Using Your Ski Trails as a Health Club

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Using Your Ski Trails as a “Health Club on Snow” J. D. Downing, American XC Skiers National Director

Premise • XC Ski Areas are an exercise facility. • Traditionally Ski Areas have left the choice of “activities” to the skier outside of lessons, clinic programs, and occasional events. The presumption being veteran skiers will “just go skiing”. • Existing adult programs are heavily weighted towards just technique or just racing without offering a basic fitness option. • Adults lacking a social outlet, group motivation, or goal-orientation can easily be lost opportunities. Days skiing decrease, sales drop, etc. . • Ski Areas can generate new revenue streams and build market-share with well-designed ski programs that sell a health/fitness message. • Ski Areas can build affinity and consistency to their area and to the sport by providing specific programs geared around health/fitness as well as specific ideas for individual “workouts”.

Typical Adult Programs • Uneven coaching/instruction and leadership. Depends on the motivation of organizing entity (i. e. are adults the focus or “just raising money”). How much input does the Ski Area have? • Often split along the lines of purely technique rather than a holistic goalsetting and long-term health/fitness modality. Can easily lose people after they feel competent with technique. • Ski areas enjoy season-pass revenue, but often have little to no control or benefit past the basic trail pass. Little integration with ski school, food/beverage, retail, PR, facility use, etc. .

A Better Way 1. ) Determine missing needs your Ski Area can provide. Know your strengths/weaknesses as well as your objectives. Logistics for very area will be different. -- Weekday vs. Weekend. . . In-house or contracted. . . etc. . 2. ) Where you have an existing ski education organization running programs, sit down and coordinate clear delineation between Ski Area ski school and outside group. Clarify roles and “ownership”. 3. ) Programs Ideas i. Fitness & Technique oriented over season ii. Goal-oriented (“X” Ski Marathon prep group) iii. Intensive Time Period Technique/Fitness (Camps, clinics)

• Proven Demographic Groups -- Women (fantastic growth opportunities, strong social element) -- Baby Boomers (different speeds on-snow, but together afterwards) -- Event Participants (marathon running examples) -- “Master Blasters” (often the workout is the main goal for many) • -- Don’t forget about “lost” skiers that don’t easily fit categories. Find out what these skiers are missing and provide it!

Individual “Health Club” Ideas • No matter what you do, you’ll miss the needs of some skiers with schedules, goals, etc. . • Ski Areas can still provide motivation to these skiers by encouraging personal health/fitness as well as information streams on a regional/national level.

1. ) Develop a weekly workout or a series of workout ideas and post on a bulletin board in a common area. Integrate your trails and specific features (i. e. “Screamer” uphill). 2. ) Develop a simple macro plan for the winter season with basic do’s/don’ts oriented around using skiing for health/fitness. Post in a semi-permanent wall-hanging in a common area. Weight room examples. 3. ) Create a simple “par course” of ski exercise stations along 1 -2 ski trails. Example: -- Station #1: Double pole or V-2 repeats -- Station #2: skate leg only or diagonal with 0 -1 pole repeats -- Station #3: Figure 8 or slalom agility drills

4. ) Actively direct skiers towards Ski Area and outside programs oriented towards health/fitness and goal events. Don’t assume skiers will automatically find these things! 5. ) Actively direct skiers towards regional and national organizations and resources that can provide information and access regardless of schedules, locations, goals, etc. . -- Regional Groups: CXC, NENSA, Far West, TUNA, strong local clubs. -- National Groups/Resources: American XC Skiers (xcskiworld. com) Media: Cross Country Skier, Ski. Trax, Master Skier, fasterskier. com

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