The Alpine Ski team, an Olympic level club, are anxiously awaiting the weather to cooperate and become cold so they can hit the slopes. In the 
meantime, they are looking for a lift to help cover some of the cost for this season.

The cost for individuals to race this year will be $550, which includes a season pass to Sugar Mountain and coaching fees.

In order to help combat some of this cost, the club team will again look to its annual “Swap Shop.” Mark Feichter, team president, said the Swap Shop is their biggest fundraiser of the year.

The Swap Shop is an opportunity for anyone, including ASU students, the community or local shops to bring in any kind of ski equipment and gear they want to sell. 

The Alpine Ski team will sell it for them.

There is a $3 charge to register as much equipment as a person wants. 

The Swap Shop, which will be held at Owens Field House, will take place when students get back from Thanksgiving break on  Monday, Nov. 29, and will go through Saturday, Dec. 4. It will be open daily from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

People who want more information can contact members of the Alpine Ski team by dropping something in ASU Box 8922, or by e-mailing Paul Bartholic, the team’s vice-president, at Paul Bartholic@yahoo.com.

So far this fall the Alpine Ski team has done some dry run training and conditioning. Season training at Sugar Mountain begins next spring on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

The team consists of 18 members, 12 men and six women, who compete intercollegiately. 

They are members of the Southeastern Conference, which includes eight teams: Virginia Tech, Virginia, James Madison, N.C. State, North Carolina, Duke, Lees McRae (varsity team) and ASU.

The week of a race, the team holds time trials to decide what five men and women will compete in the slalom races that weekend.

Feichter and Bartholic both expect the men’s and women’s team to make it to regionals this year.

“This is probably the strongest our team has been in three seasons,” said Bartholic. This is a strong statement for a team that has made regionals every year this decade.

“There’s a possibility we can give Lees McRae a run for their money,” said Feichter about this year’s team. 

He continued by saying beating Lees McRae will not be easy, because they are a varsity team, which means they recruit racers from places like Canada.

Bartholic said he had received word from Sugar Mountain that their blowers are set up and ready to go.

Now the team must patiently wait for temperatures to drop.