Watching good racers

Today, as I was volunteering at the Park City Racing Department, I was assigned a gate judge duty, something I had not yet done for that organization. For those who might not know, being a gate judge is making sure that a racer’s pair of feet passes between each gate. This requires attentive observation and while doing just that, I drew great pleasure from watching some outstanding junior male skiers competing in today’s high level giant slalom. I must also add that giant slalom is my favorite alpine event as it encapsulates the essence of good skiing; pure, long-radius turns combined with high speed on generally steep terrain. My best skiing inspiration has always come from watching good skiers and today was a real visual pleasure. Some of these young men were so good that I wished I were their age and could emulate their athletic perfection on snow; the superiority of some came in fact after the first 30 best skiers had already gone… This definitely beats slipping the course or working with start and timing, my usual assignments. Today, was pure enjoyment…