The youth programs have finished for the season.

Thanks so much for all of the coaches for leading great ski sessions this past season. You are the pillar of the program! Also, thanks for all of the parents and grandparents for making it possible for the children to come up to Dawn Mountain for their sessions and to be a parent volunteer to join and ski with the groups. And a big thank you to the youth for making it so much fun to ski!!! We love your energy, excitement, ideas, and enthusiasm to try new things, play the games, and push yourselves as you develop your cross-country skiing skills and fitness. Way to go, team!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Registration for all Youth 2024/25 programs will open in the fall!
Go to Zone 4 To Register (link will be active in the fall)

The GNSC Youth Program is always looking for volunteer coaches to coach the Bunnyrabbits and Jackrabbits Programs! Please contact programcoordinator@goldennordicclub.ca if you are interested. The Golden Nordic Ski Club will pay for your training if you volunteer for the entire season. Benefits for coaching: the joy of skiing with the youth, providing learning experiences in a life-long sport, eligibility for the following year’s volunteer membership discount, and an honorarium after volunteering for the season (or an individual membership for the following year). We cannot run the youth programs without our volunteer coaches. Please consider joining the coaches team this season so that the children can get out and have a great time developing skills, meeting new friends, gaining confidence, building fitness, and getting a start on a lifelong sport.

How to Become a Youth Program Coach

No matter which age level of skiers you hope to coach, you will need to start at the beginning with the certification for coaching Bunnyrabbits (ages 3-5). Once you completed this, you can take extra courses for the next levels to be able to coach Jackrabbits or Track Attack. The
Coaching Requirements for Bunnyrabbits (ages 3-5) are all online:

• Set up a (free) National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) account and obtain your NCCP#

• Coach Initiation in Sport (1 hour)

• Intro To Community Coaching (ICC) (4-5 hours)

• Understanding the Rule of Two (20 minutes)

• Making Ethical Decisions online module (3.5 hours)

• SafeSport Training (90 minutes)

• Sign up for your Nordiq Canada coaching license (free) and register each year (this covers your insurance)

• A current, cleared criminal record check specific for coaching for the Golden Nordic Ski Club youth program

• Minimum age is 14 years old

Coaching Jackrabbits (ages 6-9)

In addition to the above requirements, you will need:

• Community Coaching (CC) on-snow course (13 hours)

• be at least 14 years old

Coaching Track Attack (9-12)

In addition to all the above requirements, you will need:

• Learning to Train (L2T) Dryland - in person

• Learning to Train (L2T) On-Snow - in person

Why Cross Country Skiing?

Our Bunnies, Jackrabbit, Track Attack (Nordic Cruisers and Nordic Racers), and Junior Race Program offer a fun way for your kids to get out in the snow with our fully qualified and NCCP certified coaches. Your kids will learn essential ski techniques, critical coordination, and balance skills through games and challenges, while developing a love for being on their skis! They will also love to be outside and active in the winter environment, putting them on the right path for a healthy lifestyle. Most importantly they will have, hopefully, a lot of Fun!

Cross-country skiing is great fun and offers great affordability. It is a low impact, low risk outdoor winter sport and is truly a “sport for life”. At a basic level, it is a sport that is easily learned, with “no boundaries” for age, gender or fitness level. At the highest level of competition, its mastery demands exceptional skills and fitness.

Why the Golden Nordic Ski Club?

GNSC’s trail system is a premier cross-country skiing destination just twenty minutes from downtown Golden!
Our facilities include a log-built Chalet which provides a warm, comfortable and safe base for the participants of all our programs.
Our team of youth coaches have all been trained to the standards set by the Skills Development program of Nordiq Canada to set your child on the right track and keep them on it! Our Programs are affordable and offer exceptional value.

Programs:

All our programs run on-snow from December (Jackrabbits, Track Attack, and Teen Program) and January (Bunnies start then) until Spring-Break. The program fee includes all coaching plus registration in the GNSC Huckleberry Loppett and/or Dawn Mountain Challenge.

COLD WEATHER POLICY: Our threshold for cancellation of a program is -15C. A number of factors will play into this decision such as wind, sun, snow, etc. We will inform parents the day before or at least 2 hours before programs start. Expect at least one or two cold weather days through the season.

PLEASE NOTE: There are limits to the number of children who can be registered in each program based on coach availability and adhering to the 1:8 Coach to Athlete ratio recommended by CCBC. If the program is already full, please place your child on the wait list by emailing: programcoordinator@goldennordicclub.ca And then we will do our best to find more certified coaches to help with our programs.

Skill Development Programs for each age group:

Ski Rentals Program (Children must be a participant of our Bunnies/Jackrabbits/Track Attack Program, or Race Program): *** Full
to get on the waitlist, email us at programcoordinator@goldennordicclub.ca

To keep Cross Country Skiing affordable for families, GNSC has a fleet of rental skis, boots, and poles that are available to be rented for the whole season. We are once again working on having enough gear for both the Youth Program and the School programs so that the gear can be taken home for the entire season. GNSC is unable to guarantee the availability of rental equipment for all participants.
When your child’s program is scheduled to learn Skate Skiing, the GNSC has Skate Skis that all the Youth can use for the session at no cost.

Seasonal rental package 2023/24- $80.00 *** Full
to get on the waitlist, email us at programcoordinator@goldennordicclub.ca

Registration Instructions:

Registration and payment of fees is managed through Zone 4 (www.zone4.ca).

Huckleberry Loppet and the Dawn Mountain Challenge:

The Huckleberry Loppet will be 10-11 February, 2024. All children registered in GNSC youth programs will participate at no extra charge. Please do not register for the loppet on Zone 4 or you will have to pay the registration fee. Wednesday coaches will be asking their skiers whether they would like to participate in the loppet. Saturday youth programs will participate as part of their sessions. This season we may run the very fun and successful Dawn Mountain Challenge.

Parent/Guardian Involvement:

Our youth program is entirely dependent on volunteers. Volunteers are needed for coaching, tail guiding, lodge sitting, and many other duties. All parents of the Bunnyrabbits age children must accompany the program (on skis) for the full hour to help the coach and your child. We require that no coach is alone with their group. So each week a parent must ski with the group. The coach will organize this and have a parent each week with the group. The hours that each parent assists the group can be hours put towards their volunteer club membership rate.

Notes:

** Skill Levels – GNSC will do its best to put your child in the suitable level group based on age, ability, and coach availability. When registering please let us know what level your child has already achieved in the program, whether they are new to the program, or continuing to the next age category. The categorization of kids in suitable levels is at the discretion of the program coordinator and coaches.

** In addition to the program fee, registrants are required to pay the $21.00 Cross Country BC membership fee which provides liability coverage for the participant and GNSC. This will be calculated on Zone 4.

If you have any further questions please email the Program Coordinator

Additional programs are available through the Schools and Special Olympics