Park City & Deer Valley

The After-School Ski Program offers Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding, Nordic Jumping & Cross Country Skiing

Every Friday afternoon after school, close to 500 elementary students in the Park City School District gear up and head to the hills. As part of the Get Out and Play Ski Program, the children go to one of four venues: Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons, the Utah Olympic Park or White Pine Touring Center.

The district-wide, after-school ski program run by the parent-teacher organizations began about 30 years ago with students skiing at Park City Mountain Resort once a week, according to program coordinator Kerry Morgan. As popularity grew, the program added snowboarding and extended to Canyons. Attendance was split between the two resorts.

In 2008, the Youth WinterSports Alliance approached the district with a proposal to further expand how the students could take advantage of winter sports through the season.

"They wanted to offer students more options to the program because there is more you can do getting out there on the snow," Morgan said. The new partnership added cross-country skiing at the White Pine Touring Center and Nordic jumping, freestyle and freeride skiing at the Utah Olympic Park to the mix.

Until last year, the program was entirely coordinated by parent-volunteers. To further streamline the growing program, YWSA created Morgan's position to oversee coordination efforts, contracts, registration and to handle finances, allowing parents to focus their efforts on creating a positive experience for the students.

Parents arrive at the elementary schools at about 12:15pm, shortly before the end of the day. They help students get ready, load them into the appropriate buses by about 12:45pm and accompany them as they travel to the venues, arriving at about 1:15pm. For safety and organization, every child has an arm band with his or her name, school, phone number and the name of their instructor. After the lessons, students pile into the buses and return to their schools to meet their parents.

"This program would not run without all of the amazing parents who show up on Friday afternoons," Morgan said.

Students choose what sport they want to take part in when they register, Morgan said. The two resorts alternate which schools they host each year. This year, students at Trailside and Parley's Park Elementary schools are at Park City Mountain Resort, while those at McPolin and Jeremy Ranch go to Canyons. Students at any school can choose cross-country skiing or Nordic jumping.

Lesson times vary depending on the sport. The shortest lesson is a 90-minute cross-country skiing class at the touring center. "If you've ever cross-country skied, that's more than enough," Morgan said. Nordic-jumping classes last for two hours.

Students at Canyons and Park City resorts ski with instructors for two-and-a-half hours. Classes are split into age-group and skill level and the resorts ensure that no classes have more than about six or eight students.

Two sessions run through January and February. The first is a five-week session from January 7th, 2011 through February 4th, 2011. Between 450 and 500 students participate in sports at all four venues. The second, four-week course runs from Feb. 11 through March 11 and is limited to about 150 students at the Olympic Park and touring center because the resorts face an influx of business and can no longer accommodate the program, according to Morgan.

Interested students register in October and early November. If there are open spots in session two, registration reopens for a brief period during January until every spot is filled. Registration for session two recently closed.

The program cost varies depending on the sports and the length of the session. Those who ski or snowboard at one of the resorts can expect to pay $185, which includes lift tickets but not equipment rentals. For participants with a season pass, the price drops to $160. The resorts offer 10 scholarships for each of the four elementary schools. Scholarships cover lift tickets, lessons and rentals.

The first session at White Pine Touring is $140. The second session is $115. Rental equipment is included in the touring center program fee. Participants at the Utah Olympic Park pay $180 for the first session and $150 for the second.

The Youth WinterSports Alliance offers five additional scholarships for any of the four venues for either session. Members of the alliance also hold drives to collect equipment, from jackets and mittens to helmets and goggles, for students who want to participate but don't have everything they need.

"We will, through parent and community donations, provide whatever they need for this program," Morgan said. "The whole goal of this program is to make it as affordable as we possibly can to reach these kids who otherwise might not have this opportunity."

For more information, visit the program website at www.getoutandplay.ywsa.org.

by Douglas Greenwood OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

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