Overview
MIT’s Alpine Ski Team is a competitive club team for students with a passion for skiing and ski racing. The team is a vibrant group of student-athletes ranging in experience from seasoned racers to recreational skiers with no previous racing experience. All levels are welcome – what matters most is a love of skiing, having fun, and getting outdoors.
Dry Land Workouts
The team offers pre-season strength + power workouts 3x per week during the 5:00-7:00 PM athletics block in the fall semester. Training consists of a mix of weight lifting (with emphasis on leg and lower back exercises), core workouts, and agility sessions. Off-season workouts focus more on building a strong foundation of flexibility, alignment, and cardio capacity, as well as keeping the team connected!
Training and Race Season
The team spends MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) living in a cabin in Rumney, NH and training at Dartmouth Skiway (it is a relatively small mountain which caters to the D1 Dartmouth team, so we can get lots of training in on great snow without the crowds). Each week we have 3-4 days of training, followed by two race days on the weekend, and then a day off to relax at the cabin or visit MIT to see friends on campus. Life at the cabin is one of the best aspects of the season: we cook together, eat lots of food, tune our skis, play games and relax.
The team races in the DIII USCSA MacConnell division in slalom and giant slalom events. Race venues have included Wildcat, Mount Sunapee, Proctor Academy, Whiteface, Pat’s Peak, West Mountain, and more. There are 8 other schools in our division: Babson, Brown, Castleton, Clarkson, New England College, Saint Anselm, UConn and UMass. All races are competitive and sanctioned by USSA and/or FIS. The coaches and athletes in the league are very friendly and athletes assist with gatekeeping during races, which is a great time to make friends on other teams.
Equipment
Athletes provide most of their own gear and clothing, but we provide you with a team jacket and a speed suit, and tuning (ski waxing and sharpening) equipment to share. We have a limited selection of poles, poleguards, shinguards, and snowpants that can be borrowed, and skis that can be rented out to athletes usually ~$100/season. There are restrictions on equipment allowed in competition – for example, race skis must adhere to certain length and radius requirements, and a FIS-sticker helmet is required to race GS. If you are new to racing, talk to us before making any big purchases – we can help you find used skis for cheap, give advice on boot-fitting, and get team discounts at Patagonia and Shred/Slytech, which sell ski clothing and helmets.