Sugar Mountain Adult Ski League Began its 18th Season Monday Night; Race Results Here

The 2024 Sugar Mountain Adult Racing League’s 18th season got off to a good start on Monday night for the first race of the 2024 season with plenty of familiar faces ready for another competitive season. The season opener took place on the Oma’s Meadow slope.

Ski Country Sports of Banner Elk was responsible for organizing the race back in 2006 as an opportunity for adult skiers and snowboarders to get together once a week for individual and team competition followed by fellowship and fun at the Sugar Mountain bar after the race.

“Everybody was excited to get out there and see everyone. We had a good turnout, the snow was great and the course was pretty fast,” said Matt Leonard at Ski Country Sports.

When the race series first started, Matt and his brother Chris were still in high school. Back then they were responsible for recording the race times, which they wrote down by hand onto a clipboard. Today, Sugar Mountain has a state of the art racing facility with enclosed starting hut at the top of the coarse with computerized timing and scoring. Racers can now check their racing times in real time on the slope through their phones.

Leonard wanted to extend a special thanks to the Sugar Mountain race crew that helped make the experience as smooth as possible. “It’s a lot of work that they put in doing the timing and keeping up with all the points,” he said.

Each team competes with a slate of racers and the times of the top four finishers on each team count towards the team score for that night. After six weeks of racing, scores are complied for team and individual champions for both the ski and snowboard teams.

But besides the competition on the slope, another big draw to the race series is the after race party at the bar where each week a sponsor provides hot meals for the racers to enjoy while catching up. “For a lot of us in the ski business, our Monday night race gives us an opportunity to catch up with friends in the business since the busy ski season keeps us from seeing each other that much through the winter,” said Leonard.

Leonard wanted to remind folks that even if you are not racing you are welcome to join the racers at the bar for some fellowship and good times.

You can follow weekly results of the Sugar Mountain Adult Race League (SMARL) here at High Country Press every Tuesday through the season.