Pioneering Masters racer Bob Bernard dies

Masters ski racers lost a loyal friend on May 20, 2008. While thousands have participated in Masters competition in the last half-century, few have had the impact of Robert “Bob” Bernard.
MASTERS SKI RACERS lost a loyal friend on May 20, 2008. While thousands have participated in Masters competition in the last half-century, few have had the impact of Robert “Bob” Bernard.
    Bernard chaired the Far West Masters program for many years. He was one of the founders of the Far West Masters scholarship program and the sponsor of the annual Bernard Cup at Squaw Valley, with its innovative age-handicapping system that provides a way to recognize outstanding performances across the range of masters age groups. He was the mastermind behind the Divisions Cup, the team trophy awarded to the top scoring USSA region at the U.S. Alpine Masters Championships. He also was a fair-minded leader on both the national and international masters circuits, where he served as national masters chairman and U.S. masters representative to the FIS, respectively.
    Like many masters competitors, Bernard came to ski racing as an adult. He entered his first race in the early 1970s at Dodge Ridge, California. He entered his first U.S. Alpine Masters Championships in 1977 at Copper Mountain, and within three years was racing in Europe.
    “Bob was just a weekend skier when I first met him at Dodge Ridge,” said Norma Lausmann, whose late husband Joe worked closely with Bernard to build up the Far West Masters program.
    Bernard’s thirst for ski racing was soon unquenchable. He trained two to three days a week for more than 20 years under the tutelage of legendary Alpine Meadows coach Jorg Dutchke.
    “He got to be a very good racer!” Lausmann said. “I wondered how he ever worked.”
    He didn’t, at least not during most of his ski racing career. Bernard spent 28 years at Kaiser Engineers, where he eventually became executive vice president of International Operations and Marketing before retiring at age 55. Prior to that, he was a Navy Lieutenant aboard the USS Intrepid in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Perhaps it was a combination of his business prowess and naval tenacity that laid the foundation for his great respect and success on the ski slopes.
    Bernard was a frequent member of the Spyder U.S. Alpine Masters Team during the 1990s. He last participated in a national championships in 2007 in Sunday River, where he qualified for the masters national team again. His participation in ski racing dwindled over the past few years due to various health issues, yet he was recently back on skis and active again.
    Official, administrator, journalist, competitor … Bernard wore many hats on the snow. He turned his passion for ski racing into actions that benefited all masters racers, and he did it with a style and grace befitting a gentleman and an athlete.
    — Lisa Densmore