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History of the Seniors Alpine Ski Club
Jack De Lorme, 2005
Edited and updated by Tom Swaddle (2011), Bruce Fraser (2015)
The Seniors Downhill Ski Club was the dream of the late Chris Schulthess, inspired by reports of a club for skiers aged 50+ formed in Colorado in 1977 (and still active) called the Over The Hill Gang. Since its inception as an informal Club in 1987, with the objective of providing affordable skiing and companionship on the hill (initially Canada Olympic Park, formerly Paskapoo Ski Hill) for skiers aged 55+, the Club grew from 11 to 1229 members (including 313 in Edmonton) by 2002. Many of these members were attracted primarily by the greatly reduced rates for Club members on ski lift passes and accommodation negotiated by Chris and others with local ski resorts and hotels. With the rapid growth of the senior citizen cohort, however, these concessions have largely disappeared, and many of the Edmonton members formed a separate club in 2008, so that by 2011 SASC membership stood at 409. Chris recalled that "the Fortress and Sunshine ski areas provided quite a bit of support in the early days of the Club". The tradition of Wednesday outings to local ski areas in the Rockies - now "Wednesdays at Nakiska" - dates back to that first season. Chris was the founder and first President of the Club (1988-89) and was instrumental in building the Club assisted by the original members:
Annual membership fees were $25, including $5 for membership in the Alberta Senior Citizens Sport & Recreation Association (ASCSRA). Bob Vandenboom recalls that "None of the original members really wanted anything to do with formal administration - they just wanted to ski! But the unexpected and rapid growth of the Club forced the members to set up some basics to track new membership. Rubin Goldberg took care of it." The season ended with a potluck dinner followed by taped music for dancing at the Good Companion Activity Centre on 25 St. SE. These founding members were granted Life Membership in the Club in 1995-96. Jim Murdoch was President of the 1989-90 and 90-91 ski seasons. The 1989-90 season began with a potluck dinner, and a phone-in carpool system was initiated. An Annual General meeting was held in spring and followed by a catered dinner and a dance. Jack De Lorme organized a summer golf tournament, which became an annual event. By 1990-91, three bus trips had become standard, the annual Spring and Fall Dinner Dances had live bands, and the membership list had been computerized. In 1991-92, carpooling to mountain ski resorts ran seven days a week, and Nakiska became the regular Wednesday ski destination. The first official annual meeting of the Club, renamed Seniors Alpine Ski Club, and election of officers was held April 8, 1992. It was set that an annual meeting would be held in the spring of each year, with elections to be held at that time. The Board of Directors elected at that meeting were:
The Club was incorporated in Alberta as a non-profit organization under the Societies Act on Feb. 18, 1993. A Club Mission Statement was formulated. A professionally prepared and printed newsletter was introduced and named "Ski Chatter" on the suggestion of Art Torrens. Because of the discounted rates available to Club members, photo-ID membership cards were introduced. In 1994-95, SASC members in Calgary began helping students at the William Roper Hull School through the "Ski with the Kids" program. This very popular and successful program was initiated by Jim Carder and continued under Diane Trimming's leadership until 2010, at which time increasing administrative obstacles led to its termination. By 1995, there were some 40 SASC members in Edmonton, and Jack De Lorme visited them to suggest the formation of a Northern Branch. Susan Christopher, Millie Seitz and Clare Scottencouraged membership in the Club. Edmonton area members skied at Snow Valley on Tuesdays. Tour Cancellation Policy was introduced in 1995-96. The Club's current logo was designed by Chuck Nowlin and was adopted in 1996-97. The elements of the logo include "the clean simplicity of the mountains and sky, and the distinctive ski tracks form a stylized 'S' for senior skiers". In that season, Sunshine overnighters were added. In 1997-98, the number of Calgary bus tours was increased to four, and Edmonton - based tours to Marmot Basin and Sun Peaks were initiated. Following an initiative of Carla Wearmouth, monthly potluck dinners at members' homes were begun in Calgary in 1998-99, with the primary intent of introducing new members to the Club. These events have continued to be very popular. A new format for our Club magazine first appeared in the December 1999 edition. The snow capped "Ski Chatter" was redesigned and formatted by Blaine Marler, recruited by Editor, Bruce Fraser. In Edmonton in 1999-2000, the SASC Northern Branch was created and held its first Annual General Meeting. In Calgary, the Club's first annual Potluck Barbecue was held. The annual golf tournament in 2001 was held at Pine Lake with participants from both Calgary and the Northern Branch. The first Volunteer Recognition Award was made in 2001-02 to Art and Lynn Torrens for their years of dedication in stuffing envelopes and mailing Ski Chatter to Club members. That year, Ski Chatter was made available on the Calgary Area Outdoor Council's website, but in 2002-03 the Club's own website, www.seniorsalpineskiclub.com, was created and used to present the Ski Chatter online. Beginning in 2002-03, commercial Sports Accident Insurance was included in the SASC membership fee. By 2009, however, annual claims had diminished to zero and the scheme was allowed to lapse in December, 2010. Ski Improvement instruction is a charter objective of the SASC, and in 2004 the Board authorized Peter Fischer to promote his Ski Improvement Clinics at Club Registration Days and through Ski Chatter and the SASC Website. Pre-season conditioning classes have been arranged annually for Club members since 1994. Bus-based ski trips have become central Club activities, with typically 6-7 trips a year to Fernie, Schweitzer, Whitefish, Kimberley, Panorama, Sun Peaks, Marmot Basin, Silver Star and Big White. Buses, accommodation, and lift tickets were arranged for the Club by a professional ski travel firm, which unfortunately disappeared in the economic downturn of 2009. The tour cancellation refund system was also severely stressed at this time, and was terminated by the Board. Since 2010, tour logistics have been arranged directly by the Club with notable improvements in service, and refunds for cancellations are negotiated directly with the providers, typically amounting to 80-100% reimbursement. For more ambitious skiers, Peter Morgan began a series of "Fly 'n' Ski" tours to more distant resorts: Whistler, BC (2007), Park City, UT (2008), Steamboat, CO (2009), Squaw Valley, CA (2010), Grand Targhee (2013). A small group skied the Chilean Central Andes in August, 2010, on a tour organized for the Club by Chile Montaña and coordinated by Louise Nielsen. A "Get Acquainted Day" of skiing and socializing at Canada Olympic Park was organized by Dorothy Tyler in early December, 2007, with the primary objective of introducing new members to the Club. These informal meetings have become popular annual events to start each ski season. The interests of the Northern Branch became increasingly divergent from those of the parent Club, and administrative difficulties became pressing. Accordingly, members of this Branch were encouraged to form a separate club (Rocky Mountain Seniors Ski Club) in 2008, and the Branch was dissolved accordingly. Production and postage costs for Ski Chatter became excessive by 2008, and Peter Gillingham organized a draw for five certificates for SASC services for members who opted for electronic delivery. Online delivery proved to be much faster than the mailing of paper copies, and for "late-breaking news" a system of electronic SASC Bulletins was instituted by Jim Kinnaird in 2009. Jim also pioneered a Google-based system (sasccarpool) for carpooling in 2008, to complement the telephone carpooling network. An "in house" Bulletin Board was established on the "Members Only" website in 2013. Participation by SASC members in ski racing through ASCSRA and the Alberta 55+ Winter Games dates back to the founding of the Club, and has been coordinated continuously by Jack De Lorme. In 2007-08 George Motter of the Alberta Masters Ski Club kindly ran a series of four ski racing training classes for SASC members at Nakiska, with Jack Whitlie as coordinator. From 2009-10, this program has been organized and instructed by SASC members the late Derald Smith and Adolf Brunnhofer, with outstanding success.
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