2024 Wy'East Cup - the Masters Summer Race Lives On
Upon hearing that Meri Stratton was retiring the Summer Fun Nationals race after 35 years at Mt. Hood, the Scroggins brothers, Jesse, Willy and Lloyd, of Willy Camp were determined to keep the summer race tradition alive! Willy Camp partnered with the Pacific Northwest Ski Education Foundation (PNWSEF) and Timberline to create the Wy'East Cup! All proceeds from the event benefit PNWSEF that is the non-profit fundraising arm for the Pacific Northwest Division. PNWSEF provides funding and supports athletes, coaches, officials and clubs across Northern Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.
The inaugural Wy'East Cup was held June 21-23, 2024. In keeping with tradition, it was a family affair with social gatherings every day! The event included GS and SL masters races and family fun races with age class, superseed, overall fastest, and family team awards.
Spirits were high at Friday's Welcome Party with many familiar faces and volunteers eager to make the inaugural event a success. After a delay sorting out logistics with the race liability waivers (always sign those pesky online waivers several days in advance), 75 racers picked up their bibs, got the latest details, and caught up with fellow racers.
Saturday's GS offered perfect weather and race conditions. With the valiant efforts of the many volunteers, the timing challenges were abundant yet surmountable. The competition was excellent with almost all age classes represented and with the superseed separated only by 3-3.5 seconds per run. When planning a summer race event on a slope above treeline with no start/finish structures, hard-wired timing, or electricity there can be challenges beyond what may be encountered at the average race. Not to be thwarted by hiccups with computers and equipment interfacing, the timing crew relied on the tried and true tapes to ensure all racers received accurate times for the awards. Racers gathered for drinks and the peruse the silent auction items before the banquet and awards. After awards the racers were treated to live music from Roger That PDX. Roger's kids all ski raced in the Pacific Northwest Division and Class 3 racer Matt Edlen is in the band. The music and dancing were a fantastic way to end the day.
Sunday's SL race brought the sun again but more wind this time. With little ability to adjust overnight, timing met a similar fate on Sunday making for a slow pace. Not to be deterred, the racers were geared up for a great day of competition. The weekend was capped off with a final awards party to present the SL awards as well as the overall fastest man, woman, and family awards for the weekend.
Huge thanks to Willy Camp, PNWSEF, Timberline, the volunteers, the sponsors, and of course all the racers for coming out to make this event possible!
We are excited to announce that the Wy’East Cup will continue next summer! The crew is excitedly working out the kinks to make the 2025 event even bigger and better. Mark your calendars for June 20-22, 2025 and we'll see you there!
