Dave Bartle: Honoured Lifetime Official

 

From a passion for timing, a leader who has shared his knowledge and friendship for a quarter century

It’s hard to believe that our Honoured Official described his first timing assignment as a “disaster”.

“I think it was the 93/94 season that I volunteered to help in Timing” recalled Dave. “Now I got to sit in the heated hut, what a privilege! We rented equipment and for whatever reason we could not get the equipment to work. It was a disaster! The whole weekend required hand times, the results came very late, and I didn’t get home until about 10:30PM that evening.”

To avoid future problems, Dave Bartle volunteered to source solutions, which led him to the late Dick Beare (2016 Honoured Official), who “seemed to know lots about computers and offered to write a software program to help us with the timing. Dick and Dave formed DB Timing, starting a 25 year relationship with their well-known dTris and Measures timing and results software and live timing program.

Like so many in our sport, we can thank our children for igniting the flame. “It was my daughter, Rachael, who started us ski racing. Our neighbours were involved with Skimeisters, encouraged us to join the club” said Dave. “When the call came for volunteers to help at the races I volunteered and was given the position of Gate Judge. After a few more races I progressed to the position of Starter and was talking to the Timers over headsets.”

No one notices when the timing system works. To ensure timing systems function smoothly involves setup, training, knowledge of the rules and skill with timing systems and software. Dave has generously contributed his time and knowledge to train new volunteers and be available at all hours to answer questions. And while timing remains the central passion for Dave, he became a National Technical Delegate in 2004, has also served as a leader of officials training in western Canada.

 “Dave’s role in timing means he is not usually visible or in the spotlight,” says Mark Bowman (2018 Honoured Volunteer). “Dave has continued to provide World Cup Standard Timing to all levels of Races in Alberta and BC. He has gone above and beyond to assist timers at various clubs to ensure their timing crews provide quality races and results.  He has been a great mentor to timers from several clubs over the past few decades, educating them on both computer training and equipment set-up. He has been generous to maintain critical infrastructure equipment such as the reels of cable that several hills need to run races and will always find a spare timing eye or scoreboard for a ROC that needs it.”

The list of events and sports that have benefited from the skill and dedication of our Honoured Official has become quite lengthy. He has worked in alpine, ski-cross, equestrian, speed skiing, telemark, snowboarding and across the spectrum of the athlete pathway from U12 to Nor-Am to Canadian Championships to World Cup events. If your daughter or son have been in a ski race, Dave Bartle has made sure the timing is ready and accurate. His expertise even extended to timing Canadian engineering universities concrete toboggan races.

 “I think the key influence has been Dick Beare” said Dave. “He was a great teacher, mentor, partner in crime, and friend who lived and breathed ski race timing. Sadly, Dick passed away almost 3 years ago.” Others that Dave includes who have been key volunteer partners are Mark Bowman and Don Boyce, “both of whose friendship, mentorship and support have been critical to my success.”

 “Although I am now in my 25th year of timing races, I still really enjoy what I do and always look forward to the next season. It’s given me lots of pleasure, met lots of interesting people, made lifelong friends. I have always loved the outdoors and being in the mountains. Living in western Canada and being involved in ski racing seem a natural fit for me. Similarly, my skills as a Civil Engineer and Project Manager are a great fit for Ski Race Timing and vice-versa.”

 “A sense of belonging to a Community is really important to people” says Dave. “This ski racing community has been mine. It invited me to participate, taught and supported my voluntary role, provided challenge and enjoyment, and great friends.”

The Canadian Rockies Ski Racing Hall of Fame and Alberta Alpine are pleased to recognize Dave Bartle, our 2019 Honoured Official, whose passion for excellence and leadership as a teacher, mentor and friend has ensured our events across Canada are run smoothly and seamlessly, giving our clubs and race organizers the essential tools to run great events for our athletes.

The 2019 Class will be inducted at the Highest Peak Gala, hosted at the Markin-McPhail Centre at WinSport in Calgary on Wednesday, October 30th. This event was first held in 1968, to support ski racing excellence in Alberta and western Canada. The Canadian Rockies Ski Racing Hall of Fame event is a legacy event with the goal to support future champions in the province, with all proceeds invested into Alberta Ski Racing programs.