Rising Stars Race Team

RISING STARS RACE TEAM

Rising Stars Race Team: U8-U12

Our specialized introduction to racing and skill development for younger athletes.

The Rising Stars Race Team is a unique program for emerging racers who want regular training while gaining exposure to US Ski & Snowboard competition. This program is a great alternative to development programs like ARC at Afton Alps, or D-Teams hosted at other ski areas. If you have any experience in D-Team Racing, we welcome you to join the Rising Stars Race Team.

Our hope is that Rising Stars feel ready to join the full race team within two years or less. Many Team Aftoner's who went on to do great things in ski racing started out as Rising Stars...!

What to Expect

What: 2 Days of Alpine Race Training per week including dedicated Rising Stars Ski-Around on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:30.
Team Afton trains (Monday – Thursday & some Sundays)
When: 6:30 – 8:30pm (Monday – Thursday) // 4:00-7:00pm (Sundays)
Where: Afton Alps // Hill 2 above Team Afton TeamHuis
We aim for 6 Sunday Training Sessions per season. Keep an eye on our TeamSnap calendar for our schedule.
Approximately 90-110 hours of on-snow training / racing per season.
4 US Ski & Snowboard races (GS and SL events).
Races typically run on Saturday and Sunday and are hosted at local/regional ski areas (lift tickets and entry fees are extra).
Participation in Team Afton 5-Day Holiday Camp December 27-31
A positive, supportive, team environment with focused input from expert coaches.
Access to dryland training (age dependent) beginning in September/October and running through mid-November. Additional fees apply for certain optional dryland programs (more details on Dryland page).

** If you'd like to attend more than the four official Rising Stars races, please reach out to Director Tony Olin.**

Ages: 6 to 11 (age as of 12/31/26)

Skill Level: Strong intermediate+ skiers, who are able to ski comfortably and in control on all hills at Afton Alps. No previous racing experience required. Younger skiers must be able to board the chairlift solo and manage their own equipment (or be accompanied by an adult to practice).

Early Bird Pricing is Live / prices go up after August 10:

First Year -- $1350 / $1350
Second Year -- $1650 / $1750

*For First Year (New) Rising Stars, we'll honor the Early Bird Price until the snow flies!*

*If you have already been a Rising Star for two years and would like to stay Rising Star for a third year, please reach out to Director Tony Olin at tony.olin@teamafton.com or 612-819-0186.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard competition membership is required.

Team Afton will announce the race schedule for Rising Stars likely in early October once the USSS CR1 schedule is released.

Limited Enrollment: register early to secure your spot.

Registration Deadline December 1; must be registered before participating in any other Fall Team Afton Dryland or Camps.

If you have any questions please email info@teamafton.com or call Program Director, Tony Olin: 612-819-0186.

PROGRAM DETAIL

Rising Stars Race Team is an advanced alpine race program designed to provide young athletes with a successful transition into U.S. Ski & Snowboard (USSS) racing. Rising Stars is specifically designed for athletes who are competing in the U8 through U12 age groups (age 6-11).

Rising Stars is a season-long introductory and competitive race program. Due to the introductory nature of this program, we recommend participation for no more than two years before encouraging a transition to our full race teams to allow more access to races and additional training opportunities.

The Rising Stars program follows the USSS guidelines for developing alpine ski racers with a balance of free skiing, focused drills, and training in gates. Over the course of the season, with the assistance of our experienced coaches, these young athletes will build a solid foundation of fundamental skills. As they progress from free-skiing development to a higher percentage of gate training, they will learn appropriate race tactics and skills.

We have intentionally designed this program to limit the amount of racing that the athlete is exposed to. They will participate in four USSS race days during the season as selected by the coaching staff to provide the most effective development for the athlete. The participants will race a mix of SL and GS races. This program delivers a level of training and racing that is consistent with the USSS Athlete Development Model for this age group and is a solid pathway to maximize the athlete’s long-term success in the sport. Even better for young athletes – and different than most USSS programs for this age group in the area – a substantial portion of the training/racing is local.

*USSS is the governing authority for alpine ski racing in the U.S. as recognized by the international federation (FIS). The primary difference between racing in a USSS league and racing in a regional league, such as the Midwest Snowsports Development League or MSHSL, is the higher level of challenge and race organization. As skills grow, the ability to compete in regional, national and international races is much higher while competing as an USSS affiliated athlete.

Schedule Changes, Venue Changes, Extra Fees, and Refunds:

Team Afton is a community and our team fosters agility and flexibility as we deal with changes that our out of our control (weather, snow, venues, race schedules, staffing issues, pandemics, etc.).

Our approach is to do our best to follow the schedule laid out now and refined at the start of the season, but there will be changes. Please be flexible as these changes occur.

Occasionally, as we seek better snow or look for open venues to train at, there will be optional training opportunities that require you to purchase a ticket to a different hill or even potentially secure overnight accommodations. This is in addition to the requirements of attending races. We do our best to focus training options at Afton Alps, when possible, but we also work to find training where we can as conditions and hill availability varies.

We do not provide refunds of early season deposits or of any other fees, once paid. As a community, we have to invest together in staff and equipment so providing refunds is not possible except in extraordinary circumstances. If interested in protecting your investment, TeamSnap does provide insurance at an additional cost during checkout.

If you have any questions please email clubadmin@teamafton.com or call / text Program Director Tony Olin: 612-819-0186