Cranmore Community Racing In order to provide fun and competitive race events, Cranmore Mountain Resort has adopted a set of rules for conduct participation, and course setting. These rules are to be used to conduct all Mountain Meister, Gibson Cup and Community racing events. In general, CMR Community Races resemble the rules of USSA & NASTAR. There are rules and scoring procedures that are specific to each of our various race leagues which are listed here or in the event information for that specific event or series. Communications Communications between CMR, Sponsors, Team Captains, Racers and the Race Crew are an important part of the Mountain Meister s Race League. Please make certain that you are kept informed of all Mountain Meister E-Newsletters and Facebook updates throughout the season. Please remember that Mountain Meisters and all other forms of community racing are for fun, so please keep it that way; be respectful of the staff and respectful of each other, and have a great season. General Regulations: Mountain Meisters and The Gibson Cup are non-sanctioned community racing leagues, designed to promote the sport of ski racing in the greater Mount Washington Valley area. Mountain Meisters Racing is held on The Alley trail The Gibson Cup race series is held on The Competition Slope Race organizers are responsible for Course Preparation; if the conditions warrant, The Meister Crew may require and call for racer assistance maintaining the courses. Due to the come and go nature of Community Race leagues, Mountain Meisters and The Gibson Cup will be run in a first come, first race manner instead of bib order or by gender. Page 1 of 9
Registration Procedure: All Racers must register in person at the Cranmore Mountain Resort (CMR) ticket house to get their Meister Pass and sign a release of liability. Participants must be 21-years or older. Can participate as an individual or as part of a team. Registration is closed from December 24 th to January 1 st, due to Vacation week crowds, but it opens again on January 2 nd. Racers are encouraged to update their NASTAR Registration information at NASTAR.com The Gibson Cup Series is an add on league for Mountain Meisters. Sign up early, and join us for Pre-Season Meister Clinics on Tuesdays & Wednesdays before December Vacation. Meister Passes/NASTAR Numbers/Race Bibs: Meisters should have their Meister Pass on them at all times while skiing at Cranmore Mountain Resort. Your NASTAR Registration Number is your Mountain Meister Number. Your NASTAR/Meister Number is being printed on the bottom of your pass, and you receive a NASTAR season pass as a Meister, so you can pull up to the window any day we are running NASTAR at Cranmore and take as many runs in the course as you want. We have used NASTAR in the background of Mountain Meisters for a number of years; and we hope to introduce you to the NASTAR system. Training Clinics: Every racer has the opportunity to attend weekly Meister Clinics on Sunday Afternoon, Tuesday Mornings, and every other Wednesday. These training clinics will be focused on skier improvement and the next race. The courses set at training clinics will be set in a manner to try and replicate the set of the upcoming event. The Season Clinic & Race Schedule can be found on the Cranmore Website: Page 2 of 9
Mountain Meister Divisions Mountain Meister Racers are broken down into Divisions of 15 racers each. Team points are awarded to each racer based upon where they finish in their division each week; Pint Glasses are given to the top finishers in each Division at the end of the season, as determined by their season average race score. Mountain Meister Teams: All Racers will be assigned to a team. If you do not have a team, then you will be assigned to a Cranmore Captain s Team. The Team captain s roster is official and only the team captain can make adjustments to the team rosters. Any adjustments to the team roster must be done via email to meisters@cranmore.com, prior to 9 am on Wednesday morning. No roster changes will be made without an email from the Meister and the Team Captain. Team Size is capped at 13. Only the top 8 results count each week.we will drop your teams lowest scores, so absences won t necessarily destroy a team score. (We understand that Life Happens.) Meister Scoring: We have automated the sorting and scoring process to make it consistent and fair for every racer, every week. We are using an average of your finish results to sort you into active divisions where you can challenge yourself to become a better skier. (we do not count your DNF/DNS/DSQ in this calculation) We have maintained the look and feel of the Team Scoring System that we have grown accustomed to, and by automating the process we are now able to drop your worst scores and your team s worst scores, because we know that life happens. Gibson Cup Age Classes The following are the Meister & Gibson Cup age classes. Your weekly Meister Results can be sorted by age classes at NASTAR.com. The Gibson Cup will be scored using Age Classes. Race order is by first come first serve for Mountain Meister s and The Gibson Cup. (Other community races may have other rules that apply for bib order and age classes) Class 1: Ages 21 29 Class 8: Ages 60 64 Class 2: Ages 30 34 Class 9: Ages 65 69 Class 3: Ages 35 39 Class 10: Ages 70 74 Class 4: Ages 40 44 Class 11: Ages 75 79 Class 5: Ages 45 49 Class 12: Ages 80 84 Class 6: Ages 50 54 Class 13: Ages 85 89 Class 7: Ages 55 59 Class 14: Ages 90+ Page 3 of 9
Course Inspection: The Mountain Meister course is a single run, NASTAR format race. If a racer wishes to inspect the Mountain Meister Course, they are free to do so, but must do so in a manner which does not impact other racers on course. Racers must check in with the starter before slipping the course. Never jump into a course without alerting a race official because you could get hurt or hurt someone else. The Gibson Cup courses will be more technical than the Meister Course, and therefore there is an inspection period for each Gibson Cup Race, and every racer is required to make 1 inspection run through the course. Any racer who inspects any of the courses should do so by side slipping outside of the racing line. There should be no high speed skiing in the racing area during inspection. There should not be any shadowing of the course. Official Start Procedures: For Mountain Meisters, the starter will ask you for your Meister number to enter it into the timing computer. The starter will say Whenever you are ready ; at this point you can go when you feel comfortable. Some racers may not feel comfortable racing next to another competitor and choose to wait a few extra seconds before starting, that is fine in Mountain Meisters, but please be respectful of the other racers and do not linger in the start waiting for the perfect wind and lighting... it is only Mountain Meisters. In The Gibson Cup, for SG and GS the starter will ask for the racers number, to enter into the computer. When the timer is ready, the starter will give the racer a warning of 10 Seconds, followed 5 seconds later by a countdown of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and then the command Go. The racer can start 5 seconds before, or 5 seconds after the command GO. In the Gibson Cup, for SL, the starter will ask for the racers number to enter into the computer. When the Timer is ready, the starter will give the racer a warning of Racer Ready then after a short pause the command GO. The racer must start within 10 seconds after the command GO. NO RUNNING STARTS. All racers will start from a stationary position. If a racer checks in, climbs up the hill and then slides through the start in order to gain an advantage, YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED, repeated offenses will result in a sanction against the racer. Running starts are dangerous and they damage the equipment. Page 4 of 9
Completion of the Gate Both feet and ski tips must have passed the turning pole on the same side, following the normal race line, crossing the imaginary line from turning pole to turning pole. On the Mountain Meister Course and in Gibson Cup Slaloms and GS, hiking is permitted if a racer misses a gate. Hiking is not permitted in the Super G or Jessie Lyman Downhill. The racer who is hiking is responsible for not interfering with the following competitor. These races are community leagues for fun, they are not qualifiers for the world cup or US nationals, and therefore we have to use the honor system, like golf. We can see a lot from the timing shacks, but we cannot see everything. Crossing the Finish Line Meisters must cross through the finish line that corresponds with his/her course. If you cross the wrong finish line you will be disqualified. In the case of a fall, through the finish, your time stops when any part of the racers body stops the clock. After crossing the finish line, racers are required to check their speed and come to a stop as soon as possible. Do not cut into the finish area of the other course; be aware of other racers on the hill. Once you have stopped, move to a location out of the way of the next racers. Interference If a competitor feels that he or she has suffered from interference on the course, he or she must stop immediately and ski out of the course and request a provisional rerun from any Meister Crew Member available. The racer must explain the specific problem and location. The jury will give immediate instructions and then determine the validity of the claim in a subsequent meeting according to the rules relating to reruns. Grounds for interference include blocking of the course by a fallen competitor who did not clear the course soon enough. Objects in the course such as a lost ski pole or the ski of a previous racer. Activities of the ski patrol which obstruct the racer, a downed gate blocking the course or other similar incidents beyond the will and control of the racer which causes significant loss of speed or lengthening of the racing line and subsequently affects the racers time. Also includes malfunctions of the timing equipment. Binding Release If a competitor looses a ski in Meisters, feel free to pick it up and put it back on, but may not receive any help or outside assistance, or interfere with another competitor. If you are racing in The Gibson Cup and a binding release occurs more than two gates from the finish you will be considered a clear disqualification. Page 5 of 9
Provisional Runs (Re-Runs) If you are interfered with, if there is a power outage, or if a squirrel eats a wire we will give you a Provisional Run. We are all Human and make mistakes and that is why we have computers and timing logs to catch our errors. When adverse events occur on the hill; our Unofficial Timing may show an erroneous time or no time at all, but 99.9% of the time, we have your official time in the Timing Logs and on the Timing Tape. However, it is better to err on the side of caution and give a provisional rerun, than to be that 0.1%. We will check the timing logs for any racer with two runs and your official time will be your earliest run with a valid time in our system. Protests Unofficial results are available throughout the day using Live Timing. Unofficial Mesiter Results are available in Zip s Pub 30 minutes following the race, on Thursday in the Conway Daily Sun, and Thursday afternoon at the bottom of the Cranmore.com Mountain Meisters Page. Please remember that all of these sources and even the Clock at the bottom of the course are not official times. The official times, lay in the Racing Log which runs in the background of all of our timing programs, applications and software. If you believe that there is an error in your time, please file a protest by sending an email to meisters@cranmore.com no later than 6:00pm Sunday. Please include 1) Your Bib Number 2) The approximate time of day that you ran 3) A description of events 4) If you know the racers who ran ahead of, or behind you, it makes it easier for us to find your information in the Race Log. We assess each case as it comes in and check against the timing log. All Protests are adjudicated no later than Monday at 4:00 pm when the Race becomes Official. We will send you an email that addresses our findings, before the race becomes official. The Meister Crew & Course Setters The Meister Crew may race in Mountain Meisters and serve as members of the jury and as course setters. All course setters will be employees of Cranmore Mountain Resort. Course Setters include Phil Haynes, Ed Bradley, Skip Bartlett, Kevin Hamlin and Ray Gilmore Page 6 of 9
Sanctions The management of Cranmore Mountain Resort reserves the rights to sanction a racer. If a racer commits an offense for which a sanction may apply and the penalty be imposed includes conduct that is in violation of competition rules, non compliance with directives of the Meister Crew or Mountain Employees, or for any action that is deemed unsportsmanlike or unsafe to oneself or other racers. Helmets: Every level of competitive racing requires helmets and at this point 99% of Mountain Meisters wear a helmet while skiing. Your equipment and your safety is your responsibility as an athlete and competitor. It is highly recommended that all skiers and riders wear a helmet while skiing and riding. Helmets should cover the head and ears. Helmets with spoilers, edges or go pros are not encouraged as they can catch on gates or netting during a fall. Age and use affect the protective qualities of all safety equipment. Older helmets and any helmet that may have been damaged either in a fall or from an impact in the car may no longer provide sufficient protection, even if there are no visible indications of damage. Please contact your local shop for more information on helmet selection. Boot Height, Sidecut, Ski Length...etc This is Meisters, not FIS or USSA. Meisters is fun and nobody is qualifying for the world cup from our league, so who cares what you race on, as long as it is safe and you are having fun. Page 7 of 9
Racer Code of Conduct Communications between CMR, Sponsors, Team Captains, Racers and the Race Crew are an important part of the Mountain Meister s Race League. Please make certain that you are Athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers are expected to follow a Racer Code of Conduct, which is based on the United States Ski Association (USSA) Code found in the USSA Alpine competition Guide. Competitors, coaches and officials shall maintain high standards of moral and ethical conduct including, but not limited to: Safety You should be familiar with and obey the Responsibility Code found in most ski resort s Trail Map. Racers are expected to ski in a safe manner at all times. You are responsible for your own personal safety and the safety of others by using common sense. Don t be Dumb. Be aware of condition, terrain, obstacles and people around you while you are skiing, training and racing. Abusive Language The use of abusive language will not be tolerated. During racing events such language can lead to race disqualification and /or racer sanctions for future events. Disruptive Behavior Skiing and ski racing should be fun but disruptive behavior is discouraged because it is unfair to the other racers and the staff. Be part of the Solution, Not part of the problem Ski racing is an individual sport but Meisters is more about Community than it is about racing. In all cases you are expected to behave as a member of the Cranmore Family and to use positive reinforcement and encouragement in other words, don t complain unless you have a suggestion to make it better. Mountain Behavior Respect the mountain employees, other guests and the mountain facilities at all times. Courtesy toward other people goes a long way.. General Attitude Meisters is supposed to be about having fun. Enjoy your day and be safe! Page 8 of 9
COURSE GUIDELINES This is Meisters, not FIS or USSA. The following are recommendations for each type of course, but this is community racing and not FIS or USSA. Meisters is about having fun racing against your friends, family and coworkers. Nobody is qualifying for the world cup from our league, so please.don t be That Guy with a range finder. Mountain Meister GS Distance is 21-25m. Held on The Alley trail, located between The North and The South Slopes. Jessie Lyman Downhill Meister DH is set to the ability of Meister racers who tend to use shorter skis with smaller radius and have less training experience, therefore slower and safer than a regular USSA Super-G or DH. Basic set is focused on control of the skiers speed, no abrupt turns. It must be considered that any ski is permitted. Avoid extreme speed, risky jumps and undulating courses. Take particular notice of dangerous areas and ensure a safe finish area run-out. Try to avoid blind gates! Gates set between 25-45M. The course maintains rhythm and flow. Terrain or jumps, when incorporated, should work with the flow of the hill and course, with skiers having room to approach from a balanced position without loading the ski. (So if you get air...it should be straight air... but we do not expect any air on either course this year) Gibson Cup Giant Slalom (GS) Distance is 25-35m, Held on The Competition Slope Gibson Cup Slalom (SL) Distance is 6-13m, at least 1 under, 1 hairpin and 1 flush; On the comp slope Gibson Cup Super-G (SG) Distance is greater than 35m, runs down the middle to the North Slope Page 9 of 9