It was not the best weekend for racing - it rained all day Saturday, poured for a while, it poured overnight then eventually dried out Sunday morning and turned windy. All the rain made the course conditions...interesting. Saturday wasn't too bad but Sunday it was a sheet of ice. Overall Whitney said it was worth it to come home - it was good to race at Massanutten again, great to see her old coaches and friends on the team, and she had two good days racing.
Saturday SBX 1 & 2
I actually saw the sun peek over the hills at our house Saturday morning but it didn't last long. The rains moved in quickly but they got the races started. This was a combined Appalachian Series/Southeast Series race and things did not run as smoothly as they usually do. There seemed to be a lot of chaos at the start gate, which is unusual. There were a over 100 racers and with things not running well it made for a very long day. Standing around in the rain, which was pouring down a few times, didn't make it any better. I'd so much rather bundle up and stand in 10* weather than the pouring rain we had on Saturday.
Whitney's racing went well. She was grouped with a jams woman, a youth woman, and an adaptive man. She was by far the best rider in the group and won both races easily.
Sunday SBX 3 & 4
It rained pretty hard overnight and was also warm so the course was a mess Sunday morning. They weren't sure if they'd be able to hold the race but were going to do everything they could to get it rolling. The course (and all the other slopes) were pretty much a sheet of ice and they had a hard time getting the cats up onto the course to groom it. After waiting a bit they were able to groom the course and get things started not too late.
Because of the rain quite a few racers didn't come back for day two. With fewer racers and a change in how the races were run (instead of the usual two races per heat (unless there were more than four racers) they ran "one and done") the day went much faster. It also helped that by the time they started the rain had mostly moved out although the wind was blowing pretty good.
Whitney had talked to Ellen about grouping her differently if she could for Sunday's races so that she'd be pushed. She had no competition on Saturday unfortunately. With racers not coming back she was put with two Open Class men and a jams man, good competition for her. In both races she finished third and in the second race she was only about a board and a half behind the top two finishers. Nice job!
It was fun, as always watching her race at Massanutten. Her dad was a course judge and had a good place to watch about halfway down the course. I drove up and found a good place to watch both days near the top. She had her own cheering section both days. On Saturday two friends of hers that go to JMU came to watch (yay for friends who come cheer in the rain) and on Sunday her sister and a friend of hers came up and four other friends came down to watch. Another friend who lives on the mountain came for a bit on Saturday and again on Sunday to take pictures of her racing. He's a really good photographer and I can't wait to see his pictures.
We came home last night, gear is drying, and shortly it's time to pack then it's off the airport for the flight back to Maine and more racing this week. She's got the NorAm/Hole Shot races Wednesday and Thursday then USASA Maine Mountain races over the weekend.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Massanutten Weekend
Whitney is home to race this weekend! I had to get up to Baltimore to pick her up (why does her flight have to come in during rush hour?? I almost have to leave before her flight leaves to pick her up.) then we drove down to Massanutten, with a stop at Chick-fil-a for dinner on the way.
She always loves racing on her home mountain, with her "boys" who are still on the team. And she enjoys seeing her old coaches, who are always happy to help her out. The one thing that will make this weekend interesting is rain. Hopefully they can get todays races off before the rain starts; tomorrow is much more doubtful. It's supposed to rain hard overnight and into tomorrow. Even if we're in a dry spot during race time the course may not be that great, we'll just have to see how it all plays out.
She's got four races this weekend, then she flies back to Maine on Monday and has NorAm races Wednesday/Thursday, then Maine Mountain races next weekend. A very busy stretch for her. After that she may do a Maine Mountain GS/SL race but I think she's done until USCSA Nationals at Lake Placid. Still deciding on the NorAm at Ski Cooper but she'll definitely be at the USASA Nationals/NorAm race at Copper.
This is also an Olympics year so there's that. The snowboard cross races are Wednesday and Thursday this week. Unfortunately the men's is shown live which means it's at 12:05am Wednesday morning and the women's is taped and will be on Wednesday (I think) night at 8:00. Can't wait to see them! Go Team USA!!
She always loves racing on her home mountain, with her "boys" who are still on the team. And she enjoys seeing her old coaches, who are always happy to help her out. The one thing that will make this weekend interesting is rain. Hopefully they can get todays races off before the rain starts; tomorrow is much more doubtful. It's supposed to rain hard overnight and into tomorrow. Even if we're in a dry spot during race time the course may not be that great, we'll just have to see how it all plays out.
She's got four races this weekend, then she flies back to Maine on Monday and has NorAm races Wednesday/Thursday, then Maine Mountain races next weekend. A very busy stretch for her. After that she may do a Maine Mountain GS/SL race but I think she's done until USCSA Nationals at Lake Placid. Still deciding on the NorAm at Ski Cooper but she'll definitely be at the USASA Nationals/NorAm race at Copper.
This is also an Olympics year so there's that. The snowboard cross races are Wednesday and Thursday this week. Unfortunately the men's is shown live which means it's at 12:05am Wednesday morning and the women's is taped and will be on Wednesday (I think) night at 8:00. Can't wait to see them! Go Team USA!!
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Mount Sunapee SL/GS
Sunday was another day to get up early and head to the slopes. At least we could sleep in a bit since she didn't have to check in quite so early and Mount Sunapee is a bit closer than Stratton. I have to say the NH Series people are super nice; she really enjoys racing there even if it's only this one race a year. Actually when she checked in the director asked if she was Whitney and said that he knows his usual racers and didn't recognize her so put her together with her name. When they were talking later in the start area he did remember he coming last year.
Her original plan when we were talking about her race schedule was to just race giant slalom. She was planning on just racing boardercross and giant slalom at USCSA Nationals. Since then USCSA has added slalom to their events list so to qualify she had to race in a slalom event. This one worked out nicely, although Maine Mountain has one coming up on a weekend she has free later this month so she may give it another go.
There were only 20 racers on Sunday which meant for a short day, even with two races to run. They run GS first then reset the gates for slalom. For both races each competitor gets two timed runs and best combined time wins in the age group. As usual (I hate that I have to keep saying that) Whitney had no competition so she won both races. It was a super fun day though. This was her fourth time racing GS and she did well; could have been a bit closer to the gates but it was fine. She was pleased with how she did. I think she was a bit nervous about slalom. She's had quite a bit of practice this season on ski gates but this was the first time she raced slalom at an event (and ski gates are different than snowboard gates). She was actually excited about it, along with the nerves; she figured she had nothing to lose - she was the only open class racer so she just had to get down the hill and not miss a gate. Her first run went well and she was really happy with how she did. Her second run went even better and she shaved about a second off of her time. The excitement on her face when she realized it was awesome! Needless to say she was super excited about how she did.
After awards we went back to my sister-in-law's house for snacks and the Super Bowl. Whitney was disappointed that her team didn't win. In the morning we both had to hit the road - she had to get back to school for meetings and I had a long drive home. We couldn't leave without making a stop at Burdick's Chocolatier for hot chocolate (for her), coffee, and croissants. They make great hot chocolate and it's not too far out of the way for us to make a quick stop.
Up next - boardercross races at Massanutten. She's flying home on Friday and can't wait to race on her home mountain.
Her original plan when we were talking about her race schedule was to just race giant slalom. She was planning on just racing boardercross and giant slalom at USCSA Nationals. Since then USCSA has added slalom to their events list so to qualify she had to race in a slalom event. This one worked out nicely, although Maine Mountain has one coming up on a weekend she has free later this month so she may give it another go.
There were only 20 racers on Sunday which meant for a short day, even with two races to run. They run GS first then reset the gates for slalom. For both races each competitor gets two timed runs and best combined time wins in the age group. As usual (I hate that I have to keep saying that) Whitney had no competition so she won both races. It was a super fun day though. This was her fourth time racing GS and she did well; could have been a bit closer to the gates but it was fine. She was pleased with how she did. I think she was a bit nervous about slalom. She's had quite a bit of practice this season on ski gates but this was the first time she raced slalom at an event (and ski gates are different than snowboard gates). She was actually excited about it, along with the nerves; she figured she had nothing to lose - she was the only open class racer so she just had to get down the hill and not miss a gate. Her first run went well and she was really happy with how she did. Her second run went even better and she shaved about a second off of her time. The excitement on her face when she realized it was awesome! Needless to say she was super excited about how she did.
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| At the finish after her second slalom run |
After awards we went back to my sister-in-law's house for snacks and the Super Bowl. Whitney was disappointed that her team didn't win. In the morning we both had to hit the road - she had to get back to school for meetings and I had a long drive home. We couldn't leave without making a stop at Burdick's Chocolatier for hot chocolate (for her), coffee, and croissants. They make great hot chocolate and it's not too far out of the way for us to make a quick stop.
Up next - boardercross races at Massanutten. She's flying home on Friday and can't wait to race on her home mountain.
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Stratton BX
Another day, another cold mountainside. It was 12* today when I was standing on the side of Stratton Mountain waiting for Whitney to race. I can't wait until next weekend when she's racing in Virginia since it should be warmer. After today she's decided that this is the last time she's racing at Stratton. The course isn't that great, the mountain isn't that hospitable to competitors, the organizers aren't that organized, and the competitors are left unsupervised and behave badly. Just not a good experience.
There were two open class women today and they raced with the one open class man. Whitney ended in third overall, second of the women. Since the course is narrow the best way to win is to get out of the gate first, hit the hole shot, and go. There are no places to pass so if you're first out of the gate you're golden. Whitney said that she could have finished second and beat the guy but it would have taken more effort than it was worth today. She fell at practice this week - snowboard gripping water leaking from a snow gun but a body in motion stays in motion so she face planted in the snow. She cleared concussion protocol but has a minor case of whiplash. Because of those things she didn't want to push it too hard in a race that doesn't really matter. Her neck is kind of sore today but otherwise she's feeling good.
Another race day tomorrow, slalom and GS at Mount Sunapee, then we both have long drives on Monday (although mine is a lot longer than hers). We will be together again next weekend in Virginia for more boardercross.
There were two open class women today and they raced with the one open class man. Whitney ended in third overall, second of the women. Since the course is narrow the best way to win is to get out of the gate first, hit the hole shot, and go. There are no places to pass so if you're first out of the gate you're golden. Whitney said that she could have finished second and beat the guy but it would have taken more effort than it was worth today. She fell at practice this week - snowboard gripping water leaking from a snow gun but a body in motion stays in motion so she face planted in the snow. She cleared concussion protocol but has a minor case of whiplash. Because of those things she didn't want to push it too hard in a race that doesn't really matter. Her neck is kind of sore today but otherwise she's feeling good.
Another race day tomorrow, slalom and GS at Mount Sunapee, then we both have long drives on Monday (although mine is a lot longer than hers). We will be together again next weekend in Virginia for more boardercross.
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