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No more separate masters category in SSE grand prix

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
So what are the views from the snowHead masters racers on the news from the new SSE race manual that masters will now be part of the senior age group for the SSE grand prix races? Still separate masters category for CNs and championships.

I ain't a masters racer quite yet but my 2p worth is this: I fully appreciate that the development of young up and coming racers with potential to be future GB team members is important and one of the main aims, if not the main aim, of the series. However, while the older participants are not going to be representing team GB on the world cup or at the winter olympics, I don't think this should detract from recognition of the effort and enthusiasm of these racers. Many are parents who would rather participate than just ferry their kids around the country and watch them race, while others are purely enthusiasts who still have a desire to compete and improve - should this not be encouraged?

We all pay the same entry fees and while I know the masters (particularly in the female section) are often only a small proportion of the entry, the age group already spanned several decades as opposed to the 2 year bands for the children and junior racers. The male masters is already a fiercely competitive group - with more former racers who have continued to compete I think than in the female section. To throw all these people in with the seniors (19-29 years of age), who are generally (excluding me!) those who have progressed through the CH and JN ranks and are now at the top of their game and usually making up a lot of the overall top 5 or 10, seems a bit miserly really (basically it's a way to save a few quid on prizes).

Yes, to encourage people there will still be masters category in CNs, but those who make the seed point cut off to participate in the GPs I think should also be able to compete for age group prizes in reward for their efforts - which, realistically, I think is unlikely under the new system. While this change will probably bring the number of competitors in the senior age bracket more into line with the number of competitors in other age groups, it means that 50-60 year old competitors will be racing 19 year olds in the same age group!

I would be interested to know what some of the masters racers here think of the new rules? I'm not there yet, but having only taken up the sport later on (not as late as some, I know Very Happy ), I think I enjoy racing and training as much as any of the young kids, and wish I had had their opportunities earlier in life - but now I make the most of the opportunity I have and it's great not only to watch the points come down over the season but also occasionally to be in the medals.

Earlier in the winter Racer Ready had a story about masters racing on the website (still there if anyone wants to look), suggesting ways to promote masters racing in general and to encourage more masters into racing, as many are keen to do so but are intimidated by the prospect - I don't think the introduction of rules such as this will help! Problem is, solutions suggested such as a separate masters race held at night under lights on the race weekends, or during the week in the evenings, probably require the participation to be higher before they could work so seems a bit of a catch 22 really Sad

here endeth my rant.........
discuss....... Very Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
vivski, that seems a shame to me. Although I'm no longer racing, at the age of 55 the idea of competing against peeps in their early 20s would put me off. that's with me being a pro ski teacher! Would be worse for recreational skiers for sure. Sad
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
vivski, I don't have the points to enter a SSE Grand Prix anyway, but I still look at the overall results first after a race, so I wouldn't be put off by being counted as a senior. I did some Citizen races last weekend where there were no age categories.

There will be a Masters category in the Salomon British Indoor Race Series this year though.
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
vivski, I hadn't realised that, but yes it's a shame. However, I've had a look at the finisher numbers for the GP and CN series for last year, and it's clearly a bit awkward. In the southern GPs there were 9 and 6 masters men, and 3 and 2 masters women. In the northern ones though, there was only one woman and 3 men. So having a separate category for that is a bit difficult to justify. Even in the CNs Hemel only got 4 masters women finishers and the rest had only 2 or 3. Looks to me like you have two years to catch Bev Anderson and then you can look forward to many CN winners' trophies in your cabinet Wink, and then a couple of years until you start fighting it out with Janet again. (Ah, just seen LucyN could be the fly in that ointment Wink ) The men's category in CNs is quite a bit more healthy, with an average of about 9 finishers per race (min 3, max 13, median Cool.

Actually it's already a bit tough within the male masters category at CNs. The majority group is of M2s (40-49), with 2 or 3 M1s (30-39), and 2 or 3 M3s (50+). They only give prizes for masters overall, but it's pretty rare for an M2 to beat any M1, or for an M3 to beat any M2 - and of course the two in which I managed to finish had the most M1s in rolling eyes . In the national rankings I'm currently just about the middle of M2 and there's only one slower M1 and one faster M3. Hence the vast majority of us are just competing for honour and against those in our own decade agegroup (which doesn't go away just because it's not listed on the finish sheet) and stand no chance of any trophies anyway. This is also one reason why I have far more interest in regional races than CNs - there's a larger group near my own age and very keen competition between us when we're all in a 10 or 15year age range. Actually it's now a bit tough for the over 50s in L&SE, where we have a 45+ agegroup, as the top 3 last year (which will be 5 this year) are all 45-49, and streets clear of the over 50s, so none of them are ever going to win anything in that region.

I've not done any GPs at all yet, and not sure I'll bother this year either (maybe Suffolk if I'm over there for the CN anyway) - there's little enough skiing in a CN anyway and even less in the GP format, and it's this that's the big dissuading factor rather than lack of prizes. Maybe if there were less competiiton at regional level I'd think differently.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
GrahamN, fair enough - that's why I wondered what the masters thought of it really! I realise the small number of competitors, especially in females, makes it difficult to have a separate category, but if people in the category think there are bigger dissuading factors then I guess it makes no difference Very Happy In my first post rant I expressed myself a bit poorly in my initial annoyance - for me the main thing at races is to try and improve my points, so sometimes finishing in the medals is just a bonus really, not the main object, just wondered if this being a slimmer possibility would put any masters off. I certainly won't be taking after certain other people, one master saying she was going to quit when I moved up cos she might not win all the time any more rolling eyes maybe the new rule will result in a premature retirement? Laughing

rjs, yes, is just the GPs that are doing away with the masters - seems to be a good number participating in the indoor series - more masters females than senior females, which is unusual! Never done the indoor series as until the CFe opened never had a chance to train on snow at all, might do the rounds at CFe this year but the rest clash with our local summer race league, where the OH is making his racing debut this year!

Thanks for the input folks Very Happy seems like might put some people off, but not others, hopefully won't make much difference to overall participation of masters in the races, which would be a shame.
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