The official name of this organization is the Lafayette College Competitive Skiing and Snowboarding Club, but everybody knows us as “Ski Team”.

We are a racing and freestyle team that perfectly balances competition and fun. We race on skis and snowboards, and we also compete in freestyle events, like rail jam and Slopestyle.

You can choose to either compete in alpine or freestyle (but we all hang out together) and if you aren’t sure what you’d rather do, you can register for both!

The Conference

We compete in the Atlantic Highlands conference of the USCSA (United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association).

These are the others schools in the Atlantic Highlands Conference:

Fairfield University Columbia University Le Salle University Stevens Institute of Technology University of Pennsylvania                                            United States Military Academy (West Point)

Princeton University Lehigh University Rutgers University Drexel University

Race Weekends

The regular season starts in mid-January and lasts about 5 – 6 weeks. The races are on Saturday and Sunday and most are in the Catskills or Poconos. For the Alpine events, typically we have one day of Slalom and one of GS, although this can vary. The snowboarders only race on GS days. Freestyle events are typically held on both of the days. We will update the Schedule page with the upcoming season’s races in the mid/late fall semester.

For away races we drive to the mountain on Friday after class and stay in either hotels or condos. The cars leave at different times in the afternoon, depending on everyone’s class times, and every car usually stops for dinner along the way. On Saturday nights, we all gather in one room or condo for pizza, and we spend both nights hanging out with the team! We head back to Lafayette on Sunday afternoon after the race.

Awards are presented at the end of the last regular season race.

The top five teams in the conference qualify for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Competition. From there, the top four teams and the top three individuals qualify for nationals. Lafayette has been represented at regionals for the past 12 years, and at least part of the team has appeared at Nationals for at least the past 8 years in a row. Last year both our men’s and women’s alpine team qualified for nationals, as well as our women’s freestyle team, and eighteen of us headed off to Mammoth Mountain, California!

Practices

During the fall, we try to have one or two meet ups. Usually this includes soccer or ice cream. These are a fun way to spend time and meet the team!

We currently working on getting some training time on the hill at Blue Mountain during the season. Blue is about 40 minutes from campus, and where we have some regular season races!

Annual Training Trip

Every year, the ski team takes a week long trip to a mountain in Vermont. This is the teams favorite part of the year where we all get to hangout and meet the new members. We spend one full day and two half days training for alpine and two half days freestyle. The rest of the time we have to free-ski!

Each night we have a dinner provided by different ski team member’s family (chicken parm, chili, etc.) and we spend the night hanging out. Whether you are coming from home or a race, we organize rides to make sure that everyone who wants to come can get there. The cost of the trip changes every year and the final cost will be determined for the training trip meeting that takes place in the fall.

Ability

Everyone should be somewhat comfortable on the slopes, but there is a wide range of ability on the team. Some are very good, some are decent, and some fall down a lot. You don’t need any previous race experience. While we have a number of race veterans, we also have many people that have never raced before and the same goes for freestyle.

Equipment

Everyone needs a pair of skis or a snowboard. If you don’t have either, some of our old members have equipment to sell, and team members can recommend great places to find deals.

You don’t necessarily need race equipment, but if you are planning to race, you do need a FIS certified helmet. For the first race or so, you may be able to borrow someone’s helmet or use the team’s backup helmet, but don’t count on it for the season. As far as other race equipment (shin/pole guards, chin bar), it is not necessary and it is up to you whether or not you want to get it. If you need help finding affordable equipment, let one of the board members know and we can help!

How to Join

We always have a table at the activities fair during the first week of class so come find us! Shortly after, we’ll have a meeting where you can learn about all the fun stuff we do and the plan for the season.

But we welcome new members all year long! Just send us an e-mail (see the Contact page).

Member Obligations

Your commitment level to the ski team is completely up to you. You can attend/not-attend whatever practices and races that you what. But, it’s a fun team, so most members attend the majority of events, and we encourage as much participation as possible. But we’re all students too, so ski team won’t get in the way of course work or even other clubs.

Financial Obligations

The school (student government) is generous to our club, and provides the team with a budget to cover the costs of race fees (meaning you don’t have to pay anything to race), training fees, and some other housing/traveling costs.

Unfortunately, skiing/snowboarding is still an expensive sport. We do our best to reduce costs where possible, but here is what you can expect:

Every member is required to pay their USCSA registration fee ($22.50). In addition, we ask everyone that attends each weekend race to pay “weekend dues” (usually $30) to help cover the cost of housing, food, and gas. You must also pay for your lift ticket for the practices at Blue Mountain. If you are a driver for the team, as long as you keep receipts, you will get reimbursed for gas.

You might also spend money on ski team clothing, the winter training trip, and on ski/racing equipment.