RAVEN SKI CLUB
RACING WITH ESC ON THE PLASTIC SLOPE CIRCUIT
.
.
RAVEN SKI CLUB
RACING WITH ESC ON THE PLASTIC SLOPE CIRCUIT
So You Want To Race With
To start any ESC race first you must be registered, and gain a start
license. This involves form filling and two passport size photo's and of course the fee
around £36. For this you get a log book, race calendar, entry forms, Ski News and lots of
other information. To register fully for plastic and snow and get on the seed list you
must be 11 or older, although there is a limited registration for the Boys and Girls
category aged 7 to 10. This category is limited to 3 races per year plus the All England
Championships. No seed points can be gained in this category (I think it's half the
registration fee too).
Once registered you are eligible to enter races. There are two type's of plastic
races Qualifying and Grand Prix. Qualifying races are for inexperienced racers who want to
gain or improve their seed points Entry priority is given to racers with no seed points or
high seed points. As your racing improves and your seed points come down you may enter the
Grand Prix races, entry priority is given to the lowest seed points. This year a seed
point cut off has been introduced to maintain the high standards of the competition. So to
enter a Grand Prix you have to have seed points of 225 or lower. The Grand Prix race is
over 2 different courses with the times added together. The Qualifying races are over 3
runs of the same course with the best 2 times to count.
Entries, with the correct fee £13.50p, have to be sent and received by the race
secretary two weeks before the race on official race entry forms. A acceptance or start
list will be sent to you a week before the race. If you miss the closing date there may be
a chance of a late entry if the race entry has not reached it's limit of 170. However you
will not know officially if you have been accepted until the Thursday before the race
weekend.
All ESC races run to the same format, race office opens around 8.30 am for bibs to
be collected and commentary slips to be filled out and handed in. 9 am practice for one
hour, 10 am the slope is cleared so the course can be set. 10.30 am the course is open for
inspection. This can he carried out from bottom to top or top to bottom, race numbers must
be worn. 11 am first run begins. In Qualifying races 7 to 10 year olds first (Boys and
Girls) then fully registered racers, high numbers first. This takes the race to lunch
time. The times given are approximate and may by half an hour either way.
After lunch in Grand Prix, the whole thing is repeated on a different course in
order of time from the first run. The fastest going last. In Qualifying races because the
race is on the same course and time is of the essence, the competition continues with a
small break for lunch
The whole thing Grand Prix and Qualifying races, finishes after prize giving around 4 pm
(if every thing has gone smoothly). And then the return journey. Traveling can cause
problems with the slopes being spread all over the country so it is essential that parents
can give up time to ferry racers around. The four local slopes are Sheffield, Rosendale,
Pendle and Edinburgh, all within 3 hours drive. We encourage parents to become race
officials so as they ferry the racers around they have something to do during the race
day. However this is not obligatory.
As last year, we hope to have one of the coaches available to travel to three of
the Qualifying races to help the new racers with race
preparation.
Barry Eger.
Main Page Waxing For Snow Winter Series Results Why Join ESC Map To Silksworth Photo Gallery1 Photo Gallery2 Photo Gallery 3 Photo Gallery4 Shop Ravens History Winter Series Rules New Members Information Racing With ESC Coaching Policy Club Rankings snow Alpine Calendar FAQ Plastic Calendar Avalanche Links Club Rankings plastic Who Are We Hypothermia Altitude Sickness Raven News
BARRY EGER EDITOR RAVEN NEWS