NASTAR

Last Name:

NASTAR Registration #:

Password:

Information for Resorts

This section of the web site is designed to provide resorts hosting Nature Valley NASTAR with additional information specific to the operations and management of Nature Valley NASTAR at their resort. Competitors may even find this interesting too…

Nature Valley NASTAR Resort/Club Program

Nature Valley NASTAR Promotional Manual

Nature Valley NASTAR Season Review

The Nature Valley NASTAR Handicap System

Regional Pacesetting Trials

Pacesetting Integrity

Nature Valley NASTAR Software

Nature Valley NASTAR Medal Distribution

Resort Questions

Nature Valley NASTAR Resort/Club Program

During the off-season, we send presentations to resorts across the country asking them if they would like to have a Nature Valley NASTAR race program at their resort. The presentation provides some background information on the program and outlines a resort's responsibilities and the benefits available to a resort. The deadline for resorts to register is October 15. To do so, resorts must sign a NASTAR Resort Agreement prior to this date and pay the resort fee in full.

Click here to download the NASTAR Resort Program presentation. [PDF]
Click here to download the NASTAR Resort Agreement. [PDF]

The NASTAR Club Program is designed to add value to the overall ski club experience and gives clubs direct access to NASTAR's technology allowing club members the full benefits of racing Nature Valley NASTAR. The deadline for clubs to register is October 15. To do so, clubs must sign a NASTAR Club Agreement prior to this date and pay the club fee in full.

Click here to download the NASTAR Club Program presentation. [PDF]
Click here to download the NASTAR Club Agreement. [PDF]

Contact Bill Madsen at bmadsen@nastar.com or 970-923-6278 for additional information on the NASTAR Resort & Club Programs.

back to top

Nature Valley NASTAR Promotional Manual

Each season, NASTAR provides resorts with a promotional manual that outlines in detail how to successfully implement and execute the Nature Valley NASTAR program. Participating resorts and clubs may obtain a copy of the NASTAR Promotional Manual by contacting Bill Madsen at bmadsen@nastar.com or 970-923-6278.

back to top

Nature Valley NASTAR Season Review

Each season, NASTAR provides resorts and partners with a recap of the previous season that outlines our accomplishments. Click here to download the NASTAR Season Review.

back to top

The Nature Valley NASTAR Handicap System

The NASTAR Handicap System gives ski and snowboard racers a simplified system to gauge their progress throughout the season and allows racers of all ages and abilities a means to compare their race results to other competitors across the country regardless of when and where they race.

This is accomplished by establishing a National Standard for all races. The National Standard is the Par Time or the "0" handicap which every racer competes against when they race Nature Valley NASTAR. The "0" handicap is set at the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships and is the fastest time possible on a Nature Valley NASTAR course.

Former U.S. Ski Team star and four-time Olympian AJ Kitt established his NASTAR Handicap at the National Championships. As Nature Valley NASTAR's traveling pacesetter, AJ competes against pacesetters from each Nature Valley NASTAR resort at sanctioned Regional Pacesetting Trials across the country prior to the start of the season. These events enable pacesetters from each resort to establish their own certified NASTAR Handicap against the Par Time or "0" handicap. The resort pacesetters use their certified handicaps to set the Par Time at their local Nature Valley NASTAR course and in turn give each participant that races at their resort a handicap.

Each time a participant races Nature Valley NASTAR they earn a handicap which represents the difference between their race time and the Par Time expressed as a percentage. It's easier than it sounds - if a participant earns a 15 handicap, they are 15% slower than the Par Time.

back to top

Regional Pacesetting Trials

Overview

Pacesetting is the glue that holds The Nature Valley NASTAR program together. It is each pacesetters job to represent the National Standard to the best of their ability. Pacesetters with accurate NASTAR handicaps that race consistently will provide their guests with an excellent representation of their ability. The Regional Pacesetting Trials are used to set each pacesetter’s handicaps for the season and to educate NASTAR Coordinators and pacesetters about new promotions and program updates. Former U.S. Ski Team star and four-time Olympian AJ Kitt will set the pace at each Trial. The Nature Valley NASTAR Regional Pacesetting Trials are not open to the public.

Locations (2009-10 Season)

Rocky Mountain
- Snowmass, CO / December 10
Midwest
- Buck Hill, MN / December 12
- Crystal Mountain, MI / December 14
New England
- Bretton Woods, NH / December 16
Mid-Atlantic
- Windham Mountain, NY / December 18
- Ski Roundtop, PA / December 20

Resort Requirements

To ensure the integrity of the NASTAR Handicap System, each Nature Valley NASTAR resort must send, at minimum, two (2) pacesetters and not more than (4) pacesetters to a Regional Pacesetting Trial. Your NASTAR Coordinator or Ski School Director as well as your Pacesetters must attend the training session held after the race. Pacesetters should be the fastest racers at their resort and at least one pacesetter should have a handicap of 15 or lower. All Nature Valley NASTAR races must have a pacesetter with a certified NASTAR Handicap so that he/she can set the Par Time before the public races the course. This allows the timer to announce each racer's time, handicap, medal earned and how much faster the competitor must race to earn the next medal.

If a resort's pacesetter is unable to attend one of the Regional Pacesetting Trials and therefore does not have a certified NASTAR Handicap, they must contact Bill Madsen at bmadsen@nastar.com or 970-923-6278 to coordinate a race with a pacesetter that has earned a certified handicap

Registration

All pacesetters must pre-register for a specific Regional Pacesetting Trial by emailing their Name, NASTAR Registration Number and Resort Name to bmadsen@nastar.com prior to Monday, December 7. In addition, please indicate which Regional Pacesetting Trial you will be attending in the e-mail. Pacesetters looking to attend a Regional Pacesetting Trial should verify that they are in the NASTAR Database by searching for their record by entering their last name in the field indicated at the top of any nastar.com page. In addition, we strongly suggest that you verify that the personal information on your Race Record is complete and accurate prior to attending the Trials. All resort pacesetters must be entered on their Resort Team under the Team Racing option. Click here for instructions on how to maintain your Race Record. If you are not in the NASTAR database, you must register online at nastar.com prior to attending the Trials by clicking on the Register to Race option.

Pacesetter Handicaps

Pacesetters will earn two certified NASTAR Handicaps at the Regional Pacesetting Trials.

The lowest handicap earned during the first race will serve as the pacesetter's "dressed" handicap. Pacesetters must wear their warm-ups or regular work clothes for the first race. When pacesetters set the Par Time at their resort wearing their warm-ups or regular work clothes, they must use their "dressed" handicap.
The lowest handicap earned during the second race will determine each pacesetter's "race" handicap. Pacesetters are allowed to wear racing suits for the second race. When pacesetters set the Par Time at their resort wearing a racing suit, they must use their "race" handicap.

Schedule of Events

Regional Pacesetting Trial Race

9:00am - 9:30am Check-In, Registration and Race Bib Pick-Up

9:30am - 10:15am Course Setting Clinic with AJ Kitt

10:30am - 12:00pm Race starts (two race runs wearing warm-ups or work clothes)

12:00pm - 1:00pm Lunch Break

1:00pm - 3:00pm Race starts (three race runs wearing race suits or without a coat)

3:00pm NASTAR instructional seminar, video, awards, & wrap up

* Awards will be presented based on results from the second race only.

* Individual awards will be presented to the Fastest Male and Fastest Female.

* Team awards will be presented to the 1st Place Team, 2nd Place Team and 3rd Place Team (teams will be scored using the best three team members).

Pacesetting Integrity

Re-handicapping

It is not uncommon for pacesetters get faster during the season. Pacesetters can "re-handicap" if they feel they are skiing faster or if they feel they are skiing slower than they did at the Regional Pacesetting Trials. Pacesetters can re-handicap by racing against other pacesetters with certified handicaps and earning a National Average Handicap. If a pacesetter's National Average Handicap is lower or higher than the handicap they earned at the pacesetting trials, the pacesetter or their NASTAR Coordinator can request to have their handicap reviewed for an update. All re-handicapping requests MUST be approved by NASTAR. Contact Bill Madsen at 970.923.6278 or bmadsen@nastar.com for re-handicapping requests.

Proactive Pacesetting

Public Nature Valley NASTAR courses that are open for long periods of time can experience diverse course conditions. When course conditions are variable, pacesetters should continually test the Par Time. If a pacesetter can earn a handicap that is two points lower than their pacesetting handicap, the course is getting faster and a new Par Time should be used. In addition, if the course gets slower and the pacesetter cannot earn a handicap that is within two points of their pacesetting handicap, a new Par Time should be used.

Example:
Joe Fast is a pacesetter with a handicap of 10. Six inches of new snow fell the night before the race, and even though the hill has been groomed the course is still soft. Joe Fast pacesets the course and posts a time of 25.00 seconds. With his handicap of 10, the Par Time is 22.72. After 30 people race the course Joe Fast slides into the start to test the Par Time. The timer enters him as a racer using his NASTAR Registration Number. Joe feels his skis sliding much faster across the snow and posts a time of 24.25, which earns him a handicap of 6.73. The timer writes down Joe's time of 24.25 on a piece of paper; deletes his time from the race and saves the race. If you are running a single course, go to the Race Header tab and click the tick box that says, Single Course Timing: times to Green Course. Select Joe Fast as the Pacesetter on the Green course and enter his time of 24.25. Now you can continue timing your race with a fresh Par Time and all of the times will be assigned green course times.

If you are running a dual course, the timer opens a new race and gives it a title (e.g. NASTAR 1:00pm start); enters Joe Fast as the Pacesetter with a time 24.25, handicap of 10, Par Time 22.04. The timer then uses the command, Copy Competitors from another race, and sends Joe back to the start to re-paceset the other course. In the NASTAR software, on the Competitors tab, click on the option labeled, OTHER and select, Copy Competitors from another race. Select the date or name of the race you had been timing and all of your competitors will be automatically added to the new race. Give your race a new name, (e.g. NASTAR 1:00pm start) and you are ready to send your next racer.

Later in the day the course is rutted and icy but the race is only scheduled to run for 45 minutes more so resetting doesn't make sense. Joe Fast races again but he can only post a time of 26.00 seconds with a handicap of 17.96. Again, the timer writes down Joe's time, deletes his time from the race and open a new race. The competitors are copied from the previous race and Joe is entered as the pacesetter with a time of 26.00. Now the Par Time is 23.63 and your guests can compete against a more accurate Par Time. Participants will be more likely to take reruns because they will have a fair chance at winning a medal. If it is a dual course, Joe must paceset both courses.

The process of changing the Par Time takes less than 30 seconds and the course will maintain a consistent Par Time for the participants. It is the race staff's responsibility to keep the guests informed and to let them know why the pacesetter is racing again. Your guests will be more likely to take additional runs through your Nature Valley NASTAR course if they feel as if the course conditions will not reduce their chance of posting a good handicap or winning a medal.

Reactive Pacesetting

If a participant in any Nature Valley NASTAR race beats the Par Time, this means the resort pacesetter has not accurately set the Par Time for the course. Negative handicaps are not accepted within the NASTAR Handicap System because it is generally accepted that Nature Valley NASTAR participants are not capable of beating the National Pacesetter. If a racer beats the Par Time the NASTAR Coordinator has two options.

The Pacesetter can race the course again and attempt to lower the Par Time by skiing the course faster. Open a new race and have your pacesetter race again. Add the racer that beat the Par Time to the new race with his time and continue timing your race.
If the Pacesetter cannot lower the Par Time to eliminate the negative handicap, the racer that beat the Par Time must be inserted as the pacesetter and a new race is started.

If a race is posted on nastar.com with a negative handicap the race will be recalculated using the fastest racer as the pacesetter for the race. The racer that beats the Par Time is inserted as the pacesetter and his/her NASTAR National Average Handicap is used to set the Par Time. If the participant does not have a National Average Handicap, the racer's State Ranking Handicap will be used to set the Par Time. If the participant does not have a State Ranking Handicap, the racer's Resort Ranking Handicap will be used to set the Par Time. This rule will also be applied to Nature Valley NASTAR races where 50% of the participants in the race earn a handicap that is 10 points below their next best result. This process must be followed to maintain the integrity of the National Standard, the National Pacesetter and the Nature Valley NASTAR program.

back to top

Nature Valley NASTAR Software

Contact Bill Madsen at bmadsen@nastar.com or 970-923-6278 for additional information.

back to top

Nature Valley NASTAR Medal Distribution

Resorts are required to award Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze Nature Valley NASTAR medals in accordance with official Nature Valley NASTAR scoring regulations to participants at the time of the race. Typically resorts distribute medals at the finish area and/or at a base lodge. Each time a participant races Nature Valley NASTAR they could win a Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze medal depending on the handicap they earn in their age & gender category. NASTAR also encourages resorts to purchase participation medals for competitors who do not win a Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze medal. The NASTAR Handicap Chart shows the handicap needed in each age & gender category to win a particular medal. Click here to view the NASTAR Handicap Chart.

Prior to the start of the season, resorts must purchase an allotment of medals from the program's official medal supplier: Motion Marketing LLC; P.O. Box 5447; Snowmass Village, CO 81615; 970-923-6278. Orders must be received by the following deadlines below to meet the delivery schedule.

* ORDER BY OCTOBER 15th FOR NOVEMBER 20th DELIVERY *
* ORDER BY NOVEMBER 5th FOR DECEMBER 10th DELIVERY *
* ORDER BY DECEMBER 1st FOR JANUARY 8th DELIVERY *
* ORDER BY DECEMBER 23rd FOR JANUARY 29th DELIVERY *
* ORDER BY JANUARY 20th FOR FEBRUARY 24th DELIVERY *

Nature Valley NASTAR medals are .99¢ each (embossed with resort name) with a minimum order of 300 or .99¢ each for generic medals (does not include resort name). Generic medals should only be used if a resort runs out of the standard medal.

Click here to download the NASTAR Medal Order Form.

Resorts should be awarding medals to approximately 70% of all Nature Valley NASTAR participants (5% Platinum, 15% Gold, 25% Silver, 25% Bronze, 30% Racer/Participation).

Based on the medal distribution history, NASTAR suggests that new resorts order an initial quantity of 700 medals (35 Platinum, 105 Gold, 175 Silver, 175 Bronze, 210 Racer). Returning resorts should use the formula below to determine how many medals to order.

___ (# of participants last season) x .05 = ___ (total # of Platinum Medals needed)
___ (# of participants last season) x .15 = ___ (total # of Gold Medals needed)
___ (# of participants last season) x .25 = ___ (total # of Silver Medals needed)
___ (# of participants last season) x .25 = ___ (total # of Bronze Medals needed)
___ (# of participants last season) x .30 = ___ (total # of Racer Medals needed - optional)

Periodically during the season, it is a good idea to check your medal distribution and inventory. The hosting resort is the only place participants can get a resort-specific Nature Valley NASTAR medal. Unfortunately, NASTAR does not have a supply of resort-specific medals on hand. If a participant misplaced their medal or never received their medal from the resort they must contact the resort directly.

back to top

Resort Questions

Resorts should contact Bill Madsen at bmadsen@nastar.com or 970-923-6278 with any questions or concerns that may arise during the season.

HAPPY RACING & THINK SNOW !