Alpine ski racing for kids is of course all about fun, but the competition, training, development, and readiness really adds a new element to any ski family, including ours. For racing as a 9 year old like Victoria, this means you are categorized as an “Under 10”, or “U10” for short. She races against other U10’s, which really just means kids whose birth years are 2015/2016 (for ski season 2024/25).
This is our first post of Alpine ski racing, and while not a mandatory part of the Crawl, Walk, Ski journey, it may end up becoming a pursuit if the right ingredients are there, including from both the child athlete as well as the parent, mixed in with some local coaches who will guide the way. The skier needs to not just have the baseline ability, which you as the parent will certainly be a big part of, they also need to be capable of new types of instruction, called drills, receive and work with different types of feedback, miss some powder days, organize their gear, and ultimately love the feeling of skiing with a specific purpose: to get from point A at the start of the race course, to point B at the bottom, through a series of gates in a very specific order.
Her ski season follows the Maine Alpine Racing Association (MARA) schedule, and you will have a different schedule based on the state that the program that you ski for is located. Each race allows the athletes to ski 2 times, or 2 “runs” down the course, with the course sometimes changing from run 1 to run 2, but not always.
It is usually an adventure trying to figure out where/when to register. One of the most common places is www.adminskiracing.com, but some races will require you to to register directly on their website or some other 3rd party.
Timing systems are used on race days and are usually broadcast over the internet on sites like www.live-timing.com. I’ll be writing more soon on spending your time-living vis live-timing when parents can be huddled over their phones waiting for scores (don’t do this).
First, an overview of her gear for the season. This is definitely a gear-intensive sport and the kids grow out of it. It is helpful that we are able to pass a lot of it down to Charlotte, but definitely recommend getting your kids sizing in a spreadsheet or notepad somewhere and buy throughout the Summer when no one else is buying.
Victoria’s 2024/25 Race Gear:
Skis: Victoria used 2 race skis throughout the season, a 121cm Nordica Dobermann Slalom ski and a 131cm Atomic Redster G9 Giant Slalom Ski.
Boots: 20.5 Head Raptor 60 (more about kids ski boots here)
Poles: (Don’t get me started… she lost her Leki pole strap…) Atomic Redster Jr 95cm, no pole guards
Speed Suit: Arctica Youth Patriot GS Race Suit – Midnight, Small
Side-Zip Pants: Sync Kids Top Step Pant, size 8
Helmet: Sweet Protection Volata 2Vi® Mips Race Helmet, Size SM
I’ll also get into Alpine Racing 101 for kids 101 soon on another blog post. Know this: that each and every time she gets on the race course my heart rate at least doubles. It is such a parent thing to want to keep your kids safe and how do we do such a thing when they are going as fast as they can down icy slopes? You have to just trust the process and they need to trust their skis.
For now, I’ll just summarize Victoria’s race season knowing that race days are very specific, long, and can be very rewarding!
1st Race: Giant Slalom @ Black Mountain of Maine (January 12, 2025)
The first race of the year is at a really cool and relatively unknown ski area called Black Mountain of Maine (BMOM) in Rangely. I’ll include more on this resort and others in a future post about all the places to teach your kids to ski in Maine. This race includes U8, U10, U12, and U14 athletes from across the state and is typically the first race of the year for all these age groups.
Victoria skied really well this race after not being able to participate in it last year because she broke her arm. Giant Slalom races are always fun to watch as they go quite a bit faster than slalom. This race in particular also is fun because it has a steep section right in view of the spectators so you get to see some thrilling turns before they turn into the flats and then across the finish line.
Victoria’s First Run
Victoria’s Second Run
Result: 2nd Place (Silver)
2nd Race: Camden Snow Bowl Kombi (January 19, 2025)
Just a week after the first race was her second race of the year, this time in Camden, ME at the Camden Snow Bowl. The Snow Bowl is a fantastic little hill with an incredible view of the Atlantic Ocean from the summit. This is a “Kombi” style race which mixes several different ski racing elements together in a single course, requiring the athletes to mix their turn shapes, styles, and think ahead to these transitions.
Again, I’m very proud of Victoria’s performance here. Above all, I’m proud of her dedication to the sport and for getting up at 4 in the morning to embark on a 2 hour drive to ski in much worse conditions than our home mountain. We celebrated with a rare trip together to Target on the way home through Augusta and were welcomed home late in the evening by the rest of the family and some delicious food.
Victoria’s First Run
Victoria’s Second Run
Result: 2nd Place (Silver)
3rd Race: Lost Valley JP Parisien Stubbie (February 02, 2025)
The JP Parisien Race is one of our favorite races of the year because we love this little mountain and they put on such a great event. This is a perfect “starter” race for any little U8s and this year we even let Charlotte get in on the action and she had her first race ever at only 5 years old!
This is Charlotte’s first race @ 5 years old!
This race has a great story to it as it honors the life of “JP” Parisien, brother of former Alpine ski athlete Julie Parisien, whose life was tragically ended early by a drunk driver. The race is really unique as it uses “stubbies” that are very short, allowing kids to get really close to them as the ski through the course. The race also has the start and finish lines in full view of the audience at the bottom, which is unique, and because it is a short race it allows for the athletes and their families to finish and get home much earlier than other races.
Victoria’s First Run
Victoria’s Second Run
Result: 3rd Place (Bronze)
4th Race: Titcomb Mtn Panel Slalom (February 18, 2025)
Titcomb Mountain is a small ski venue in Farmington, Maine with a big heart. This is definitely the smallest venue that we race at and it is unique in that the race is mid-week during school break and occurs in the afternoon/evening instead of the morning, meaning the kids get to race under the lights which is a different experience than they are used to. You can see the lighting difference in the videos below from her first run to her second run.
Victoria continues to ski well and we began working on a few adjustments to her techniques that have appeared as habits over the years that will help her to continue improving.
Victoria’s First Run
Victoria’s Second Run
Result: 2nd Place (Silver)
5th Race: MARA Festival Dual Panel SL @ Pleasant Mountain (March 9, 2025)
Another unique race, this time at a much larger venue, Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton, ME. The is a dual panel slalom which means that 2 athletes race side-by-side on similar courses. This gives them a very unique perspective because now they can see them gain or lose on their competitor. Each course ultimately has a different feel because of snow conditions and
There were a lot of great runs at this event and I watched all of the races because they are so entertaining. Victoria had a great time and it was incredible to see her and the team compete and have some incredible runs and it was a great day on the slopes. What an incredible amount of effort and work over these past few months.
Victoria’s first run
Victoria’s Second Run
Result: 6th Place
Victoria & I at the MARA Festival.
Season done!
