WSRC U12 Program is a twelve-week learn to train / race program for athletes aged 10 and 11(as of December 31st).

WSRC offers the following program options to this age group:

• 1 Day – Saturday OR Sunday option
• 2 Day – Saturday and Sunday
• Adhoc training on Fridays is available for U12. 

U12 is the graduate level of our Snow Stars Program.  However, WSRC also has programming for U12 athletes who are new to ski racing.  Particularly timid U12 skiers on occasion opt to train with U10.
 
U12 Program Goals – Learn to Train

1. To provide such training opportunities that our U12 athletes are able to train as close as possible to the Alpine Canada’s recommended number of on-snow training days for this age group. Days on snow recommended by ACA are : 75 +/- training/racing with a Coach.
2. To provide a corresponding number of Competitive starts to our training opportunities:  4 to 6 Races. 
3. To have ALL (Recreational & Competitive) of our U12 athletes get a minimum of 3 Slalom SL / Kinder Kombi KK starts over the course of the season. These can be at either WSRC-hosted club races at Ski Wentworth or regional AAA races also known as away races.
4. To see evidence of three-dimensional training promoting autonomous athletes by season’s end.
5. To have athletes that have consolidated and refined the basic skiing skills to apply to ski racing by the end of U12.
6. To provide Mental training opportunities for our U12 athletes. One of the most important aspects in becoming a good alpine ski racer is to have a great mental Game and develop their mental skill as they relate to sports.
7. To have the athletes become Process-Focused with regards to their training by the end of the season.

This age-group is THE KEY to your athlete’s development of good fundamental skiing / training / racing skills.


Alpine Canada Reference Resource

https://ltad.alpinecanada.org/stages/learn-to-train

Groups

Groupings take into consideration the following:  Age, ability & skill, interest & commitment, fit with the group and coach, and to a degree social.  Athlete groupings are at the discretion of the Program Coordinator.  Changes to athlete or coach group assignments may be made for a variety of reasons by the Program Coordinator.

Philosophy

Within ALL levels of our U12 Program our coaches will be trying to have the athletes focus on improving their basic skills and then racing tactics (THE PROCESS) and not worrying about how fast they go, who they beat, or what place they finish (THE OUTCOME).  

The athletes will learn to understand how to focus on Process Goals and to realize that they compete against themselves, the terrain and the set courses. How focused they are and how much effort they put in will determine how successful they are.

Schedule

U12's meet on snow by the FINISH Shack @ 8:45 ready to go.  Warmup on snow is at 8:45  up by finish Shack with ski boots and gear ON.  On lift at 9am.  At 11:30, the athletes break for lunch. We begin again in the afternoon at 12:30 and run until 2:30. We may run longer on some days as video and debriefing sessions if needed run from 2:30 to 3:00.

We would like to suggest that when the athlete’s sessions are complete at 3:00 they be allowed and encouraged to ski for another hour or more on their own OR with their parents. Skiing and practicing on their own is paramount for their improvement as ski racers.
 
Race Events

All U12 athletes will have the opportunity to race at least 6 race starts at Ski Wentworth – So no travel involved:

• Slingshot Race
• Byrne Memorial Cup Race
• Club Champs Race

The U12 age groups have a large number of races to choose from.  The AAA schedule posted on the website, represents all race events.  From these, WSRC selects which events we are attending as a club.  Athletes are welcome to decide to attend additional events independent of the club.  With enough notice, WSRC can arrange a coach from another Club to provide required on-hill support.  (Keep in mind program goal 2 above, indicating 4-6 races as the ACA recommended number relative to training days for this age group.)

Away races are not mandatory and the coaching staff will decide/recommend which races would be best for the team members to attend and race.

EQUIPMENT NEEDS

Required:

• Skis:  Optimally, a pair of JR Race Slalom skis (no taller than their nose) 
• Boots:  The athlete should have JR Race Boots. 4 buckle front overlap design.  They should be able to flex the boots. Flexing would mean being able to move the cuff forward bringing the two-middle buckles closer together.
• Helmet:  The athlete should have a hard eared  FIS approved helmet with a chin guard.
• Guards:  The athlete should have a pair of JR sized slalom shin guards and JR pole guards.

 
Optional:
 
Based on how much away racing your athlete plans to do and level of competitiveness and development.  These are more recommendations for competitive second year U12’s.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask your Coach or the Program Coordinator.

• Skis:  JR Race GS skis (10 to 15 cms longer than Slalom skis).
• Race Suit (aka Skin Suit)

TUNING EQUIPMENT NEEDS

Retailers such as Aerobics Frist in Halifax and Hub Cycle in Truro sell tuning supplies.  

The athletes NEED tuned skis each week to perform at their best!
 
In the U12 age group, it is recommended that parents start engaging the kids to help with tuning their skis.  Younger kids can scrape.  Optimally, athletes can tune independently by the time they are in U14.

RACING & TRAINING SAFELY

U12 Athletes will need a MINIMUM of three days of Gate training (GS & SL) in order to mitigate the risks they are exposed to on Race Day in a course. The WSRC Coaching staff ultimately makes the decision as to whether they feel an athlete is Safe enough to race.  This can be an issue for early season races.

Click Here for a full U12 Program Description

2023/2024 U12 Teams

Ben Lovett	Charlie Simms	JD Todd
Brooke Peters Farrah Levangie Kielee Cooke Leah Carr Niko Karountzos Payton Bruce Reid Laroche Tyler Drapeau	Cora Archibald Marla Baird Rainee Thomas Riley MacFadden Signy Walker Sydney Spencer	Alexander Roy Marcus Lundigan William Walker Ella Childs Grace Doucet Julia Eisenhauer Sophie Carroll
Duncan Buchannan	Matt Cohen	Tim Hilton
Griffen Terauds Theo Stiles Eason Wong Emmet Hilton Jaxon Bradley Jake Drapeau Mekhi Terauds Ryan Fleischhauer	Davey Leil Jenna Roach Sophie MacDougall Jade McCarroll Lily Greenwood	Elena Macintosh Madeleine Doucet Michael Campbell Stella White Vivian Grant