Junior Nordics News
Are You Ready for Junior Nordics?
It’s nearly time for Mat-Su Junior Nordics to begin! Our coaches are preparing and our volunteers are dusting off their skis. We hope all our Junior Nordics participants are ready to hit the trails this coming week!
Junior Nordics Orientation will take place at the GPRA parking lot at the following times:
- January 4th at 1:00 pm for M/W afternoon session
- January 4th 5:30 pm for M/W evening session
- January 5th at 5:30 pm for T/Th evening session
An outdoor orientation will take place near the Chalet, and skiers will end with a brief ski with their groups. Parents and skiers should attend. Please allow space for social distancing between family groups and wear a face covering.
A few items of business to help orientation run smoothly:
- Health and safety is of special importance this year. It is the goal of MSSC to have a fun, successful season. Adhering to the guidelines in the COVID-19 mitigation plan is the responsibility of both participants and volunteers. Please follow the guidelines closely. Download the Covid Plan
- ALL SKIS LOOK THE SAME! Sorry to yell, but it’s true! Don’t assume that because the skis and poles are supposed to be attached to your skier that they’ll stay attached until you pick your skier up! Please use blue painter’s tape/permanent marker and write your child’s first and last name on all skis and poles before orientation night.
- For returning Junior Nordics skiers: you need to move UP one level from the group you skied with last year.
- For skiers new to the program: Our head coaches will be helping you determine which group is most appropriate for you during orientation. Age and ski experience will be taken into account.
- All groups starting spots are spread way out in the stadium this year to allow for social distancing. Check this map to see where your group will be starting. Coaches will also be leading groups to their start spots during orientation.
Click here for larger image
Final Ski Rental for Junior Nordics
November 12th is the last chance to pick up ski gear for the upcoming Junior Nordics season! Volunteers will be at the shed at GPRA at 5:30 ready to size gear, help with the necessary rental paperwork, and accept payment for a short time only. Please sign up here to let us know you are coming. If you want to volunteer during this event, please contact Allison Fry at .
*Skis and poles can be rented through Mat-Su Ski Club for $50 a pair. This includes skis with bindings and poles. We accept cash, checks, and cards, however cash or check are preferred (the card reader isn’t Alaskan enough to work consistently in the cold!).
*A refundable ski and pole deposit of $150 per pair of skis is required at time of rental. Please bring a separate check with you for this deposit. The check should be post-dated for April 17th, 2021.
It’s also important to note that Backcountry Bike & Ski will be set up in the parking lot of their store in downtown Palmer to rent boots and sell wax kits to Junior Nordics families on October 31st at 12:00-3:00 PM. They will be accepting cash, card, and check, but will not have change, so please bring exact change. The price of boot rental is $41.20 and wax kits will be sold for $46.35.
Junior Nordics ski rentals
Ski pick up is happening today, Saturday October 17th, from 4:30-6:00 PM at the GPRA parking lot. An email with details has been sent but we’ve been getting reports of people who didn’t see it. If you’re one of them, check your spam, and if you still don’t see it there, please contact us at .
The link to sign up for the remaining slots for ski rental is here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d49adae23a3f4c34-skipick
The link to sign up as a volunteer is here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d49adae23a3f4c34-junior
Don’t forget – a check is required for the refundable deposit! We also appreciate check or cash payment for the ski rental, however we will accept cards as well.
We hope to see you there!
2021 Junior Nordics Schedule
Planning for the 2021 Junior Nordics program is underway!
Registration for Junior Nordics opens up September 15th.
Participants can choose from three options:
- Monday & Wednesday afternoons 1:00-2:00 (75 participants)
- Monday & Wednesday evenings from 5:30-6:30 (150 participants)
- Tuesday & Thursday evenings from 5:30-6:30 (150 participants)
Space in each session is limited, and registration is first-come, first-served.
Mat-Su Ski Club relies on dedicated volunteers and is looking for individuals who would like to volunteer to coach our Junior Nordics groups. Coaches must be able to commit to any of the above three sessions January 4th through March 6th 2021. If interested, please email .
Junior Nordics rental ski returns
Ski Return Sign Up (Click “read more” for link) Junior Nordics ski returns will be held on Friday, May 15th from 6-8pm and Saturday, May 16th from 9-11am. The signup is intended to allow 10 families every 15 minutes. Please signup and stick to your scheduled time!
We will have cones set up to help guide you while also maintaining social distancing. Please help us by keeping kids in your vehicles and only having 1 family member at a time returning skis, poles and boots.
Please clean your skis and remove all tape/name tags from the skis and poles. If you rented boots from Backcountry Bike & Ski, please bring them with you. We will not have a ski cleaning station this year. If skis are not cleaned, you will be charged $10/per set of skis if we have to clean them. Thanks for your help!!
Junior Nordic ski return day postponed
Junior Nordic ski return postponed from April 18.
Final ski return will be Fri, May 15 and Sat, May 16, hrs by appt. We will be sending out more info at the beginning of May, including a sign up for specific return times, in order to limit the number of families there at the same time.
Thanks for your cooperation.
JN T-Shirts Sold Out
T-Shirts for Adults, Women, and Youth with the Junior Nordic Logo are sold out. If you purchased some, you can pick them up at the Junior Nordics Orientation on the first day for your session in early January.
Ski Rental Pick-Up
Ski rental and pick-up is October 19th, at the GPRA Chalet 10-11am. If you’ve rented skis, we’ll see you there!
JN Registration Closed
Registration for all Junior Nordics Sessions is now closed for the 2020 season. Come back next year to join us!
Junior Nordics Registration Still Open
Registration for all sessions of Junior Nordics is still open. Registration for all sessions closes on October 18th, 2019; or earlier if the session fills up.
Ski Rental and Pick-Up is at the GPRA Chalet on October 19th, 10-11am.