As the flurries begin to blow in, the UW-Whitewater campus is buzzing with anticipation for the approaching cold winter months, or more aptly winter break! One way students will be spending their time off of classes is on the ski slopes.
UW-W has a large variety of recreational and club sports, one of the more obscure club sports Whitewater offers is the Ski and Snowboarding Club. This club sport is different from others in an assortment of ways that are really special to the skiers and snowboarders a part of the team.
“We don’t compete, so we also don’t practice,” Brynn Lehocky, the financial and risk management officer for the club said. “Our officers pick about five to 10 dates each season for us to meet up as a club at Alpine Valley in East Troy. To get there some of us carpool or people often drive themselves.”
Lehocky is a sophomore at UW-W who is pursuing a degree in accounting and has a dance minor. An East Troy native, Lehocky has been skiing and snowboarding since she was 9 years old.
“These days, I primarily snowboard but I grew up skiing. I’ve been a part of some type of ski/snowboard club since I was in middle school, so I knew I wanted to continue skiing and snowboarding in college. I also had some friends that were in the club,” Lehocky said. “Since I’m from East Troy and have skied at Alpine Valley my whole life, I knew I could help the club with information and many other things.”
The members of the team all joined this club sport with the purpose of creating a close community, rather than other sports whose goals are to compete.
“I just joined the Ski and Snowboarding Club last year, and I loved it so much,” said Emma Caretta, a junior biology major. “What made me want to join the club was my love for skiing! I started skiing a couple years ago, so I am fairly new. I thought joining the club would help my confidence in skiing and even make some friends.”
“The biggest thing that makes the Ski and Snowboard Club a bit different from other clubs/club sports is that we don’t compete,” Lehocky said. “The purpose of the club is to get together with friends, peers, and students of UW-W and have a good time on the hill. My favorite part about snowboarding is the social aspect. When you are on the hill, everyone is just happy to be there. Nothing else really matters. This gives many opportunities to meet people and strengthen preexisting relationships.”
The Ski and Snowboarding Club is open to every UW-W student who is interested in joining. The members of the club all have varying experience levels and are open to long time skiers or newcomers.
“From what I saw last year, the first meeting we had there was about 15-20 people but for our actual meet ups at Alpine Valley, there’s usually just a handful of us. There aren’t any tryouts to get on the team because all experience levels are welcome,” Caretta said. “I thought this was amazing since I am fairly new to the sport and was nervous, I wouldn’t be good enough. But it worked out amazingly since they include all experience levels.”
Caretta in addition to her biology major is pursuing a certificate in pre-veterinary medicine. Her plan after graduation is to attend the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. The relaxed atmosphere of the Ski and Snowboarding Club provides Caretta with a nice break from her studies.
“My favorite memory from being a part of UW-W’s club team is how welcoming everyone was at the first meet I went to,” Caretta said. “I told them how nervous I was and that I’m still really new to this sport and I am only comfortable on the slow hills. I also told them they could split up and go on the harder hills if they wanted to, so they weren’t stuck doing slow hills because of me, since they were highly more experienced than me. But they insisted we stick together, and I really appreciated that. They even helped me build up my confidence to go on the bigger hills and stayed close to me. I really appreciated this experience and how supportive they were to me.”