FOR intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders, lessons might be the last thing they think they need, but Seymour Mountain has put together a program tailored to bring skilled athletes to the next level.
The Mount Seymour Progression Team is open to both snowboarders and skiers comfortable on the terrain park ages 10 to 15 who want to raise their skills up a notch. Coaches and students start in January by setting goals of what the students want to learn by the end of the year, and will make those goals a reality every Sunday until March 11.
"We're aiming it at kids who want to make more of a commitment to snowboarding and skiing and want to take themselves to the next level," explains John Mosley, manager of skier development.
The course aims to fill a gap between the traditional classes and the skill level required to join the B.C. Snowboard Association skills development team, which is requires tryouts and meets on Seymour Mountain.
Last year, there were eight students with two instructors, and they're aiming to have a similar ratio again this year, with a maximum of six students per instructor. That means lots of individual time and an ability to work towards personal goals.
"The beauty of a program like this is kids can all be working on different goals but within the same team environment. They can all pick a feature in the terrain park but do a different trick on that feature," said Mosley. "Most of them were throwing 180s by the end of the season, a few were doing 360s, a lot of comfort on rails and boxes, a lot of variety of terrain."
The program began only last year, and already registration is up for this season, with registration open until Christmas at a cost of $899 for the 12-week course. Many of the students are graduates of Mount Seymour's Park Riders and Free Riders programs, said Mosley.
For more information, visit www.mountseymour. com/lesson-Mt Seymour Progression Team. A link on that website will take you to a YouTube video of last year's team, showing the types of tricks the students learn, and a few of the falls bound to happen on the way.
The phone number for registration is 604-986-2261 ext. 208.
