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Show K Vne wrrononit Page A10 Thursday, November 26, 1986 Park Record We wouldn't miss it for the world gDnermmaim by J.P. Max The conference room of the Park City Ski Area has, for weeks, operated like a command center. Soft drinks and beer are passed out in the late afternoon hours to wash down big bowls of potato chips and pretzels ; it is the first substance many of the people in the room have had or will have for hours. Tense quick laughter often breaks up discussions of potential problems. Talk of bleachers and television cables and the number of porta-potties is treated with equal intensity. Sponsors' needs are discussed and course conditions are considered and the entire time there is an undercurrent undercur-rent of controlled excitement and fear that hums in the room. These are people working on the edge, with a duty none of them takes lightly. For a few days this week, they are responsible for showing the world a good time . For the proper gestation period of just around nine months, the Ski Area has worked on details of bringing "America's Opening," the first time the World Cup circuit cir-cuit has begun in North America, here to Park City. This will be the third actual World Cup race the area has hosted, so on the one hand you would expect them to be olox ros at it, maybe even a bit blase. But never in the 20 year history of the World Cup have the races ever opened in North America. It is ski history in the making. The assembled team know the full value of making this World Cup the best here yet. There is more than $700,000 that has been invested in the week long celebration. celebra-tion. The organizing committee, 36 members strong, has been seeing to the minutia most will never see or know to insure a world class event takes place. Across the long table there are verbal volleys about transportation and signs and language interpreters. Editorial The idea of the week is tossed out and the nodding heads bounce in agreement. Hot off the press, the four color posters are pass.ed around the table amid ohhs and ahhs. Jackets and sweaters, uniforms really for the World Cup week, a re discussed and final colors and designs decided upon. This week we will all see the results of their efforts of several months. Jack's Castle will serve as the spectators spec-tators entrance and the final award stand. Progranns and posters and banners will be in bright profusion. Television crews will have the cable in place to beam tl le results of the race around the world. The skiers will race on a course largely prepared not by nature but by a dedicated crew of "Snow Gods" who work in the cold and the dark of the night to produce fluif-fy fluif-fy white stuff sprayed out of guns. They've shifted now into overdrive, a crisis a day, real or imagined, is the norm and they know they simpily must go with it. Ride it out. Be unflappable. We see just a fraction of the long hours and hard work and hundreds of auxilary people nessecary to make thi s event a success. But we do know this this week the men and women wearing the robin's egg blue ski jackets with the official emblem of the Organizing Commmittee deserve to be saluted. So for Molly and Tasha and Joe and Phil and Eddie and Bob and Robbie and Jack and Jill and Craig and Karen and all the rest. This one's for you. Thanks for all your hard work and for taking the enormous enor-mous gamble to create the most spectacular ski event ever to come to Utah. We wouldn't miss this party, well, for the world. quiz: IS THIS ANOTHER AMERICAN HOSTAGE..,. OR JUST A CATHOLIC THE0L06IAN f Thumbs up, Thumbs down 3 THUMBS UP to Max Vierig and the Park City Rotary Club for voting to eliminate the word RotaryAnn from their vocabularies. THUMBS DOWN to Mother Nature for not rolling out the White Carpet for everybody involved with the World Cup. THUMBS UP to city engineer Eric DeHaan for making the changes in the timing of the new traffic light in town. It now works a lot better and the staff of The Park Record is now much more law abiding. TELL YOU WUWj ( MAK.E IT A TUfcKEY WE'LL BAR B-Qy A AW WE'LL Not quite ready to watch by HOLLY FLANDERS To be honest, I will be just a little wistful when the "America's Opening" World Cup circus pulls into Park City. Having just jumped off the "White Circus," as they call it, I will watch races I was recently a part of from the other side of the fence. It will, no doubt, feel really strange to see all the competitors, coaches and technicians techni-cians going about their duties in that special world I dropped out of. Lucky for myself though, the races will Ibe giant slalom and slalom events, because if they were having a downhill here I would be going nuts ! ,: I'm not quite ready to watch a World Cup downhill yet. A t least not until I've been off the treadmill for a little longer and I don't feel so close to it. ' I will admit I'm looking forward to seeing my old pals &t ;ain. I formed many good friendships with racers and coaches from all the countries. It's so easy to lose contact con-tact with people that you've come to know and like, but I don't want that to happen. I'll be especially happy to see my teammates and give them support, try to inspire the m. I know exactly what they're going through. ' It is a great thing for the U.S. Ski Team girls to have the World Cup open in Park City. They are all jazzed up about it. Getting to race in your home country is a real treat1.. Sure, the pressure is greater when you're on center stage at home, but it's wonderful to know that everybody is cheering for you. The momentum can sweep you along to a better performance. Even the small details like eating familiar food and knowing the language can make a difference in your whole outlook. And Park City is one of the favorite stops on the circuit because of the great job they do putting on races, making sure everyone has a good time. I'm hoping that this race will set a good tone for the girls to do well the remainder of the season. It's interesting being on the other side of the fence. There i s so much that goes into organizing a World Cup that I w as never aware of before! The details are never As I See it ending. Television cables, fences, bleachers, taking care and providing hospitality for the racers, coaches, officials, of-ficials, press, sponsors.. .making sure the hill is in good shape. There's fun details to attend to like the big "America's Opening" neon sign. With the Ski Ball, the Women All-Stars of Skiing, and two World Cup races, it's like a three-ring circus. It requires re-quires a concerted effort on the part of all. It can be nerve-wracking. You never see that when you're racing. Having the opening World Cup race in the United States will do a lot for the sport of skiing in America. The interest in the World Cup is extremely high at the beginning begin-ning of the season. It's the time to see who's hot this year and who's not. Events like this can increase national awareness and enthusiasm for ski racing and consequently, conse-quently, skiing in general. The first time as a non-participant and as a spectator of the World Cup will certainly be an interesting experience ex-perience for me. I'm sure that I'll have moments when I'll miss competing, but the things that I have been doing since I retired last spring have been interesting and I've learned a lot. I wouldn't be tempted to go back. But I'm glad to still be a part of skiing in a different capacity. I will be working my vocal cords like I've never done before when my teammates come down that hill ! Holly Flanders was a member of the United States Women's Alpine Team from 1977 until 1986. She retired last year and is now the Director of Skiing for the Park City Ski Area. "As I See It" is the guest column of the The Park Record. It is a forum open to anyone who wishes share an opinion or feeling. We only ask you keep your thoughts to two-and-half typed pages and include nothing scandalous or libelous. rFcnn tfUne IEcBCBODirdl What are you thankful for? (Asked to second graders.) i it n i i. - i i i Vjv., (V.; -... ,.iVN- I '. if tn " t Mzi' ' i I - i . I if I JiV. , 1 "B a. ? j -v j Kit Ia mmk Uaij ;w fh , ,i fy p 'i KiHUfM W-! ill '..-i ' 'V t4 ( pm:i j si-fe3 nmiwwM umllj Angela Hutton Richard Lloyd I'm thankful for turkey, I'm thankful for freedom the pilgrims and my mom and for my mom and dad. and dad. And I'm thankful for being alive. Heidi Skaggs I'm thankful because things are nice. Nat Sherman I'm thankful for my mom and dad. But I'm also thankful for -the pilgrims because they lived a long, long time ago and they were very poor. I'm thankful I'm not poor. torbett Sather I'm thankful for turkey, my mom and dad and my brothers and sisters. Jamie Davis Remembering about the Indians made me thankful. I'm thankful for turkey and for my mom and dad. |