By Harley Nefe
Love was in the air yesterday, so some may have spent Valentine’s Day with their significant others, but the skiers and snowboarders of Sugar Mountain were out on the slopes battling it out to be crowned champion.
The 17th annual Sugar Mountain Adult Racing League season is officially in the books after last night wrapped up the sixth and final week of the 2022 fun and friendly competition.
“I want to thank everyone for being out here. I think everyone goes out there and has a good time. It’s a good camaraderie with friends,” said Bill Leonard of Ski Country Sports, which co-sponsors the racing league along with Sugar Mountain Resort.
Matt Leonard agreed and said it’s a fantastic time for folks to get out every Monday night and socialize and participate in a winter activity everyone enjoys.
“We all like to get out there and do that. We all like hanging out with each other,” Matt Leonard said. “There were a good bit of new people who joined this year, too, which was good.”
Entering competition, Ski Country Sports was in a slim one-point lead for the first time in the history of the racing league with 97 points, compared to Team Sugar with 96 points.
However, by the end of the night underneath the full moon, the two teams were tied for first place with 115 points. The tie breaker ended up going to Team Sugar.
Bill Leonard and Matt Leonard both spoke for Ski Country Sports, and said they were a little disappointed in the results, but overall, racers gave it their best, and it was another good week for the racing league.
“It was a faster course than what we’ve had in the previous two weeks or so,” Matt Leonard said. “It was a quick course. Snow conditions were good.”
The race crews have been responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the courses throughout the season.
“It takes a lot of time from a lot of people to put all this together, so we certainly appreciate all the efforts, and thank you so much,” Bill Leonard said.
After the final race, participants gathered to attend a banquet with food and beverages where the winning teams and individuals for the season were announced.
“Everybody had a good time at the party afterwards,” Matt Leonard said. “Ski Country Sports looks forward to being back next year.”
The racing league and point system has been in the same format as in years past. Each team consists of six to eight people, and the top four fastest times down the slopes qualify toward each team’s point total. Each skier and snowboarder get two runs down the slope, and their fastest time is the one that is counted. Platinum is four points, gold is three, silver is two and bronze is one. Points are then added up after each night to determine a league champion at the conclusion of the racing season.
This year’s first place teams are Team Sugar for the skiing division with 115 points and The Tavern for the snowboarding division with 98 points.
There are also individual awards, and those points are accumulated over the course of the six weeks. For example, the fastest racer gets 100 points, second place gets 80 and the amounts decrease so forth.
The top three finishers for each of the divisions can be found below along with the rest of the results and team standings.
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