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Masters Ski Racing Tips

As the National Masters Manager for USSA, Bill Skinner knows all of the ins and outs of Masters ski racing. Throw in 37 years of racing experience, and his work as an instructor of Masters-specific clinics in Park City, Utah, Mt. Hood Oregon, and Valle Nevado, Chile, and you can understand why his tips and advice are so highly sought after. Without further ado, here are Bill’s Top 10 Tips for Masters racers:

#1 Fall Inventory Review

Fall is the time to look at your equipment from the previous year and determine your needs for the upcoming season. With the new WC FIS rules, skis with more shape are less valuable than they were in the past. Start outfitting yourself with SL and GS skis in the pre-season. And be sure to take into consideration what you learned last year.

#2 Save Old Equipment for the Beginning of the Season

Ideally, you should have put last season’s skis away already waxed. Scrape those skis and use them at the beginning of the season, when conditions aren’t necessarily the greatest. Always keep your old equipment to start the season.

#3 Freeski to Find Your Legs

Once the snow flies, you don’t want to run gates right away. It’s important to start out with a good fundamental foundation. Begin the season using freeskiing and one-on-one drills with Masters coaches to get your stance, balance and carving down. Build on your strengths and hopefully forget bad habits from the previous season.

#4 Race Tunes

Masters racers should get a performance ski tune once or twice a month, depending on snow conditions. They should also maintain their skis in between tunes. Jans calls their performance tune a Renntune. The smart money is to have a Renntune done the week before a race, not the night before. That way you can ski on the freshly tuned skis, ensuring you won’t have any surprises on race day. Skis perform differently with a performance tune.

Jans Cup Winners, 2014: Jenny Badger and Bob Skinner
Park City Mountain, Park City, Utah

#5 FIS Standards are Optional

The new FIS standards are not required, or recommended, for Masters racers. There’s no reason to step back in time to skis that we all skied on 20 years ago. Stay with being progressive. Masters racers want to learn how to ski better and faster. Not be slowed down by their own equipment.

#6 Adult Summer Camp

Attend a summer ski camp to avoid a six month dry spell in your skiing. Good options are Mt. Hood, Mt. Bachelor and a camp that I run in Chile. Summer camps are like adding a year to your skiing. They give you a second season and are a good time to get rid of bad habits.

#7 Camps with Races

If you do attend a summer ski camp, find one that actually has a Masters race as part of the training. That way, not only do you avoid a dry spell in your skiing, but a six month hiatus from running gates.

#8 Summer Conditioning

Keep your eye on the ball, even in the summer. Start that summer gym training program now so it’s not just a crash course in the fall.

#9 Work With a Trainer

I recommend that Masters racers work with a trainer that knows sport-specific exercises to guide and prepare you for the upcoming ski season.

#10 Proper Ski Storage

Put your skis away waxed. Always tune them and wax them before you put them aside for the summer.