Snowboard PEI hoping to introduce sport to Island schools

Snowboard PEI is hoping to make snowboarding part of the Island's physical education curriculum.

• Snowboard P.E.I. looking for more competitive team members

This winter, with funding from the P.E.I. Department of Health and Wellness and Canada Snowboard, the Island club has purchased a "Riglet in Schools" kit designed to teach the sport to students. 

"It's aimed at children early elementary age through intermediate school," Cathy Morrison, the president of Snowboard PEI, told CBC Radio Mainstreet's Angela Walker.

So far this year, the snowboard club has attended two sessions with the P.E.I. Phys Ed Teachers Association.

"We're here and we're interested in working with them to get the program into the schools. So that is on our to-do list for this year," Morrison said. 

'Incredibly stoked'

The program, explained in a video on the club's Facebook page, starts in the gym. Kids watch videos of professional boarders and try out some moves on mock snowboards. One Canadian gym teacher said he was "incredibly stoked" about it, because it works on balance and core strength.

The club plans to move the kit from school to school, and has had interest from a few teachers who plan to use it. Interested community groups can also borrow the kit, Morrison said. 

"It's still fairly new and we certainly could use more resources just to try to manage the project," she added.

The efforts are part of a renewed organization and strengthening of the club in the past year. 

It's concentrating on three snowboard disciplines: alpine, which is racing downhill through gates; snowboard cross, which is racing four-abreast through a banked course; and slope style.

The group is hoping to put together boys' and girls' teams for the 2017 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta. 

'Flavour' of competition

The club will launch its two eight-week programs at Brookvale Provincial Ski Park on Jan. 14.

The first is for children age eight through 12 who already know how to snowboard. 

"At that age, we want to to give them a bit of the flavour of what competition is all about," Morrison said. 

The second is a full-day program for children about 12 to 17, to develop teams. 

"We have coaches actually taking a course this week in fact, so we'll have some new coaches to start the season," Morrison said. 

"My goal down the road would be to see the program develop to the point where there's enough support to keep it going — that's been the biggest challenge," said Morrison, pointing to the success of P.E.I.'s long-standing alpine ski team.

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