Alpine runs every weekend for the entire winter. Participants will learn racing techniques and increase their skills by skiing the entire mountain. The racers will travel to away races as well as participate in the BC Winter Games race held here in Terrace. The ski club provides some financial assistance to enable all to travel. Racers recieve a Shames Mountain Ski Club uniform and are able to ride the ski club van to and from the hill (when it is not away at competitions).

STARTS: when the skill hill opens

COST: $390 (+$30 BC Alpine parent registration)

QUESTIONS: contact head coach; Andrew Rushton 250 641 9462

Click here to register.

You might be eligible for the Children's Fitness Tax Credit. Click here for more information.

The Alpine Program is for children 11 and older. The goal of this program is for our participants to become competent all round skiers and racers. The Alpine Program enhances the skill level of the participants by proving a quality program which will encourage maximum participation and future progression. Skiers will be taught proper ski and race technique through drills, gate skiing, games and free skiing.

We are looking forward to a great year of training, racing and having tons of fun! Here are a few things you need to know about the club…..

1. The program runs Saturdays and Sundays starting in December when there is sufficient snow for training. Our coach is Andrew Rushton. Andrew is a certified Canadian Ski Alliance coach with many years of coaching experience.

2. The club has a 16 seat van; Alpiners can get transportation to and from the hill, for a fee of $5 per day or $120 for the entire season.  Meet at McDonald’s at 8:20 Saturday and Sunday mornings, the van will arrive back at McDonalds around 16:30. There will be the odd occasion when the van will not be available, you will notified of these days.

3. Your child will be supplied with a team jacket (outer shell with detachable fleece liner), warm-up pants and a speed suit. We will need a cheque post-dated for May 2010, for $200.00 before the uniform will be handed out. This cheque will be returned to you when the uniform is returned in April 2010. Participants are not required to wear their uniform when training (although it is encouraged!), they must wear their uniforms while traveling with the team to races. Uniforms are not to be worn when not involved with skiing.

4. Your child will be assigned a locker in the clubhouse where she/he can store their equipment. The clubhouse is locked when not in use. The kids who choose to lock their locker will have to supply their own lock and remove it at the end of the year.

5. The club will be participating in three races: Prince George (January 22-23, April 2-4,  2010), and Shames (March 5 - 7, 2010) for the BC Winter Games. Most children look forward to participating in races, however for various reasons some children choose not to (this is not a problem!). There will be additional costs when traveling to races. The club subsidizes a small proportion of the costs. Costs per race are variable and will be collected prior to leaving for the race. At least two parent chaperones are required to travel with the racers and some of the costs will be covered by the club. The BC Winter Games, only K1 are eligible (age 11-12) are held here March 5 - 7, The K2 Provincials (age 13-14) are held at Big White, March 6 - 9 and North Zone Team Champs at Prince George April 2 - 4, 2010.

6. While children are in the program there will be no out of bounds skiing. Most afternoons participants in the Alpine Program will be allowed to “free ski”, (ie. ski without supervision of the coach). It is each parent’s discretion whether or not they allow their child to ski “out of bounds”. Out of bounds skiing is not encouraged by the club. The club will take no responsibility for lost or hurt children.

7. Racing gear is not required, your child can use their regular ski equipment. However as your child progresses they might consider obtaining “racing gear”. The ski swap in November is a good place to get used race skis, All Season’s (the Source for Sports) will give Alpine Ski Club participants discounted rates (you must ask!). However the best way to obtain gear is from old racers. Contact the Alpine Chair if you would like more information regarding equipment and don't forget about the ski swap.

8. Of course helmets must be worn at all times. Club Members must have hard sided helmets. Click Here. The use of crash helmets is manadatory for all events. The National Ski Associations are advised to provide their teams only with crash helmets which satisfy the minimum requirements for the respective event and which have been certified by recognised institutes. Helmets with spoilers or edges that stick out are not permitted. Certain helmets must show a smooth top surface for safety reasons. Helmets used in FIS Snowsports shall be specifically designed and manufactured for the respective discipline and shall bear a CE mark and conform to recognized and appropriate standards such as CEE 1077 or US 2040, ASTM F2040, SNELL S98 or RS 98, etc. Soft ear protections are only allowed for SL events.

9. The Ski Club makes $500-$1500 from the sale of BC Alpine lottery tickets (grand prize is a SUV!). Each family is expected to sell at least two books of tickets.

10. The Shames Mountain Ski club has a formal behavior code and all participants are expected to behave in an appropriate manner while representing the club. As the oldest kids on the program the Alpine participants are often looked up to by the younger children, they should present themselves as positive role models by being respectful and courteous to other children, coaches, and parents. All participants will read, sign and live by the tenants of the Skier Agreement Form.

11. Contact information:

Head Coach Shames Mountain Ski Club; ANDREW RUSHTON Phone:250 635-7204 kalumriverlodge@xplornet.ca

Alpine Chairperson: JAMIE HAHN phone:250 635 0942 jamie.hahn@gov.bc.ca

MISSION STATEMENT: To bring to our communities, fun, challenge and opportunities for personal excellence through participation and competition in Alpine Ski Racing.

The goal and objective of the K and J Alpine Racing Program is to give young skiers an opportunity to develop their racing skills and progress inaccordance with their abilities. The Alpine Program has an emphasis on providing sound coaching so that these young racers receive a strong technical foundation from which to progress to higher levels. An aim of this program is also to introduce the skiers to sanctioned racing competitions. The Alpine Program enhances the skill level of the participants by providing quality programs which encourage maximum participation and future progression.

Information quoted from BC Alpine's Green Book.

Training to Train (11 - 14) As children grow and develop, they enter the Train the Train phase, which includes the Alpine ski racing levels of K1 and K2, while the range of development may vary in the Train to Train phase, focus of the athlete attention here is on learning overall sports specific skills, fun and games. While the growth and development of the athlete must be carefully monitored during this phase, strength and endurance training are introduced more formally in addition to maintaining the development of the A.B.C.'s. The athletes continue to develop their basic technical skills and shoulder be skiing all events. The athletes will be adapting and refining their skills they have learned in the FUN-damentals phase while patterning and perceiving new skills.

Training to Compete (15 - 18) The training to compete phase (J1 - J2) focuses on sport specific development and conditioning programs and full individualization. Fully integrated sport science, sport medicine and sport specific technical and tactical programs are now introduced, along with regular monitoring of the adaptation and performance patterns. On show the athletes continue to focus on all events and race preparation. During this phase athlete may focus on high performance programming by being selected to the Provincial of Canadian Alpine Junior Teams, or they may continue with the club or region and focus on their education and academic ski scholarships.

Training to Win (19 & Up)The final phase (Senior Elite) the athletes are now professionals. Their focus is high performance sport. Peaking for major competitions and the maintenance or refining of established physical, technical, tactical and mental skills is the objective. Optimum regeneration programs and frequent rest periods take place in order to prevent burn out. While on snow the athletes will have identified specific events on which to concentrate, in this final phase universities or the Canadian Alpine Ski Team delivers these Senior Elite programs.