Alpine & Freestyle Programs
Mount Sunapee Alpine & Freestyle Programs
- Our Mission To inspire a passion for snow sports in our young athletes and to help them reach their potential as athletes. We encourage them to be good, responsible citizens and develop a strong sense of sportsmanship.
- Our Values: U.S. Ski & Snowboard values: excellence, grit, passion, integrity, community, fun and team.
- Our Vision: To help guide the development of the athlete in all areas of their lives.
About Our Programming
Athletes will work on developing skills based on their age and ability. We will provide each athlete with the opportunity to excel and enjoy skiing or boarding in a fun, safe and honest environment. We recognize that each athlete is unique, and we strive to teach them to reach their own potential. This is achieved through various learning stages and techniques which will continue throughout their training.
Our program supports and follows the philosophies of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine/Freestyle competencies. These philosophies address physical and psychological factors which, in turn, address all aspects of athletic development. Skill development is a complex interaction between the athlete’s inherent physical and psychological abilities and physical age at any particular development stage. The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine/Freestyle Training System (LTAD) is a guide to athlete age-appropriate development. Training Systems (usskiandsnowboard.org)
In each program we will work to provide a clear path of skill development. Based on the principals of the ATS our coaching staff will build upon the athlete’s current skills. These include free skiing, balance drills, turn shape, gate drills, and developing skills in our terrain park. Mount Sunapee Alpine & Freestyle program endorses the use of Skills Quest, a cornerstone program of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Training Systems. Skill Quests is a training program we use to help develop the athlete’s technique with the use of age-appropriate drills and terrain. Skill development is based on repetition and mileage: therefore, consistent attendance is crucial. We teach the athletes how to apply the wide variety of skills in all weather conditions, terrain and competitive environments, which results in strong lifelong skills.
We will instill 6 fundamental skills which are: Balance/athletic stance, lower leg engagement, snow contact, pole plant, outside ski commitment and upper body discipline.
For more information about the USSA clubs of excellence click HERE.
Questions? Please contact Beth von Beren, Skier Services Administrative Assistant at 603-763-3500 ext. 3527 or bmvonberen@vailresorts.com.
Program Details and Requirements
- Runs Saturdays and Sundays, beginning on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 - Saturday, Mar. 21, 2026.
- Program runs 9:00am - 1:30pm
- Weekends, Christmas week and long weekends on February vacation weeks.
The Freestyle Team will ski from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm with coaching. This competition-based program strives to develop well rounded freestyle skiers who can compete in USSA and USASA mogul, free ride, and slope style competitions. Through progressions, drills and directed free skiing this group will focus on developing and mastering basic skiing, jumping and balancing skills in a fun, efficacious and safe manner. Prospective athletes should be strong parallel skiers but need not have any previous freestyle training.
U-15 athletes will compete in USSA Eastern Qualifier Series mogul and slopestyle events while athletes 14 and older may choose to compete in USASA Slopestyle events.
Our team of freestyle coaches has many years of combined experience and Mount Sunapee Freestylers have continued on to compete at the highest levels of the sport.
The athlete must be at least 8 years old and are required to be a member of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. If your athlete is interested in attending more slopestyle competitions you might want to also get them a USASA membership.
To sign up for competitions please visit https://www.easternfreestyle.org.
Mount Sunapee, U.S. Ski & Snowboard require that all athletes wear helmets.
Michael Lovell, Freestyle Coach, will create a competitive schedule of meets for the freestyle team. The coaching staff will support all scheduled away meets.
- Runs Saturdays and Sundays, 9:00am-12:30pm
- Beginning on Saturday Dec. 20, 2025 – Saturday Mar. 21, 2026.
- Weekends, Christmas week and long weekends on vacation weeks.
U8 will ski from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm, with a midmorning break, with their coach. This program is for children who have skied at least two full seasons, are able to ski intermediate trails comfortably, are comfortable with riding chairlifts and want to improve their skills.
Athletes must plan on attending program 80% of the time as it helps improvement of skill development as well as team/friend bonding. The program emphasizes skiing on the entire mountain, with an introduction to bumps, terrain parks, air and rails, as well as appropriate fun racing on courses. Athletes will participate in 75% free skiing, 10% coached drills, 10% coached gate training, slopestyle, moguls and Big Air and 5% competition simulation. Athletes will compete a maximum of 3-4 times throughout the year in a NASTAR type of course. U8s are required to have a U.S. Ski & Snowboard General Membership license.
Participation by the first weekend of January is strongly encouraged in order to maintain your athletes spot for the season.
https://usskiandsnowboard.org/foundation
Parents must drop off and pick up their child outside the Alpine Competition Center (right of the trees). Children will only be released to a pre-authorized adult. This gives the coaches and the parents an opportunity to discuss any questions that may arise. Your child will need to be dressed appropriately in layers. This includes, but is not limited to: poles, skis, goggles, helmet, ski mitts, and ski pants. Please send your child with either money on their pass for a snack or pack a snack and place in their jacket pocket. Mount Sunapee and U.S. Ski & Snowboard require that all athletes wear helmets with hard ears. “Kids on Lifts” require U8’s to wear assigned vests while in program.
U8 parents are required to attend a parent meeting.
The Alpine Director reserves the right to refund the program fee if the child does not have enough ski experience or maturity to take part in this ski program.
- Runs Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00am - 1:00pm
- Beginning on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 - Saturday Mar. 21, 2026
- Weekends, Christmas week and long weekends during February.
Athletes must have at least 3-4 years of skiing experience and the ability to ski blue trails comfortably. Athletes must plan on attending program 80% of the time as it helps improvement of skill development as well as team/friend bonding.
The U10 group will ski from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm with a coach. U10’s will experience every aspect of being a well-rounded ski athlete. This includes free skiing, gate training, slopestyle and moguls. Athletes will work towards improving their fundamental skills such as balance, pressure, control, rotary, and edging. By integrating these skills, it will help improve the athletes over all skill level. This program will also include a competitive event schedule which will concentrate on home competition and limited travel.
All U10 athletes are expected to participate in all aspects of fundamental training. Athletes will have the opportunity to choose a discipline that they would like to focus on at the age of 10. Athletes will participate in 60% free skiing, 20% coached drills, 10% coached gate drills and 10% competition situations. Athletes will ski in the glades with coaches. The athlete must be at least 8 years old. Athletes must have one (1) pair of SL or twin tip skis which are tuned and boots that are an appropriate fit and flex for the athlete. A pair of “Rock” skies are recommended.
Mount Sunapee and U.S. Ski & Snowboard required that all athletes wear hard eared helmets.
All athletes are REQUIRED to be members of both U.S. Ski & Snowboard and NHARA to be enrolled in the program (pricing goes up after October 15, 2024). Multiple discipline licenses are encouraged to allow athletes to participate in freestyle competitions and ski races.
A designated parent must be present at the mountain the entire time their athlete is in the program.
The Alpine Director reserves the right to refund the program fee if the child does not have enough ski experience or maturity to take part in this ski program.
- Runs Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30am to 1:00pm
- Beginning on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 - Saturday Mar. 21, 2026
- Weekends, Christmas week and long weekends during February
Athletes must have at least 4-5 years of skiing experience and be parallel skiers who have the ability to ski any trail on the mountain.
This group will ski from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm with a coach. Each coach will be assigned 8 athletes per group. U12’s must have skied a minimum of three full seasons and be able to ski intermediate and advance trails comfortably. Athletes will participate in 45 - 60% free skiing, 20% coached drills, and 25% coached gate drills. They will have a 1 - 6 day ratio of races to training. It’s important that the athletes experience as many different physical activities off snow as much as possible. Athletes should have multi-sport involvement. Our goal is to develop growth in each athlete’s skills to ensure strong skiing ability on the entire mountain, master all snow conditions, and continue to learn strong skiing skills.
Athletes are encouraged to ski with friends and family from 1:45 – 4:00 pm on weekends and if possible during the week. Having fun and a passion for skiing are important elements in the engagement of young athletes.
The U12 athletes will ski slalom and giant slalom with 2-4 race opportunities throughout the season
All athletes are required to be members of both U.S. Ski & Snowboard and NHARA (pricing goes up after October 15, 2025).
Mount Sunapee and US Ski & Snowboard require that all athletes wear helmets with hard ears. If you need to purchase a helmet please make sure it is FIS approved. Look for the FIS official sticker on the helmet. It is a requirement for the U14 athletes.
See the “Ski Equipment Fitting Tips”, below in this document, for information about appropriate equipment choices for your athlete.
A designated parent must be present at the mountain the entire time their athlete is in the program.
Recommended Equipment:
- Full race set up for GS and SL disciplines tuned every weekend
- FIS GS race helmet & chin bar or separate SL helmet
- SL hand guards and shin guards
- Race Suit
- SL shorts for training
- Runs Saturdays and Sundays, from 8:30am to 1:00pm
- Beginning on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 - Saturday Mar. 21, 2026
- Weekends, Christmas week and long weekends during February
The U14 is a competitive race program. It is committed to building competitive ski racers with a lifelong skill set and passion for all mountain terrain skiing. We expect athletes to have a healthy understanding of ski racing and a commitment to improving their foundation of skiing skills.
Our training program will consist of 30 - 45% free skiing, 20% coached gate drills, and 25 - 35% coached gate training. The program will focus on all learning styles and will continuing to work on strong fundamental styles. Athletes should have multi-sport involvement. Our training focus will be the 6 fundamental skiing skills. These 6 skills are: balance/athletic stance, lower leg engagement, snow contact, pole plant, outside ski commitment and upper body discipline.
Athletes are encouraged to ski as much as possible after the program ends to increase time on skis.
Racing:
- 6-8 per season (race fee not included in your program fee; 50% travel required)
- Race schedules will be determined by the U14 coaches. All race entries will be completed online by each family for their athletes.
- If your U14 is eligible to race Super G’s and participate in a Super G camp, we recommend they attend.
- Each athlete's early race results will be used to qualify for the BWL State Finals and the BWL Championships, which will be held in March.
All athletes are required to be members of both U.S. Ski & Snowboard and NHARA. (Pricing goes up after October 15, 2025).
USSA: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/foundation
NHARA: https://www.nhalpine.org/
Program Requirements:
- Skills: Ability to ski all terrain with confidence; parallel skis; desire to go fast.
- Equipment: Full race set up for GS and SL disciplines; FIS race helmet; SL guards + bars; GS Suit. U14 skiers must ski on GS skis that have a minimum of 17-meter radius.
- For more information on race schedules please refer to the nhalpine.org (NHARA) website
Program Goals:
- Foster a love for skiing and healthy competitive mindset for racing
- Ability to ski all terrain (entire mountain, bumps, trees) and conditions (ice, groomers, powder)
Required Equipment:
- Full race set up for GS and SL disciplines tuned every weekend
- FIS GS race helmet & chin bar or separate SL helmet
- SL hand guards and shin guards
- Race Suit
- SL shorts for training
- Runs Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30am - 1:00pm
- Beginning on, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 - Saturday Mar. 21, 2026.
- Weekends, Christmas week and two long weekends during February
The U16 is a competitive race program. It is committed to building competitive ski racers with a lifelong skill set and passion for all mountain terrain skiing. We expect athletes to have a healthy understanding of ski racing and a commitment to improving their foundation of skiing skills.
The coaching staff will establish a competition schedule for U16 athletes. The U16’s will be required register and to pay for all races online in December. Athletes will ski with a team of coaches. The coaches will work on goal setting, timed runs and video analysis with each athlete. The U16’s will concentrate on refining and expanding their technical and fine motor skills on skis. Their improvement will be measured through high school and USSA race results.
The group will follow a ratio of 1 race day to 4 training days. Athletes will participate in 30% free skiing, 20% coached drills, 35% coached gate training, and 15% competitive skiing. Early season will focus on ski mileage and technical skiing skills. Attendance is critical for program continuity. Athletes are asked to make a commitment to excellence and hard work. We encourage athletes to ski as much as possible throughout the winter, during the week and on the weekend before and after their program. Ski early and ski late! The program will begin promptly at 8:30 am to allow for maximum training time
To compete all athletes are required to be members of both U.S. Ski & Snowboard and NHARA. (Pricing goes up after October 15, 2025).
USSA: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/foundation
NHARA: https://www.nhalpine.org/
Mount Sunapee and U.S. Ski & Snowboard require that all athletes wear FIS approved helmets with hard ears. This is denoted by the official FIS sticker found on the helmets.
**Please carefully read the U16 pages of the NHARA Handbook for rules**
Required Equipment:
- Full race set up for GS and SL disciplines tuned every weekend
- FIS GS race helmet & chin bar or separate SL helmet
- SL hand guards and shin guards
- GS Suit
- SL shorts for training
- Runs Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30am - 1:00pm
- Beginning on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 - Saturday Mar. 21, 2026
- Weekends, Christmas week and long weekends during February
The U18 is a competitive race program. It is committed to building competitive ski racers with a lifelong skill set and passion for all mountain terrain skiing. We expect athletes to have a healthy understanding of ski racing and a commitment to improving their foundation of skiing skills.
The coaching staff will establish a competition schedule for U18 athletes. The U18’s will be required register and to pay for all races online in December. Athletes will ski with a team of coaches. The coaches will work on goal setting, timed runs and video analysis with each athlete. The U18’s will concentrate on refining and expanding their technical and fine motor skills on skis. Their improvement will be measured through high school and USSA race results.
The group will follow a ratio of 1 race day to 4 training days. Athletes will participate in 30% free skiing, 20% coached drills, 35% coached gate training, and 15% competitive skiing. Early season will focus on ski mileage and technical skiing skills. Attendance is critical for program continuity. Athletes are asked to make a commitment to excellence and hard work. We encourage athletes to ski as much as possible throughout the winter, during the week and on the weekend before and after their program. Ski early and ski late! The program will begin promptly at 8:30 am to allow for maximum training time.
USSA: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/foundation
NHARA: https://www.nhalpine.org/
Mount Sunapee and U.S. Ski & Snowboard require that all athletes wear FIS approved helmets with hard ears this is denoted by the official FIS sticker found on the helmets.
Required Equipment:
- Full race set up for GS and SL disciplines tuned every weekend
- FIS GS race helmet & chin bar or separate SL helmet
- SL hand guards and shin guards
- GS Suit
- SL shorts for training
Parent Information
We want to extend a warm welcome to the Mount Sunapee Alpine, Freestyle & Development Program!
We teach/coach our young athletes to be the best skiing and snowboarding athletes possible. We focus on having them build their self-confidence and practice good sportsmanship. We ensure that every child who has the desire to participate in our Program is given that opportunity.
Mount Sunapee Area Ski Club , opens in a new window
Our Mission
The Mt. Sunapee Area Ski Club is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1954. Through volunteer efforts and fundraising, the club supports a variety of winter programs for area youth.
Gear Up For Winter
Bob Skinners Ski & Sport offers the best race tune in the industry by Edgewise. Check them out right off the traffic circle at the base of the mountain.