According to program director Heather Sims, there has been a 70% increase in kids participating in YSA programs from the Heber Valley. She said they attend programs offered in both Heber as well as the Park City area resorts.
“The ski programs,” Sims said, “they do come up here, but the programs that we run in Heber, we utilize Soldier Hollow. And then we have a lot of organizations that come to the schools. Mountain biking, which is our second biggest program, next to skiing, we utilize the trails down there. So, we try to do as many as we can located in Heber. But obviously the ski programs, they do come up here [Park City].”
Getting the kids where they need to be is always a challenge, she said. But it’s eased by the help of volunteers, who also get some perks from the program.
“They basically help the kids get ready, get them on the bus,” she said. “We head off to the venues, and then the kids go off with the instructors, and then the chaperones get them back on the bus back to the schools. And if they are chaperoning Park City Mountain or Deer Valley, they also get a lift pass, so they get to ski for the afternoon.”
On any given winter day, she said nearly 30 vehicles are needed to transport kids to the various program venues. YSA gets support for that effort from a couple of transportation companies which are paid thanks to funding from the Jim Gaddis Endowment.
YSA executive director Emily Fisher also said the Vail Resorts EPIC Promise program is again offering discounted lift tickets to Park City Mountain, or any of their resorts this year.
“100% of those sales come back to the Youth Sports Alliance,” Fisher said. “You can go direct to lift there's no blackout dates, which is huge. So, you can buy those tickets at Jan's Mountain Outfitters, just the Park Ave. location, Peaks Hotel and Switchback Sports. They are $177 each, including the credit card fees. But as I said that all comes back to the Youth Sports Alliance. They're perfect for guests coming to town or when it's sold out.”
The passes she adds typically sell out by February.
Find more information about YSA programs and volunteer opportunities here.
