Are you competitive?

[ski diva]

Seems like I hear alot about how men skiers are far more competitive than women. What do you think?

For the most part, I don't think I am. Yet I truly enjoy out-skiing someone who talks bigger than he skis (i know, this is evil. But can you blame me?). And I'm competitive with myself, too, always trying to ski better than I've skied in the past.

 

[tcarey]

I have to say I am extremely competetive.Not sure why. Maybe it just gets you to work harder to achieve a goal.

 

[ISki]

Last season I heard a lot of chatter about measurable results. How many runs, how much vertical feet, how fast in MPH, etc. Stats, stats, stats.

Stats bore me. I just want good exciting skiing. So competitive, yes, with myself. Against the numbers and others, no.

 

[Snowbird]

I'm generally not competitive -- except with one friend, in particular. It's because she brags all the time about how great she skis, and I really don't think she's any better than me. I just hate to hear her go on and on, so I feel pretty competitive with her.

Other than that, no.

 

[Marigee]

No - I am not competitive with others. I just want to ski better for myself, and enjoy being on the mountain. I must say however, that I mostly ski with my 3 boys, so it might be motherly instince that keeps me from being competitive!

 

[cnewbound]

i have read this thread a couple of times and tried to re-word my thoughts numerous times... I am totally competitive- I think it comes from a racing history. As much as I would luv to throw in the towel sometimes-- i dont think its in my nature.

Crystel.

 

[SnowHot]

I have stories gallore! But, that's a different topic.:D
I don't usually surpass the guys in our ski circle, but I'm right with them, and I don't think I could be if I weren't just a teensy weensy bit competitive.

 

[liquidfeet]

Yes, I'm competitive, and proud of it. But selectively. There are people I compete with (privately, in my mind). These are mostly women who race in my league. There are people I overtly and publicly compete with in my race league, who are my friends, and we set goals (my goal is to keep you from beating me next year, your goal is to beat me, or whatever).

There are men I'd like to keep up with during free skiing, one day, and I keep this private but it's probably no secret because I ski with them when I can and try to keep up with them; and women too. I am always asking them how they do it. I want to be able to do what they do. Is that competition? Or commaraderie?

Then there are people I don't compete with. Usually I don't ski with them. They are slower and more shy on the slopes, and don't go where I go.

Wow. That's a realization. So I guess I'm really competitive.
Is this a problem? I just want to be REAL GOOD at skiing. I ski alone a lot, doing drills and working on my form, so maybe that somehow explains some of it.

Maybe competitiveness is OK.
What do people think? Is competitiveness bad, or OK, or good?

 

[ski diva]

I think a certain measure of competition is good. If there was no competition, I think there'd be little incentive to improve. In your case, it seems to help you ski better. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Where competition gets bad, I think, is when it gets cut throat -- when you put yourself and your goals ahead of anyone else, no matter what the cost. For example, if someone got hurt on a race course and you were glad because it made you win. I think that's a good example of competition gone bad.

Anyone else?

 

[ski diva]

This is an oldie. Anyone care to add to it?

 

[SnowHot]

This is an oldie. Anyone care to add to it?

Sheesh, what made you bring this up?

BTW, I want a re-match!!!
In Fact, I DEMAND a re-match!!!!

 

[altagirl]

I'm very competitive, but I've gotten it under control I think, to where I don't do stupid things (stuff that's way over my head, or continue skiing 'til the end of the day when I'm tired) just to prove I can keep up. That's taken a lot of injuries to get myself to do.

It's funny though, because my husband swears I'm the competitive one in our group of friends. The thing is - the guys are worse than me, they just pretend they're not being competitive. But if we're out riding and someone is on my husband's wheel - he'll keep speeding up until he kills himself. And then he'll claim that he was just "taking it easy". The thing is - we all know better. But somehow he thinks this effort at sandbagging makes him non-competitve. I'm just the only one that admits that when I was trying to drop someone I was giving it all I had, while they'll be gasping for air claiming that they were only going that slow so the rest of us wouldn't feel bad.

My friend Rob and I? We're openly competitive, and I think it makes things that much more fun. I know full well that his goal each season (summer or winter) is to be faster and better than me. And we each have our own strengths and weaknesses, but it's fun to have someone to push yourself with. We both get better at whatever sport in the process.

 

[Native Vail Gal]

For the most part, I don't think I am. Yet I truly enjoy out-skiing someone who talks bigger than he skis (i know, this is evil. But can you blame me?). And I'm competitive with myself, too, always trying to ski better than I've skied in the past.

I can SO relate! That's me!

 

[ski diva]

Sheesh, what made you bring this up?

BTW, I want a re-match!!!
In Fact, I DEMAND a re-match!!!!

I may quit while I'm ahead.* :D

(Not really.)

*To end the mystery, SnowHot and I recently played a pretty intense game of internet scrabble. She mopped the floor with me once, but I managed to redeem myself quite nicely, thank you, in a rematch.

 

[Ski Spirit]

I don't think I'm competitive about skiing. I want to keep progressing and I'd like to be able to ski the kind of runs my husband does.
I can be very competitive though. When I used to play tennis, I could go into "kill" mode at the net. I remember having a coach tell me to back off at one point. But I can honestly say I was never trying to hurt anyone. I got hit at one point in the eye so hard it knocked the glass out of frame (lucky I was wearing glasses). At higher levels of mixed doubles, the guys deliberately go after the woman partner and she has to be able to stand up to it.
I have to say I prefer not to be in that type of competitive mode; it's more relaxing.

 

[Kimmyt]

I am totally, and completely, competitive. You might not know it if you met me, because I'm kind of laid back. But oh man.

The Boy once told me that I was the most competitive person he'd ever met. Which shocked me, because I always thought competitive people were the ones winning races and stuff, and I didn't race or win anything.

But I've come to the realization that I'm a really competitive person. When I do anything. Skiing, I'm always secretly trying to outski my friends that are at similar levels, or at least keep up to those better than me. I don't think I go to the extremity of endangering myself, and I rarely become 'I can do better' than someone who is clearly my superior. I've told certain friends that I like to ski with them, though, because they can keep up, but barely, and that is a nice feeling once in awhile.

I get tired of being the bad one, so it's nice to be competitive with myself and others, without getting nasty about it.

There are certain people I'm way more competitive with than others, but recently I've come to embrace being a competitive person, and that despite what I may have been lead to believe as a young woman in the past, competition is not a four-letter word.

K.

 

[Pequenita]

In a word: YES.

Alas.

 

[sibhusky]

It depends on whether someone needs "taking down a peg" and whether I like them or not and whether I CAN take them down.

 

[Greeley]

Originally Posted by Ski Diva

For the most part, I don't think I am. Yet I truly enjoy out-skiing someone who talks bigger than he skis (i know, this is evil. But can you blame me?). And I'm competitive with myself, too, always trying to ski better than I've skied in the past.

I can SO relate! That's me!

Me too! We have a couple of guys come with us occasionally that thanks they are really 'hot'. I just have to prove to them that they aren't so fast after all (they are just dangerous).

 

[IntheClouds]

I agree with everyone's comments so I won't multi quote. I spent many years (& $$$) competing in the A circuit horse shows,mostly the objective jumper classes vs the more subjectively judged classes. But I've done both. The definition of competitive really is pretty subjective & has a lot of varied meanings to each of us.

But SkiDiva's question reminds me of the time I was at the back gate awaiting my turn in the Jumper ring. I'd made a comment to my trainer(former olympian) about someone's time I was going to have to beat. He turned to a Grand prix jumper friend of mine & posed the question "What is it you are really competing against?". Her answer,"I'm competing against the course." I gleaned alot from that.
The course (or slope & conditions) is the challenge to be met. How well I met it with my skills & performance determined where I came out in the standings against everyone else's skill & performance. So I've come to the conclusion that everyone who greets life or anything else with the thought of being skilled or getting better at whatever they are doing, is competitive. There are an awful lot of people out there in a survival mode & I would say those are the one's that are NOT competitive. I think when I'm doing something & I'm in survival mode, I am not competitive, but I am learning(I hope).