2017-2018 Far West Skier's Guide - 29

FWSA Athletic
Scholarship Program
Dalton Swallow, Far West Scholarship recipient,
is from Donnelly, Idaho and skis for the McCall
Winter Sports Club. photo provided by Dalton Swallow

by David Krupp
Athletic Scholarship Committee Chair, FWSA

The Far West Ski Association Athletic Scholarship Program is entering its 14th year, growing from an initial $1,500 in scholarships in
2004 to over $13,000 and 14 recipients in the 2016-2017 season. The total awarded since the program's inception is now well over $100,000
to over 100 recipients.
The program is designed to provide financial assistance to junior ski racers throughout the western United States where FWSA has a
presence. Applicants must be junior alpine ski racers affiliated with US Ski and Snowboard and must participate in racing programs in states
where FWSA has regional councils. These include California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Scholarships
are awarded based on financial need, athletic performance, academic achievement, and community service.
Skiing is an expensive sport and the costs involved in ski racing cannot be left up to the parents alone to incur. For younger athletes the
costs are modest. However, for 16 through 20 year olds, where competition becomes national and even international, the costs can be significant.
Without the help of outside resources, many junior racers simply cannot compete. For a top competitor, expenses can reach $20,000 per year.
This is not a seasonal sport for these racers; it includes a full year of ski-related involvement. After the winter race competition has concluded,
competitors engage in dryland training; then off to summer camps. Camps typically run about $1,200 per week, not including transportation.
Winter training costs range from $1,000 - $1,500 each season. Most applicants work part time to offset expenses. The demands on their
time is significant. They must balance their time between training, competition, school, work, and community service. Despite these demands,
the average GPA for these recipients consistently exceeds a 3.9 average. Our scholarships are modest compared to the need, but they do make
a difference in the overall scope of the resources they require.
The funding of the scholarships come from a number of sources: raffles, auctions, club and council partnerships, and direct contributions
from club members, clubs, and councils. The FWSA has greatly benefitted from the generous support from its sponsors including Whitefish
Mountain Resort (www.skiwhitefish.com), a year round winter and summer resort; Grouse Mountain Lodge (www.grousemountainlodge.com), a
premier choice in mountain resort accommodations; Schure Sports, Inc. (www.karbonmail.com), maker of the Karbon line of snowsports
apparel; and the Far West Racing Association (www.fwra.com). Their contributions of vacation packages, snowsports apparel, and cash bring
in approximately $10,000 per year as raffle and auction proceeds, as well as, direct cash donations.
In addition, our partnership program through clubs and councils afford us approximately one third of our scholarship funding each year.
Finally, the Far West Ski Foundation (www.farwestskifoundation.org), a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, is a valuable resource for encouraging
tax exempt donations. For more information on the Far West Athletic Scholarship Program, please visit www.fwsa.org. ss
Far West Skier's Guide 2O17 - 2O18

http://www.skiwhitefish.com http://www.grousemountainlodge.com http://www.karbonmail.com http://www.fwra.com http://www.farwestskifoundation.org http://www.fwsa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2017-2018 Far West Skier's Guide