STARLIGHT CHALLENGE

The Starlight Challenge is an annual night-skiing event that is held every Friday evening during the month of February.

Hosted by a tiny local ski resort, it attracts many skiers/snowboarders from the area.
Although it is a race, the main focus is on the social aspect of the gathering.
One need not ski or snowboard well nor be a racer. The only prerequisites are to have a good sense of humour and a solid knowledge of how to have fun!

The challenge consists of several teams of four, with at least one member being of the opposite sex.
Each member of the team has two runs down a dual slalom course.
The fun of a dual slalom is that the racers are running the course beside another competitor at the same time. Each course is timed separately, so it really is not a race against the other skier, but it helps contribute to the competitiveness of the event.

Times are recorded, but the fastest time is not necessarily the winner.
The differential between each racer's two recorded times is the ticket.
So, if you have a slow first go, make the second go just as slow...
In other words, if your first time is 30 seconds, do your best to make your next run as close to that as possible.
The only trick is, the competitors are not privy to any of the times until the end of the evening.

This is where the social aspect comes into play.
After everyone has had their two chances on the course, there is a wait until all the times and differentials have been tallied.
That means we all meet in the lodge for a pint...
Prizes are given within all the categories and most go home happy.

That does not mean we win every time, but how can one not go home satisfied after an evening of fresh air, competition and fun?