10/18/96

The NEW job on the block, TECHNICAL CONTROLLER!

by Curt Kiser - Eastern Region TC

Just about all skiers know who's who around a record capability ski tournament. The Chief Judge is the person in charge that you make your appeals to, the scorer is the person you pester for your trick scores and to get your performance sheet signed, the safety director is the first-aid station and they also check out the condition of your vest and skis. But who is this Tech controller guy that is checking my handle and why is he telling me that it's too long ? (He sometimes tells me if it's too short, but that's OK).

The official Tech Control (TC) position was established by AWSA around 1985. The TC's responsibilities are:

1. primarily to measure and verify, and
2. secondarily, to take care of all the new technologies that are now being used in record tournaments like automatic magnetic timers in the boats, end course video for recording the driver's deviation from the center of the slalom course, computer scoring facilities for slalom and tricks, computer jump distance calculation programs, and Corson video jump system that provides distance calculations within seconds.

The reason for putting the TC in charge of all this high-tech gear is to help make sure that all skiers are getting a level playing field. Could you imagine the chief judge handling these additional duties on top of his own? In the old days the CJ would grab you and tell you to measure the ropes! Hey, the first time I measured a rope is when I learned how they are put together, and how horribly out-of-tolerance they can be right out of the box. It is not quite as easy to grab someone and say go set up the end course video or Corson video Jump meter.

Take a good look in your rule book. Every specification on anything from the size of the buoys, the jump, the courses in the water, ropes, to the stopwatches that are used by the backup timer need to verified! Not until you look very closely at the rules will you realize how many specifications are stated. That is where the TC lives, in verifying the numbers!

The reason for all this verification is to be sure that a performance on a particular day on a particular site is done under the same conditions as another performance on a different day and site. Every skier should have the same conditions and opportunity regardless of where or when he skis, and one skier should not gain an unfair advantage over another.

I am sure you have heard of potential records that were turned down. This happens when something required in the rule book is not up to par - like ropes or handles being too long, or boat path deviations too wide. By verifying conditions before and during the tournament the TC works to prevent such unhappy results. The TC also double checks and verifies conditions when a potential record is set. His signature on the record form helps to assure that if you set a potential record, it will stand!!! After all, if you perform at record levels you should get credit for it! (Fortunately, I have not had a record turned down yet and I have sent in three record applications).

The bottom line is that the TC is there solely for the skier.

I am not going to tell you that the TC job is easy. It seems that if anything goes wrong, and it can, a call goes out for the TC to help work out the problem. The TC should be able to help get things going if possible. Fortunately, most of you skiers know how these things work, or don't work in some cases! You have computers, and use magnetic timer systems daily in practice so you have experience with these gadgets, fixing them, and know their foibles. So there is a fairly large pool of skiers out there, familiar with technical equipment, that could help this one TC out. Now for the commercial. (What a segue'...)

HELP:!!! The Eastern region has a very low number of rated Technical Controllers. (2 - and only one is listed in the official's section of the guidebook) In 1993 I could not get out of moving and my relocation to Norfolk area in order to do the Regionals. (I tried to but my wife put her foot down on that idea...) The Regionals must go on, so the EVP had to fly in a TC from another region so the East could have the Regionals tourney as an R capability event! It sounds ridiculous but it's true, and caused an addition expense. That kind of thing should not happen with all the talented and bright people we have in this region.

Tech Controller development is in dire straits in the East! We need to usher some folks into the program to become qualified as TCs, and it should be happening NOW! Maybe you are unaware of the problem because a Tech Controller is required only at record tournaments, and there are only a few record tournaments in the region. Most clubs and skiers have not faced the need to find a Tech controler at their local C or N tournaments, but we still need more than 1 or 2 TC's to cover the R, L, and E tournaments we have.

Just consider what could happen if (as has been discussed in the past) the requirements for Nationals qualification were increased from 2 EP's at Class C tournaments, to include at least one EP at a Class E, L, or R Record Capability tournament. There would be more demand for R tournaments, and an inadequate supply of TC's to man them. That would mean higher entry fees so sponsors could pay to import TC's from other regions, or the skiers would have to travel out of the Region to find R tournaments to qualify for Nationals.

If SKIERS don't step forward to help solve the problem, in the end it will be the SKIERS who may suffer.

Thus my plea. The Eastern Region needs YOU !! Please contact the EVP or myself if you are interested in helping out in this very important official function. Its actually a pretty cool job if you have the right attitude about it.

Point of contact: Curt Kiser .. Thanks for listening. And many thanks if you volunteer !