Wednesday mornings on Baldy won't be the same starting Wednesday, Jan. 21. They'll be better. That's because the 18th annual Sun Valley Town Series is coming back to Baldy's Cozy ski run for over 300 local gate racers and fun seekers.
Co-sponsored by Sun Valley Company and Watkins Distributing, the seven-week series of Wednesday team races gets underway Jan. 21 and continues each Wednesday, with two exceptions (Feb. 11 and 18), through the final day of March 18.
Sun Valley Race Department supervisor Mike Wrobel encourages skiers to register as soon as they can, certainly before the first run takes place at 11 a.m. on Jan. 21. Last year there was a record 33 four-member teams and 132 participants.
Wrobel said about the series of dual modified giant slalom races dating back to 1992, "The idea of the series is to promote camaraderie between the local mountain and skiers and the local establishments. And of course to get out and socialize."
Register between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily at Warm Springs Lodge Race Desk. Team fees have increased $20 from last year. They are $360 if paid by Jan. 21 and $380 afterward. Call 622-6356 for more information.
Telemarkers, snowboarders and downhillers are welcome. Consistency is the key to Town Series success because, after the first week when the teams are seeded, the system works as a Bell curve and you try to avoid accumulating points.
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For instance, middle-of-the-road racers become "rabbits." If you're faster than a "rabbit" time, your team gets negative points. If you're slower, your team gets positive points—not a good thing. And for point calculations, the three best times on each four-person team are considered.
The format is fastest single runs on five of the seven Wednesdays. Only on the Feb. 25 and March 18 racing dates does the format shift to combined two runs.
When it comes to prizes, the names of 20 racers from the top five teams in the season series are entered into a drawing for the grand prize of four Sun Valley 2009-10 season ski passes. That drawing takes place Wednesday, March 18 at Apple's Bar & Grill, Warm Springs, Ketchum.
Here are the locations of the post-race parties, at 5 p.m. Wednesdays:
Jan. 21—Roosevelt Tavern in Ketchum. Jan. 28—The Casino in Ketchum. Feb. 4—Chester & Jakes in Hailey. Feb. 25—The Cellar in Ketchum. March 4—Mahoney's in Bellevue. March 11—Lefty's Bar & Grill, Ketchum. March 18—Apple's.
