SKI TO SEA: Joining the team a dream job

The intensity and quality of these events, the number of racers and size of the crowds and the venues they’re hosted in span the full spectrum of participant experience. Having seen and taken part in such an array of different races, I can say that Ski to Sea ranks in the top one percent.

Ski to Sea has world-class athletes and passionate weekend warriors, with more than 3,000 racers in all. It covers every type of challenging and spectacular terrain, all of it worthy of postcards and coffee table books. It’s graced with thousands of excited spectators and supporters lining the course, and it’s got a long history cementing its place as a truly legendary event.

My job, then, is to make sure the final experience of the day of racing lives up to that legendary status.

We started last year by adding or revamping several sets of awards, including the Whatcom Cup perpetual trophies to increase the recognition of our local heroes and the Top Gun category to acknowledge the fastest male and female athletes in each leg of the race. These additions were met with universal support from the racing community.

We were also given the challenge of delivering all 642 plaques, medals and cups in less than one hour to avoid the curse of most awards ceremonies — having it become boring — and we met that goal with a few minutes to spare.

That high-energy presentation and the positive feedback we received afterward inspired us to go even further.

The entire scene at Marine Park — including the kayak-to-run transition and finish line, results boards, vendor booths, and an ever-increasing infusion of racers and spectators — simply put is the highest-energy gathering of the entire day. The notion of capping it off with an “awards ceremony” just didn’t fit, so we’ve replaced the overall concept with the all-new “Awards Celebration.”

We’re going to kick it off with local vocalist Danielle Delisle performing the National Anthem.

We’ve got music mixologist Ryan Paul splicing together a 14-song soundtrack to lace through the stage arrival of every division’s teams. DJ Drew Graham will spin the music and co-emcee with us.

We’ve got piles of exciting shwag from more than two dozen different local sponsors to share with the crowd between award presentations. And we’re still dedicated to keeping the whole party moving steadily forward and wrap it up around that one-hour mark.

The true soul of the celebration, though, will come from the teams, their crews and the spectators who show up not only to be recognized themselves, but to pay tribute to each other and the nearly 1,000 race volunteers.

The world’s best races — and in my opinion Ski to Sea definitely qualifies as one of them — recognize that every part of the experience, from registration through the race itself and to the tail end of the awards celebration, plays a role in achieving legendary event status.

For more information on the race or to register, please go to skitosea.com.

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