Think you'd like SKI RACING?

Parents, do you have a son or daughter who has outgrown or progressed through regular ski lessons?

The GUNSTOCK SKI CLUB has the program for you! Located at Gunstock in the heart of New Hampshire's Lakes Region, the GUNSTOCK SKI CLUB offers children and young adults ages 6-18 the opportunity to compete in an organized Alpine training and ski racing program.

Originally chartered in 1918. the GUNSTOCK SKI CLUB is the oldest organized ski club in New Hampshire. It is a parent managed, non-profit program designed to offer young skiers on-slope training promoting individual, as well as team competition. Racing is organized within the guidelines of the New Hampshire Alpine Racing Association (NHARA). Our coaching staff, among the best in New Hampshire, works to develop not only good racers, but good skiers with strong values. Traning takes place from early December through early March each weekend and daily during school vacation. Skiers are grouped by ability and age, so skills can be learned and polished. Every effort is made to help skiers realize that training is hard work, but can be fun too!

The club participates in the Buddy Werner and NH Alpine Racing Association (NHARA) racing programs for racers through fourteen years old, as well as Junior 1 and 2 series for racers 15 years and older. Throughout the season, our racers participate in many events in New Hampshire and New England, including the Buddy Werner Championships, the Junior Olympics, the Technica Cup and Macomber Cup Series, and High School racing. High school aged racers may go on to participate in the Eastern High School Championships.

The clubhouse, located at the base of Gunstock's Cannonball race course, is open every day that there is training. It is used extensively by family members of the Club, as well as our guests on race day. Built by volunteer club help, it provides meeting and socializing areas for racers and families, storage for equipment, equipment maintenance, and ski tuning facilities. Skiers are able to eat lunch in the clubhouse and spend as much time as possible on the mountain skiing. With the advent of night skiing at Gunstock, skiing time is extended on weekends and on some week nights. Extensive use of video training techniques are included in all levels of training to provide every opportunity for improvement.

The basics of the Gunstock Ski Club are as follows.
the age classes are J6 level(ages 6&7) J5 level (ages 8,9 & 10) and J4 (ages 11 & 12)
J2 (ages 15 & 16) and J1 (ages 17 & 18)
Training fees are listed in the membership packet. You must also purchase a pass at Gunstock and a join USSA and NHARA as a member to race.
We also require all families to purchase a family membership for $85. This covers use of the clubhouse and all its facilities. Outdoor lockers for ski equipment are available for rental.

We hold training sessions every Saturday and Sunday-(unless the kids are racing) generally with a 9-11:30 morning session, a break for lunch and 12:30-2:30 afternoon session. This varies some but that is the basic training schedule for that age group. In addition we have training every day during the Christmas/ New Year's week and during both the Mass & NH vacation weeks. We also have evening gate training a few nights a week.

A list of races held at Gunstock are on our website /%3CA%20href='http://www.gunstockskiclub.org. We support other Open Races dependent upon the race and athlete interest. Age level coaches will tell you about these.

Our private clubhouse for member families has a number of microwaves, and basic kitchen facilities, a video room for training purposes, wax room for tuning etc. We do require a pretty heavy commitment from our families. All families are required to work 8 race day commitments (plan on a full day's commitment). Some families have found it helps if they double up so that both parents work the same days and it doesn’t seem so daunting. We have a variety of different jobs and provide on-the-job training. You will note that a few of our race work days are required - we need everyone to work these days! Some races we run two courses simultaneously on two separate trails. We REALLY need everyone those days. We also require that all families work a shift during our Ski Sale either Friday or Saturday, the first weekend of November. This is our main fundraiser. It allows us to keep our training fees low and the quality of our racing experience high. Watch the website for exact scheduling.

We will be having our first gathering , our "Fit Day," in early September at our clubhouse at Gunstock Mountain Resort. We will be having a BBQ, brief general meeting and a meeting with the coaches for the individual groups. In addition ski reps will be there with all the new equipment and coaches will be available to help with proper sizing etc. Watch the website and members e-mail for time and date.

We have great coaches who make it fun for the kids and are definitely in a position to provide your kids with the race skills they need be competitive. We also have a great group of families and the kids and parents have a good time.

Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions you might have. Ruth McLaughlin, GSC President mclaugh@metrocast.net