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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 30, No. 7. 1967.
Ski club in good health
Ski club in good health
The Victoria University Ski club enters the 1967 season in good heart. With a new lodge on Ruapehu, a swelling in club membership and additional training facilities at Victoria there seems to be no reason why 1967 should not be a milestone in the club's development.
In the past Victoria has shared a hut on the mountain with Auckland University. Auckland have now begun work on the erection of a new ski lodge and have sold their share of the existing hut to Victoria, who have already made considerable extensions and renovations. The modern kitchen even boasts a refrigerator!
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VUW Ski Club Lodge. Previously shared with Auckland University, the ski club are this year purchasing Auckland's share. For this purpose they were recently given a £1500 loan from the Students Association. Although recently renovated and added to, plans are afoot to further modernise the lodge. Included in these plans are ideas for new modern toilet facilities.
Situated half way up the, first chair lift, the hut is readily accessible and is conveniently placed for good skiing. When Auckland moves out at the end of the year it will become available for use by Victoria club members at all times, instead of the present system of use over alternate weekends.
To support this new independence on the mountain, there has been a rapid growth in club membership. At present the figure stands at approximately 200 and it is hoped to build this up to around the 300 mark. An estimated fifty per cent of these are newcomers to the sport.
The club aims are to provide cheap skiing for everyone on campus. Beside the advice given to new club members by experienced skiers the gymnasium staff are currently running "get fit" and training classes for skiers. These are basically aimed at the beginner, but there are also sessions for the experienced. Mr. Laidler, Physical Welfare Officer, also runs ski classes on the mountain itself for club members at various times throughout the year.
The club's publicity officer, Mr. Don Mckenzie, pointed out last week the falsity of the opinion that skiing was a sport available to only the more affluent within the student community. The subscription of thirty shillings affords the member with a social and sporting activity quite unique on campus.
Mr. McKenzie said that equipment is available for hire at nominal rental from the gymasium and the amount charged by the club for a weekend on the mountain is all inclusive. It is thought that the charge for the whole weekend this season will be within the vicinity of four pounds.
For the first time the club is approaching winter tourna-ment with confidence, This year it will be entering two racing teams in tournament and it is thought that the club will be reflected in current upsurge of interest in performance.
Although the mountain was only "opened" a fortnight ago, there is already a covering of snow on it. This augurs well for an early season and the commencement of the club tournaments which produces a spiritted rivalry between the huts on the mountain. Perhaps the early season will encourage skiers to avail themselves of the opportunity of greater preparation for the annual beer-bottle slalom?