Fall 2011

Dear Parents and Athletes,

Welcome to the 2011-2012 Season!

We are looking forward to the start of the 2011-2012 competition season and building upon the personal bests and tremendous results from last season.

The KSC/KMS Competition Programs offer a variety of seasonal ski and snowboard programs for athletes over a broad range of ages, abilities and snowsports disciplines.

The KSC/KMS coaching staff supports and sustains each athlete with instruction, information and encouragement while teaching athletes how to safely enjoy on-mountain snow sports. They accomplish this in an atmosphere of fun, safety, self-reliance and good sportsmanship. These programs develop competitive athletes who are shaped by the ideals of athleticism and who are inspired by a lifelong love of their sports.

These programs are the primary development pipelines for the Killington Mountain School. The KMS alpine, freestyle and snowboard program directors offer guidance and provide on-snow curricula to assist the KSC/KMS competition programs. The Killington Ski Club provides a home on the mountain for families, athletes and program staff, as well as support for the programs, adult ski programs and social activities.

For 2011-2012, we have revamped our offerings for athletes 6-10 years of age.

The FutureStars program for athletes 6-9 years of age, formerly known as the Hopefuls program, will focus on developing fundamental skills in a safe, fun and challenging environment on Killington Mountain. FutureStars introduces each athlete to a range of snowsports disciplines offered by KSC/KMS Competitions Programs while building strong fundamental skills. Acquiring a strong fundamental skill base in this program will allow your child to develop skills for reaching his or her personal potential and achieve athletic excellence in his or her sport of choice. In the process, your child will learn about his or her potential, limits, friendships and sportsmanship while developing a love for a lifelong sport. The program is based around on-snow technical training and participation in Killington Cup events throughout the course of the season.

The Alpine Stars, Freestyle Stars and Snowboard Stars programs for athletes 7-10 years of age, formerly known as Devos, is the next step in your child's development. These programs will focus on discipline-specific training and an introduction to competition. Like FutureStars, the programs’ focus will remain on training fundamental skills on the
diverse terrain at Killington. The Stars will compete in the Killington Cup events as well as two additional competitions—one home and one away. The away competitions will
require additional memberships in the organizations listed on the program pages. For those athletes who wish to pursue more competition in VARA events, Eastern Freestyle
events, or USASA events, please choose the discipline-specific competitive program (J5 Team, Freestyle B Team, or VT Team).

We are excited to welcome back many of our top-notch coaches to the program this season.  This includes:

So, let’s get started! You will need to download the KSC/KMS Competition Registration Packet as it includes detailed general information about the program, requirements
for participation and required forms to complete for your registration. Please take some time to review the new KSC/KMS website for detailed information about each program
and team for this season. You will find a great checklist on theRegistration page to guide you through signing up for the programs.

Program prices increase on November 1 and again on November 22, so register today!

Remember that all programs must be paid in full by the first day of the program; there will be no exceptions. KSC/KMS Competition Programs have a no-refund policy. The Program Insurance Plan (PIP) can be purchased at $110 per athlete. If you purchase the PIP you will considered for partial refunds if the program cannot be completed. For more information, please read the terms and conditions of the PIP on the KSC/KMS website.

We will run our Work Obligation Program again this season. It was a huge success last year and enabled us to manage the events within our community. The program is
mandatory for all families who have athletes participating in the KSC/KMS Competition Programs. Please find more information on the programs’ web site. A Worker Program
Guide with detailed job descriptions will be published soon. Thank you for continuing to support our events!

We hope to see many of you Columbus Day Weekend, either for the Monster Ski Sale on October 7-9 or on the all-program hike on Sunday, October 9.  The hike will again be
led by KSC/KMS coaches, meeting at 10 a.m. at the Killington Ski Club and departing at 10:15 a.m. Please join us for these events, but please also remember to dress in appropriate hiking attire, have appropriate footwear, and bring plenty of water. With apologies to your dogs, this hike is for people only.

Also, please note the following upcoming dates:

Opening Days of the KSC/KMS Competition Programs

• Friday, November 11, 2011—Three-day programs of Alpine, Freestyle, Snowboard Teams 
• Saturday, December 3, 2011—Alpine, Freestyle, Snowboard Teams and Mountain Division
• Saturday, December 10, 2011—FutureStars and Stars

 “Meet the Coaches” Opening Celebration and Welcome Back Social

• Saturday, December 10 at the Killington Ski Club

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. 

Think Snow,

Matt Gnoza, Program Director, mgnoza@killingtonmountainschool.org   
Nicole Kondziela, Program Coordinator, nkondziela@killingtonmountainschool.org