Masters ski racing, unlike junior ski racing, has no fixed ski length or radius requirements! This makes it easy to jump into Masters racing without needing to make a large upfront investment in specialized skis. Most all-mountain recreational skis have radiuses and lengths that work well enough in Masters slalom and giant slalom courses--although we wouldn't recommend using an all-mountain recreational ski for super-g. That said, if you want to use race-specific skis, you can often have more fun and go faster in the race course.

When you're looking for race skis, the first thing to consider are the disciplines that you will be racing in: slalom, giant slalom, and super-g. Each discipline has different recommended ski lengths and ski radiuses, based on the distance between the gates, the speed that you will be traveling, and the size of your turns. In general, slalom skis are the shortest with the smallest radius, and super-g skis are the longest with the largest radius. For Masters racing, when you're first starting out, you will probably want two pairs of skis: one ski for slalom and one ski for giant slalom and super-g. 

Slalom Skis

Choosing appropriate slalom skis is pretty straightforward. For women, you want to be looking at slalom skis that are a minimum of 155cm long with roughly a 12m radius, and for men, you'll be choosing skis that are 165cm long with the same 12m radius. Both of these ski types are labeled as "FIS Approved" slalom skis when you're searching online. 

Giant Slalom and Super-G Skis

When shopping for a giant slalom ski, start by looking at skis labeled "Masters" or "Non-FIS". Skis that are race-inspired (often colloquially known as "beer league skis" or "cheater skis") also work great for Masters racing. The naming conventions for these skis can vary based on the manufacturer and the store where you're shopping, but in general, giant slalom skis in these categories have a radius between 17m and 26m, and a length between 170cm and 185cm. 

Within that fairly broad range of radiuses and lengths, consider your size, strength, and level of race experience to narrow down your choices. Skis that are longer with larger radiuses are going to require more strength and better technique (and often more speed) to flex and carve. In other words, they're going to be harder for beginner racers to use. If you are a smaller skier, a skier with more limited race experience, or a skier with less leg strength, you should tend towards the smaller radius and shorter length end of the giant slalom ski spectrum. 

We strongly advise against purchasing "race stock" or "FIS Approved" giant slalom and super-g skis for Masters races. These race stock skis are often labeled as "FIS" and conform to the regulations for NorAm, Europa Cup, and World Cup level competitions. In general, FIS skis are longer with larger radiuses (and are much stiffer) than what is best suited for Mid-Atlantic Masters courses. If you can't tell whether the ski you're considering is a FIS-approved race stock ski, check the length and radius of the ski in the description. For men, FIS giant slalom skis are 193cm long with a 30m radius, and FIS super-g skis are >=210cm long with a 45m radius; for women, FIS giant slalom skis are 188cm long with a 30m radius, and FIS super-g skis are >=205cm long with a 40m radius. Some of our most experienced racers do use FIS race stock skis for our races, but in general, most Masters skiers should avoid these skis to have the most fun in a course.

If you're not totally sure which ski to purchase, reach out on the Mid-Atlantic Masters WhatsApp group for advice. We're a fairly friendly, helpful group of racers, and there are decades worth of racing expertise in the WhatsApp group!

Why should you tune your race skis?

Keeping your skis regularly tuned helps your skis perform the best in the race course. When your bases are flat, your edges are sharp, and your skis are waxed, your skis will bite into the snow and glide better--both critical elements for a fast time. Especially on the East Coast, with our freeze-thaw cycles and abrasive manmade snow, your skis are going to wear down more quickly than they would if you were skiing out West.

In general, before each race day, you should check the sharpness of your skis edges and reapply wax to your bases. You will probably need to sharpen your edges one every few races. Continue reading for tips on how to sharpen your edges and wax your skis, and some recommended tuning supplies to purchase when you're first getting started.

General tips

• Always transport your skis with Velcro ski straps. This will keep your skis from grinding against each other and dulling the edges.
• Ideally take a stone and/ or diamond stone to your skis after each use, to de-burr them and make it easier to sharpen them the next time.
• Keeping skis waxed also keeps your bases from drying out and allows them to glide.
• Suggest sharpening your skis after every few times skiing, it is easier to keep up with them, and will provide a much better ski experience.

How to sharpen your ski edges

1. Take the stone and debur any nicks. This is hardened steel and if you don’t remove them, they will dull your files. To debur, very lightly run the stone on the nicked area…follow the bevel of the ski. Don’t press super hard…just enough to get the bur off. Do this on the bottom and edge of ski.

2. Tape the base of the ski to keep filings out.

3. If the sidewalls are high you can shave down the sidewall to allow the file to make contact with the edge. This only has to be done periodically. Use the edge planar for this.

4. If the edges aren’t bad you can just use the diamond stone and clean up the edges at this point.

5. Run the edging tool down the length of the ski. Files are directional, so you’ll need to identify the cutting direction for the file. ….you’ll go tip to tail on one direction and tail to tip in the other unless you switch the file in the tool. It’s ok to go tip to tail then tail to tip on the other edge. The reason you do this is to ensure that the filings fall out of the tool on the side of the ski not the base to get ground into your file and base…you don’t have to clean your file if you sharpen this way. You can tell when they are sharp by brushing your finger nail over the edge or just feeling for a smooth edge. Sometimes big gouges won’t come out totally, and it’s better to leave a small imperfection then to take down too much edge.

6. Today’s bases are very hard, so if the base is too mangled you will need to take it into a ski shop to have them flatten the bases. Depending on how much you ski, it’s a good idea to get the bases flattened in a shop maybe yearly or every other year...if you are careful with your skis you can get 30-50 days without a base flatten and sometimes even more…but this depends on how many rocks you hit. Use only a good shop for this, there’s a lot of folks that can’t do this proficiently. We use Edgewise in Stowe VT to do this. They will ship skis back to you via mail.

7. Check on the specs for your skis on edge bevel. Our GS is 0.7 base, 3 edge. And our SL is 0.5 base, 3 edge. Recreational skis are 1.0 base, 2 or 3 edge. Press lightly with the edging tool, enough so you can feel it bite, but not so much that you are over pressuring…too much and you will change the bevel on the ski.

8. Once you have the basic sharpening done, polish the edges by first using a diamond stone (this is not directional) then the Arkansas stone. Use these stones in the edge of beast tool. We keep multiple edge of beast tools so we don’t always have to put them in and out of the tool.

9. Once both sides are sharp….wipe the base down…ideally you open the structure with a steel brush which will allow the ski to take on more wax…the brushes tend to have a direction marked on them…and you go tip to tail with the steel brush…just enough to get old wax out. The Swix brush has an arrow for the direction on it. The bristles should go in the direction of the ski…

10. Wipe the ski down with a clean paper towel.

How to wax your skis

1. Heat the iron up…not too hot…if the wax smokes when you put it on the iron it is too hot. You want to be sure that there is always wax in between the iron and ski. If you heat the ski up too hot and there isn’t wax in between, you can seal the base off where it won’t take wax…always have the temp just low enough to melt the wax.

2. It is best to use a universal wax that works for most temperatures. Holmenkol beta mix works for a wide range of temps, and Holmenkol yellow works for warmer temps. These two should cover most of what you need, however if you are going to only buy one, the colder range is the best bet.

3. Lay a thin layer on the ski…again…be sure the iron is not too hot otherwise you can burn the base…just hot enough to melt the wax – no smoke. Be sure to release the vise clamp so the ski is not clamped into a given position while you are heating it.

4. Let the ski cool for about 1 hr…

5. Take a plastic scraper and scrape the edges and base to remove excess wax. You can press really hard with this since it won’t damage the base.

6. After you have gotten a lot of the wax off by scraping, use a horsehair brush (for colder temps) or a nylon brush (for warmer temps) to get all the last bits of wax out of the ski.

Recommended tuning gear

Basic tuning gear

Item	Recommended Options
Ski vise	Swix Jaw Economy Ski Vise 20-90
Side edge file guide	Side of BEAST Ski Edge Tool, 3 degree
File	Swix Chromed 2nd Cut File (20cm 16TPCM)
Waxing iron	Swix T77 Waxing Iron
Plastic scraper	Swix Plexi Scraper
Sidewall planer	Sidewall Planar FS-SKS
Arkansas stone	Wintersteiger Arkansas Stone
Diamond stones	Diamond stone - 200 grit (coarse)
Wax	Holmenkol Wax Beta Red 200gm
Brake retainers	Brake retainer rubber bands 6 pack

Advanced tuning gear

 

• Link to the Dec 2021 Newsletter, Link to Nov 2021 Newsletter
• You can check out the latest October 2021 US Ski & Snowboard Newsletter at the following link.   
• US Ski & Snowboard Masters 2022 Nationals will be held at Sun Valley on March 21-26th.
• Starting this season (2021-2022) it is NOW REQUIRED that Masters use helmets that meet the FIS standards for FIS and U.S. Ski & Snowboard Masters GS, SG and DH competitions.    Helmets which meet the FIS standard have a sticker affixed by the manufacturer that states “Conforms to FIS Specification RH 2013”.

 

As requested, Green Ice Wax has developed a new overlay for the 2021-22 season.  

Supaslip is a high performance overlay ski wax based on GI 2000. It has 4 additional non-fluoro
additives which utilizes ceramic technology and is designed to add slip, lubricity, and abrasive resistance.
Supaslip can be used as a final "iron on" coat or a "rub on" overlay. It comes in 3 snow temperature
ranges.
warm >28 degrees F (orange)
cool     18-28 degrees F (blue)
cold  <18 degrees F (purple)

Remember to use your Mid-Atlantic Masters Green Ice Wax discount code mam50 for 50% off and free shipping on orders over $50.