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Welcome to the Far West Masters!
If you are a new visitor to our site, you may wish
to visit the Information pages to learn more About masters racing.
See the How To Join page for membership information
and applications. We are open to all and welcome new racers!
Masters ski racing is the premier adult ski racing series in the country.
We are governed by United States Ski Association (USSA),
the sanctioning body in the US for organized ski racing at all levels from juniors
up through international and Olympic competition.
Far West Masters organizes USSA masters competition in the
Far West division.
Our yearly schedule includes all disciplines (SL, GS, SG, and DH),
with races held mainly at ski areas in the central Sierras.
Racers from 21 to over 80 years old compete in ten-year age groups.
Top News Items
- February Schedule Updates
Due to the lack of snow at Northstar, we are cancelling one day of
racing. We will race on Saturday, February 11th, (probably 2 races) but we
will *not* race on Sunday, February 12th.
As announced last week, the Mamnmoth SG event is being rescheduled
as a one-day event with 3 SG races on Fri. Feb. 17.
We must have the minimum fifty registrations by
Fri. February 10th in order to be able to hold this event.
The reschedule of the Heavenly Viva Italia SL races has been confirmed for
Friday Feb. 24, the day before the Mt. Rose McKinney Cup
race weekend.
[02-Feb-2012]
- Web Site Improvements
Online Member Lookup is back! You can now check your Far West
membership status and related race registration information (bib, age class, license status)
using the Member Lookup feature.
Updates are reflected immediately when membership VP Marcie Pettigrew
processes membership applications and renewals.
We've also added a new Links page to collect useful links
related to masters ski racing. Links to some of our favorite
weather forecast and blog sites are included.
[01-Feb-2012]
- Jeff Gray in Ski Racing
Be sure to check out Bill McCollum's Masters column in the latest
issue of Ski Racing. Always a featured stop for regular fans,
this one is of special interest to us here in the Far West
with new racer Jeff Gray featured as one of the competitors
profiled.
Jeff describes his background and his path to the race hills this season.
(He's not kidding about hopping straight into a training course
as his first run in years - eyewitnesses confirm he looked pretty good after his layoff, too!)
Great stuff, and we're thrilled to have Jeff and other new racers joining
us this season. The more people we get out to play with us, the more fun for all!
Props to Hamish Butler for helping Jeff find his way to our races.
We should all think which of our skiing friends might enjoy the challenge
and camaraderie of masters
and encourage them to try racing with
Far West Masters. Bring a friend!
[31-Jan-2012]
- FIS Criterium
The FIS international masters World Criterium is being held March 26-31
at Mammoth Mountain.
The Criterium is a premier event of the 2012 international masters competition season
and a major event that is expected to draw top competitors from around the world.
FIS international masters competitions are open to racers 30 years or older by Dec. 31, 2011.
In addition to your USSA alpine masters license, you'll need to purchase
a FIS Masters license from USSA - this is only $30, print out the application
and mail to USSA by the Feb. 25 entry deadline.
There are no special equipment rules other than a minimum length requirement
for SG skis - 185 cm for men, 180 cm for women. (In past years FIS masters equipment rules have been
different than USSA masters rules, but this is no longer a concern.)
American racers who have competed in international masters events
report that it's a great experience and they have made friends from
around the world.
This is a unique opportunity to sample international competition
on our home slopes of the Far West and Mammoth has a well-earned reputation for putting
on outstanding events, so give some thought to this event if you aren't
already signed up!
[30-Jan-2012]
- Mammoth SG's Rescheduled
We have rescheduled the Mammoth Super-G races to a one-day fun-filled three-race event
on Friday, February 17, at Mammoth Mountain.
That's three races on the Friday before Presidents Day Weekend.
We didn't want to take away from the Northstar races the weekend before
or from the Heavenly and Mt. Rose races the weekend after, so we purposely made this a one-day event.
*** We need at least fifty entries to put on the race ***
We need a minimum of at least 50 competitors in order to hold this event,
as putting on a safe speed event requires a significant commitment from the organizer
for course preparation and hill space.
Please sign up on SkiRaceReg.com or mail your entry to Mammoth Mountain Race Department.
We must have the minimum fifty registrations by Fri. February 10th
in order to be able to hold this event.
Thursday training:
Mammoth Race Department will provide open SG training on Thursday from 11-2 for all
competitors. We encourage everyone to take advantage of this generous offer - having
a chance to do speed training will increase your enjoyment of Friday's racing,
as well as making it a safer event by allowing all competitors an opportunity
to ski the race hill at speed.
[29-Jan-2012]
- January Wrapup
We're nearly to the midpoint of the 2012 race season and winter has finally arrived!
While the cancellation of our races last weekend at Mammoth is disappointing,
the multiple feet of snow that's fallen at all the Sierra ski areas is
most welcome. Everyone can finally break out the powder boards, and those
good new race skis gathering dust in the back of your closets waiting for
conditions to improve.
The February race schedule opens with the Western Region championships
at Big Sky MT on Feb. 2-5. Big Sky has great race venues and has been reporting
excellent conditions even before the storms of the past week, so this
should be a great event. Consider taking a mid-season trip to the northern
Rockies, it should be a lot of fun.
The Far West division schedule resumes the following weekend
with 3 GS's at Northstar on Feb. 11-12. We'll have 3 runs each day,
with the middle race split across Sat/Sun.
This year's Far West division Gala fundraiser is being held in Squaw Valley
on Saturday Feb. 11, during our Northstar GS weekend.
In addition to be a fundraiser to support Far West junior athletes,
this event is a lot of fun according to past attendees.
This year's event has a Mardi Gras theme, with Cajun and Zydeco music
completing dinner, live and silent auctions.
[23-Jan-2012]
- Mammoth GS's Cancelled
The GS races scheduled at Mammoth Mountain this weekend (replacing the originally
scheduled SG races) have been canceled due to significant snowfall and high
winds as the first strong series of winter storms this season has been
hitting the Sierras since Thursday night (with one more coming in tonight
and tomorrow).
Mammoth and all Tahoe area resorts are reporting multiple feet of snow.
With the early part of the storm series coming in fairly warm, this snowfall
should provide a great base layer for the colder storms arriving today.
The winter of 2012 has finally begun!
[22-Jan-2012]
- Mammoth SG's changed to GS
The decision has been made by Far West Masters and Mammoth Race Dept.
to change the SG's scheduled on Jan. 20-22 to 3 GS races on Jan. 21-22.
There is no way we can safely run a speed event right now - the
coverage on the SG course World Cup run is solely man-made and there's just
not enough to set a speed course and safety fencing. Weather forecasts are for
continued dry and warm through this week; the longer range forecast models
into next week are still inconclusive, but even with possible
"pattern change" that would allow the storm track to shift into
the Sierras we have no reasonable prospect for conditions to change
significantly enough to make a speed event feasible.
So the decision to change from SG to GS is being made now to allow
competitors to adjust their plans.
Mammoth will be offering open GS training on Fri. Jan. 20,
so competitors who have had limited training opportunities at their home areas
will have an opportunity to get on the race hill for training.
Event schedule details will be available later this week.
The plan is to have 3 race runs (1-1/2 races) each on Sat and Sun Jan. 21-22.
[10-Jan-2012]
- Mammoth GS's
January's race schedule opened the new year with adjustments necessitated by the
extremely dry, warm weather on the west coast this year. The Heavenly Valley Viva Italia
SL races are being rescheduled for later in the season and the Sierra at Tahoe races
were moved to Mammoth Mountain, whose Race Department stepped up to accommodate our
event along with junior races moved from Northstar in an already- busy weekend.
With snow cover limited to man-made, the Mammoth snow-making and grooming crews
did an amazing job when the temperatures finally got cold enough to make snow again.
Although we raced on a short course from a lower start, the racing conditions on
Andy's Double Gold turned out to be excellent - firm, consistent, and grippy.
So for all competitors who made it to Mammoth this weekend, we had great weather
and two days of very good GS racing.
Complete results are posted on the Race Results page
along with the updated Season Standings rankings for 2012.
[08-Jan-2012]
- Mammoth GS Schedule
As announced just before the holidays, our Jan. 7-8 races have been moved
from Sierra at Tahoe to Mammoth Mountain. The Fri. Jan. 6 SL races at Heavenly
are being rescheduled for later this season. With the extremly dry, warm conditions
throughout the Sierras this season, Mammoth is one of the few areas with the
ability to host racing at this time and we greatly appreciate their willingness
to host our races.
***Please note start times and inspection periods.
Mammoth stepped up and was willing to add our races to an already-busy weekend,
so our “usual” race-day schedule is being adjusted to accommodate the slots
when we can have hill space and race crews for our events.
We will be racing on Andy’s Double Gold (ADG) both days, which has the best coverage.
Inspection time will be shortened to a half-hour, but with easy access from
Broadway Express (chair 1) there will be plenty of time for all competitors
to have an adequate inspection – just be sure to plan your race day to be there
promptly and make good use of the available inspection period.
Details and daily schedule are provided in the race announcement flyers.
On Saturday, we will have inspection at 12:30-1 with a 1:15 start; racer checkin
will be at the Race Department in the Slopeside building (just west of the Main Lodge
and Broadway Express loading area).
Sunday's race will be at 9:30, with inspection from 8:45-9:15; checkin will
be in Roma's Room (3rd floor Main Lodge, east end).
Open Training on Friday!
Mammoth Mountain Race Department is offering free GS training
on Friday from 10:30 to 12:00 on ADG (our race hill for Saturday and Sunday).
Please thank Pierre, Tom and all involved with the Mammoth Mountain Race
Department for providing this opportunity to all competitors!
[03-Jan-2012; updated Wed 1/4]
- Heavenly SL's postponed
With no break yet in the warm, dry weather pattern that has persisted in the Sierras
throughout the early part of this season, we've agreed with the organizers at Heavenly
that the Viva Italia SL races scheduled for Fri. Jan. 6 will be postponed until later
in the season.
Tentatively we hope to reschedule on Fri. Feb. 24, the day before
the Mt. Rose race weekend, which will allow for geographic proximity to make
a great 3-day race weekend with the Viva Italia and McKinney Cup trophy races.
The rescheduled date will be confirmed during the first week of January.
[30-Dec-2011]
- Schedule updates for Jan. 6-8
Heavenly still has hope that they will be able to host the Viva Italia
Slaloms on Friday, January 6. But, should they not have enough snow, we
have tentatively scheduled a back-up date of February 24, which is the
Friday before the Mount Rose races. We should know Heavenly's status by
Wednesday Dec. 28th.
The races scheduled for Sierra at Tahoe on January 7 and 8 have been moved
to Mammoth Mountain. Unfortunately, due to lack of available terrain,
Sierra at Tahoe is unable to accommodate any racing at this time. We
searched for a substitute location in the Tahoe area,
but we weren't able to find a race hill open. The Mammoth
Mountain Race Department graciously offered to host the races, and we gladly
accepted. We will have a GS race on Saturday afternoon and a GS race the
following Sunday morning.
Due to the dismal snow conditions in the west, this is the only game in town
right now! I know that there will be a strong showing of attendance from
the racers south of Tahoe. We would love to see an equal amount of racers
from the Tahoe area and other parts of the Far West Masters come to Mammoth
and support this race. The next scheduled event is not until January
20th-22nd. Losing the GS races at Sierra at Tahoe and not trying to come
up with another venue was way too long for us not to race. Remember, we are
in the business of putting on races and we are doing everything possible to
keep that promise to our members.
Once again, please come down to Mammoth and support our organization. This
should be great event!
[Mark Mirviss, President]
[24-Dec-2011]
- Regionals, Nationals, FIS Criterium
Registration is now open for the regional, national, and international championship events of the 2012 season.
The Western Region championships will be held February 2-5 at Big Sky, MT.
The regional championships are a 4-discipline SC/SG/GS/SL event, with super-combined included in the combined scoring
for the overall regional class champion awards. The SG race also counts in the
2012 National Speed Series.
The National Championships will be held Mar 19- 23 at Park City, UT.
The nationals will include 4 events, with a Super-Combined (SC) race along
with the 3-event SG/GS/SL races for the combined age class champions scoring.
The national DH championships will be held at Ski Cooper, CO on the weekend of March 10-11. T
he national championship DH and SG races are the final events in the
2012 National Speed Series.
A special highlight of the 2012 competition will be the FIS Masters World Criterium,
hosted in North America this season at Mammoth Mountain, CA on March 26-31.
The Criterium is a premier event of the 2012 international masters competition season
and a major event that is expected to draw top competitors from around the world.
Online registration is now open for all major events.
[22-Dec-2011]
- Warren Hellman
It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of
Warren Hellman. When I first started skiing Masters and training a Squaw
Valley, I met Warren and his wife Chris. They both trained and raced with
us. Soon after, I met their Daughter, Tricia Gibbs, who was a former U.S.
Ski Team member and also competed with us.
Warren's passion for life was exhibited in his passion for sport. He played
NCAA water polo while a student at Cal Berkley, he ran ultra marathons, and
of course competed in skiing. Warren's love of sport drove him to co-found
the Stratton Mountain School in 1972, a skiing academy that stressed
academics as much or more than just success on the slopes. One of his
primary reasons for the founding of the highly successful school was to
enable his children to be highly educated while at the same time, become
highly competitive skiers. Not to rest on his laurels, Warren repeated the
process by founding the Sugar Bowl Academy for the benefit of all young
skiers including his grandchildren.
Warren will always be remembered for his philanthropy and for this; a street
in Golden Gate Park was recently re-named in his honor. Warren said, "What
does move me is the philanthropic stuff," he told Forbes magazine in 2006.
"Giving really does move me. Part of it is selfish. It's fun to be
appreciated. But the other part is that good things really are growing."
Warren died last Sunday at the age of 77 from leukemia. The family has asked
that, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made to the San Francisco Free
Clinic (founded by Warren, and now run by Tricia), the Bay Citizen and the
San Francisco School Alliance. The family also requests a donation of blood
or platelets to a local blood bank.
[Mark Mirviss - Far West Masters president]
Warren's passing was widely noted, reflecting his influence and passion
in business, sports, and culture
[21-Dec-2011]
- Mammoth Race Photos
Expert race photographer Susan Morning was out shooting our opening races at Mammoth on Dec. 3-4.
If you didn't have a chance to stop by Mammoth Photos in the Main Lodge, you can check out
the race photos online at Mammoth Memories photos -
select Race for the Location and the date of Dec. 3 or Dec. 4 to see the race photos.
[20-Dec-2011]
- Mammoth Season Opener
The 2012 Far West Masters season opened this weekend with 3 days of SL racing
at Mammoth Mountain. The original schedule of 2 SL's on Friday and 3 GS's on the
weekend was modified due to limited early season coverage to 3 SL races.
The preceding week featured some excellent SL training for those able to attend
the Mammoth Masters training camp. Sidelined Mammoth Masters head coach
Pierre Jeangirard worked on 1 ski all week due to an early season calf injury,
but even with limited mobility his leadership and coaching tips in video analysis
were an asset. Unfortunately several athletes were lost for the weekend races
due to training injuries - Marcie Pettigrew, Marietta Frinnell, Randall Sussek,
and Bob Davis - best wishes for rapid recovery to all!
After a strong cold front blasted through the West Coast on Thursday,
with 100+ mph winds in the Sierras and Southern California producing widespread
power outages and downed trees, our race season opened on Friday with brisk but
clear weather and excellent firm racing conditions on the Andy's Double Gold (ADG)
race hill. The action continued on Saturday with a brisk NE wind producing single-digit
morning temps that challenged the racers with another day of firm conditions.
The Saturday post-race party at Giovanni's pizza provided us with a warm welcome
and plenty of food to go with the apres-race socializing.
Wrapping up on Sunday, the temperatures moderated to a more typical Sierra range
and we finished the weekend with a spectacular scenic day of clear blue skies
and calm winds.
The weekend standings were topped by #1 bib holders Matt Savage and Deb Lewis,
who backed up their 2011 overall rankings with strong skiing to open the 2012 campaign.
Complete results are posted on the Race Results page
along with the initial Season Standings rankings for 2012.
[04-Dec-2011]
- Training Camps & Programs
With a surprise winter storm rolling in bringing 1-2 feet of snow in higher elevations of the Sierras
the first week of October, it's definitely time to be planning your on-hill training program for the coming season!
The Training information page has been updated with the information
we currently have available on preseason camps and masters training programs offered in the 2011-2012 season.
Mammoth will once again be offering a 5-day masters training camp the week following Thanksgiving, leading
into the opening race weekend on Dec. 2-4. This will be a 5-day program, kicking off with a Sunday afternoon
session and 4 days Mon-Thu with 4 hours training daily. Sign up for the full week or participate on a daily basis
as your schedule permits; this is a great way to ramp up for the 2012 Far West Masters race season.
Two of our strongest programs, the Mammoth Masters Team and the Squaw Valley Masters program, are back
this season offering full-season training programs. Other long-established and popular masters
training programs are offered at Northstar, Mt. Rose, Alpine Meadows, and Sugar Bowl.
Racers in southern California should check out the Big Bear Masters, who train at Snow Summit.
Many of the season training programs have early signup deadlines approaching soon,
so if you're interested contact the organizers and get your signup in before prices go up!
The Squaw Masters program early-pricing ends this coming weekend Sat. Oct. 15,
while the Mammoth Masters early-registration pricing ends Oct. 31.
Don't hesitate to ask your fellow masters races about any of these training programs - we're all happy to share information
and tips about our home areas and training programs and to help new racers find their way to a program that fits their needs.
Check out our Far West Masters page on Facebook to post questions and share opinions.
[11-Oct-2011]
- Fall Newsletter & Membership Package
The Fall issue of the Forerunner newsletter is in the mail this week.
All members who have joined within the past few seasons will receive a copy.
Click the link below to view online; previous issues of the Forerunner
are available on the Newsletters page.
The fall issue also includes the Far West Masters membership package, with information
on the 2012 program and membership application for new and renewing members.
Please get your Far West Masters membership in to Membership chair Marcie Pettigrew
by Oct. 31 so she has time to process everyone's application
and ensure that our membership records and bib assignments are up-to-date for the
coming season.
Reminder: don't forget your USSA masters competition license! Renewals will be charged a $25 late fee after Oct. 15,
so get your license renewal in to USSA if you haven't already! You can print and mail USSA license form, or
use USSA's online member service to renew online.
[06-Oct-2011]
- Preliminary 2012 Schedule
The preliminary 2011-2012 race schedule is now available.
Mike Braun has stepped in for his first season as our Far West race scheduler
and has been working hard to put together an attractive schedule since spring.
This season's schedule features over 20 races on our division race series calendar,
along with a very special event at the end of March with Mammoth Mountain
hosting the FIS International Masters world criterium (the season finals).
As always, we've tried to put together a race schedule which provides a variety of
disciplines at the best possible venues. We're continuing to schedule 3-races-in-2-days
events where feasible, to provide maximum racing opportunity for your weekend
investment of time, money, and travelling.
The season will open with our traditional stop at Mammoth in early December, where
early-season snowmaking and great support from the organizing area has always provided us
with a solid opening event. Recognizing the December and the holidays are
a busy period for many with year-end ad family commitments, the schedule resumes
in January with a 3-day weekend on the South Shore of Tahoe, starting with the classic
Viva Italia SL races at Heavenly on Friday and moving over to Sierra at Tahoe
for the weekend. Our next event is a 3-day SG event at Mammoth, which has
become a favorite for many and will be the opening event of the 2012 National
Speed Series.
The Western Region Champships are being hosted this season in Intermountain
Division on Feb. 2-5 at Big Sky, MT, which has fantastic race hills.
February continues with a GS weekend at Northstar and the McKinney Cup
at Mt. Rose. In an action-packed March, Squaw Valley hosts the Bernard Cup and the
USSA Masters National Championships will be at Park City UT on Mar. 19-23,
before finishing with the International Masters Criterium at Mammoth Mountain CA
on Mar. 27-31.
The Far West season wraps up in April with the season finals moving back
to the North Shore of Tahoe. The finals carnival opens with DH/SG races
at Northstar and continues with a return to Sugar Bowl for the final GS/SL
races of the 2012 season and our traditional year-end season banquet.
[29-Jul-2011]
- Jeff Wattenmaker Scholarship
Jeff Wattenmaker Scholarship -
Jeff Wattenmaker was an avid Masters racer who supported the Masters Scholarship Program and its ideals.
Prior to his recent passing, he generously arranged to donate funds to expand the Masters Scholarship Program
and to thereby make available funding for a University education to members of the Program.
The Jeff Wattenmaker Scholarship is a $10,000 scholarship to be used towards college expenses.
This scholarship will be given out yearly to a member of the Far West Masters Scholarship Program.
The Far West Masters Scholarship Program is pleased to announce the winners of the Jeff Wattenmaker Scholarship for 2011.
Scholarships are awarded based on a combination of (and in order of importance) citizenship, exemplary work ethic,
academic scholarship, financial need, and alpine ski race results. This year's winners are :
- Sal Monforte (North Tahoe High School)
- Brian Tidd (North Tahoe High School)
- James Clifford (Sugar Bowl Academy/Middlebury College)
- Amie Lonza (Mammoth High School)
You can read their scholarship applications on the
Scholarship Program News page -
it's well worth a few minutes to learn about some great kids who are successfully
combining accomplishments in both ski racing and their education.
The application form for junior athletes who wish to apply for a 2011-2012 season
scholarship is now available. Applications are due September 15, 2011
[09-Jul-2011]
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