Ski equipment is expensive and can be somewhat terrifying to parents looking at spending $100’s on equipment they may not know a whole lot about. There will be a number of opportunities to buy used equipment; other GPST parents, the ski swap, and numerous local ski shops. Local shops may have a “Ski Team Night” with special pre-season discounts for ski team families. Keep your eyes open and you may find closeouts on “last years” perfectly good new equipment at any of the local shops.
Skis
For the beginning racer just about any set of shaped carving skis in good condition that is the right size will do. If you buy used, check that the bindings are tightly mounted and in good repair. This should be done at a ski shop; many used skis have bindings that are no longer safe and cannot be adjusted. Find out before you buy! Make sure the edges don’t have large nicks and the bottoms are smooth, without large gouges or scratches. The classic mistake is to judge the condition of a ski by the colorful upper surface rather than the condition of the bottom. If you stand the ski on end, it should reach somewhere between the bottom your child’s nose and their eyebrows. If you buy new equipment the ski shop can prepare them as part of your purchase (expect them to add $25-30 to the cost). If you buy used you will need to take them to a ski shop to have the bindings set, the edges sharpened and the bottoms waxed, and if necessary repaired. YOUR RACER’S SAFETY DEPENDS ON HAVING THIS DONE BY A TRAINED TECHNICIAN. The shop will need the boots to set the bindings.
As a racer improves it becomes necessary to have racing skis. While some may question this at first, we could make a comparison. How would you feel driving a ten-year-old luxury car with bald tires (no traction), that’s stuck in second gear (getting moving is difficult, and you can’t go very fast) on twisty mountain roads, with poor brakes you need to pump? Compare that to a SUV, with new snow tires, a five speed automatic transmission, and antilock brakes on the same road. No comparison, right? RIGHT! Racers need race skis. The skis need to be the proper size and tuned (bald tires versus new snow tires). Start with a pair of current slalom skis and as you add a second pair add GS (giant slalom) skis. In order for a racer to be competitive they need to be on competitive equipment – remember the car analogy above.
Ski Maintenance
During the course of the season you will want to keep your racer’s skis in good repair. Start off the season having them serviced professionally. Over time, you can learn about sharpening and waxing. To begin with use a cold or liquid wax and one of the very simple and inexpensive tools for touching up the edges. An example would be Swix H4 rub-on wax and an $8 edge tool found at REI or other ski shops. You can worry about the fancy stuff later.
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