Syracuse.com - NASTAR pacesetter trials at Labrador Mountain brought together area's best downhill skiers

[HuntingNY-News]

Wednesday, the annual NASTAR pacesetter trials for this region were held at Labrador Mountain in Truxton, featuring 35, top-notch, downhill skiers from all the local slopes and beyond. The top skier of the day was four-time Olympian AJ Kitt.,

Recreational downhill ski racing in the NASTAR program is in one respect a lot like golf.

You get a handicap.

As a result, any skier in the nation’s largest recreational ski racing program can compare him or herself against skiers of a similar age and gender all across the country and tell how good they are on any given day.

The handicapping system comes from NASTAR pacesetter trials, which are held once a year at various locations, pitting the best skiers from local slopes against a seasoned, top-ranked skier .

Wednesday, the annual NASTAR pacesetter trials for this region were held at Labrador Mountain in Truxton, featuring 35, top-notch, downhill skiers from all the local slopes and beyond. The top skier of the day, to no one’s surprise, was four-time Olympian AJ Kitt, who grew up in Rochester and now lives in Fort Hood, Ore.

“Ski racing is infectious,” he said. “You’re constantly comparing yourself against yourself. With the handicap system, you know whether your improving and whether you’re beating your buddy.”

NASTAR-sanctioned races from around the country are posted daily on the program’s website, nastar.com. NASTAR is an acronym for NAtional STAndard Race.

The NASTAR program actually has its roots in golf. Kitt said the publishers of Golf Magazine back in the 1960s decided golf and skiing had similar demographics. They started Ski Magazine and came up with the NASTAR program and its handicap system back in 1968, basing it on the golf handicap system.

The pacesetter trials involve all the skiers making several runs down a routine or “pretty vanilla” slope” that’s not really challenging and with no weird combination of gates, Kitt said. The quarter mile slope racers were getting timed on Wednesday was one that even a young beginner or senior citizen could navigate.

“They take my fastest time of the day, and the fastest time of the others and compare. The results are then plugged into a formula and it kicks out a handicap for all the skiers,” he said. “They then go back to their own slopes and the handicaps for competitors on those slopes are figured using times from the slope’s pacesetters.”

The way the system works, a zero handicap is held by the best downhill skier in the country, which at this point is Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety. Kitt, 44, though no longer a professional or Olympic-level skier, holds an impressive 1.98 handicap.

Kitt and Bill Madsen, director of operations for NASTAR, have been traveling around the country this month. Their schedule calls for seven different regional pacesetter trials. Last month they were in Pennsylvania. The next stop is Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire for the New England trials.

In addition to downhill ski racing, NASTAR also provides handicaps for snowboarder, telemark skiers and disabled participants.

The fastest pacesetter of the day behind Kitt was Christian Engle, of Syracuse, whose fastest time was only .02 seconds slower. He’s in the 35-39 age group and his handicap was set at 2.49.

His sister, Meredith Engle, of Liverpool, who’s in the 21-29 age group, was the fastest female of the day. She earned a 15 handicap. Both skiied for Labrador Mountain.

Jamie McLusky, 59, owner of the McLusky apple orchard business in Lafayette, was skiing as a pacesetter for Greek Peak.

McLusky, a one-time national level skier and former Ithaca College ski coach, was the top finisher in the 50-59 age category, earning a handicap of 9.1.

“I’m 59 and still pretty competitive,” he said. “I want to let these younger guys know that ... Guess what? I can still do it.”

For complete results from Wednesday’s pacesetter trials at Labrador Mountain, or to learn more about NASTAR, see the program's website.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog