Programs

SWAT Club Team
Recreational-level racing in a Southeastern Wisconsin club league. Six races a season, all within driving distance.
On snow
3 days a week
Races held in
Southeastern Wisconsin
Competes in
Midwest Alpine Racing (MWAR)
USSS Team
Regional racing under U.S. Ski & Snowboard, in Central Division Region 2. Four sessions a week, and travel across three states.
On snow
4 days a week
Races held in
Wisconsin, Upper Michigan and Illinois
Competes in
U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Central Division Region 2
FIS Team
International-rules racing for U19 athletes, in the Mid-America series. Trains with the USSS team, four sessions a week.
On snow
4 days a week
Races held in
Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin
Competes in
FIS, Mid-America (MidAm) series, Central Division

Requirements for all programs

Fees paid and all forms completed and signed before an athlete takes part.
Skiing ability beyond the intermediate stage, with proficient parallel turns.
First-year athletes with no racing experience attend every December session, three a week rather than the usual two, from the first weekend of the month through to the end of it.
A parent or guardian on the property for the whole session, for every athlete under 16, at Alpine Valley and at every hill hosting a race. Children are not dropped off.

Age classes

By your athlete's age on 31 December of the season year.

U87 & under
U108 & 9
U1210 & 11
U1412 & 13
U1614 & 15
U1816 & 17

What every program covers

Every fee covers

Dryland trainingSunday sessions from September at the Mukwonago High School track.
On-the-snow trainingAll scheduled training sessions at Alpine Valley Resort.
Coaching on race dayCoaches travel to and work the scheduled competitions.
Course inspection and instruction before every run
Start assistance and course reports
Ski inspection before every run
Run evaluation after each race
Video analysisWhen time and conditions allow.
Goal setting, conditioning and season planning sessions
A team patchSew-on, for a jacket, backpack or boot bag.
Small-group coachingSix to eight athletes per coach in U8, U10 and U12; eight to eleven in U14 through U18. This varies with coach availability.

No fee covers

An Alpine Valley Resort season passRequired. Obtained from Alpine Valley directly; forms and payment go to the resort, not to SWAT.
Lift tickets at away racesRequired. Purchased at each host hill on race day.
Travel, lodging and foodFamilies arrange and pay for their own, getting to practice and to every race.
Thanksgiving and Christmas campsWhen they are scheduled.
Coaching at championship eventsRegional and Rocky/Central championship races carry an additional fee, billed before the event begins.
Coaching at races outside the scheduled league seasonAdditional fees may apply.

SWAT Club Team

The Club Team is for athletes just starting to race and for those with several seasons of slalom or giant slalom behind them, with SWAT or another team. Ages 7 to 18, U8 to U18. High school students race here too.

The team races in a recreational league of clubs from around Southeastern Wisconsin, at their home hills. The season is six races, starting the first weekend in January: four fall on a Saturday and two on a Sunday. It is a real competition, but the stated goal of the league is an enjoyable club experience for racers and families alongside the best racing and development we can give them.

What training looks like

Athletes are on snow three days a week: a weekday evening and both weekend days, roughly 140 hours of training and racing across the season. From January one of those weekend days is a league race rather than a training session. New athletes attend every session in December, from the first weekend of the month through to the end of it. That is when gate training starts, and it is what January is built on.

Training is built on SkillsQuest drills from the Alpine Training System, age-appropriate throughout: drills on pressure, edging, rotary and balance, slalom and giant slalom gates, long-term athletic development, goal setting, equipment preparation and mental training, with Freelap wireless timing. Plus, as the coaches put it, practice.

U14 to U18

Athletes in these groups still work on fundamental skiing, but the emphasis shifts toward racing technique. They train slalom and giant slalom, progress through technical drills and training courses, and work to structured goals with conditioning and season planning. Video analysis when time allows.

U10 and below

Coaches refine the skiing first: the basic fundamentals that everything else rests on. Athletes train giant slalom and meet slalom on stubby gates, the short flexible poles set for younger racers. The atmosphere is deliberately a fun one while the technique develops.

Racing

Every competitor takes two runs per race. The competitions offer challenging, but safe competition.

Across the six-race season the format is three slalom, one panel slalom and two giant slalom. It is set each year and can change, so treat this as the shape of a season rather than a fixture list.

What parents are signing up for

Parent participation is not optional, and it is more than race day: every family volunteers, and the season's volunteer program is published each fall. No athlete under 16 may be left without a parent or guardian on the premises, at Alpine Valley or at any hill hosting a race. No exceptions. Parents handle all travel to practices and races, work one away race as a gate judge, and fill a working position at our home race at Alpine Valley.

Program fees cover

Race entry feesThe entry fee paid to the competition organizer for each scheduled league race.

Where the league races

Ausblick Race TeamAusblick Ski Area · private hillSussex, WI
Heiliger Huegel Race TeamHoly Hill · private hillHubertus, WI
Lakers Race TeamLittle SwitzerlandSlinger, WI
Parks Race TeamSunburst Ski AreaKewaskum, WI
SWATeam RacingAlpine Valley ResortEast Troy, WIOur home race

USSS Team

USSS racing is open to non-scored athletes under 14 and scored athletes over 14, so this is not a program with an age floor. What decides it is racing experience and your athlete's coach. Athletes race in Central Division Region 2, against athletes from across Wisconsin, Upper Michigan and Illinois, at competitions held on Saturdays and Sundays through the season. Some are three-day events.

Choosing this program is also how an athlete gets the extra training night. The Thursday evening session, occasionally moved to a Wednesday, is for USSS and FIS athletes only.

Training

Four sessions a week: Saturday and Sunday mornings, Tuesday evening and Thursday evening. Whether a session runs slalom or giant slalom gates is the coaches' call on the day, decided by the snow and the state of the runs. Athletes take roughly 250 hours of training and racing across the season.

SWAT's coaches travel to and work four USSS Region 2 competitions, chosen by the coaches. Our fees do not cover the U14 or U16 Qualifier, or any Rocky/Central Championship event; those are billed separately and due before the event.

Through the season athletes in each USSS age group race in Region 2, where they have the chance to qualify for championship events at Divisional and National level.

What this program asks

Confirm attendance, yes or no, for every scheduled event, every athlete and every time
Help take the courses down after evening sessions
Hold a current U.S. Ski & Snowboard competitor license before racing

Is your athlete ready?

Four honest tests:

They are consistently placing in the top five of their age class at league races, against the whole field, not just their own teammates.
They are outgrowing the level they are racing at and want to go further.
You are prepared for the additional USSS and Central Division fees, and for the travel.
Talk to their coach. This is the one that matters most.

Licensing

Every racer in this program needs their own USSS competitor license, bought before they compete at my.usskiandsnowboard.org. Late fees start on 15 October, so it is worth doing early. Registration, fees and forms go directly to U.S. Ski & Snowboard; SWAT does not file them on your behalf, and Region II division dues are separate.

More about Region 2 racing is at region2cussa.sportngin.com.

Program fees do not cover

USSS U14 and U16 Qualifier eventsBilled separately and due before the event begins.

FIS Team

Athletes aged 16, 17 and 18 become U19 competitors, eligible to race under International Ski Federation rules, where results carry an international points score. FIS points and the rules behind them are published on the FIS website.

Ski length rules for FIS are very specific. Plan equipment needs well before the season starts, not in December.

Racing

SWAT's FIS racers compete in the Mid-America (MidAm) series, against FIS racers from the Central Division and others whose points qualify them to be invited.

Usually four race events make up the series, each typically a three-day event, at venues including Nub's Nob, Boyne Mountain, Spirit, Lutsen and Mt La Crosse, across Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin
The MidAm races are the qualifying competitions for the National U19 Junior Championship
The season ends with the MidAm Championships, four days of racing at Lutsen in northern Minnesota

Racers register and pay a fee for each race event.

Training

FIS athletes train with the USSS team on the same four sessions a week: Saturday and Sunday mornings, Tuesday evening and Thursday evening. Times can vary, and gate training happens when the snow allows.