EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the eighth in a series of weekly stories leading up to the May 25 Ski to Sea race that will give a behind-the scenes look into the largest annual community sporting event in Whatcom County. Each story will be written by a member of the Ski to Sea Race Committee.

Over the years, the number of different divisions in the Ski to Sea Race has expanded to 14 today. We have tried to have a logical place for any team regardless of ability or gender.

The competitive divisions are for all teams from anywhere in the world, so they usually contain the fastest teams.

Men make up most of the competitors in the Ski to Sea race, so the open division was created for all men’s teams with up to three women allowed on a team.

While many local racers are competitive in these divisions we also see Olympic and nationally known racers coming to town for this race.

In 2007 we had 85 open teams, 13 women’s teams and 17 mixed teams. In most years we see the overall race winners come from the open division.

The Whatcom County Divisions are for racers who live in Whatcom County. Many of our local racers are among the best nationally so the top Whatcom County teams usually finish in the top five of all teams in the race.

In 2007 we had 41 open Whatcom County teams and seven Whatcom County women’s teams. This year we are adding a mixed Whatcom County division so mixed local teams can compete for the new Brennan Cup.

The recreational divisions are for open, women’s and mixed teams and is where many of the newer teams start their competition. These divisions are open to racers regardless of their ability or where they live.

The recreational teams usually compete for the enjoyment of working together as a team or just for the fun of it. In 2007 we had 127 open teams, 7 women’s teams and 54 mixed teams.

Other divisions include the high school division which is open to high school students. In 2007 we had only eight teams and this division was won by an Oregon team. This year, we want Whatcom County teams to compete to win this division back.

The family division, one of our newer divisions, had 10 teams in 2007, and is open to related family members.

The masters division is for racers 40 years old and older regardless of gender and had six teams in 2007.

The veterans division is for racers 50 years old and older regardless of gender and had eight teams in 2007.

Finally the corporate division is for racers employed by the same company or civic group and we had 39 corporate teams in 2007.

If you need another team member or want to get on a team but do not know who may be looking, visit the community forum on our skitosea.com Web site to let others know of your needs. This new tool was created so racers could communicate and share ideas about the race.

Also, get your team registered early because once the limit of 400 teams is reached, you may go on a waiting list and not get into the race.

To find more details of each division, please visit our Web site at www.SkitoSea.com.