Rocky Mountain Division features random U-16 seeding

Rocky/Central team U-16 Nationals: Photo Credit Cedar Beauregard

Last year, the USSS Health of Sport Committee quickly agreed to a significant change. Committee members from all three regions proposed a U-16 random seeding system that the working group members almost immediately embraced. All the regions agreed to at least test the concept during the 2022-23 season.

However, the Rocky Mountain Division (RMD) committed to random seeding for their season-long Sync Cup series. The Sync Cup races were scored traditionally but seeded randomly. While other regions and divisions seemed challenged to find more than a few appropriate opportunities to implement the approach, Rocky used it whenever possible.

RMD has become a powerful division in US development. The current reality has increased interest in understanding Rocky’s experiences and unique approaches to development.

Health of Sport primary goals

The Health of Sport Committee has multiple consequential responsibilities. In this case, they suggested random seeding would help address the four primary issues. Their objectives included enhancing development and accessibility while increasing retention and reducing costs to families and clubs.

Ski Racing media spoke to three individuals with in-depth insight into U-16s and Sync Cup. The group included veteran coach Aldo Radamus Team Summit’s Alpine Director, and one of the coauthors of the proposal. Additionally, we communicated with Darlene Nolting, the longtime Rocky/Central Regional Director and Ian Dunlap, the head U-16 coach at Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.

Radamus explained that this proposal was quickly accepted because it checked all the boxes of the Health of Sport committee.

For readers unfamiliar with the procedure of random seeding, it is a simple and equitable system. It primarily works well for racing over two days. The first run start order is entirely arbitrary and generated by the computer. The second run is the reverse of the first. Third-run start orders are created by dividing the field and flipping the two halves (butterflying). The fourth run is simply reversing the third. Over two days, racers start early, late, early in the middle and later in the middle.

Rocky’s experts agree

Even before the season started, the three Rocky experts broadly believed the approach would enhance development, mainly because athletes would learn they could ski well in less-than-ideal snow conditions. Once racers realized they could ski to their ability from any start position, their fear of starting anywhere other than early diminished. The experts explained that due to the point culture of ski racing, some athletes initially saw the system as a threatening change. However, after realizing they could compete well and earn podiums with less-than-ideal start positions, even the fastest racers embraced random seeding and identified it as a challenge, not a threat.

Dunlap reports, “Once the season was underway, nobody feared starting anywhere in the field. Towards the end of the season, athletes realized it was a significant advantage to be in the middle of the field because it was more predictable.”

Radamus says, “If you’re bigger, smaller, physically developed or not, if a racer has been on fire during the last month, or if they improved a lot throughout the season, they all have the same start advantages. Everybody gets a chance to start early, in the middle and late.”

Additional opportunity to prepare for FIS racing

Radamus points out that when athletes enter FIS racing, during the first run, all skiers start at the end. Then, as soon as they move up the ranks and compete at the next higher and more competitive level, the reality of later start numbers repeats itself. He points out that concerning the best racers, that process continues until they are among the first group in the World Cup. Therefore, Radamus is excited that Rocky Division offers U-16s many opportunities to continue to learn to compete from the front, back and middle of the field. He is excited that racers are continuing to learn that their skiing is the primary reason they end up where they finish, not their start number.

Ski and Snowboard Club Vail Head U-16 Coach Dunlap realized an unexpected U-16 benefit of random start order. Dunlap explains many U-16 athletes now see running late as a puzzle they must solve. Because of that, he sees more athletes and staff fully engaged when conditions are most challenging at the end of training. When they race Sync Cups, all the U-16 athletes start 25% of the race runs at the end of the field. This reality automatically emphasizes the benefits of making the most of their last runs during training.

Athlete retention

Also, the experts all see a contribution to retention, primarily because all athletes, regardless of their rank in the field, will experience a run with a start number advantage. Random seeding offers all levels of competitors race runs with better conditions that allow them to ski in less challenging situations and be more competitive.

Nolting points out that random start order gives all athletes the same advantages and disadvantages. She mentioned that athletes with fewer participation opportunities or who are new to the sport don’t need to worry about their point profile at Sync Cups.

Building a community

Nolting revealed throughout the interview that one of her primary goals is to offer more opportunities to create a cohesive ski racing community.

She believes that random seeding contributes to a more cohesive group because of the mix of abilities at the start and the finish. Nolting points out that athletes of all abilities have a better chance to create relationships simply because they are experiencing closer proximity to each other. She mentions that racers often talk at the start and finish and walk to the lodge after their runs alongside racers with similar start numbers. Using random seeding offers different people every race weekend. She credits an increased sense of community with helping to improve retention.

Helping to reduce costs

Another Health of Sport box checked is reducing the cost of racing. Chasing points is an expensive proposition at all levels, including U-16s. Radamus believes that because points are not such a significant advantage in the Rocky Mountain Division, both programs and parents felt less compelled to participate in the chase. Instead, he believes RMD experienced more athletes attending races primarily for athletic purposes. Radamus says, “Not all, but many, coaches were more selective about the races they attended. They didn’t feel the need to attend primarily because of the point opportunities.”

Both Nolting and Radamus agree with the validity of the points. They agree that points are certainly the standard of the sport. However, all three experts agreed that the U-16 random seeding system was predominantly a success. Nothing is set in stone, but all evidence points to the Rocky Mountain Division continuing with the U-16 seeding system at scored races.

Nolting was asked if she believes Rocky will continue to use U-16 random seeding. She responded, “Well, there’s a lot of support. So, yes, I think so. This year, I’ve spent a lot of time in the U-16 world and the coaches are not complaining about random seeding. A few parents complained at the beginning, but not now. There are not many who don’t support it.”

Ski Racing Media seeks constructive conversations. Specifically, SRM aims to facilitate an open dialog concerning development issues. Why is the topic important? What solutions should the community consider? How do people think the suggested solution will help address the problems?