FAN FEEDBACK

MPA should apologize for mistake at ski meet

An electronic timing issue negatively affected the girls skimeister results at the state Class C ski meet held in Mars Hill and Presque Isle on Feb. 19. At the completion of any ski event, unofficial results are posted for coaches and athletes to look over. A 15-minute protest period is allowed directly following the release of unofficial results; coaches can protest mistakes made in times, disqualifications, team scores, etc.

On Monday the 19th at Big Rock in Mars Hill, the boys and girls giant slalom competition took place. After the girls GS race was over, unofficial results were posted and the 15-minute protest period passed with no protests. The official results were then posted and signed by the technical delegate of the state meet.

That same afternoon, the cross country freestyle race was held in Presque Isle at the Nordic Heritage Center. On Tuesday the 20th, the slalom event took place in Mars Hill, and on the 21st the cross country classical event was held in Presque Isle. After these events were over, a repeat of the same process of posting results occurred with no protests. On the last day, all teams have received a packet with all the official race results.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the skimeister trophy, an athlete must compete in all four events and the athlete with the lowest score wins. After the Feb. 19 events (giant slalom and cross country freestyle), the female athlete in first place had 21 points while the girl in second place had 42 points, according to the official results. Skimeister results are not posted. Coaches, parents, and athletes must calculate them.

Therefore, the results they are given must be reliable. Now consider the Feb. 20 slalom race while remembering the female in first place had a 21-point lead. The slalom event is the most unpredictable event where many things can go wrong for athletes and teams. Taking the high risk into consideration, the female athlete in first place for skimeister skied the slalom event very conservatively making sure to finish both runs without falling in order to prevent putting her team’s score and her skimeister hopes in jeopardy.

After the slalom event, this female athlete still had a 12- point lead. On the last day of competition after the official cross country classic results were posted, athletes, parents, and coaches were able to calculate skimeister scores. At this point, they should have the packet of all correct official results in their hands.

Using this packet to count her score, the girl in first place thought she won by 15 points. On Wednesday afternoon the skimeister awards were presented. The young lady who thought she had first place, along with her team, coaches, and parents, was announced as receiving second place. The first-place skimeister award went to the female who was supposedly in second place. The female athlete who thought that she had won by 15 points ended up losing by two points, a 17-point turnaround.

Everyone around was stunned. After some investigating, I found out about two announcements apparently made on the PA system regarding a change in the girls giant slalom final results. These announcements were said to have been made during the Feb. 20 slalom events. This change was made after the coaches meeting held early Tuesday morning, before the slalom race.

The coach involved in this change brought the complaint of the timing error to the MPA’s technical delegate after the coach’s meeting was over. The MPA looked into the error, made the changes, and posted the revised girls giant slalom results late Tuesday morning after the slalom races were over. As far as the announcement on the PA system at the bottom of the hill, the coaches (who should be the individuals notified first) certainly did not hear it, considering they are all at the top of the slalom run with their athletes.

Opportunities existed for officials to let the public know of the changes, but none were taken advantage of. I found another mistake made in the process. Race times are determined electronically in the timing booth, but individuals at the finish line are also recording finish order according to bib number and their times.

This second team of people at the finish line provides backup in case something goes wrong with the electronic timing. After asking more questions, I found out the MPA officials had not properly consolidated the bib order of finish with the electronic times. This check is supposed to take place. If the team in the timing booth and the team at the finish line had matched up their results, the glitch in the times certainly would have been discovered earlier and the results would have been correct.

If this female skier had known of the revised GS results, which would have put her just six points in the lead, she would have skied the slalom event more aggressively. Both the athlete and her coaches agree on this.

According to the MPA, it is OK to correct official race results when an electronic timing error is found. However, these changes should not be made under the radar. At the very least, all coaches should be notified and given a copy.

The skier who won the skimeister award should not be penalized for an electronic glitch. The MPA, however, should at least tell the negatively affected skier that they are sorry this happened and admit its wrongdoing.

To date, the MPA refuses to acknowledge any fault on its part and has refused to send the female athlete who lost the skimeister competition, as a result of its mistakes, a letter of apology.

Paul L. Cyr

Fort Kent

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