North American FIS TD Update 2010
Presented by:Darrell MacLachlan #908& Doug Campbell #1019
October 2010
Vancouver 2010 OWGThe Making of a Slalom Course – Men’s
Slalom
Vancouver 2010 OWGThe Making of a Slalom Course – Men’s
Slalom
The Team The Venue The Schedule The Weather Track Preparation The Slalom
– The Weather– The Plan– The Result
The Team The success of the Alpine events,
and in particular the snow preparation, was the result of the effective collaboration of many people including:
The Team FIS Race Directors and Jury ROC Management Group 1064 On Hill Volunteers Vanoc Staff
ROC: Management GroupLADIES’ ALPINE•Bruce Holliday (CoR), Vernon BC•Jim Brewington (ACoR), Calgary AB•Rick Hume (CoC), Whistler BC•Craig Smith (ACoC), Calgary AB•Andy Wolff (ACoC), Ottawa, ON
MEN’S ALPINE•Darrell MacLachlan (CoR), Calgary AB•Gary Taylor (ACoR), Lions Bay BC•Mike Irwin (ACoR), Calgary AB•John Benbow (CoC), Whistler BC•Mike Kirker (ACoC), Calgary AB•Doug Campbell (ACoC), Stirling ON
The Team The ROC Management Group and
FIS Race Directors worked closely with professional track coordinators Dan Gallaugher (Men) and Dale Stephens (Ladies) and Vanoc staff.
The Volunteers
Section Chiefs: 12 Ladies, 8 Mens Hill Coordinators: 3 Ladies, 4 Mens Crew Chiefs: 27 Ladies, 26 Mens 1064 on Hill Volunteers split between tracks
The Venue The common finish area for the
separate Men’s and Ladies’ tracks proved challenging
Slalom posed the challenge of preparing and preserving a race surface for both genders to be run on the Men’s track on consecutive days.
Whistler Creekside
Separate tracks for each gender except for Slalom
Common Finish area
Mens DH Ladies DH
SL
FINISH
GS (M)
SG/SC(M)
GS(L)
SG/SC(L)
The Schedule Slalom, the final event at the
Alpine venue, Ladies and Men run on consecutive days
The Weather
The WeatherAlways the big story at Whistler
Typical Weather During Speed
At the Start…
15:59 17:00 18:00 18:59 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00 00:00
-6-5-4-3-2-10
Temperature (Celsius) vs Date (m/d/y) & Time(PST) 2010/02/13 to 2010/02/15
Date (m/d/y) & Time(PST)Tem
pera
ture
(Cel
sius
)
15:59 17:00 18:00 18:59 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00 00:000
2
4
6
8
Snow past hour (cm) vs Date (m/d/y) & Time(PST) 2010/02/13 to 2010/02/15
Date (m/d/y) & Time(PST)Snow
pas
t hou
r (cm
)
Typical Weather During Speed
While at the Finish…
15:59 17:00 18:00 18:59 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00 00:00
-4
-2
0
2
4
Temperature (Celsius) vs Date (m/d/y) & Time(PST) 2010/02/13 to 2010/02/15
Date (m/d/y) & Time(PST)
Tem
pera
ture
(Cel
sius
)
15:59
17:00
18:00
18:59
20:00
21:00
22:00
23:00
00:00
03:00
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
00:00
02468
Rain past hour* (mm) vs Date (m/d/y) & Time(PST) 2010/02/13 to 2010/02/15
Date (m/d/y) & Time(PST)
Rain
pas
t hou
r* (m
m)
The WeatherHeavy Rain in January during preparations (XY junction viewed from Coaches Corner)
The WeatherIn the early going we had so much rain we had to build diversionary canals…
The WeatherFor the Ladies Track we had different problems
Men’s ROC Management GroupThe Green Hats (other 2 found now 2 more missing)
Ladies ROC Management Group
It wasn’t easy being green….
The ROC benefitted from professional working relationships with FIS Race Directors Developed over the past few years at Whistler…
Two Day Ladies GS
Collaboration with FIS Race Directors
Track Preparation The men’s downhill track was
water injected with Steinbach beams during every window of opportunity.
The slalom segment of the track was injected a total of 4-5 times from fence to fence.
Track PreparationWater Injection
Track PreparationWater Injection
Track PreparationWater Injection – 6 beams wide
Track PreparationDay and Night
Track Preparation…and more nights
Track Preparation…and more nights
Get Rest Whenever You Can
Downhill Start Area
Dan’s “Tractors” at DH Start
Winching the DH Start
Winching the DH Start
The Entire Track Could be Illuminated with Diesel Construction Lighting
Olympic Fog
Dressing for the Weather While Respecting Vanoc Uniform Protocol
DH Inspection
View to Finish Stadium from Slalom Start
Volunteer Slip Crew The Slip Crew headed by Andrée
Janyk contributed an outstanding effort day and night.
During track preparation:– Snow accumulation on the upper
mountain could be slipped clear…– From mid station down, the
accumulation of wet snow mixed with rain was ski-stepped, wall to wall, around the clock.
Ski SteppingTeamwork - 5 cm sideways at a time
Ski SteppingAll night long…
Manual Snow Removal
FIS Race Directors Enforce Vanoc H1N1 Pandemic ProtocolAlternative to handshakes and hugging
After a successful GS
By the end of the speed program, the FIS Pros had completely assimilated with our culture
The SlalomEarly Injection
Water injection continued on the lower track in preparation for the slalom events.– The early injection provided a solid
foundation upon which a track could be prepared for slalom
The SlalomLater Injection
– The later injection, despite near 100% relative humidity and thoroughly saturated snow, produced a positive effect by drilling holes which allowed scarce frost to penetrate, and which facilitated some evaporation, to maximize cooling of the snow surface
– This injection was performed tightly and quickly, drilling but not filling the holes
The SlalomCoordination – Ladies’ and Men’s
The track was partitioned with the Ladies running skiers left on February 26th and the men running skiers right on February 27th
The SlalomWeather
No freezing temperatures on the track for 48 hours prior to the men’s slalom.
The PlanHans Pieren FIS Race Director and the ROC Develop a Plan
The Men’s SlalomRace Day Snow Preparation Procedures Following athlete inspection:
– Shovel crews remove 12” berms created during inspection (also reminding less experienced racers that inspection was closing in 10 minutes and they still had half the course to go).
– 40 boot packers create 2 cm impressions in the surface.
– Snow hardening product is broadcast by hand
The Men’s SlalomRace Day Snow Preparation Procedures Following athlete inspection:
– Continued…– 20 slippers close the boot-packed
surface behind the application– Water is spray applied with fire
hoses to activate the chemical– A 2nd surface broadcast and light slip
to close– Security to protect course during
reaction between snow, air and water
Rallying Men’s track volunteers at mid-station tent to begin hand clearing snow from track at the conclusion of Ladies’ Slalom
Mobilizing the crew
Men’s SlalomAthlete Inspection
Men’s Slalom40 boot packers follow inspection
Men’s SlalomApplication of Snow Hardener Follows Boot Packers
Men’s SlalomApplication of Snow Hardener Follows Boot Packers
Men’s SlalomSlippers follow applicators follow boot packers
Men’s SlalomWater follows slippers follow applicators follow boot packers
Men’s SlalomHands-on FIS Race Directors
Men’s SlalomBoot Packing Army Marches Downward
Men’s Slalom100 Course Crew arrive at the finish 10 minutes before first forerunner
Men’s Slalom100 Course Crew arrive at the finish 10 minutes before first forerunner
10 minutes to get Jury, FIS pros and key course crew back to start.
Men’s Slalom The Result…..
Men’s Slalom The Making of a Slalom Course – Men’s Slalom Summary
– Develop relationships with your TD, ROC, Jury, Coaches and Volunteers
– Gather expertise and ideas– Sometimes anything is possible once
you commit to a program and get enrolment and the commitment of others
Men’s Slalom The Making of a Slalom Course – Men’s Slalom Thank you!
Questions?