Welcome to the Bear Valley Race Team!
This guide has been developed to assist our Race Team athletes and their families in learning about recreational alpine ski racing programs at Bear Valley and the Far West Division of US SKI & SNOWBOARD. The goal of this guide is to make sure all our team participants understand how the programs work and are prepared to make the experience fun and rewarding.
Like all youth sports, ski racers tend to start young. As they progress, the competition, training and equipment will tend to add intensity to the sport. We must remind ourselves that our young athletes race to have fun and develop their skiing skill for the life long experience and probably will not be the next Bode Miller or Julia Mancuso. That said, there may be a few of our young racers that have the ability and drive to make it to the highest level and they should be afforded every opportunity to realize the goal. Bear Valley Mountain Resort and Bear Valley SnowSports Foundation strive to support the needs of all our athletes in this regard.
This Orientation Guide pulls information from a variety of sources to bring together information regarding various perspectives of ski racing. It is intended to cover our program from entry level racers, who may be as young as 6 or 7 to 14 year olds. From ages 15 and older, ski racing becomes much more competitive and our athletes who compete at that level will be well aware of how to navigate the ski racing landscape. For those who are interested in how this advanced level works, the Far West and USSS Competition Manuals provide a great deal of information.
This Guide will include sections that address the U16/U (13/14 year olds) separately. The U16 and older levels have different rules for competition that will affect our athletes.
Lastly, and most importantly, if you have questions on any aspect of the program, competitions, equipment or other related topic, PLEASE ask the Coaches…they are there to help out in whatever way they can.
