Insight to Racers

robotdna

robotdna

Active member
I know immediately that the word "racer" will attract instant hate from almost everyone reading this, but just hold on. Take a minute, and read something. You may change your mind.

I wanted to give all you(us) freeskiers a view into the world of racing, so some of you can see another side to things, and not instantly call it "gay". I want both cultures to accept each other and learn to enjoy skiing for what it is.



For the record, I support all types of skiing. I don't ski to be cool. I ski purely for the enjoyment of being on skis and on the snow. Isn't that is what skiing is about?

Okay:

a) Racers, yes, can be arrogant, cocky, and stuck-up little guys that are insecure and feel that they are better than everyone else. That, however, is a general stereotype, and can actually be applied to some park skiers as well. Most racers aren't dicks, and most park rats aren't assholes either. No need for the hate between the two.

b) Speed suits don't make you instantly "gay". Speed suits are incredibly uncomfortable, cold, and look silly. But they serve a purpose. They cut down air resistance to shave off valuable milliseconds and keep the fabric from turning to molten nylon and burning through your flesh when falling at high speeds due to friction with the snow. A lot of racers don't like speed suits. It comes with the occupation, and as you know, it's a tool. You wouldn't throw big switch tricks without twins, right? (Just because you can doesn't mean you should, haha)

c) Racing is fun. It's an exhilarating feeling being at the top in the start gate, hearing the countdown beeps slowly sounding in and out as you visualize the course in front of you that is about to either challenge you or kick your ass. Hitting a slalom gate and hearing *whack* the ground is such a fun sound, and quite addictive. Feeling the G forces press you into the turn as you carve around a GS flag makes you want to come back for more. Why do we ski? Because we enjoy it. Why do racers race? Because they enjoy it(most of them). Why do freeskiers ski? Because they enjoy it(most of them).

d) Racing is a good way to improve your all-around skiing ability. You gain access to very experienced coaches that know how to best improve you as a skier. I have one coach named Shannon Schad. Some of you may know him. He is an X-Games skier that has also been featured in many TGR, Warren Miller, and MSP films. He's not a racer. But he knows skiing well, and how to improve you. Racing can improve your confidence in your skiing based on your increased comfort on the snow.

e) You can have a good time with friends while racing. Friends get together, have good training sessions, get to travel around the US to competitions and meet new people and new friends. You can then all hang out and eat afterwards and just have a good time.

f) You don't have to be a strict "racer-only" type of guy(or gal, pinknames). I know many, many, many racers that nab their fatskis after a race and take a few glade-pillow laps or grab their park skis and go k-fed all over rails then throw a misty cork 7 on the next jump. You don't have to be in one discipline, why not sample all the types of skiing? Powder is sick. Booters and rails are dope. And race courses can be loads of fun too, if you want. It's all a head game.

Anyway, I just wanted to give you all an alternate view. You may take it and learn from it, or, as many of you will, proceed to fill my inbox with "kill yurself" and "ur a fagggott" messages. I'm just here as an informant.

Skiing is a fun sport. Let's all get along. :)

Thank you for your time, hope I have changed some of your views. Have a wonderful rest of season.

-robotdna

 
That's awesome man! I strongly support you as the hate between racers and park skiers is crazy nowadays. Could you make one for "Insight to Park skiers"? :P I have racing friends who give me some hate... so it would be nice to show them that! Hahah

 
awesome thread. skiing is fun, turning is fun, going fast is fun, pushing yourself is fun, racing is fun.

/racing will make you a better skier.
 
My issue with racing is the culture. I did it when I was younger and it was the coaches and dads that ruined it. That is the bigges source of hate, not with the individual racers involved. Good thread! Keep rippin!
 
I gave racing a chance this season, and still HATED it. Everything about it sucked. There was no personal expression or freedom, it was, "who can do the same exact thing the fastest". I hated the coaching, the kids, the culture, and the whole experience. I have no problem with kids who race and respect freeskiing and I still have respect for kids who are good at what they do in racing. I have a lot of friends that race and don't have a problem with it.
 
Fair enough. Some see it as more of a challenge on how you can push yourself through the course, and use different techniques push themselves there. I can understand how it may seem "constricting" to some though. :)
 
I think that you would most likely be suprised to find that this is not the case and most people reading this, appreciate and respect that discipline.

It's just not for everyone.
 
Racers, yes, can be arrogant, cocky, and stuck-up little guys

that are insecure and feel that they are better than everyone else.

This view is so hypocritical it makes my brain hurt.
 
There are many people like this. I'm just trying to cover all the fields. :) I'm certainly not calling everyone this, as obviously stated. There are people like this in all groups.
 
I dont mind racers except for the ones that are like "can you backfip" or "do you like saga/first drop" its like shut the fuck up. seriously. just trying to lap the park with friends and have fun and flamers from the lift dont shut up
 
Racing is the shit. One of my favorite skiing experiences is strapping on 156 supercarvers and laying down tight-radius turns til I feel like I'm going to get bucked over the handlebars if I carve any harder.

Plus we need racing to continue absorbing all the skier jocks. Otherwise these dudes are going to end up in the park, and we don't want that.
 
Haven't had any problems with racers this year. All the ones I've talked to on lifts have been pretty chill.

With that being said, I always laugh my ass off seeing a dude dressed in purple spandex carrying (what looks like) 50 gates up the chairlift and falling/dropping them everywhere.
 
You're the one stereotyping, not us. You're being hypocritical in saying that park skiers hate racers, which is stereotyping. No one on here says they flat out hate racers.
 
ha, but really I have a few racers who i ski with when they arn't spending all day racing. Many of them piss me off, but there are some good ones, so it depends on who your with. My friends always make fun of me for being a "parky" and them same back to them so it is all fine
 
Can a resort please make another loop the loop like at 7:20. It would be sweet to have one in between every jump in the line.
 
Hey now. I'm not saying everyone does. I was just tired of all the hate I WAS seeing. I never once said that every single one of you hates racers. I'm pleasantly surprised there are so many bros on here. Props to everyone. I have a little more faith in humanity. :D
 
This thread is completely legit and I agree with you but I think some racers certainly deserve the stereotype. For most kids racing is all they know and if they don't get what they want they will whine and bitch. It goes along with how you are raised, and spoiled rich kids will be spoiled rich kids.
 
"I know immediately that the word "racer" will attract instant hate from almost everyone reading this"

It's enough of everyone to be stereotyping, especially since it's so far from the truth.
 
I'd say for the majority of skiers, there really isn't much conflict between racing and park skiers. Racing versus park skiing is hard to compare because the goal or purpose of each type of skiing is quite different.

You will certainly have some annoying , douchey people in both categories, but overall everyone on skis should just be out there enjoying it.
 
There's this racer who just follows me around and yells my name and says he's "so good at freestyling and can do rails." thats where most of the hate comes from but i think its mostly the racers at my hill because half of them that i have talked to are horrible people. When i went out west about a month ago i was with someone who used to race and coach and he gave me a lot of really good tips on how to make my turns smoother and quicker and how to ski moguls so i think i would like to do racing just to get better at actually skiing. Overall its the individual people like someone said above me that ruin racing and where the source of hate comes from.
 
most people hate on something because they are jealous or afraid. next time you have to deal with an asshole on the mountain think of how sad it is they can't be happy doing something that is supposed to be so much fun and how unhappy their life must be. And why are they doing something they don't find fun when its so fucking expensive.
 
Almost all the racers I know can't, haha. But there are a few. And they are badasses. :) Way better than I am. Get 150+ days in a year, gosh darn it. Lucky them.
 
Hey man, you're not the one who gets death threats in his inbox every week and becomes made fun of on many ski websites. It's irritating.
 
I coach freestyle for a high end race club to help kids get super comfortable on there skis. These kids are wicked as they have skied since an early age and they have no fear and wicked balance. Those two things along have been developed though racing and as a result, some of the kids have turned into pretty good freestyle skiers despite being young.

But that being said they all want to stop racing now and just ski freestyle because they all say it's more fun than racing. The parents are not best pleased.
 
Yaya racers.

I like this post. Pretty much all the good posts in every single race thread in the forums put into one. Kudos
 
can you blame them? Look at the average racer compared to the average park rider. Most racers are better at the park then a large majority of "park" riders anyways. Look at how the average racer skis compared to the average slob of a park rider. Theres a reason they have that attitude. There not douches in general unless you piss them off somehow.
 
I raced up until two years ago when I decided to do freestyle. I picked up freestyle pretty quick and I dont think I could have progressed as much as I have without my background in racing. With that being said i defiantly wish I could have started freestyle earlier. These past two seasons have been the most fun Ive had on skis in my whole life. Thinking back to all the trips I've been lucky enough to go on for racing, I feel like a lot of it was wasted spending my time in a race course when I could have been skiing all over the mountain or trying different things in the park.
 
I used to snowboard, now i ski because i think skiing has way more style and the same tricks look better on skis than on a snowboard
 
Racing gets you comfortable and stoked on going as fast as possible at all times, all the technique transfers to being a great skier all over the mountain. Racing as a kid is a great idea, you see less and less kids doing it though and instead picking up a set of park twigs before they can even rip a tree run. Not gonna hate on that though, whatever get the ski buzz goin!

Race culture can be weak though, I notice lots of racers just train and don't spend any time freeskiing.
 
I started racing last year just for my school team which is a joke thinking at least i get to ski after school, but I realized its a lot more fun then i expected. It's fun standing at the top of the course hearing the countdown. I will say though, I never wore a ski suit until i made it to states this year and once i got there, although it was still fun personally because i didn't take it too seriously, everyone there is so unhappy and serious about their run. That's why, even though racing is fun, I'm still glad im a freeskier just because there's none of that seriousness involved towards racing.
 
Usually racers are dicks to me. Flying through the park going off the sides of jumps onto rails screaming "do a backflip!" at everyone they see. However, a lot of my good friends in the park also shred the race scene. No hate towards all racers, some of them just need to stop being cocky assholes.
 
I support racing because while you guys get to constantly slip your racecourse i get to shred the pow next to it :)
 
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