Everybody, Meet the Wiz

By Published On: October 31st, 2014Comments Off on Everybody, Meet the Wiz

USSA Masters Coordinator Bill Skinner waxes about the winter ahead

Little happens in masters ski racing in the United States without Bill Skinner knowing about it. An avid racer and long-time coach in Park City, Skinner has also worked for USSA as the masters coordinator for more than 15 years.

His first task when he was hired midwinter? Stopping the irate calls from masters athletes who weren’t sure where to turn. The calls stopped. “I kept the program together for the rest of the year and then stayed with it,” says Skinner. “Now my job is mainly getting information to people and setting up major events.”

Skinner places a high value on having his office in USSA’s Center of Excellence, where he continually gleans advice on finding sponsors and putting together venue agreements, including the biggies for winter 2014-15. Skinner’s also stoked about the greater masters community — and the potential for new recruits.

Aspen will host back-to-back events for masters this winter. GEPA

Aspen will host back-to-back events for masters this winter. GEPA

Major Events

“Aspen is a big deal!” says Skinner. “We’ll have two major events there this winter, back to back, the National Masters Downhill Championships and then the FIS masters races, which will be the Western Regional Championships.”

Skinner is also excited about the U.S. Alpine Masters Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho. “Everyone loves Sun Valley,” says Skinner. “There’s no downhill, but there will be four events with the super combined. Phillips 66 is back as a sponsor of the nationals in Sun Valley and the national downhill and the FIS races in Aspen. Phillips 66 buys the bibs and the awards, which is significant with all the classes and the combined.”

By virtue of its sponsorship of the FIS masters races in Aspen, Phillips 66 is a sponsor of the western regionals, but not the eastern regionals, which will take place at Okemo Mountain, Vt., with the slalom at nearby Suicide Six. “The Easterns are sponsored by USSA,” says Skinner. “We make that event happen through our budget. Basically New York and New England get together, and USSA supplies the awards and the jackets.”

This winter, the class winners at the Western and Eastern Regionals will receive a team vest from Descente rather than Marker, a change based mainly on price.

Deb Lewis is a vital part of the USSA masters racing community, says Skinner. Lisa DensmoreDeb Lewis is a vital part of the USSA masters racing community, says Skinner. Lisa Densmore

People

The Molecule F Speed Series returns again, offering a national circuit for masters athletes with a particular hankering for fast skiing — and the time and motivation to travel to super G’s and downhills around the U.S. Though wax company Molecule F has folded, Sun Valley masters racers Jim Ruscitto keeps the event going by paying for the awards. “He does it for the love of the sport,” says Skinner. “It’s thousands of dollars with all of the Molecule F races all over the country.”

Skinner points to Far West racer Deb Lewis as another person who has contributed greatly to masters ski racing. Lewis is the guru behind USSA’s masters website. She also posts results and scores major events such as the nationals and the Divisions Cup. “Deb does it out of the goodness of her heart and a love of masters ski racing,” says Skinner. “It’s a lot of computer. It’s critical to making our sport efficient.”

Many contribute significant amounts of time, energy and sometimes money to the masters program both nationally and regionally, which brings up the question: just how many masters racers are there in the U.S.? According to Skinner, about 2,000 athletes 18 and up raced on the masters circuit last winter; 500 of them competed with temporary licenses. USSA will fund 100 of those temporary licenses again this winter as a recruitment tool. “As of Oct. 1, we’re down 8 percent, but hopefully people are just delaying their membership until closer to the racing season now that you can join USSA online,” says Skinner. “Last year, we were up slightly, 10 people, but the overall trend is down.”

Watch out, coaches, Bill Skinner could be looking to recruit you for masters racing. Mitchell Gunn/ESPA

Watch out, coaches, Bill Skinner could be looking to recruit you for masters racing. Mitchell Gunn/ESPA

Recruitment

Masters programs have long looked toward local beer leagues and NASTAR racing as a recruiting ground, but Skinner is targeting one more oft-overlooked group of potential masters racers: coaches. “Most coaches don’t realize that you can get points toward your USSA recertification by entering masters races,” he says. “One race equals one point. If you’re a member of the USSA with a coach’s license and you’re under age 40, you don’t need a masters license to enter a race. If you’re over 40, you would need a temporary license.”

Skinner believes one of the bigger challenges is keeping masters ski racing fun and lively but still working within the rules of ski racing. “We want to compete on USSA and FIS-caliber courses so we need to follow most of those guidelines,” he says. “We can use whatever length and sidecut of ski we want, but there are other things, like helmets. We’ll need to comply with new helmet standards next year which is more than just soft-sided versus hard-sided models.”

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About the Author: Lisa Densmore Ballard

Lisa Densmore Ballard has garnered close to 100 masters national titles and four world masters titles since 1991. This long-time coach, racer and member of the U.S. Alpine Masters Team also chairs USSA's Masters Committee.