The Hart Highlands Ski Hill held its junior ski patrol program Saturday for 12- to 15-year-olds.
The program introduces kids to ski patrolling and the expectations a junior ski patroller has, such as skiing and snowboarding safely, assisting senior patrollers, and participating in beginning and end of shift duties. Not everything they learn is just relevant to the slopes, however, as first aid training plays a big part.
“They say [Canadian Ski Patrollers] usually have about a level three first aid which is quite a lot of first aid training,” said Lea-Anne Gillett, a Canadian Ski Patroller who facilitated the camp with her husband, Nathan.
“For the juniors, they don’t actually get any tickets or anything like that but it definitely gets them interested and also comfortable with the idea of doing first aid, so I think that’s really important for them.”
Despite teaching younger teens about being a ski patroller, they can not actually become one until they reach 18 years old. According to Gillett, this program acts as a way to transition them into the idea so they can pursue being one when they are of age.
“The junior patrol program is so important because it gets kids out there and gets them to be working alongside the senior patrollers so that one day they can be interested in being a ski patroller.”
Gillett said junior patrollers are scheduled every day and night on weekends to do a shift at Hart Highlands, once the ski and snowboard season begins.
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