Competition Guide Revised for 2011 Season
The USTSA Board of Directors approved the following changes to the 2010-2011 Competition Guide. Following is a summary of those changes. Perhaps the change that will stand out the most to racers is that the jump penalty will now be 3 seconds for ALL events. This change was made by FIS in order to simplify the system for the viewing public and is part of the FIS Telemark Committees drive to make changes that will help the sport appeal to more people, with the aim of the Olympics in the future.
The other major change was initiated by the USTSA Board and is included in Section 12. This change has to do with racers, under the age of 18 years old, traveling with a parent or a designated guardian. Following are the exact words of this new requirement.
12.1.2 Athletes under 18 years of age.
All athletes under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or a guardian. Written ermission from the parent and written agreement by the guardian must be submitted to the BOD. Other racers or traveling coaches cannot be relied upon to provide the guidance needed for younger racers when trveling to World Cup events.
It is beneficial to the racer and the team for the younger athletes to coordinate travel and lodging arrangements with the other team members. For many years, parents of younger athlets have successfully coordinated travel arrangements with the team and the result has been valuable to the younger racer and the team.
Parents traveling with younger racers need to remember that their role is to be a parent and to support the racer. Unless formally recognized by the BOD, parents should not try to function as coaches or team captains.
Following is a list of where the specific changes were made and a brief summary of those changes:
Section 1.2.1 Revised wording to clarify that racers who want to race Elite at nationals must purchase a competitive license.
Sections 6.4, 7.4.3, 7.5.5 Changed Jump penalties to 3 seconds in all events to conform to new FIS rules.
Section 7.5.1 Changed minimum time for Classic to 100 seconds to conform with new FIS rules
Sections 5.5 and 7.7.1 Changed the times for the Sprint Classic to 50-70 seconds rather than 50-75 seconds to conform with new FIS rules
Section 9.2 Changed the wording in the Member Code of Conduct to match the wording used in the racer contract.
Section 12.1. Added the requirements for racers under the age of 18 traveling with parent or guardian as approved by the BOD
Section 7.3 Added FIS wording about practice jumps, standing safely aside, and not skiing the 2 gates above and below the jump during practice.
Sections 6.1 and 7.2 Revised the wording to clarify that in a single gate set for the Classic, Sprint Classic and GS that if a racer missed a gate, the racer would need to hike up to the gate and go around it to avoid disqualification. The same is true of a single pole Slalom.
If you wish to refer to the FIS Telemark Precisions, they are at: http://www.fis-ski.com/data/document/precisions-2009-2011.pdf