Join SWAT

We are looking for proficient parallel skiers who ski three to five times a week and are ready to be coached toward slalom and giant slalom competition.

If your child is still skiing in a wedge, this is not the right program for them yet. A local ski school is. We would rather say so now than after an evaluation.

If your child skis every run at the hill in control and has started asking to race, you are the family we are looking for. The evaluation works out which group they fit and whether they are ready; if they are not ready yet, we will tell you that and tell you what would change it. What we are here to do is develop well-rounded skills and prepare athletes for the technical and physical demands of ski racing, in a safe and enjoyable recreational ski team environment, and to encourage a love for the sport of skiing beyond their racing career.

What happens when you get in touch

You send us the form below.
We reply with a short questionnaire about your athlete's skiing experience and current schedule.
We arrange an on-snow skills evaluation with one of our coaches, at Alpine Valley.
The evaluation tells us which group your athlete fits, and whether they are ready.

Athletes with current or recent race-team experience are given priority for evaluation, so note their team on the form.

Your athlete needs their own equipment for the evaluation. Renting for the season is fine; renting from Alpine Valley for the evaluation alone is not. Ski racing needs high-end skis and bindings, not rental skis.

Your athlete also needs a lift ticket for the evaluation itself, or a current Alpine Valley Resort season pass.

Before you apply, check all of these

They can ski every run at Alpine Valley in control, including advanced terrain
They turn with their skis parallel, not in a wedge
They can load, ride and exit every chairlift without an adult
They can stop at any point on a run, and get down every run making christy or parallel turns, not running straight
They can skate on their skis, using their poles to get from lift to lift, and they know how to use their poles
They are willing to do the skiing drills that lead up to gate training
They can stay warm on a 0°F day
They can carry and rack their own skis, get their own boots on and off, and step in and out of their bindings unaided, including partway down a run
They can ski with their coach for two and a half to three hours
They can say when they are cold, hurt, hungry or need a bathroom
They are comfortable away from a parent for a session
Ski racing will be their only winter sport
Your family has no December travel planned in their first season

Athletes aged 7 to 9 need a skiing parent with them at practice and at races. That parent needs a lift ticket or an Alpine Valley season pass.

Every athlete under 16 needs a parent or guardian on the property for the whole session, at Alpine Valley and at every hill hosting a race. No exceptions, and no drop-offs.

What the club asks of families

Every family volunteers. Training days, competitions and club events run on parent help, and it is a requirement of membership rather than a favour. The season's volunteer program, with a sign-up, is published each fall. On the Club Team that also means working one away race as a gate judge and filling a position at our home race at Alpine Valley.

What a season costs

The program fee is set each season and comes to you with the evaluation invitation, so you will have it before you commit to anything.

On top of the fee, plan for:

An Alpine Valley Resort season pass for your athlete, bought from the resort directly.
A lift ticket at each away race, bought at the host hill on the day. Five of our six league races are away.
Your athlete's own helmet, goggles, boots, skis, bindings and poles. Season rental of skis and boots is fine.
Travel to practices and races. Parents handle all of it.
A lift ticket or season pass for the accompanying parent of an athlete aged 7 to 9.

Fees for USSS licensing, Region II dues, holiday camps and championship events are separate again, and only apply if your athlete goes that way.

Questions parents ask

About the club

What is SWAT?

SWATeam Racing is a junior alpine ski racing club at Alpine Valley Resort in East Troy, Wisconsin. We train athletes aged 7 to 18 for slalom and giant slalom competition, at both recreational league and USSS regional level. Southeastern Wisconsin Alpine Team Racing, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

How is this different from ski school?

We are not a learn-to-ski program. Our coaches take skiers who are already past the intermediate stage and develop them into competitive racers. If your child is still making wedge turns, a ski school is the right next step and we would rather tell you that now.

In ski racing, “winning or losing is tenths or even hundredths of a second, which is the differences in a few degrees of rotation, a degree or two of edge angle and when the ski is pressured along its length. These are all very small and sometimes imperceptible amounts. SkillsQuest drills allow the skier to learn to make these minute adjustments unconsciously.” SkillsQuest Evaluator Manual

Is my athlete ready?

What does “proficient skier” actually mean?

A proficient skier skis three to five times a week or more, keeps their skis parallel through the turn, uses their poles, and stays balanced on every kind of terrain and snow the hill offers. A novice skier gets out once a week or less, turns and stops in a wedge, and can struggle to control speed on steeper or harder snow.

Your athlete needs to be able to ski every run at Alpine Valley in control, including the advanced terrain.

Is my child self-sufficient enough?

They need to manage their own equipment: carry skis and poles, rack them, get boots on and off, and step in and out of their bindings unassisted, including partway down a run if a ski releases. They need to load, ride and exit every chairlift without an adult, skate on their skis using their poles to get from lift to lift, know how to use their poles, stop at any point on a run, and get down every run making christy or parallel turns rather than running straight. They need to be willing to do the skiing drills that lead up to gate training, and to stay warm on a 0°F day. They need to ski with their coach for two and a half to three hours, say when they are cold, hurt, hungry or need a bathroom, and be comfortable away from a parent for that time.

Athletes aged 7 to 9 must have a skiing parent with them at practice and at races. Coaches are not available to ride chairlifts with individual athletes on race day, and the lifts at the away hills seat only two or three.

How old does my child need to be?

Seven. In our experience athletes tend to find their feet in the program from about eight, so a seven-year-old needs to be a strong, confident skier and will need a skiing parent on the hill.

How much of a commitment is this?

Athletes are on snow three days a week from December through February: a weekday evening and both weekend days. From January one of those weekend days is a league race rather than a training session. In a first season they attend every December session, not just some of them, from the first weekend of the month through to the end of it. That is when the gate training happens that the competition season is built on, so please do not schedule family travel in December in your athlete's first season.

Ski racing needs to be the only winter sport your athlete is doing. If basketball, soccer or volleyball clashes with our schedule, they will have to choose.

Joining

How do I enroll my child?

Read the requirements above first, then send us the contact form. We will reply with a short questionnaire about your athlete's skiing and arrange an on-snow skills evaluation with one of our coaches.

Every request goes through that evaluation. It is how we work out which group an athlete fits, and whether they are ready.

Why is there a waitlist?

We coach in small groups, and we have a fixed amount of hill space. Group sizes are on the Programs page. Both cap the roster. Places open as athletes move between groups or leave for college, so the waitlist moves, but it moves by age group, not in a single line.

Athletes with recent race-team experience are given priority for evaluation. Note your athlete's current or recent team on the contact form.

Racing

Are competitions mandatory?

Training athletes to race is the whole point of the program, so yes. First-year athletes are strongly encouraged to compete, and we expect everyone to race. If there is a reason your athlete cannot, raise it with the office before enrolling. An occasional missed race for injury or a family obligation is understood; email the office so we know.

Does my child need a USSS license?

Not for the recreational league. SWAT is a club member of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, and athletes who choose to race at USSS level need their own license: a youth license below U14, a competitor license for scored races at U14 and above. Older athletes racing internationally also need an FIS license.

Licenses are bought at my.usskiandsnowboard.org, and late fees start on 15 October, so it is worth doing early. Payments go to USSS directly; SWAT does not file them for you. Region II division dues are separate.

Equipment

Does my child need a helmet and goggles?

USSS rules require a hard-ear helmet for every competitor and forerunner in USSS events and official training, and SWATeam Racing follows USSS rules. A helmet is mandatory, for practice and for racing, with no exceptions. It must be a full hard shell that covers the ears, made for the discipline being raced, bearing a DC mark and conforming to a recognized standard: CEH.Din1077, ASTM F2040, SNELL S98 or RS98. Chin guards for slalom are permitted.

Not acceptable: bicycle helmets, freeride helmets, anything with a spoiler or protruding parts, and any helmet with soft material over or around the ears. A helmet is mandatory for free skiing during a session as well.

Bring two pairs of goggles if you can, tinted for sun and clear for night training, and buy them with the helmet on, so they fit inside the face frame.

Selecting an appropriate helmet is the sole responsibility of the competitor and their parent or guardian. Neither USSS nor SWATeam Racing specifies, recommends or warrants any particular design or brand, and neither undertakes any responsibility, liability or duty to any competitor in connection with the requirement that helmets be worn.

Will coaches check my child's equipment?

No, and coaches will not adjust bindings, for liability reasons. Have the equipment checked by a certified ski shop technician, and ask them to explain how your child's bindings are set. If you bought new boots this season, make sure they actually fit the bindings on the skis.

Coaches are very happy to advise on equipment choices and settings. Ask them, and do the shop visit as well.