From Sean Ramsden, Sean@TeamSummit.org
Team Summit, Executive Director
RMSRO details below
Hello Parents,
As many of you have been learning or learned, there are many things to learn about ski racing. No matter if you’re a first year Devo parent or a veteran parent of an Ability athlete there is always something to learn and/or a rule change to stay updated with. I wish I could say things won't change but every year there are some changes made to: how races are run, rules, quotas, equipment regulations, etc. The only way to stay up with the change is to 1. Ask your program director or coach 2. Educate yourself by reading the USSA Alpine Handbook, The RMD(Rocky Mountain Division) Handbook, the FIS Hand Book, and/or attending a RMSRO clinic…all are good resources.
Summary- Below is a brief explanation of ski race officials how to learn more about ski race rules and regulations and why it’s important. Every parent, no matter if you’ve competed before, watched a ski race, or never thought about the sport until your kids got involved should go to a CO (Competition Official) clinic. The CO clinic is prerequisite for all other RMSRO clinics. In general parents can best help by further taking Timing and Calculations, Chief of Course, and Race Administration. Coaches generally handle Referee, Chief of Race and (even though I just mentioned it) Chief of Course. Again ask Alpine Director, Sean Ramsden or your coach if you have any questions on any of this.
Ski racing is a sport that takes years to master some of the rules and regulations surrounding this sport also can take some time to master. Taking the time to educate yourself upfront, or at anytime for that matter, can help avoid confusion, and is a great way to help your son or daughter and also help their coaches better help them!
RMSRO
Rocky Mountain Ski Race Officials
From USSA:
Ski race officiating is a service function benefiting the general program, the ski club and the individual competitors. The rewards are similar to those of other volunteer groups, the satisfaction of accomplishment and a feeling of well being from having added to a program that would not exist without the dedicated help of hundreds and thousands of volunteer officials.
Alpine ski race officials are generally volunteers, giving freely of their time, often at some personal expense. Nonetheless, high standards of judgment and competence are expected of certified officials whose actions set an example for others in the sport.
T
he hallmarks of good officials are promptness, fairness and justice, tempered by tact and consideration. All actions and behavior will reflect on the entire sport.
There you have it right out of the USSA Alpine Competition Guide
Many of you may be wondering, what is RMSRO? It stands for Rocky Mountain Ski Race Official, Inc. The long and the short of it is that this is the organization responsible for making sure our USSA and FIS races are run according to the rules, as laid out in the Alpine Competition, guide put out annually by USSA.
Each season they organize a number of clinics around Colorado. These clinics are administered by professional licensed ski race officials all in the interest of helping educate more people to the rules governing ski races. Clinic Subjects include: Competition Official (you must take this class before any other can be taken) Referee, Race Administration, Timing and Calculation, TD or Technical Delegate, Chief of Race...
Races take an incredible amount of effort to put on. Clubs can't do it without volunteer effort, the more the volunteers are in the "know" the safer, more efficient, fun the race can be.
People who attend a RMSRO Clinic are then able to effectively assist a club and it's coaches when they host a ski race. For example a YSL race or a Smartwool or a FIS race: EG. NorAm or Colorado Ski Country Cups...
Just so you know, each clinic does cost a minimal amount and is followed by a test (usually open book).
These clinics are mainly intended for parents and coaches. They do take some time but they do go a long way in helping educate the individual in the rules of the sport of ski racing. Needless to say this sport can be confusing at first glance, especially for the "first generation" families. As a club we are here to help, it is important to ask your coaches questions if you are not sure about something and secondly it is important to educate yourself about the sport. A good formal way to do this is by attending RMSRO Clinic.
After all the more you understand what is going on the more you can help and relate to the athlete and the more you can help the coach have time to do what they do best... coach.
For clinic dates and registration information go to www.RMSRO.org