Welcome to the FIS SnowKidz June Newsletter! The FIS SnowKidz wish all Friends of Skiing a great summer with lots of sun and fun before the 2010/2011 winter season starts again!

2010 SNOWKIDZ AWARD FINALISTS PRESENTED AT FIS CONGRESS IN ANTALYA

The FIS SnowKidz Award was launched in May 2009. It is part of the international FIS Bring Children to the Snow campaign that was initiated by the FIS Council in December 2007. This award aims to recognize and promote the best examples of bringing children to the snow in varying national circumstances. It especially seeks examples of projects that have succeeded in bringing youngsters to the snow for the first time and help create long-term interest in snow activities among younger generations.

For the first edition of the Award, presented at the Antalya Congress, 23 applications from 19 National Ski Associations were received. A three-member jury selected the eight finalists from among all the entries whilst the Top 3 Award Winners were elected by the FIS Council in Antalya. A minimum of three of the eight finalists had to represent the developing ski nations. Each finalist’s National Ski Association has received an award of CHF 5’000 whilst the top three received an additional CHF 10’000, 8’000 and 5’000, respectively.

2010 FIS SNOWKIDZ AWARD FINALISTS IN PORTRAIT

Below you find a short description for each of the eight 2010 FIS SnowKidz Award finalists:

The Ski Bus (Suusabuss) project was started by the Estonian Ski Association for the season 2007/2008 offering professional ski lessons for beginners at schools. This way, pupils and teachers alike can engage in cross-country skiing and learn that the sport is not difficult but instead, lots of fun!

The Teach the Teachers to Ski project by the Finnish Ski Association provides teachers with ideas and skills to conduct lessons on skis, thereby involving children in the FIS disciplines. In cross-country, the project has even encouraged the schools to buy sets of skis for everyone to use.

The Snow Child‘s Play project was implemented by the German Ski Federation and is an age-appropriate and free of cost activity in the snow (mainly alpine / cross country) by a ski club or ski school in cooperation with at least one kindergarten!

The Snow Day project by the Hungarian Ski Association moved 3’000 people to the slopes with the aim of introducing them to winter sports like alpine skiing, alpine and freestyle snowboarding, telemark skiing, nordic skiing, biathlon, dog sledding and additional activities such as winter skill games, ice carving.

The Skilly Day project by the Italian Ski Federation is the last joyful step of articulated non-competitive programs to widespread ski practice encompassing ski courses for children of different skill levels. It is also the final act of the ski race contest called Ski Challenge featuring races that resemble courtyard games on snow.

As part of the Children‘s Ski Club project the Norwegian Ski Federation launched the website Barnasskiklubb.no, which is dedicated to the children projects of the National Ski Associations. Current projects include for example the Online Ski Distance Registration, the Club Battle or the online skiing game for children.

The Naltar Ski School project by the Pakistan Ski Federation established a ski school to help kids with limited financial resources or from dry/desert areas to get exposed to skiing by providing lodging / boarding at a nominal charge while ski equipment and coaching are provided free of charge.

The Healthy Hometowns Program launched by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association introduces skiing to communities without resources to provide youth programs, and enhances opportunities in communities with existing ski programs. For example, Healthy Hometowns provides programming for nearly 5,000 youth participants each year, in addition to providing seasonal equipment rentals to an additional 2,000 kids. A pair of portable trailers makes rounds all winter long throughout Maine. The program also conducts leadership workshops to bring wintersport teaching skills to Maine communities.

…AND THE 2010 FIS SNOWKIDZ AWARD GOES TO…

The award was presented at the conclusion of the FIS Congress on Friday, 4th June, after the eight finalists were showcased during the week, providing the more than 1,000 delegates from 74 nations with a chance to learn more from the best practices of these award-winning programs.

The eight finalists were selected by a panel including Satu Kalajainen of Finland, representing the FIS Youth and Children’s’ Coordination Group; Essar Gabriel of France, head of the IOC Youth Olympic Games; and Swiss Riet R. Campell, President of the International Ski Instructors’ Association. The FIS Council made the final decision on the top three.

"The more I learned about these projects in all the nations I felt proud – extremely proud," said Kalajainen, one of the judges and member of the FIS Youth and Children's Coordination Group. "Each of you have every reason to be proud of what is going on with youth and children in your countries."

"This is the first time we have awarded this special prize and we will, of course, continue," said FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. "You know, it's not always a question of money - it's a question of what you can do in your nation for the kids, and that doesn't always cost a lot to bring them to the snow."

« I was amazed by the wide range of different projects, which shows that the National Ski Associations have a lot of initiatives. It was an honor to be part of the FIS SnowKidz Awards Jury and I congratulate the winning candidate and all participants for their valuable contribution,” said Essar Gabriel.

The top prize went to Norway with its innovative Barnas Skiklubb (kids ski club) program while the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association club with its Maine-based "Healthy Hometowns" program was honored with second place. Germany’s Snow Child‘s Play project was recognized as the third of the top three FIS SnowKidz programs in the world.

"It was really inspiring to see all the different projects," said Maine Winter Sports Center Vice President and Program Director Eilleen Carey. "It allows people to share ideas. The Norwegian project is a cool program with an interactive web site that engages kids around the country to get into skisport – I got a lot of ideas from it. We want to catapult the next generation into leading healthier lifestyles and we're doing that," Carey added.

FIS SnowKidz Award Finalists
1. Barnas Skiklubb, Norway
2. Maine Winter Sports Center, Healthy Hometowns Program, USA
3. Snow Child‘s Play – moving country, Germany
4. Suusabuss (Skibus), Estonia
5. Snow Day, Hungary
6. Skilly Day, Italy
7. Teach the Teachers to Ski, Finland
8. Naltar Ski School, Pakistan

Stay tuned for more information on the FIS SnowKidz on the campaign website at www.fis-snowkidz.com and on the Youth & Children seminar in the next newsletter! Feel free to forward this to your colleagues who you think would be interested. For any comments or questions or if you are interested in having the FIS SnowKidz visit your event next season, please do not hesitate to contact us on snowkidz@fisski.com.