When: Sundays, January 8 - February 26, 2023
Time: 11:30 am Course Inspection, 12:00 pm (Noon) Race Start
Where: Hickory Hills
Cost: $60
News Bibs: $10 (if you are new to the program), or $50 if you lost your bib from previous years.
To participate, a skier must be registered for one of the following: Advanced Beginner Clinics, Instructional Ski Clinics, USSS or the Middle School Program.

Sunday Race Timeline -
11am - All skiers (and parent volunteers!) to Hickory Hills - Bibs passed out first week.
11:30am - Race course inspection (when skiers have an opportunity to slowly inspect the course with their coaches to become familiar with gate location).
12pm Noon - Races start promptly at 12:00 pm and end approximately at 3:00 pm.
There will be 2 races of GS OR 2 races of SL each Sunday, starting with GS the first week. See schedule as it rotates week to week.
The GS OR SL races are individually combined by time on the day of the race.
Awards are given each Sunday after the race is over, typically by 3:30 pm. All racers should plan to stay for awards after!! It's so fun and a big part of building confidence and sportsmanship within GTSC!!
2023-24 Sunday Race Rules
Racer Groups:
Athlete age as of 12/31/23 grouped as follows:
- Girls U8
- Boys U8
- The U8 age groups will race prior to the U10+ age groups
- Girls U10, U12, U14, 14+
- Boys U10, U12, U14, 14+
- The U10+ age groups will inspect courses with the U8s and race immediately following
Club Race Schedule:
- 11:20am – Course Inspection all racers
- 11:40am – Course closes
- 11:45am – U8 race start
- ~12:30pm – U10+ races start
- Awards to follow completion of each race above
Sunday Race Schedule: (schedule subject to change)
- Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023
- Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023
- Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023
- Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023
- HRT Invitational – Feb 28, 2023
- Nordica Rally February 5, 2023
- Sunday, Feb 12, 2023
- Sunday, Feb 19, 2023
- Sunday, Feb 26, 2023
- Sunday Race – Feb 29
- Battiste/Welborn Cup: Sunday, March 5, 2023 (N. Michigan Club Championship, must qualify to attend, details below, event tentative)
Weekly Individual Awards:
Ribbons will be awarded for SL and GS by place for the first 15 place finishers for U8 skiers. All other age groups will be awarded ribbons through 10th place. Duplicate awards will be given in the event of a tie.
Scoring:
DQ/DNF: Racers that Disqualify (DQ) or Do Not Finish (DNF) a run will be assigned the place of the last place racer in their age/gender group, that day, plus one. All racers within the same age/gender group in a specific race that are given a DQ will be given the same finish position for point totaling purposes.
DNS: Racers that Do Not Start (DNS) a run will be assigned the place of the last place racer in the age/gender group, that day, plus two. All racers within the same age/gender group in a specific race that are given a DNS will be given the same finish position for point totaling purposes.
There is no minimum race participation requirement.
Racers will be able to drop 1 race for each discipline (SL and GS). This means 5 races will be scored for each discipline.
Year-End Awards & Place Standings:
At the end of the season.. including, if held, the GTSC Invitational and/or HRT Invitational results.
In the event any races and/or runs are cancelled, we will continue to drop a race out of the total number of completed races to determine overall standings per discipline.
Battiste/Welborn Cup Championship:
Annually, in early March, six to eight Northern Michigan youth ski racing clubs come together to compete at The Battiste/Welborn Cup Championship. This end of the season event is usually held at Boyne Highlands and crowns the Northern Michigan ski club champions. Prizes are awarded to individuals in both Slalom and Giant Slalom events and an overall ski club champion is crowned. GTSC racers must qualify to compete at the event.
Welborn Cup qualifications are based on overall performance, combining the SL and GS results. Results will be determined as indicated above for year end awards and place standings and then the results the SL and GS races are added together. The top five (5) racers in each age/gender group will be given preference to attend. Five club races will be scored. If your racer only attends four races, their fifth race would be scored using their lowest DNS score.
The top five racers (plus one alternate) will be contacted and given the opportunity to attend. If a racer declines, the next eligible racer will be offered the position until all five racer slots are filled with one additional alternate (6 skiers per age group). In the event there are less than 6 available racers in an age group, the next younger age group will be given the option to ski up. Younger racers may race in older groups, but older racers may not race in younger groups. In the event of a tie, priority will go to the racer with the highest participation. If a tie still remains, preference will be given to the skier with the better time at the most recent club race in which the tied races competed.
Invitationals:
These are optional events Sunday Racers may choose to register for and attend. Additional fees may apply.
- Feb 5 – NO SUNDAY RACE due to Nordica Winter Rally Invitational @ Nubs Nob – separate signup from Sunday Races – shown for scheduling purposes
Qualifiers:
- March 5 – Welborn Cup @ Boyne Mountain (note venue change!) – Championship Race must qualify to attend – more information TBD
Additional Information:
- Other than LTS, skiers must be able to use a tow rope independently and ski unattended to participate.
- All skiers must bring and wear a ski helmet and bring their own skis and boots.
- Hickory Hills ski tickets must be purchased separately from the GTSC programs. GTSC Fees do not include lift tickets.
- Parents or guardians must volunteer for at least 3 Sunday Races in order for their skier(s) to participate.
- All racers must wear their assigned GTSC issued race bib for each race. In the event a racer wishes to race but has forgotten their race bib, a disposable race bib may be purchased for that race at a cost of $5. Racers without GTSC approved race bibs indicating their assigned number will not be permitted to race.
Sunday Race Volunteer Helpers
Come one, come all!
Volunteers are absolutely the backbone of who we are at the GTSC - we appreciate all our helpers!! Thank you in advance for doing your part as a family to help make sure each week is covered for volunteer assignment spots - the races cannot go on without everyone pulling together to make it awesome =)
When registering for Sunday Races, all GTSC families acknowledge the volunteer commitment of working at least 2-3 Sunday Races per season. We are grateful for each of you helping out. Please see Volunteer document under Media tab in TeamSnap to better understand jobs available each week and come to one of our volunteer trainings!
All volunteer assignments are now signed up for under your Sunday Races TeamSnap account under Assignments. Simply choose your racers name by the job you will work each week. Parents, grandparents, older siblings, anyone is welcome to fill your families volunteer commitment (and it is great NHS hours for HS kids!).
All Sunday Race volunteers are asked to check in at lodge no later than 11:30am with GTSC Sunday Race Volunteer Coordinator prior to heading up to hill. Ask questions if you have them! Gate Keepers will have a quick meeting prior to race by finish shack to review spacing and who's going where.