At 85, Nixon is still leaving competition behind

Matt Metcalf, Sports Editor
Posted 3/31/15

Most competitive skiers start out in the sport at a young age, but Bill Nixon’s path was a bit different.

Nixon, of Warwick, started skiing at the age of 30 and, after getting better and better …

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At 85, Nixon is still leaving competition behind

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Most competitive skiers start out in the sport at a young age, but Bill Nixon’s path was a bit different.

Nixon, of Warwick, started skiing at the age of 30 and, after getting better and better at it, he began racing competitively at 50 years of age in the Giant Slalom event of the National Standard Race, NASTAR – the world’s largest ski and snowboard race program. NASTAR was developed in 1968 by Ski Magazine with a partnership with the United States ski team.

Now at 85, Nixon has won over 300 gold medals in his 30-plus years of racing and, recently, he secured the top time and lowest average handicap for the 85-90-year-old age group in the country – making Nixon national champion.

It’s certainly an impressive feat, as there are 115 mountains that are involved with NASTAR.

After a skier races, his or her time is put on the NASTAR website, where rankings are posted, allowing skiers to compare their time to those of others.

At the top of the Giant Slalom 85-90 Gold Division is Nixon with an average handicap of 38.18. Skiers must race in three races on separate days to qualify for the average.

Nixon has been a Nationals qualifier for seven-straight years and has qualified for 11 years total.

Top-ranked individuals for their respective medal group qualify for the NASTAR National Championships.

According to Nixon, he missed winning the gold medal at Nationals in 2010 in Winter Park, Colo., by four-tenths of a second because of a situation with his skis.

“I bought a new pair of skis that I thought would be better,” Nixon said. “It was a little longer ski and I thought it would be faster. I found I could ski on it, but I couldn’t race on it. I got out there and had to get a pair of skis at a demo tent that were similar to mine. But I had to put them on and go up the mountain and race, so I didn’t get a chance to try those out.”

Now five years later, Nixon has a sense of humor about the mishap in 2010.

“I figured it was a good excuse if I didn’t get first place,” Nixon said jokingly.

To Nixon, skiing is a sport that a person of any age can do, and there are many others just like him who ski whenever the opportunity arises.

“It’s a sport that you can do for a lifetime,” Nixon said. “There are a lot of guys I know and ski with that ski over 100 days a year. Like a lot of guys like to play golf – they play everyday. There’s quite a bit of competition because some of them raced in college and on different teams.”

Nixon has skied well over 100 days himself, as he and his wife, Madeline, have a chalet in Bartlett, N.H. that they travel to frequently. Up in Bartlett, Nixon was able to purchase a lifetime pass to nearby Attitash Mountain.

However, because Attitash no longer offers NASTAR, Nixon now races at Bretton Woods, which offers a $25 season pass to individuals over 80 years of age.

Throughout his racing career, Nixon has endured his fair share of injuries – breaking his ribs, nose and knee and dislocating his thumb, as well as suffering a concussion. But through it all, Nixon continued to compete in the sport that he’s grown to love over the years, even if it may leave a couple of scars.

“It’s fun – I never think of the injuries,” Nixon said.

With more than 300 gold medals, one may think that it would be hard to keep track of them all, but Nixon keeps every medal in the same place.

“I have them all in a box – they all have the name of the mountain on them,” Nixon said.

Nixon is hoping that, by the time he hangs up his skis, he’ll have a few more medals to fill that box.

But he was clear that he had no plans of stopping anytime soon.

“I’m planning on racing as long as I can,” Nixon said.

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