Article written for Courtyard by Beth Utter
Math in the Real World
I qualified for the NASTAR National Championship that was held in Winter Park, CO and it just happened to occur during our Spring break! You may be wondering “NASTAR…what is NASTAR?” NASTAR was developed by SKI Magazine in 1968, NASTAR (NAtional STAndard Race) and is the largest recreational ski and snowboard race program in the world. The mission is to provide a fun and competitive racing program that allows racers of all abilities and ages a means to compare their race results to other competitors across the country from any ski area that has NASTAR races by using a handicap. Basically, it is giant slalom course (GS), meaning that you ski or snowboard around the gates in the fastest time possible. Speeds can approach 40 mph!
Now let me throw in a little math. What is a NASTAR handicap and how is it used to rank recreational ski racers? AJ Kitt, a four time Olympian, (’88, ’92, ‘94, ’98) is the NASTAR traveling pacesetter. Each year AJ races against the fastest skier on the US Ski Team. For 2010 AJ’s handicap is 1.87%. Thus, AJ is 1.87% slower than the fastest US Ski Team racer. During November – December, AJ travels throughout the US and conducts race pacesetting trials. All resorts, like Gore Mountain where I ski, have ski instructors race against AJ in the trials. Based on each instructor’s raw time against AJ, a handicap is established. Again, the handicap is a measure of how much longer it takes the instructor to ski the racecourse compared to the fastest US Ski Team racer. Each instructor who races then has a handicap for the ski season. Each day the instructor pacesetter runs the course first at their home mountain. Based on his/her handicap, a par time is calculated for that day. The par time is how long it would take the fastest US Ski Team racer to complete that course. My best race in 2010 yielded a handicap of 17.57%. The par time for that day was 20.94 seconds; my raw time was 24.62 seconds. Thus, I was 3.68 seconds longer in the course than the fastest US Ski Team racer would have been. All NASTAR ski racers have a handicap. I qualified for the NASTAR National Championships by being one of the top three racers (top three lowest handicaps) in the “gold division” for my gender and age bracket at Gore Mountain.
At the National Championships in Winter Park there was a two day race format. I had two races on Friday, 3/26 and two races on Saturday 3/27. The fastest times from each day were averaged for a final time. I was in the Gold division. After Friday’s race, I was in 5th place, but that changed to 4th place after a competitor was injured. After Saturday’s race, I was in 2nd place in my division, so I really did not know where I stood overall yet! I ended up winning my division with a Gold medal (ranked #1) and a current Olympian named Steve Nyman put the gold medal around my neck during the Medal Ceremonies! He just came back from competing in the Olympics in Vancouver, Canada! I met many Olympians that night, took pictures with them and obtained their autographs. Since I won my division, I was invited to compete in the Race of Champions on Sunday, 3/28. Only competitors who received a gold medal on Saturday were invited to compete on Sunday.
How about some more math trivia? During my visit to Winter Park, I said I had the opportunity to meet several current and former US Ski Team Olympians. Jimmy Cochran, had just returned from Vancouver, and mentioned calculus was his favorite subject in college! Having a strong mathematics background helps you understand the technology of ski racing. Today’s skis are “shaped” meaning they are wider at the tips and the tails compared to the width under your foot/binding. What is the purpose of this? Using algebra and geometry, it is easy to calculate a ski’s natural turning radius. If you are standing on your skis with your boots in the bindings, and you look down at your skis, you can notice a subtle curve or shape along the ski’s edge. The wider the tips and tails compared to under your foot, the smaller the ski’s natural turning radius. This ski will want to turn naturally on this radius when put on edge. A straight ski, uniform width along its entire length, has an infinite radius. Ski racers will select skis with the proper natural radius for the course they are racing. Slalom racecourses are characterized by many closely spaced gates. Thus, having a ski with a smaller natural turning radius is best. Therefore, you will notice slalom skiers have shorter skis with wider tips and tails. Typical slalom skis have a radius in the 12-13 meter range. NASTAR racing is on a GS course, the gates are further apart, about 30 ft. GS racers select skis that have a natural turning radius in the 17-20 meter range. My race skis have a 17-meter radius. Any ski can be forced to ski a tighter radius than its natural radius but that takes more work and energy from the racer. Energy conservation is key. This is a good example of how mathematics is leveraged in the sport of ski racing.
Back to Winter Park and Sunday’s race. The course was steeper, longer and the gates were closer together, which means it was going to be fast! I was competing against all alpine female racers and I came in 6th with a discounted time (based on handicap and age). I stood on the winning podium stand for about 10 minutes in 3rd place and it was very exciting! All the Olympians were milling about and I obtained more autographs and many pictures! This was a fantastic experience that I will remember always!
And…whoever thought that ski racing involved mathematics?!?!
Click on picture of me racing! Once you retrieve the picture, you need to right click on mouse, click on ’rotate clockwise’ until picture is upright. NASTAR Picture of Mrs. Utter Ski Racing
32 Comments
Good work ! Keep us posting, you are very good writer.
Learned your internet site via google the other day and absolutely like it so much. Continue the truly amazing work.
Your weblog is admittedly nice. I like looking through it regardless, the written text appears to be kind of strange when using the opera word wide web broswer
Wow! what an thought ! What a concept ! Wonderful .. Remarkable …
Wow! what an thought ! What a concept ! Stunning .. Amazing …
Wonderful weblog! I genuinely like how it? s uncomplicated on my eyes also because the information are well written. I am wondering how i could be notified every time a new publish continues to be created. I have subscribed for your rss feed which want to do the trick! Possess a nice day!
Thanks a lot for that extremely cool post.
Thanks for taking the time to discuss that, I really feel strongly about it and also love learning more on that topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.
The blog page is definitely really good. I enjoy reading through it regardless, the text looks kinda odd utilizing the opera website broswer
I really am enjoying your blog I discovered it via yahoo recently.
Hi buddy, your blog’s type is easy and clean and i like it. Your blog content are superb. Please hold them coming. Greets!!!
We are a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community. Your web site provided us with valuable info to work on. You’ve done an impressive job and our entire community will be thankful to you.
Aw, this was a extremely top quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this too – taking time and genuine work to build a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and in no way seem to obtain something done.
Your weblog seems astounding – complete with good quality articles or blog posts.. and so on. I believe you might get even far better good results with including some a lot more movies and pictures. What do you feel. Despite the fact that I’ve bookmarked it. Thank you.
Great post. I just cherished this a lot that i posted a link to your website in my blog: click on my Website to check your backlink. I was checking continuously this weblog and I’m impressed! Extremely useful information particularly the final half
I take care of such info a lot. I was seeking this particular information for a very long time. Thank you and best of luck.
You can definitely see your expertise in the work you write.The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to say how they believe.Always follow your heart
Hello There. I found your blog using Bing. This is an extremely well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly return.
Simply wish to say your article is as astounding. The clearness in your post is just great and i can assume you’re an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the gratifying work.
I love gathering useful information , this post has got me even more info! .
Respect to article author, some wonderful selective information.
The author lined quantity of curious things in this article. I discovered this by looking out Msn and I’ve obtained to admit that I’m now subscribed to your blog site, it is rather good
Thanks, I liked this blog post. I found this page using AOL search, and certainly enjoyed taking time to read it, so I’ll probably drop through again within a week and read up on what’s new (: Great Post!
Each particular person must take the time to post articles or critiques as good as this one and not saturate the web with nothing!!. and likewise, Thank you a lot for your attention-grabbing content materials this distinctive knowledge fairly usefull!.!. not to mention, Sustain the wonderful work!! plus, I’ll share this with all of my friends!!.
The creator coated several curious things on this article. I found this by looking out Msn and I’ve received to confess that I’m now subscribed in your blog web site, it is extremely good
I can’t believe that you just blogged about that subject. Not too many guys appreciate the value of these kinds of items Although not really specifically related, your website has provided me with a few great ideas for written content and design for a number of services websites I am building, for issues like Accountancy, Dentists, Plumbers, Solicitors and moving firms
I’d constantly want to be update on new content on this site, saved to favorites! .
your link on my blog here http://tinyurl.com/page-id-9 ,I like this post, enjoyed this one appreciate it for posting .
you have a link on my blog http://www.conveyancingquotes.info/?page_id=9 , Real wonderful info can be found on site .
Thank you for this interesting article. I will be sure to get the word out about this on my site
Outstanding! Can’t wait to read next article.
I’ve bookmarked http://utter.dutchessday.com/2010/07/19/mrs-utters-ski-race-adventure/ at Digg.com so my friends can see it too. I used Mrs. Utter’s Ski Race Adventure so it was a good title.
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post. Also, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks!
My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was totally right. This post actually made my day. You cann’t imagine just how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!