Alpine Racing Club offers competitive side to winter sports

Students interested in hitting the slopes this winter, perhaps even to ski competitively, can look at joining the MHCC Alpine Racing Club.
The club’s mission is “to provide an avenue to train for competitive skiing and snowboarding,” said club adviser Thomas McCormack. Not much helps more than having a few like-minded training partners, he said. “A group of some sort is usually necessary to accomplish this kind of training, as it is a very difficult thing to do by yourself,” said McCormack.
Participating at the club level, participants compete as individuals but not as a team, he said.
It also pays to have an experienced instructor in the sport, which club members will find in McCormack. “As a former high school, college, and USSA racing coach, I am currently a USSA-certified coach and can provide on-snow technical coaching in slalom and giant slalom to ski racing,” he said.
The club is currently inactive, something McCormack hopes to change. “Prospective members need not have competition experience, but should be advanced skiers or riders,” said McCormack.
The club features both skiing and snowboarding, but more emphasis is placed on skiing. When active, the club has usually trained at Mount Hood once a week during winter term.
McCormack said interested students can look forward to a good winter sports season this year. The weather on Mount Hood already looks good for skiing, he said. “There is always skiing to be had somewhere on Mount Hood, no matter how bad the year,” he said.
“In a good year, we can be on snow in 45 minutes from MHCC. In a bad year, it takes about 60 minutes,” said McCormack. Anyone interested in joining the club should contact him at [email protected].