Are you looking to join the SSWSC as a volunteer coach, full time coach, or a community volunteer? Each season, we bring on new volunteers and open new paid positions, so please check the Careers page, or sign up for event volunteering in the volunteer portal!
New the Club as an Athlete or Member
Welcome to the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC) and Ski Town, USA! We hope that you and your family choose to be a part of the SSWSC. As members you can be proud of carrying on a tradition and heritage which dates back more than 100 years. If you’ve never been part of our club, let us tell you more about what it’s like, and we think you will be pleased with what our club offers to our community and members. Read about the history of the SSWSC.
At the SSWSC, our mission is to create champions on and off the mountain by developing life skills and providing growth opportunities through participation in sports. We believe that sports instill character, confidence, commitment, responsibility and direction in a child’s life. Additionally, sports bring opportunity to excel, dream, and work towards the future. The overall impact for children goes well beyond the athletic results and extends into their personal growth and development. It’s no wonder that SSWSC athletes have gone on to become Olympians, NCAA champions, collegiate scholars, CEO’s and leaders in our community and beyond. Athletic training is offered in Alpine, Cross Country, Freestyle, Freeskiing, Nordic Combined, Special Jumping, Telemark, Snowboard Freestyle (with summer programs in Skateboarding), Alpine Snowboarding, Strength and Conditioning, and Mountain Biking.
What is the EZ Scholarship Program?
This scholarship system makes it clear and simple to determine the initial level of scholarship available based on your personal financial situation. These scholarships will be awarded directly at the time of your SSWSC online registration with no scholarship application needed. In an effort to meet/balance the needs of our members and the intentions of our donors SSWSC program fees have been simplified to one price for residents, and a non-resident price for certain competitive programs. The EZ Scholarship is then offered to offset the cost of program fees for eligible local families to provide more of our local youth with the opportunity to participate in our programs. In addition to the EZ scholarship we continue to offer additional need- and merit-based scholarships that require a separate application. Read the FAQ sheet here.
What does U6, U8, U10 stand for?
The ‘U’ stands for ‘under.’ A U6 program is for athletes under the age of 6. Sometimes athletes will be in a group that does not fit their age requirement, but better fits their development. This will be dependent on coach recommendation after we are familiar with your athlete.
How do I know what program is the best fit for my young child?
A child should be enrolled in something they are interested in, so ask them! If they would like to participate in more than one sport, that’s not a problem- at younger ages, we encourage athletes to participate in multiple programs! We have programs for all ages, so we know we have something to offer in which your child will have fun and make lifelong friends.
Does my child have to choose just one program?
In our younger Development programs, the scheduling allows kids to choose more than one program so they can enjoy numerous sports. We don’t believe athletes should focus on one sport until higher levels of competition; there is so much to learn from multi-discipline training.
What’s the difference between Development and Competitive Programs?
Development Programs primarily focus on fun and fundamental skill development. These programs aim to cultivate a life-long passion for their sport and to teach technical and tactical skills while building the life skills of commitment, focus, respect, teamwork, organization, timeliness, self-control, and discipline. Competitive programs take those basic fundamental skills that have been fostered in the development programs and apply them to competitive situations. Competitive programs involve more focus on strength and conditioning, year round training opportunities and participation in competitive events in Steamboat, regional and national venues. Competitive programs will continue to emphasize skill development, character and culture in more focused training environments.
How often will my child train?
Training schedules vary based on ages and discipline. They younger athletes may only train 1-2 sessions per week, and have time for exploring multiple program options. Older athletes may train 4-6 sessions per week and focus on preparation for more competitive experiences. Our local high schools, both public and private, accommodate our training programs and assist our athletes in balancing their academics and training schedules.
What do coaches do to make sure our child will be safe?
Skiing and riding are sports with some inherent risk involved in participation at any level. Our coaches are trained to not only provide the safest training environments, but to continually teach the components of the Skier/Rider Safety Code and we aim to keep an ideal ratio between our athletes and our coaches. From U6 to U12, all of our athletes carry emergency info cards so that their parents can immediately be contacted and coaches will know if there is any medical history to be aware of. All of our coaches have strong working relationships with the ski patrol both at Steamboat Ski Resort and Howelsen Hill. Safety is a key part of our coach’s ongoing training.
Why does the club emphasize volunteers?
All of our events are put on by our hard working member-athletes, parents and community; aka, our volunteers. We estimate that our community and athletic events require over 6000 volunteer hours each year. Much of the success of the SSWSC is a result of many hours of help offered by dedicated parents and supporters who generously give of their time and talents to help support the SSWSC and athletes in many ways. We appreciate your support!
We do offer an incentive for families/athletes in the club through our work deposit system. Each family pays a work deposit based on the highest level program that their family participates in. The work deposit varies based on the volunteer demands for each program. As families volunteer for the SSWSC they can receive a refund of their deposit for each hour worked. The work deposit refund can be donated back to the SSWSC as a charitable contribution, be used to offset the costs of athlete programs/travel, or be refunded directly to the family.
Work deposit cards are due by April 30th each year, should you wish to be eligible for a refund or credit. Work deposit cards turned in AFTER April 30th will be eligible for DONATION RECEIPT ONLY.
Additional questions? Please contact Dave Stewart, Athletic Director via .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or at (970) 879-0695 or Blair Seymour, Director of Youth Development via .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or at (970) 879-0695.