A Day in the Life of an ERSA Race...

What happens to make sure that one of the many regional races happens and runs smoothly? There are a lot of perceptions that exist about why some things happen or don’t happen, so thought I would jot down some things that take place. It’s like it for many races not just the regional ones.

First easy question to answer is no we are not paid to officiate, we do it for the love of the sport! Although when you are stood at the top of a slope and it is raining do sometimes wonder why I am there, but it is great when the sun is shining :)

All races need parents to help organise before, officiate on the day and finish of at the end. So the organisation starts days before when the Race Managers from each club start chasing the club members to see who will be taking part in the next race and making sure the entry fees have been paid.

From there the list of entries is put together to create the start list which will be used for the race day. Now normally this works pretty well as it is passed back the to the Race Managers to double check we haven’t missed anyone, not that we have ever done that before!

Before the race we also need to make sure the various teams sheets are printed out and the Rainbow event sorted, which in turn means we need to make sure the ERSA database is up to date.

The club organising the race needs to make sure that they have all the helpers they need for the day and if short then we make sure we have things covered with other club members, usually works pretty well and everyone is happy to chip in.

Finally we need to make sure that the timing equipment makes its way to the slope. Over the years ERSA has built up a good set of timing equipment so there is quite a bit that needs moving around, but we get there and very rarely forget anything :)

We try to ensure that at each race it is a relaxed atmosphere, that way people will enjoy it much more. However in the background we are always making sure that we keep things moving and we will be clock watching. There is a lot of racing to get through and we need to make sure that everything keeps moving, that way we don’t end up being at the ski slope too late (very conscious many parents want to get children home and sorted for school the following day).

Once the races starts it generally runs itself and as long as we do not have any technical difficulties, it just happens and people can enjoy the racing, even the officials once they are in place. In the morning we have the three runs on the same course and this usually takes about three hours to run through, depending on the numbers attending the race.

The afternoon is always dedicated to the club team and rainbow events. Most clubs work out the teams on the day depending on how well racers have performed, which means the rainbow teams are usually worked out while the third run is taking place and just into the break. Someone recently said to me why do we always have to have an hour for the lunch break, why can’t we just get straight on with the team events as the kids had already had enough time for a break! Funny how perceptions are built up about what actually happens. I said well there are still things that need doing before we can start the team events, such as;

- get the course reset

- dual timing gear needs to be setup

- names for the team and rainbow events sorted

- individual results completing

- a quick break for the officials!

When I went through the things going on in the background he was surprised just what else was taking place, as it just always seemed to happen with no fuss! Which in itself is good news as at least it seems to work well. The length of time taken to get the racing restarted is different each time, we try to keep it to a minimum but depends on how quickly we can get everything sorted.

Now the team events can sometimes seem a bit chaotic, especially in the early rounds, but it generally works well and we get through everything quite swiftly and the kids, young and older, all seem to have a good time and there are certainly some who are very competitive :)

So the racing is done, the results are up and people are packing away. All that is left is prize giving and clearing up of the timing equipment (which we always need help with).

After the event the final parts are to publish the results on the ERSA website and update the club and individual points for the season so far.

So lots of little jobs involved, especially in the background and thanks to all those that are able to help. So there you are just a bit of what goes on during the day for an ERSA race and to be fair most of the races are the same, even at national level there are some extra bits but also some of the things don’t need covering.