Fun Clinics

[tcarey]

Ok girls,I am getting increasingly impatient for the ski season to arrive!! I am constantly thinking of how I can make a fun enviorment for the ladies who attend the Women's Alpine Adventure!Has anyone taken other women's specific clinics? What did you enjoy about them? What did you not like? Would a guest speaker be interesting to you? Evening entertainment? Maybe some sort of theme week? Races? Put your minds to work guys! I need some help!!

Thanks,
Terry

 

[Lilgeorg]

You could laugh more on the chairlift with your coworkers!!! ( For those of you who do not know, Terry and Crystel were scolded for laughing too much!!! How could that be when they were riding with Lola? )

Perhaps the ski shop at Okemo could offer a fashion show of the latest they have to offer. Include how to layer properly and how many layers to wear for what temps. Of course, they could offer an incentive if you buy what was shown at the fashion show. Good for the WAWA Clinic, good for the Ski shop, good for the student.

Perhaps a race with another class but not like Nastar. More like ring a bell, ski backwards, pick up an object, put it down at the next gate. You get the idea.

But, the best thing you do is create a comfortable and supportive place to learn. I can't wait to join you again.

 

[ski diva]

I know Okemo offers cooking classes (at least I think they do, from time to time). How about some sort of cooking demo, as an evening's entertainment?

 

[Jilly]

tcarey - I've done the CSIA ladies day events. We did 2 clinics, morning and afternoon on hill. Different modules depending on interest - race module, carving, introductory snowboard for skiers, ski improvement and demo's. We had a guest speaker, short time frame, explain pilates, as some didn't know. We also had displays from some of the manufacturers that were at the demo. (We took on the poor guy from Lange about boots - at the time there were no good high end ladies boots.) Draws are always good. And not necessarily ski stuff. Gift baskets, gift cards from national stores, magazine subscriptions and ski stuff - googles, gloves, vests etc are always good prices. Also a goody bag might be an idea with samples from some of the above. Now this was all in one day. You've got 3 days (?) Jeanie Thoren as a speaker? How about a foot specialist to explain orthothics or foot beds? I'm running out of ideas!!

 

[tcarey]

Good thougts guys! Lil,my stomache usually hurts after a day riding chairs withWAA women! I like the idea of some type of relay race.Maybe sliding down the hill on cafeteria trays could be a treat!

Wendy-I like the idea of a short cooking demo where all could try the food as well-I think alot of the ladies are a bit tired by the end of the day-good food for thought though!! Wasn't that punny!!

T

 

[tcarey]

Good stuff Jilly-we already do alternative days-we do have a raffle but maybe some more prizes would be good.We do have a little goody bag with some discounts.Oh and Lil we do do a fashion show on the 5 day programs showing the latest gear.

One problem I have is Okemo is commited to Salomon so getting a variety of demo equipment breaches their contract.

I like the idea of having someone come in and discuss boot fit because it is so critical.

Keep em comin guys!1

T

 

[Jilly]

Oooo - cooking classes, yeah! Mini - facials, mini-massages - if there is a school nearby you could get the students. At a dragon boat festival back in June we had the students from the Massage school do shoulder and mini-back massages. Donations were accepted for a charity as the students are not allowed to charge until they pass the exams and are registered. Motivational speakers are sometimes a bore after skiing all day, but maybe a comedian or magic show thing?? A little lighter?

 

[Kimmyt]

I did a women's climbing fundraiser that offered yoga classes first thing in the morning and after the climbs too, along with massages. It might be interesting if you can get someone who can do some yoga-for-skiiers, showing moves that are good to warm up your muscles before a day skiing and energize you, and then after skiing the poses that are good to stretch you out.

 

[Ski Spirit]

I haven't attended a women's clinic but I've thought about it and done some research. FYI, I think the WAA sounds like a really great clinic (based on the description on the web site and the reviews I've read). I like the time avaialbe to try out snowboarding and also focus on something like bumps/racing. Also like the various topics covered. To add fun, I think massage and yoga would be excellent additions and cooking classes are always a blast. What about guest speakers? The boot fit discussion is really good. I noticed that Mermer Blakeslee will be at a women's camp at Snowbird and that holds a lot of appeal for me. Being able to demo all kind of equipment is a major plus. But one of the biggest things that strikes me is value for money. Someone recommended Kim Reichelm's clinic to me and it's probably great but it's $2250 in 2008 (w/out lodging and other costs). Good mentoring instruction is critical, needless to say. Someone told me about a women's day clinic at Kirkwood where the instructor basically left her behind (not too happy!). Then, there also the question of private lessons vs. group clinic. Haven't had many private lessons but the ones that I did take produced a much faster understanding of what I needed to do. Oh, if only money and time were unlimited...!!

 

[tcarey]

Well Thanks everyone! You've given me some great ideas to work with! I would like to see the WAA program at Okemo be the best in the nation. Maybe someday we can take our program on the road to some areas with more challenging terrain!! Please keep your ideas coming!

Thanks,
Terry

 

[ski now work later]

I took the 2-day WAA clinic in February '06. Great clinic, and the food was AWESOME! I haven't skied Okemo since and this year I have a Stratton/Okemo mid-week pass, so I'm really looking forward to getting to know Okemo better.

Here are my suggestions:

1: Offer a park and pipe workshop for women. There are so few women and so few adults in the park that it's a little intimidating, so a workshop would feel safe and fun. Okemo is where I first ventured into a baby park and it was the most fun experience I'd ever had on snow. I know the instructors for the Amplitude program are guys, but I wouldn't mind having a male instructor vs. not having the chance to take a group park/pipe lesson at all with other women.... If they can teach kids that well, they'd be good instructors for women.

2: Chair massages apres ski.

3: A welcome party on the night before it starts. I was lonely in the Jackson Gore lodge all by myself!

4: A room should be available for stretching before and after breakfast, lunch, and apres ski.

5: Better break on tuition for those of us with mid-week Okemo passes.

6: The videography when I took the clinic was problematic-- we had to wait a long time before being filmed, were filmed for about 1 minute each, and then it was very confusing and difficult to access my video for analysis later that day. Maybe that was a one-time problem, not sure. Having a video to take home of me skiing would really be a cool thing, though probably too expensive to do for everyone.

Thanks for asking and I really look forward to taking another WAA clinic sometime.