MI Cup Committee: Equal points for all

The Michigan Cup Committee made some big changes to scoring the Michigan Cup at this year's Committee Meeting. The meeting was held at Hanson Hills Recreation Area in Grayling, MI on Sunday September 28. Team captains (or their designate) and interested parties attended. Each team is given one vote for any decisions.

Equal points for men and women

Men and women have historically been awarded points based on proportion of men and women racers the prior season. The top 200 Men received 200 points for 1st, 199 points for second...1 point for 200th. The top 67 Women received 200 points for 1st, 197 points for second...2 points for 67th. Junior racers were handled in a similar fashion.

There has been some push over the past several years for the same scoring to be used from men and women. This year, the Michigan Cup Committee agreed unanimously: junior and senior males and females will each be awarded 200 points for 1st, 199 points for second...1 point for 200th.

The Baic Cup will be based on six races

The Baic Cup for the top junior team will be based on the results of these six races.

Raptor Rush (Classic)
Krazy Klassic (Classic)
Flying Squirrel (Freestyle)
Beech Nuts (Freestyle)
Forbush Memorial Classic
Muffin Race (Relay)

Other races may have a junior distance, and those races will count toward the overall Michigan Cup points, but only the six races above will be used to calculate Baic Cup points. This was proposed by the Michigan Junior Nordic Ski Association who wanted a more limited list of races that junior teams could target so there would be more head-to-head team racing.

Because girls and boys are more evenly matched, race directors are also asked to start girls and boys together as one group - let each self-seed themselves.

Optional distances for Super-Masters

The Michigan Cup has quite a number of skiers who are 70 or older, and that number is increasing. In recognition that many of these racers prefer shorter races, the Michigan Cup Committee voted to allow race directors to offer an alternative distance for racers 70 and above. For example, Super-Masters men could race the normal 26km Cote Dame Marie distance or race the 7.5km distance normally reserved for juniors or citizen racers. If they race the normal distance, points are awarded normally: 200 points for 1st, 199 points for second...1 point for 200th place. If they race the optional shorter distance, the scoring starts at 150 points for first place, 149 for second, and so on.

The hope is that Super Masters who might not have attended a race because of the distance might now participate.

Vasa offers 50k races this year

It's the 50th anniversary for the North American Vasa! In honor, there will be 50k freestyle and classic race on Saturday. The Michigan Cup races will still be the 27K skate on Saturday and the 16k classic on Sunday, but partial freestyle points will be awarded for skiers who choose to race Saturday's 50k event. Racers in the 27K freestyle event will get full points: 200 points for 1st, 199 points for second...1 point for 200th place. For racers in the 50k event, the scoring starts at 150 points for first place, 149 for second, and so on.

There's also a new relay race: The Community Relay for kids to be run after the Junior Vasa Race. Finally, the Vasa has a new logo the the 50th anniversary and all racers get a long sleeve t-shirt. Juniors: 12k skate on Saturday, 6km classic on Sunday.

Goodbye Boyne Mountain, Hello Nub's Nob!

Nick Baic has left Boyne Mountain for Nub's Nob and takes his race with him! The race will be on upper Red Loop (3-4 Km of rolling terrain. No big hills). Technique and distance are still to be determined, but we expect seniors to race around 12-15K and juniors to race 6-9K.

Treasurer's Report (Carole Mueller-Brumbaugh)

There was a discussion of the Michigan Cup brochure: Should be go with a simpler card over the traditional three-fold brochure? Use a QR code (plus web link) to send people to more information. Ernie Brumbaugh will check on pricing then send an email out for a vote.

Michigan Cup Scoring Review (Ken Dawson/Ernie Brumbaugh)

Vasa proposal to change women's scoring to be equal to men's scoring (Ken Dawson). After some discussion, we decided to award equal points to senior men and women, and equal points to junior men and women.
Core Dame Marie has a couple complaints that women should be able to race 30km. The discussion brought up that the difference in distance between men and women was due to a large number of women requesting a shorter distance. If enough women want to a longer race for MI Cup points, the Committee can reconsider. Women can race the longer race but only the 15km is scored for Michigan Cup.
Some racers asked to have the Noquemanon Ski Marathon added back the Michigan Cup schedule. The committee voted to leave the Noque off the schedule.
Expand 70+ Age Groups and allow races to offer shorter distance options for 70+ skiers (Ernie Brumbaugh & Ann Wagar). Some 70+ racers are still competitive against younger skiers but most are getting slower. Two races for 70+ at shorter distance and fewer points. (150 points).

Michigan Cup Recognition Plaques

The Michigan Cup Committee voted to award plaques to recognize some big milestones for Michigan Skiing:

50 Years of North American Vasa
50 Years for the White Pine Stampede
50 Years for the Cross Country Ski Shop (Northbound Outfitters)
40 Years for the Cote Dame Marie race at Hanson Hills

Congratulations on all those years supporting cross country ski racing and the Michigan Cup!