Hi everyone,
Great news — we’re finally getting enough snow for winter sports to roll, and we’re excited to kick things off with Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding!
⛷️🏂 Alpine & Snowboard — Winter Season Details
First Practice
📅 Sunday, January 11
📍 Hogadon Ski Area
⏰ Check-in: 12:30 p.m. | On snow by 1:00 p.m.
Practice is typically 1 - 3 but athletes may stay and ski all the way up until closing at 4 pm.
If you’re planning to attend, please reply to this email so we can plan coaching coverage and expect you.
📅 Winter Schedule – Alpine & Snowboard
Practices (Sundays at Hogadon):
January 11
January 18
January 25
February 8
February 15
Area 5 Winter Games:
📅 Sunday, February 1
📍 Hogadon Ski Area
Wyoming State Winter Games:
📅 February 24–26
📍 Jackson, Wyoming
This will be our full winter competition season for Alpine and Snowboard. Participation at Area games is required to qualify for State Games.
❗ Important Participation Notes
1. Ski Ability / Beginners
Athletes should have some basic skiing or snowboarding experience to participate in team practices.
If you are brand new to skiing or snowboarding, please still reach out — beginners are welcome, but we’ll connect you with Hogadon Ski School for lessons before joining team practices.
2. One-on-One Support (Ski Paras)
Athletes who need one-on-one support on the snow must come with their own ski companion (ski para).
Lift tickets are provided at no cost for athletes, ski paras, and coaches.
If you’re coming with a ski para, please include their name when you reply.
🎿 Equipment, Tickets & Rentals
Lift tickets: Provided at no cost for athletes, ski paras, and coaches
Ski/Snowboard Rentals: Available at Mountain Sports at Hogadon at no charge
A huge thank-you to Mountain Sports, who have generously donated rentals to Special Olympics athletes for many years. They are incredible supporters of our program — please join me in showing them gratitude whenever you’re there.
🏔️ Terrain & Training
We don’t yet know which runs will be open. If conditions are limited, we may start with drills and warm-ups on the Bunny Hill, which is perfectly fine. There is excellent beginner-to-advanced training we can do there.
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♿ Sit-Skiing (Adaptive Skiing) Update
Good news — our Special Olympics Casper program now has a sit-ski available!
If you are an athlete with a mobility impairment and are interested in trying sit-skiing, we now have equipment that may be able to serve you. A few important notes:
The sit-ski we currently have is a junior-sized unit, so it may not be the right fit for every athlete.
We may also have access to additional sit-skis through Hogadon, depending on availability.
Because we currently have one sit-ski, there may be opportunities for additional sessions outside of Sundays, depending on interest and scheduling. We don’t want to turn anyone away.
If you are interested in sit-skiing, please reach out to me directly so we can coordinate fitting, equipment needs, and scheduling:
Cathy Nyrkkanen
📞
307-215-4054Sit-skiing does require a bit of extra coordination, but we are excited to make this opportunity available and want to do everything we can to get athletes on the hill. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if this might be a good fit for you or your athlete. No previous experience required for athletes.
🙋♀️ Coaches & Volunteers Needed
If you’re a coach or volunteer interested in helping with Alpine or Snowboard this season, please reply and let me know. There’s no online sign-up right now — just email me, and I’ll help get you onboarded.
✅ Please Reply If:
You are an athlete planning to attend any practices
You’re bringing a ski para (include their name)
You’re a coach or volunteer who’d like to help
You’re brand new and want help getting started
We’re excited to get back on the mountain together. Thanks, everyone — and we’ll see you Sunday!
Warmly,
Cathy Nyrkkanen
Volunteer Local Coordinator
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