Summer camp will look vastly different for a lucky group of Asheville area youth this summer. Dozens of kids from WNC will be representing the state at Mt. Hood Oregon this summer as they hone their skills as ski racers.
The Asheville Ski Club Racing & Development Team is the brainchild of Joe Lackey and Doug MacMillan, Asheville parents of champion skiers.
“We have some tremendous talent in this region and we know the way to take this to the next level is to engage in summer training. The ASC-RDT is a program that offers the best in coaching to local athletes so they can better represent the region during racing system,” said Lackey.
Children ages 9 to 18 will be attending the camp for anywhere from one to four weeks. The program is modeled after existing camps in the Mt. Hood area – one of the few places with year round ski training in the United States. The advantages to the ASC-RDT program is that athletes will train with familiar peers and coaches who can continue their guidance once kids return home to North Carolina. Lackey and other parent organizers Ken Porter-Shirley, Doug MacMillan and Stephanie Carson are also working to make the program affordable.
“Skiing isn’t an inexpensive sport and we’ve been able to maintain the costs of this camp to half the price of most of the other camps available in Oregon. It’s enabling parents to send their kids for multiple weeks, which is really where kids will see the benefits in their racing,” said Ken Porter-Shirley.