Get your teams ready for the Sun Valley Company's Town Series of Wednesday alpine races co-sponsored by Watkins Distributing/Budweiser. It begins Jan. 25 on the Warm Springs side of Baldy.
"It's a great way to meet people and have fun skiing," said Sun Valley Race Department supervisor Mike Wrobel.
Originated in 1992, the annual series of seven weeks of racing begins Jan. 25 and runs Feb. 1, 8 and 15, plus March 1, 15 and 22. The dual modified giant slaloms begin each Wednesday at 11 a.m. on Cozy.
You have to race the first Wednesday, Jan. 25, to be eligible for the subsequent six weeks of racing. Teams consist of four racers.
"Consistency is the key," said Wrobel about the race format. "The idea is to not get any team points."
The first week, teams are seeded. From then on, the system works as a Bell curve, with the absolute middle-of-the-road racers becoming the "rabbits."
If you are faster than the "rabbit" time, your team gets negative points. If you're slower, you get positive points. You don't want points.
For point calculations, the three best times on the four-person team are considered. For five of the weeks, your fastest single run counts toward team results. On Feb. 15 and March 22, format is combined two runs, those days only.
"Snowboarders, telemarkers and downhillers are all welcome," said Wrobel. "And there's plenty of swag every week, topped by four Sun Valley season ski passes to be awarded on the last day of racing, March 22."
Here's how the 2006-07 season ski pass drawing at Apple's Bar & Grill March 22 works:
"We get the top five teams for the season, pointwise, and put those 20 names into a drawing. We draw four names from that for the ski passes," said Wrobel.
Sign up at the Race Department in Warm Springs Lodge. Save-money pre-registration prior to Jan. 25 is $340 per team, or $85 per person. If you sign up Jan. 25, the cost is $380 per team or $95 per racer.
Local businesses are encouraged to participate by sponsoring a team or donating prizes for the weekly drawings. Call 622-6356 for details.
Here are locations of post-race parties, starting at 5 p.m: On Jan. 25, Roosevelt Tavern; Feb. 1, Whiskey Jacques; Feb. 8, The Casino; Feb. 15, Red Elephant in Hailey; March 1, Outabounds Lounge; March 15, Lefty's Bar & Grill; and March 22, Apple's Bar & Grill.
