2023 - 2024 Far West Skier's Guide - 55

Snowsports Leadership
Academy Sessions...
Planning your Successful Trip: An
Adventure Leader can make all the difference.
Work closely with your Tour Operator or
Travel Company to get the most up-to-date information
and monitor closely.
FAM: Familiarization & Educational
Debbie Stewart, FWSA Vice President -
International Travel, presented a very
informative Snowsports Leadership
Academy session on group travel secrets.
Group Travel Secrets:
Details... Determine...
Destiny...
by Debbie Stewart,
Vice President -
International Travel, FWSA
We had an exciting Snowsports Leadership
Academy program addressing several
areas of group travel. We discussed " Destiny "
and what it means to you. Is group travel
worth the wait? Well, of course, since anticipation
is half the enjoyment looking forward
to your future trip. We talked about teasing
your participants, keeping them engaged
months before their trip and maximizing their
enjoyment.
AIRmageddon: We discussed why air
travel is becoming so miserable and how to
overcome this.
Group Travel Program Preparation:
Business models have changed... Change your
Mindset! Flight prices are up and like the airlines,
hotels are using Revenue Managers and
Dynamic Pricing. So, book early and secure
your lodging and air blocks.
Travel Selectively and Slowly: By trying
to see everything, we run the risk of seeing
nothing. Good travel is slow travel, where you
loiter and linger. You take in what you hear,
feel and see things that may have otherwise
been missed.
Trips: Do NOT go on a FAM because you, the
travel leader wants a free or discounted trip.
The supplier will want to see that you are serious,
have a marketing plan for that destination
and are actually going to execute it.
YOU HAVE A COMMITMENT!
Set Cultural Expectations for International
Travelers: Culture shock can be a
real challenge, so do your best to prepare your
travelers in advance.
Registration and Trip Documents: Include
appropriate disclaimers, waivers, have
legal review on all your documents, use incident/injury
forms, and be sure to use typeface
no smaller than 6pt. Effective Communication
before, during and after your trip was addressed.
Club
and Council Liability Insurance:
This aspect of trip planning was talked about.
Protect your club, council, directors and officers
with appropriate insurance.
Seller of Travel Rules: This topic was
discussed including the CST and TCRC requirements.
Safety
and Security: Rules, Regulations
and Protocols were shared. Links to the World
Health Organization, STEP - Smart Traveler
Enrollment Program, Center for Disease Control
& Prevention - CDC and Divers Alert
Network - DAN.
Recent Updates and What's New: Reports
where shared, Sustainability was addressed,
as well as AI and Chat GPT...and
Juice Jacking prevention.
Tips, Tricks and Good Business Management:
Develop a strong travel team. Develop
Goals, Succession Planning, Mentorship,
Coaching, Training, give good Direction, Motivation,
and be a Great Mentor! By doing this,
you'll boost team productivity, quality work, efficiency,
effectiveness, and much more. Time
management skills were talked about by doing
the hard work first!
Lastly...
" Communicate, Prepare, Share,
Unite and Be Organized...
This Will Lead You to a Very
Successful Travel Program! "
Preserving Ski Club
History - The Ease of
Preparing a Digital
Book
by Jane Wyckoff
History Committee Chair, FWSA
The Snowsports Leadership Academy
included a highly educational module on
" Preserving Ski Club History - The Ease of
Preparing a Digital Book. " Presenters for
this session were John W. Lundin and Tony
Baker, historians and authors. Lundin is an
award-winning author of books and numerous
articles regarding ski jumping, ski resorts
and the Sun Valley Ski Club.
Several of his
books were winners of the Skade Award from
the International Skiing History Association
(ISHA), and he was the 2023 recipient of
the FWSA's Western Ski Heritage Award.
Tony Baker was editor of the 2023 FWSA
History Recognition Award winning book,
" Rusty Bindings 50: 1971-2021. " He devoted
several years to researching and writing
a comprehensive history of his club on their
50th Anniversary.
John explained that skiing in this country
started in ski clubs, beginning in the early
1900s, so it is important to preserve their history.
He noted that ski club historians should
go beyond their internal history and research
the role their clubs played in promoting skiing
in their areas, which was typically widely reported
by local newspapers. Information and
historic pictures can be found in scanned
newspaper collections available through local
libraries and elsewhere. Word and date
searches of those collections can locate articles
and pictures about ski clubs and their
Far West Skier's Guide 2O23 - 2O24
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2023 - 2024 Far West Skier's Guide

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