Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Battle of the Ski Schools turns 15

From April 10 to 12, representatives from the top ski schools in the world will converge in Whistler to determine who is the cream of the crop of the cream of the crop at the World Alpine Ski Schools Championships.

From April 10 to 12, representatives from the top ski schools in the world will converge in Whistler to determine who is the cream of the crop of the cream of the crop at the World Alpine Ski Schools Championships.

Better known as the Battle of the Ski Schools, this international competition will kick off the competitive events at this year’s World Ski and Snowboard Festival.

For the past two years the to ski school honour has gone to the Beaver Creek Ski School squad from Colorado. This year they’re going for the hat trick.

Davos, Switzerland was a close second last year, followed by a team from Flumserberg, Switzlerand. As always, the Whistler-Blackcomb schools were competitive, and this year they’re gunning to win on their home turf.

"Over the course of the past 15 years, the Battle of the Ski Schools has evolved into an incredibly competitive event for both the ski instructors and their ski schools," says Harden Scott, the event director for the World Alpine Ski Schools Championship. "The instructors train all winter in order to be at the top of their game once the event rolls around, while a victory can mean a great deal for the fortunate ski school."

Teams from six nations will compete in the eight-skier demonstration, the four-skier team dual slalom relay, and the two-skier "Air Pairs" doubles jumping. Points are awarded for the final result in each discipline and the most points will determine the winner. This year a total prize purse of $15,000 will be up for grabs.

The event started up in 1988 in Crested Butte, Colorado, before moving to Vail for the following year. It stayed in Vail until last year, when it moved to Whistler-Blackcomb.

The competition starts on Wednesday, April 10 with the opening trio of demonstration passes for all teams. The dual slalom relay is on the Thursday and the doubles jumping on Friday.

All of the events will take place on the Headwall Bowl area of Whistler Mountain, which is located at the top of the gondola to skiers left of the Big Red Express and Franz’s chair.

This year the competition will be filmed by the Outdoor Life Network, and will be broadcast next November.