Ski Racing - November 21, 2011

Weird Science
STARTHOUSE

one could be less harsh, but such was not the case. A number of council members did in fact raise the issues of inclusion and transparency in their November meeting, which was a positive step. Unfortunately, they did not have the gumption to put a hold on the decision and review the entire project and its findings, choosing instead to turn the clock back. Hopefully the council will put pressure on management to thoroughly think through the consequences for junior racing, and will actually involve all constituencies, including female racers. In today’s digital world, transparency is easy. Meetings can be open on the Internet, with meeting minutes distributed almost instantly along with statistics, findings and videos. It would be unconscionable to exclude concerned constituencies when youth and the future of the sport are on the line.

Ski Racing editors bring you the season’s alpine review in a packed issue with all kinds of great features and stories. For families deciding on ski academies, we have our annual round-up (pages 46 to 58) of what each school, from coast to coast, has to offer young athletes. Remember that each digital issue is available in the Ski Racing archive. You can search by feature or by individual racer.

Marco Sullivan is back with his yard-wide grin and tells freelancer Dana Turvey he is strong and ready to go fast (page 40). The speedster from Lake Tahoe is a welcome returnee to the men’s downhill squad. Tim Reynolds interviews another speedster — Kikkan Randall, the team’s top sprinter, who is coming off a breakthrough season. An enthusiastic supporter of Fast and Female, Randall will be a factor again on the tour this season (page 64).

Why do World Cup coaches spend 300 days on the road? Read Bryce Hubner’s interviews with three of the road warriors (page 42). Hank McKee journeyed to Sport Thoma’s race room (page 66). Eric Williams examines some new speed suits and Dave Peszek has assembled a list of essential tools for keeping your skis tuned all season.

Don’t forget to download both the Ski Racing iPad app and the iPhone app. The iPad app brings you the entire publication, plays the videos and makes pictures snap. The iPhone keeps you up to the minute with results, standings, news and live timing. They are both free, so grab them.

Racing starts right after Thanksgiving with men’s speed in Lake Louise and women’s tech in Aspen. Enjoy the bird, and then follow the various World Cups along with Ski Racing’s team. It is about to be curtains up in North America. — G.B. Jr.

November brings the North American swing of what could be the last modern season for alpine ski racing. With the FIS council failing to challenge the flawed research on which the international governing body is basing its decision to require ski radiuses dating back to the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, next year’s alpine World Cup will no longer be the innovative and technical leader of alpine ski sport. That will fall to athletes in other alpine arenas, who still have the advantage of using state-of-the-art ski design technology — at least for now!

The FIS and its council have failed alpine competition with this decision. While it’s easy to stand behind the contention that one can not go against science, when scien-

SALES/MARKETING DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS CLAIRE ABBE MARKETPLACE AND CIRCULATION MANAGER NANCY MERRILL

ART
ART DIRECTOR
RAND PAUL
PHOTOGRAPHERS
JONATHAN SELKOWITZ
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
SARAH TUFF
SENIOR EDITOR
HANK MCKEE
ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ERIC WILLIAMS

CONTRIBUTORS

EMILY COOK BRYCE HUBNER BILL MCCOLLOM DAVE PESZEK TIM REYNOLDS SUSAN THEIS

Andrew Weibrecht gets ready for Beaver Creek with a training session at Vail’s Golden Peak.

SKI RACING
INTERNATIONAL, LLC
CHAIRMAN/CEO
GARY BLACK JR.
CONTROLLER
ADELE SAVARIA

SUBSCRIBER SERVICE: For the fastest
service, visit us online at
skiracing.com and click on the subscriber
services button, or write: Ski Racing, P. O. Box
65467, Salt Lake City, UT 84165. For back issues
and special requests, please call 801-364-4442.

EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING: P. O. Box
65467, Salt Lake City, UT 84165. Submissions
must be accompanied by a self-addressed,
stamped envelope.
Ski Racing is not responsible for unsolicited
material.
Copyright © 2011 Ski Racing International. All
rights reserved.

Ski Racing (ISSN 0037-6213) (USPS 014-521), a publication of Ski Racing International, LLC, P. O. Box 65467, Salt Lake City, UT 84165, published monthly in September, October, November, December and twice in Jan., Feb., Mar. and April for a total of 12 issues. Annual subscription $24, Canada remit $47.98 in U.S. funds (includes GST); all other international air mail $72.98 in U.S. funds only. Periodicals Postage Paid at Salt Lake City, UT, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post International Publications Mail Agreement #40010538. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Express Messenger International, P.O. Box 25058 London BRC, Ontario, Canada N6C GA8

tists refuse to use benchmarks — there was no comparison done with accidents before shaped skis — and fail to include women (coaches, officials or athletes) as a major constituency, one has to conclude that the scientific methods used were more than flawed. It was bogus, set up to prove a preconceived conclusion.