The WPI Alpine Ski Team is a highly competitive collegiate ski team. The team has developed over the years into highly respected organization on the WPI campus. WPI students’ work hard to balance their aggressive academic pursuits while maintaining a respected presence on the ski slopes. Skiers with varied backgrounds join together to make the WPI Alpine Ski Team what it is today. 

While WPI is a highly competitive team, many ex-USSA racers find competing in the team format a welcome relief from the pressures of individual competition. The team format adds another dimension to ski racing not found in typical USSA programs. Many skiers who's career had platode prior to coming to WPI, ultimately realize the team environment was what was missing from their program and have experienced significantly higher levels of success while at WPI. Skiers coming to WPI with a high school ski racing background have also experienced great success at WPI. Most attribute this to the increased training time and coach to skier ratio.

WPI competes in the Thomson Division of the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference (ECSC). The ECSC is a recognized conference of the United States Collegiate Ski Association (USCSA) which oversees 95% of all collegiate ski racing.

WPI's coaching staff continually works to improve the quality of the ski program. Currently WPI runs an aggressive dryland program during the fall. As snow availability permits WPI attends eastern USSA races prior to the Christmas break as a warm up to the collegiate season. Over the Christmas break WPI conducts a 4 week training camp at Berkshire East in Charlamont, Massachusetts. Following the last week of camp, WPI selects a traveling team of 10 men and 10 women. WPI begins a 6 week series of races the second week of January, traveling throughout New England each weekend. Each week end consists of two races, one giant slalom and one slalom. The team travels to races in school vans, staying in hotels near the race sites. Technical coaches will typically set training courses prior to the race for warm up. Races begin at 10:00 AM and are run according to standard USSA rules. All races are USSA scored races. In addition to competing, racers are responsible to share gate keeping duties as well as team support chores throughout the day. Following the end of the race, WPI often conducts a brief training session in preparation for the following day. Evenings are typically spent tuning, or studying. Occasionally the team will take in a movie, attend a dance or bowl a few frames at a local bowling alley.

Because team members spend so much time together traveling and racing, many life long friendships have developed between members of the ski team. The strong turn out at each years alumni weekend attests to this. The bond WPI skiers feel is a result of being part of a great team.

The concept of the "team" is the core of the entire WPI Alpine Ski Team philosophy. The successes of the WPI ski team have been the direct result of an entire group of skiers working together to achieve their common goal. Lessons learned on the slopes as well as in the class room give WPI ski racers the competitive edge required of today's college graduates.

If you are interested in WPI or their ski program the coaches would like to hear from you. Write us at (skicoach@wpi.edu). See you on the slopes.