We have every expectation that our beloved ski hill, Red Mountain Resort, will open as expected this winter. With that in mind, Red Mountain Racers has been making plans to facilitate a great NGSL season and we would like to share these tentative plans with you. Included in this post is information on three things: 1. NGSL Plan within the framework of COVID-19 Protocols 2. Early Registration Opportunity 3. Announcement of Red Mountain Racers Annual General Meeting First off, we thank you for trusting our program to introduce your young skier to alpine racing with an eye to progressing these athletes as competent and fun-loving skiers. This tradition will continue. Rest assured – it will be exciting! We all are looking forward to a safe and healthy ski season. On behalf of the Red Mountain Racer executive, thank you again for your patience and support! Sincerely, Linda Schulze _______________________________________________________________ Several things, as a result of COVID-19 protocols as directed by the British Columbia Government, ViaSport, and BC Alpine, will be changing. This is not an exhaustive list and could change as we move through this pandemic and closer to the ski season: Learning groups will need to be smaller (6 per group including coach for a ratio of 5:1)No groups larger than 50This is a current restriction and could change – this affects our access to the Lodge and at this point, we are planning that NGSL scheduling will not require use of the Lodge (either Base Lodge or Paradise)No sharing of equipmentMinimal help with donning and doffing equipment Last SeasonThis season – Option 1This season – Option 210:00 – 15:00 Saturdays 9:00 – 11:45 (Saturday and Sunday)12:15 – 15:00 (Saturday and Sunday)½ hour lunch in the lodge between 11:00 and 12:00 (depending on the group and planned by the coach)No lunchtime – parent or responsible adult will pick up athlete at the dropoff point at the baseNo lunchtime – parent or responsible adult will pick up athlete at the dropoff point at the base When registration opens, you will have an opportunity to choose either the morning session for the season or the afternoon session for the season. This configuration will allow us to spread out the groups and lower the coach:athlete ratio. We will still be providing the same great leadership and technical development we always have. In fact, we think this may be a better structure for our athletes: Still provides ample weekend time for skiing independently or with parentsStill provides time for athletes to participate in other sportsShorter, but more, days on snow is better for our younger participantsAvoiding the masses in the day lodge during its busiest time _______________________________________________________________ In addition to the changes outlined above, registration for 2020/21 is open. As we laid out last year, our rates have not been keeping pace with the rising cost of running the program. We raised rates last year to start addressing this, and our 3 year plan was to continue to raise rates at a slow pace so that we can keep in line with the rise in minimum wage while still being able to keep the NGSL affordable and accessible. This year, to help with planning, we have decided to open registration early and offer a rate freeze for anyone who registers their athlete prior to the end of September. Starting in October, we will be adjusting our rates to our pre-pandemic plan. NGSL will be offered either as Option 1 or Option 2 and, once either option is full, it will be closed to additional registrants. This means that if Option 1 has a greater initial draw and fills up quicker, it will be closed and later registrants will only have the choice of Option 2. Also, as a result of the 5:1 ratio, we are likely going to have to cap registration for the Nancy Greene Ski League. At this point we are not limiting registration, but we strongly advise you to register early in case we have to cap numbers. _______________________________________________________________ Red Mountain Racers Society AGM 26 September 2020 Time and Location to be Determined Finally, I would like to invite everyone to our AGM Saturday 26 September 2020. At this point, we are not sure how we will hold the meeting, but it will be a great opportunity to get more information with how the Red Mountain Racers and the Nancy Greene Ski League will handle ski race training in this new normal as well as how BC Alpine and our zone is preparing for the upcoming winter season. Please consider joining our board of directors – it is a great way to learn the inner workings of the club and have some say as to how we do things! |
