academy |
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The Metro Ski League is a part of the OISRA. We race in the Alpine Division (High School Program). This program is only open to Oregon High School Students.
The ski racing season begins with dry land training beginning Monday, November 5, 2007.
We use some of the same facilities as the soccer and football teams, so the beginning time is a little variable depending on whether these teams are going to state finals. Normally this is around the first week of November.
The team practices dry land training on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until the regular race season begins. Dry land includes endurance, flexibility, strength, and agility training.
Dry land training during weekdays is "on your own." The first Friday night on the mountain for race training is January 11, unless you hear otherwise.
The team practices on the mountain at
Ski Bowl on Friday nights. We meet at Tigard High at 3:15 pm, and drive
up. We
spend the night at Cascade Lodge in Government Camp when we have a race the next
day at an area on Mt.
Parents provide transportation from the lodge to the race and home.
The team We get up early and have breakfast in the lodge. Parents arrive at Cascade Lodge at approximately 7:00 am. We depart at 7:15 am. Parents provide the transportation from Cascade Lodge to the race.
They are required to be at the lodge of the ski area where the race is held at 8:00 - 8:15 am.
Parent volunteers are needed to organize and run the race team.
Every weekend the races are organized and run by parent volunteers filling positions as easy as "gate keeper" and as complicated as "Chief of Race." Gate keepers and finish line time keepers do not have to be skiers. It takes one parent volunteer for every 3 racers. A typical day will have 2 courses with 150 racers on each one making 2 runs. That's a total of 600 runs. Each course has digital timing systems, hand timers, gate keepers for every three gates, course maintenance, starters, finish judges, chief of course, chief of race, start organizer, etc.
It takes a number of parents to make the team go. This is a club sport, which means the parents volunteer to organize it, administer it, and keep it going during the race season. The school provides a place to meet, practice, and a little administrative support, but the parents and racers make it happen. The following positions are filled each year. It is best if everyone takes responsibility for a little and minimize the number of people filling multiple positions.
Coaches: The Tigard Ski Team hires racing coaches. Parents may volunteer to assist the coach in whatever way he or she can use.
Team Parents: Organize and run the program. Act as parent reps for the team to the school.
Treasurer: Maintains records of team funds, creates and monitors annual budget, sets racer fees, keeps balance of racers accounts.
Fund Raising Chairman: Lines up parent volunteers to staff the snack shack at one varsity football game.
Organizes and run the Christmas wreath sales including: negotiating source and purchase price for wreaths, set selling price, decide how much variety to offer, copy selling materials (usually a color picture of wreath and a form for recording sales), collecting and accounting for money, paying for wreaths, picking up wreaths and distributing them to racers. Get help and have racers pick up wreaths at your house.
Transportation Coordinator: Negotiate school bus transportation to the mountain for Friday night training at ski bowl. Additional transportation or changes as needed. Training location may change. Early season training may require additional trips.
Equipment Manager: Maintain inventory of team equipment. Plan and acquire replacement equipment with the coach and team parents. Ensure secure storage for equipment during the race season on the mountain and after the race season off the mountain.
Lodging Coordinator: Locate and negotiate cost of lodging on the mountain in Government Camp for Friday nights before race days. Racers are responsible for cost of lodging.
Web Master: Maintain this web site with updates to meet the needs of all parent volunteers and racers to share information.
1 parent volunteer to assist in conducting the race is required for each 3 racers that our team fields on race day. Volunteers may be skiers or non-skiers. Help is needed setting and slipping the course, judging gates, keeping time, and more. We typically try to have enough parents sign up at the beginning of the season that we can provide 6 parent volunteers committed for each race.
Race Volunteers to be in the announced location at the ski area at 8:15 am. Race volunteers may not normally serve as transportation volunteers, since they must leave earlier for the ski area than the racers, except when Tigard is setting one of the race courses. When Tigard is setting one of the courses, the racers have to leave early also to help.
Transportation volunteers to be at Cascade Lodge in Government Camp to pick up racers at 7:00 am on the morning of the race. You will transport racers to the race, down to Cascade Lodge after the race, and then back to Tigard High School. Arrival times vary widely based on when races finish and road conditions. It is good to have a cell phone to call parents as you approach town. The arrival time can vary quite a bit depending on how early the race finished and how smoothly traffic moves on the return.
Racers are responsible for the cost of their own lift tickets.
Parent volunteers are normally issued free lift tickets when they are working a race. They often receive a discount on the purchase of future lift ticket as well. This varies from area to area.
The following costs were from the 2005/2006 season and need to be updated for 2007/2008. The racer pays $420 for participation in ski racing. This covers coaches and transportation. The racer does NOT pay an additional $150 sports participation. The racer is responsible for lodging the Friday night after race practice, food and lift tickets.
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Description |
Cost |
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Coaches & Transportation |
$420 |
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Lodging Cascade Lodge x $17 x 7 |
$119 |
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Lift Tickets |
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No special race equipment is required, except a ski helmet with full coverage over the ears. Additional equipment that can be useful as soon as the racer starts hitting gates are hand and shin guards.
Skis and bindings Slalom and Giant Slalom
Boots
Poles
Hand Guards
Helmet with full hard shell over ears.
Chin Guards - optional
Arm Guards
Shin Guards
Race Suit
Tuning Equipment
Pads
Any activity that builds strength (weight training), agility, speed, and endurance is good. We encourage a mixture of cross training, such as swimming, running, weight lifting, mountain biking, hiking up long steep trails, ice skating or roller blading.
All racers must have a current physical and have it on record with the sports office. Racers without a physical on record may not race.
All racers and parent volunteers are required to fill out about 6 8 liability wavers at the beginning of the season for participation in various events and various ski areas. This is a requirement of the ski areas and OISRA and may not be waived. No one may participate without signed wavers.
Ski team parents assist at the snack shack at one of the varsity football games.
Skiers have an opportunity to completely pay for their race participation fees by selling Christmas wreaths. This is the only fund raiser.
OISRA (Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association, Alpine Division) (High School Program)
OISRA Metro League (League that Tigard High School competes in)
OISRA Emerald League (Mid Willamette Valley )
Pacific Northwest Ski Education Foundation
Comparison of PNSA and OISRA Programs
Meadows Ski Team (A PNSA team)
Mt. Hood Academy Ski Team (A PNSA team)
Ski Racing On-Line Magazine (No Charge)
Tigard
The job of the gatekeeper is to insure that each racer passes through each gate correctly so that all racers run the same course. A gate is made up of two poles or two panels of the same color (red or blue). The rules for proper passage are simple: Both ski tips and both boots must past through the "gate" which is an imagery line between the two gate markers. The one slight twist (there's always got to be one) if a racer looses a ski, then the remaining ski tip and both boots must pass through the gate.
It doesn't matter how the ski tips & boots pass through the gate: up hill, down hill, backwards, forwards, racer on his/her back .. as long as both boots and ski tips pass through the gate. If a racer straddles a gate pole so one boot passes through the gate and the other is outside the gate, then the racer has not passed correctly through the gate.
The diagram above show four racers passing through the same set of gates. Racers 1 through 3 have made a legal passage through the four gates -- (no rules about passing through gracefully). Racer 4 missed a gate, which the gatekeeper will note - the racer will be disqualified for the run.
GATE NUMBERS,
ASSIGNMENTS, and PROCEDURES
Each gate is given a number with gate 1 at the top
of the course. Usually a gatekeeper is assigned to watch 3 or 4 gates.
You'll be given a clip board with a 'gate keepers' form attached.
As each racer passes, you write down their bib number. For any racer that
misses a gate draw a small diagram (similar to #4 above) showing the location of
the gates and the route the racer took. After the last racer has passed,
stay at your post and someone will be by shortly to collect your 'gate keepers'
card.
WHAT TO SAY WHEN A
GATE IS MISSED
There are only three words a gatekeeper should say
to a racer: 'GO', 'BACK', and 'COURSE'. If the fallen racer has NOT
missed any gates, say GO, GO, GO. If one or more gates have been missed,
point to the first gate missed and say BACK, BACK, BACK. Once a fallen
racer has passed through all gates properly, say GO, GO, GO. If it looks
like the fallen racer will interfere with the next racer coming down the course,
say COURSE. It is up to each individual racer to decide if he/she is
interfered with. That's it!
Alleged
conflicting instructions to racers by gatekeepers and/or spectators is by far
the most common "racer" related problem. It is ultimately up to each
racer to pass through all gates correctly - reruns are usually not
granted because of conflicting instructions. Keeping the dialog down to three
words is the best help a gatekeeper can give a racer.
HELPING A FALLEN
RACER
Any aid given to a racer will disqualify the racer
for that run. This means retrieving any equipment or clothing or helping in any
way.
INJURED RACER
If a racer appears to have injuries that may be
aggravated by being moved, place yourself in a highly visible position on the
course so the next racer will know to leave the course. Find an official with a
radio. If need be, send a skier to the finish so help can be summoned.
How to be the envy of your fellow
gatekeepers
You
will typically be standing/sitting along side the race course for two to three
hours and keeping warm is often a challenge. Warm clothing including a good
water-resistant jacket, warm hat, and gloves are usually the minimum.
A
5-gallon plastic bucket is provided by Metro league for the use of each gate
keeper. It has a lid that can serve
both as a seat and a container to haul goodies you may decide to bring. A foam
pad placed between you and the plastic bucket makes the bucket a more
comfortable seat and a heck of a lot warmer.
The
weather varies and you should be prepared for cold, wind, blowing snow and/or
rain, and sun. It's not too unusual to have the weather change dramatically
during the day.
THINGS
TO CONSIDER
Warm
clothing - several layers works best including a sweaters or two
Long underwear
Gloves - you will be writing occasionally so gloves that are difficult to get on
and off may be a problem.
Hand warmer(s)
Ski goggles
Warm boots - ski boots are usually not the best for keeping your feet warm
Sunglasses and sun screen for those rare sunny days
Umbrella - rain coat and pants for rain or wet snowy conditions
Change of clothes
Thermos of coffee/chocolate or other liquid
The
down side of liquids is the time you are required to remain at your station is
always directly proportional to how bad you have to go and the distance to the
restrooms.
HOW TO GET A RE-RUN
There is hardly a race that goes by that a racer requests and is denied a re-run because the correct procedure was not followed. A re-run will only be granted if a racer is hindered (interfered with). Interference can be any number of things (including broken/missing gates) but almost never includes such things as blowing snow or personal equipment failure.
The ultimate responsibility for passing correctly through a gate falls on the racer.
Re-runs are seldom granted if a racer claims he or she was given conflicting instructions after they have fallen.
Here's what you MUST do if your run is interfered with:
1. Stop immediately and move off the
course.
DO
NOT continue on the course
DO
NOT cross the finish line
2. Inform the closest gatekeeper that you were interfered with and to please make a note of it.
3. Go to the Start or Finish Referee and inform them you are requesting a provisional re-run.
You will most likely be granted a provisional re-run. Once you have made your provisional re-run you forfeit any time you may have had for your original run. At the end of the race day a jury will make the final decision and will grant or deny your provisional re-run time.