July 07, 2015 (Canmore, AB) – Ski-at-School is a CCC program, sponsored by AltaGas, which aims to bring cross-country skiing to schools across Canada. The Ski-at-School program will knit together communities of teachers, students, and local ski clubs, Cross Country Canada, AltaGas, coaches, equipment suppliers and volunteers to support this initiative and make it into a success.

The main driver behind the Ski-at-School program is to allow students to experience the sport of cross-country skiing, because it is a life sport. Cross-country skiing can be enjoyed at many levels of skill and it involves all major muscle groups, balance, endurance and strength. Cross-country skiing builds self-esteem, confidence as well as health and well-being, and cross- country skiing can be done in a group or individually.

The main objectives of the Ski-at-School program are:

1. Encourage schools to include cross-country skiing as part of their physical education curriculum, thereby introducing larger numbers of children to the sport.

2. Link schools with local cross-country ski clubs to provide a continuum for the introduction and development of cross-country skiing and related skills.

3. Include all children in this program. Children with physical/intellectual impairments can also enjoy cross-country skiing with specialized equipment and support.

4. Promote the active-for-life principle, and fuel interest in cross-country skiing as a life sport.

5. Focus on FUN! This is what kids will remember; it is enjoyable to learn a new skill, especially with classmates and friends.

6. Provide children with the skills, equipment and coaching needed to learn and participate in the sport.

7. Provide guidelines for instructional standardization of the Ski-at-School program by means of the CCC Ski-at-School Guidebook, which will serve as a key program resource with sample plans and expected learner outcomes.

Getting started with a Ski-at-School program:

Ski-at-School program may be delivered during regular class hours or after school, onsite or nearby, with the support of a local ski club, or as a stand-alone program.

To assist CCC registered clubs and/or schools with starting up and delivering such programs, CCC and AltaGas will provide grants to the most promising projects submitted. Individual grants may reach up to $7500 per program, but cannot represent more than 50% of the program’s budget. Guidelines for delivering a successful Ski-at-School program and examples of age appropriate lesson plans and progression are available to all Ski-at-School programs.

CCC-AltaGas grants may be used for purchasing equipment, transportation of children to a cross country ski facility, grooming on the school premises, coaching or any other relevant operating expenses.

To apply for a Ski-at-School grant, please fill out this application and send it to skiatschool@cccski.com by September 30th, 2015.

Further information on getting started with Ski-at-School:

Equipment

Listed below are CCC partners in the Ski at School program who you may contact for subsidized prices on equipment purchases.

Rossignol representative:
Jacques Vincent
Directeur Division & Ventes Nordique
Nordic sales & division Director
Jacques.vincent@rossignol.com

Fisher/Swix representative:
Michel Marcoux
Directeur Équipes de courses Alpine & Ski de fond / Director Racing Teams Alpine & XC
Lanctôt Ltée, 5290 Boul. Thimens, Saint-Laurent, H4R, 2B2 Canada
Tél. (514) 731-6841 #336, Cellulaire (514) 346-1812 Fax (514) 342-4059
mmarcoux@rlanctot.com
www.rlanctot.com

Salomon representative:
Phil Villeneuve
phil.newtown@gmail.com
1-403-678-0367

Canadian Wintersports Inc.:
Peter Rozmovits
peter@canadianwintersports.com
(514) 588-1924

Family bursaries: these organizations have financial assistance programs in place to aid with registration fees and equipment rental.

Jumpstart contact here.

Kidsport contact here.

Grants for clubs by province/territory: please see PTCR (Provincial Territorial Coaching Representative) here.

CCC Permission forms and waivers here.

The Informed Consent and Assumption of Risk Agreement here.

Instructors:
Contact your CCC Division office here.
Contact your local CCC member ski club here.

Transportation: Please contact your local school division

Support for establishing a Ski-st School program:

If you currently do not have a local ski club and are interested in starting one, please refer to a great example of Sport Manitoba:

The Sport Manitoba template here.

Also, the CCC Programmers Guidebook provides an outline of the workings of the CCC Skill Development Programs here.

Examples of successful programs in different regions of the country.

Calgary, Alberta: Foothills Nordic Ski Club is running the Alta Gas Ski-at-school program:

CALGARY, AB (Jan. 16, 2013) – Winter is now in full swing in Calgary and the crew of the Foothills Nordic Ski Club is back running the AltaGas Ski-at-school program for the 4th consecutive year. This is an introduction program to cross country skiing.

“It is just a great sight to see the very youngest ones try out a new sport in a very playful way. The kids are being introduced to the sport by professional coaches through playing games, learning how to fall and how the equipment works. Not only provides the AltaGas Ski-at-school program an introduction to cross country skiing but also to an active lifestyle. The smiling faces just tell the whole storyŠthey are loving this!”

For more visit here.