Hiawatha Saturday Afternoon SkiSparks Club (2:00pm)

Welcome to the Hiawatha Ski Club (Saturdays at 2:00)! We are so excited about the 2024 ski season! Whether your family is new to cross-country skiing or you're a veteran Ski Club participant or volunteer, we are excited to have you in our club.

Ski Club is volunteer-led and our success depends upon family involvement. We encourage every family to help in some way:

- THANK YOU to our awesome coaches, assistant coaches, and sweepers (these folks get advanced registration, too. Please sign up!)

- We are planning to have post-club snacks again this season so look for the sign-up as we get this organized.

- The Hiawatha Hustle is our capstone event at the end of the season and we will need lots of volunteers to make it an awesome afternoon! This is a fun, end of season, celebration of skiing with ALL Hiawatha Ski Clubs. We are finalizing the date for the Hustle and will update it here as soon as we do. This year the Hustle will be held on Saturday, March 2.

Schedule

We will meet for eight Saturdays beginning January 6, 2024 at Hiawatha Golf Course. We will NOT meet on February 17 due to the Cross-Country World Cup. Our last club meeting will be March 2.

***Please note that the first session or two we are going to be assessing the skills of skiers to ensure that we have groups that make sense skill-wise for Coaches. This is based on feedback from parents and coaches. Not sure which level your skier should be in? Check these skills cards or this link from SkiSparks for some idea. We will also spend the first couple sessions making sure we have the right levels/groups for everyone.***

Session Location and Timing

We ski at the Hiawatha Golf Course and meet in the open area just south of the Solomon R. Hughes Sr. Clubhouse.  All levels will begin at 2:00 PM.  Level 1 and 2 kids will ski for about an hour and then have fun on the big hill and around the gathering area. Levels 3, 4, 5, & 6 will be out skiing for about an hour and a half. Please make sure your kids are dressed appropriately for the weather and ready to be outside for this duration. 

Hiawatha Golf Course Ski Path Etiquette

The folks who groom the trails at Hiawatha work hard to maintain our beautiful course. We need to do our part to keep the trails in good condition.  Only skiers should be on the groomed ski trails. This includes the parents of Level 1 skiers. There is a hiking path on the inside of the trail for walkers. Sweepers, coaches, and Level 1 caregivers who are not on skis may walk with their groups as long as they stay on the hiking path. 

Ski Passes

Make sure you've purchased necessary ski passes prior to our first session. All ski passes can be purchased through the Loppet Foundation.  

No pass needed:

Youth skiers 11 and under

Adult volunteers who will not be on skis 

Purchase a NATURAL SNOW PASS:

Youth skiers 12 and over

Adult skiing volunteers 

Purchase an ALL-ACCESS PASS:

All skiers (youth and adult) who plan to ski on snowmaking/lighted trails at Theodore Wirth Park during the season

Weather and Session Cancellation

We will cancel Ski Club if the air temperature is below -2˚ F, the wind chill is below -10˚ F, or at the leader’s discretion.  Because the Hiawatha course is out in the open, wind is a big factor.  

Cancellations will be posted on this webpage.  We will email you on Thursday evening if we are considering canceling a session due to weather, and email a final decision by Saturday evening.

Important reminders

Please have your skier(s) with skis and boots on and ready to go promptly at the 2:00 start time

Be sure your child has eaten before coming to ski club, and bring water and/or snacks for your skier when you pick them up

Please make sure all skiers have used the bathroom before ski club begins

THINK SNOW!!