If the age is right, the price is right. In this case a full-day ski/snowboard pass at one of Utah’s 15 resorts is free.
Only requirement is enrollment in a fifth- or sixth-grade class, no matter the school, city, county, state or country.
Well, it’s almost free. Ski Utah has a $35 registration fee for a bundle of passes for fifth- and sixth-grade students registering for its Ski Utah Passport program. Fifth-graders get 45 full-day passes, three at each of Utah’s 15 ski areas. Sixth-graders get 15 full-day ski passes, one for each of the 15 resorts.
Figuring in the registration fee, the price of a day pass goes up to 77 cents for fifth-graders and $2.30 for sixth-graders.
Considering some resorts this season are charging upward of $100 and in some cases more for a day pass, the school pass becomes very affordable, and that takes the financial burden off parents with children who want to learn to ski or snowboard.
Studies have shown the age of fifth- and sixth-graders is a perfect time to introduce them to a snow sport.
Ski Utah has been involved in its Ski Utah Passport program since the 1998-99 winter season.
This season, said Raelene Davis, marketing director of Ski Utah, the hope is to involve 10,000 students. It is, she added, “The most affordable way for students to get introduced to a lifetime sport.’’
There are upward of 45,000 fifth-graders in Utah and all are eligible for the program and a similar number of sixth-graders. Since the inception of the program more than 100,000 students have participated.
The passport program is the next step up from Ski Utah’s fourth-grade program. This program involves Utah schools. Lessons are taught by a PE or classroom teacher, a parent with knowledge of alpine sports or a volunteer that Ski Utah sends to the school. The instruction teaches the very basics of skiing and snowboarding, involving balance, flexibility and various techniques. Students are then bused to a resort for a ski/snowboard lesson. The fee of $25 and covers transportation, rental and lesson. There are scholarships available through Ski Utah for those who cannot afford the fee.
This instruction, Davis said, is a natural progression in Ski Utah’s education effort for providing skiing and snowboarding opportunities to children.
A sample of the fitness program can be found at here.
The Ski Utah Passport program has proven to be very successful over the years. A study by Snowsports Industries America showed 30 percent of the students could not have participated in a snow sport had they not had the Utah pass. And, 60 percent of parents claim they skied or snowboarded more often in order to be with their children.
Along with the free passes, students also receive discount coupons that include ski or snowboard lessons, rentals and two-for-one buddy passes.
There’s also a way parents can get involved in multiresort skiing or snowboarding through Ski Utah’s Yeti pass that costs $649 and entitles the adult to one full-day pass at each of the 15 resorts. That breaks down to $43 a day. There is a limited number of Yeti passes available.
Parents can apply online or print an application by visiting www.skiutah.com/passport. A photo of the student is required.
Those with questions can email Ski Utah at www.skiinfo@skiutah.com or by calling 801-534-1779.
The program is made possible with the support of the resorts and sponsors like Delta Airlines; Parents Empowered; Utah Olympic Park; KSL-TV; KSL News Radio; Richard E. & Nancy P. Marriott Foundation; Zions Bank; Utah PTA; AJ Motion Sports; Smith Optics; Rossignol; Powerade; and Hot Chillys.
This program is also endorsed by the Utah State Board of Education and meets the healthy lifestyle curriculum.