Photos Courtesy of Make-A-Wish Foundation
You don’t need fancy skis, a speed suit, an entry fee, or even any experience to try ski racing. That’s what Vertical Challenge wants you and your family to know. The only rule? Do your best, treat people nicely and have fun.
Vertical Challenge is a series in the Northeast of free casual ski and snowboard races open to skiers, adaptive skiers, snowboarders and adaptive snowboarders of all ages and abilities. If you ski at one of the 20+ host ski areas (the New Hampshire-based tour hosts Vertical Challenges events almost every weekend through winter), just complete a registration form online and join in the fun. Each Vertical Challenge feels like a festival, with activities for all ages and prizes given away throughout the day.
For almost 30 years, the Vertical Challenge team has made it a priority to create an environment where every participant and family member is welcomed, accepted, and supported. The Vertical Challenge team is especially dialed-in when it comes to the needs of young racers, meaning you’ll find everything you need at the event, including encouragement. Experienced participants support first-time racers, multiple generations bond and make lifelong memories, and racers of all ages learn that the only real competitor is themselves. Most importantly, Vertical Challenge inspires kids to make an impact in their community.
Vertical Challenge’s charitable partner is Make-A-Wish Foundation, an international organization that grants the wishes of critically ill children between the ages of three and 17. So far, the organization has brought 550,000 wishes to life in 43 years. Having a wish come true can help a child build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness, giving them a higher quality of life and better health outcomes.
In addition to its charitable raffle for prizes at every event, Vertical Challenge encourages young racers to create fundraisers for Make-A-Wish in their home areas—sometimes it’s at school; sometimes it’s a lemonade stand. In addition to raising money for an important cause, the fundraising process fosters skills like community service, leadership, volunteerism, and teamwork. It builds team spirit and gives students hands-on experience fundraising to help create change.
The tour partners with National Standard Race (NASTAR), a program that gives recreational racers an opportunity to compete and compare their scores to friends and family. Vertical Challenge racers can earn NASTAR ranking points, and the top three finishers in each category qualify for the Vertical Challenge finals held in April, an event many families attend year after year.
As Vertical Challenge says, it’s the most fun your family will have this winter.
For more information, check out: ski-vc.com