The Program

The Ann Arbor Ski Team participates in a race league run by the Mt. Brighton Interscholastic Ski Association (MBISA). There are 12 high-school teams that participate. The other eleven teams are regular varsity and junior varsity teams that are associated with specific schools. The Ann Arbor team is currently a club organization that includes racers from 7 local high schools. The team is open to any family with one or more high school students interested in alpine racing.

Our season covers five weeks in January and early February. During the season, training is Monday and Wednesday, going from 6-8 pm. Races are on Tuesday (slalom) and Thursday (giant slalom) and run from about 4:15 to 6:30. In our first season (2009), the racers started training in late November, 4 days per week (except holidays when there was no school)

Preseason training starts with dryland in mid-November. It's 6:00 pm at Elbel Field off of Hill and Division by the natatorium (swimming pool). Dry Land continues until Mt. Brighton is ready. At that time, on-snow training is 6-8 pm at Mt. Brighton, Mon-Thurs.

The Team

Coach

Ronnie Brant
C: 248-318-9638
W: 734-997-8980 x 226
ronbrant@umich.edu

Team Members

Here are members of the 2009 team that are returning for 2010. If you go to one of these high schools and are a skier, ask your schoolmate about the team.

  • Danielle Bryant, Montessori Christian School
  • Emilie Godell, Saline
  • Emily Hoff, Greenhills
  • Conor Howe, Pioneer
  • Evan Medvec, Saline
  • Spyder Sayers, Skyline
  • Patrick Thuren, Skyline
  • Alex Weitzel, Gabriel Richard

Membership in the Team

Membership in the Ski Team is open to any family with one or more high school students interested in alpine racing. Membership requires the following commitments:

  1. A legal guardian for each participating athlete must sign all Release, Liability, and Medical forms that are required by the Ski Team for the current race season.
  2. Annual dues and fees specified by the Ski Team must be paid for each athlete.
  3. Parents or other family member must be willing to work as volunteers as required by the racing league(s) in which the Ski Team participates.
  4. Athletes and family member must behave consistent with the current Ski Team code of conduct.

Check List for Each Season

To participate in a season of races on the Ann Arbor Ski Team:

  1. The athlete needs a signed medical form used for all high-school athletics. Please contact your school athletic department or PTSO organization. Some schools provide inexpensive ($25) physicals for student athletes in August.
  2. The athlete needs lift tickets for Mt. Brighton. The best options are a season pass (good at all times), or a racer pass (good for Mon-Thurs, which covers all ski team activities, but not good for Friday or weekends). The racer pass costs $375 and can be purchased at any time. Season passes are less expensive if purchased prior to the season. A full pass costs $445 if purchased before August 31, it costs $505 after Oct. 31. See http://www.mtbrighton.com/member.php for details.
  3. The athlete needs a helmet with a face protector (chin guard) prior to any gate training or participation in races at Mt. Brighton. These can usually be found at the ski swaps. Be aware that not all ski shops have helmets of this type.
  4. A legal guardian for the participating athlete must sign the Ski Team medical form and waiver by November to ensure a position on the team. Click here to download the forms.
  5. The race team annual fee must be paid and submitted with the release form. The fee for the 2009/2010 season is $400.

Click here for a PDF file with the forms. It includes two pages from the generic Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), as a back-up in case you don't have the corresponding medical form from your high school. We need a form, but don't care if it's for your specific high school or the general-purpose one in the PDF. Either is OK.

The Club

After the success of the 2009 season (everyone had lots of fun and improved their skiing), we have registered a non-profit Michigan corporation: The Ann Arbor Interscholastic Ski Team (known simply as the Ann Arbor Ski Team). Here is our constitution.

Team Officers

Here are the officers for the 2010 season (all parents of current team athletes):

For more information, please contact Mike Sayers (msayers@carsim.com)