Sundance Kids Program

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Permalink Reply by trudeska on October 23, 2009 at 7:27am

Steamboat does not offer snowboard instruction for little kids except for private clinics. And even then I am sure they will advise you that your kids are younger than optimal for snowboard instruction. The issues are many...equipment, attention span, thought processing, physical discomfort, etc. Snowboard school is not an option until the child is in the Rough Rider Program which begins when the child is in 1st grade (note it doesn't use age alone). My kids are now in 2nd and 4th grade but have been in the Steamboat programs since they were preschoolers. One wanted to snowboard at age 5 so I had him train with a private instructor for 2 days. He showed early talent and had success but it was expensive so it really wasn't something he could do the whole time. The rest of the week he skied with the Sundance program. Now, I believe I started him off too early because now that he is 7 and could easily switch he doesn't want to go back to being at the bottom of the hill. You can email me (off this board) if you want and I'll share with you more information I discovered speaking with private instructors I've met at Steamboat, re: snowboarding and the very young. Check my profile. Don't know if you can see my email address.

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Permalink Reply by Marlene on October 28, 2009 at 10:33pm

Hi ladies - just eavesdropping on your conversation.... FYI if you want to send a private message simply click the "Send Message" link at the top of trudeska's post. That will generate a private email between the two of you which will be delivered only to her inbox. Hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by trudeska on October 30, 2009 at 7:02am

Thanks, Marlene. I think I knew that, but it's been a while since I've answered privately.

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Permalink Reply by Nelson Wingard on October 23, 2009 at 10:05am

I'm not sure what happened to my reply. Sorry about that.

Yes, Trudeska is correct. We don't offer group lessons for SB younger than 7 and it has a great deal to do with equipement. On that front, Burton is starting to make a really good product for this age group. We have looked at it and are considering a program for the 2011 season.

That said, let's get them in ski lessons for a couple years, then cross over to SB. Our KVC programs will help your kids have a great time on hill.

Nelson

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Permalink Reply by JD on October 23, 2009 at 2:16pm

Thanks for the responses. What's the KVC program? I'm new to Steamboat and have no idea where to begin for continual lessons (those not just for tourists). If you could point me in the right direction (website, contact info, etc) I'd appreciate it.

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Permalink Reply by Nelson Wingard on October 24, 2009 at 8:44am

Your looking for Minibusters information.
http://www.steamboat.com/plan-vacation/ski-school/results/clinic-de...

This is our Saturday program. You will also see an ad in the paper soon.

Let me k

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Permalink Reply by Laura Sjoblom (live2ski) on November 12, 2009 at 1:38pm

Hi there. KVC is the Kid's Vacation Center. The instructors there are great! Are you living in Steamboat now? My 2 girls, ages 3 and 5, will be in ski school starting in the beginning of December. My husband and I are both ski instructors here and we try not to teach them how to ski...they love the KVC staff. My oldest will begin this season with the Minibusters, like Nelson mentioned, and my little peanut will start in Little Toots. They are excited to start again this winter and we are excited to ski with them! I wish you all the best here in Steamboat, and have tons of fun!!
Laura

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Permalink Reply by Sutton Hamlin on October 28, 2009 at 6:50am

My kids are all good skiers and have been on skis since they were 2 or 3. I let my 2 oldest kids start snowboarding after they were about 8 or 9 and proficient on skis. Now, they switch back and forth depending on who is in their ski group that day. I understood why resorts don't offer snowboarding for little kids when I tried to buy my 10 year old a snowboard. It is really difficult to find much choice in that size and I still believe that skis are easier to master for little legs. We've had the most success with our kids doing the group lessons with kids their own age but taking them out ourselves for that last hour each day to let them practice what they were working on that day. This seems to give them the opportunity to get in a few more runs down the bunny slope and help them really advance quickly. However, I would only recommend taking them out yourself if you are very comfortable on skis.

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