Racing Equipment
Read this for a succinct summary of what safety equipment is needed and why.
Skis
Boots
Poles
Helmets
Race Protection
Race Suits
Team Coat
Ski Pants and Shorts
The amount of potential equipment available for ski racing can appear overwhelming. The coaches are good resources with respect to recommendations on equipment and may be aware of team families with equipment to sell.
There are a number of options to buy used equipment:
- the Wilmot team holds a swap at its preseason meeting in October or November each year
- Sideline Swap and eBay typically have a fair amount of ski race equipment listed.
- parents often list equipment on the Facebook Ski Team Parents site.
- There is a Southern Wisconsin Ski Race Equipment Facebook Group.
Lastly, if you decide to purchase new, many local retail stores as well as online retailers provide “racer discounts.” Williams Ski in Highland Park and Ski Haus in Arlington Heights are two examples. Typically to get the discount from online stores you must call or email them and tell them that you are a member of the Wilmot Ski Team and they will give you a discount code.
Online retailers that sell race gear include Arctica, Colorado Discount Skis, Level Nine Sports, Peak Ski Shop, Race Place, Ski Depot, Ski Essentials and Ski Yard.
SKIS
Options include multi-event skis, slalom and giant slalom as well as skis for inspecting and slipping the course. Less experienced young athletes can get away with multi-event skis. Multi-event skis are one pair of skis used for both slalom and giant slalom races but Wilmot coaches typically recommend choosing slalom skis instead of multi-event, if your child is to have one ski. As the athletes get older and more experienced they will likely want two skis, each specifically designed for slalom and giant slalom. If the athlete plans to compete in USST races, then attention will need to be paid to USST equipment rules for skis regarding length and radius. WIJARA does not have any equipment rules with respect to skis.
BOOTS
Many coaches will tell you that the boots are the most important piece of equipment a skier owns as they translate the movement of the skier to the skis. It is important to purchase well fitting boots with an appropriate amount of flex. Given the importance of the ski boot and purchasing boots that fit properly, it is usually best to purchase boots from a local retailer with a good boot fitter. The coaches can recommend Chicago area shops with good boot fitters.
POLES
Options include basic straight recreational poles, slalom poles and curved giant slalom poles. Poles can be made of aluminum or carbon. There is a modest benefit to having poles that are specially designed for each event. Curved giant slalom poles help the racer ski in a tuck position. Giant slalom poles also have small baskets that are less likely to get ripped off the poles by gates in the race course. Slalom poles are typically light weight and accentuated by gate guards to protect hands and fingers from slapping gates. Many of the racers will have the same brand of poles, so it is usually helpful to put an identifying marker such as a piece of colored duct tape on your athlete’s poles so they don’t get their poles confused with another racer’s.
HELMETS
Helmets are a critical piece of safety gear and should be properly fitted. All racers must wear helmets with hard sided ears for giant slalom events. U14 and older USST participants must wear FIS certified helmets. A FIS certification sticker similar to the one below will be attached to the back of FIS certified helmets.
Lastly, nearly all racers wear a chin bar attached to their helmets for slalom events (chin bars are NOT allowed in giant slalom). The chin bar protects the face and teeth from an inadvertent gate snapping back up and knocking out a few teeth. Each race helmet brand has a chin bar designed specifically for the helmet.
RACE PROTECTION
Race protection includes chin bars (as covered above), pole guards, arm guards, shin guards and back braces. At a minimum a racer should have chin guards and pole guards for slalom events. As the racer gets older and begins hitting gates, arm guards and shin guards are appropriate. Arm guards are worn for giant slalom and shin guards are worn for slalom. Back braces and back guards are typically used for higher speed events and are becoming more common especially amongst older more experienced racers.
RACE SUITS
Race suits help the racer become more aerodynamic and can provide an additional layer of warmth and padding. Many first year and younger racers do not wear race suits. Some older racers that do not wear race suits as well. The athletes often like to wear race suits in order to conform to what they see most of their peers wearing. However, no one is paying attention to who is and who is not wearing a race suit. That said, as a racer gets more competitive, the aerodynamic benefit of wearing a race suit can be impactful on a racer’s time.
TEAM COAT
Many members of the Wilmot race team have team coats. Team costs are not required gear (there is no official uniform). However, many athletes like to wear the team coats as they provide a sense of belonging to the team. As of 2023, there is a SYNC gear shop to order embroidered team coats and other team wear on-demand, shipped to your home. The traditional red Arctica brand team jacket is no longer available but as these were the standard coat, many kids still wear this and parents will sell coats as they’re outgrown. A third option is to commission logo embroidery on a Sync or Arctica coat yourself. Ask other parents about this.
SKI PANTS AND SHORTS
No special ski pants are needed, although it is often nice to have either full side zip pants that can be removed easily or training shorts. Branded versions are also available at the team SYNC gear shop