Ski at school

Play Outside,
Grow Inside

Vision & Mission

Our organisation’s vision is to prioritize outdoor experiences, in order to connect us with healthy lifestyle habits, with active mobility reflexes and with the benefits of being in nature, during the winter season.

Our mission is to allow the entire population to learn the benefits of cross-country skiing, as simply as possible. To do this, we create FREE activities and make our numerous SALOMON cross-country ski sets available to participants. Our team is on site during our various initiatives to make them safe and pleasant.

We believe that behind the practice of cross-country skiing we can create human connections, moments of personal pride, discoveries of natural environments, family memories, economic benefits and, above all, generate a lot of fun during the winter season.

The components of our program

Outaouais component

The program introduces schoolchildren aged 6 to 16 to the practice of cross-country skiing for free, directly in the classrooms of primary and secondary schools in Outaouais. Dozens of schools and thousands of students are visited every winter in the region.

Our experienced team travels and collaborates closely with physical education teachers. We carry a full fleet of Salomon equipment. The strengths of the program lie in its freeness, simplicity and the fact that it focuses on pleasure and not performance!

3-3-3 Program

The popularity of cross-country skiing is very high, but it is not always easy for schools to be fully equipped for each age group. The 3-3-3 program optimises the use of equipment by alternating fleets between several schools which will have access to varying sizes of cross-country skis throughout the entire winter. This sharing system reduces costs and the storage space needed in each school.

For more information on the 3-3-3 program: Click Here

Ski-Mobile component

In collaboration with Ski de fond Québec, the Ski-Mobile unit makes it possible to move a fleet of equipment and the presence of our ambassador to remote regions and schools where cross-country skiing initiation services may be more limited. Several thousand initiations have been carried out in the province thanks to this recent collaboration.

Community activities component

Ski At School designs activities for skiing with children aged 4 to 104, in the four corners of the Outaouais, during the winter! We have the cross-country skiing equipment and advice to get you started easily.

The JackRabbit program, Family ski days, winter carnivals, Salt & Pepper Club for 55 and over… find an activity (always free) to have fun this winter, by visiting our activity calendar.

Our Story

Over more than five decades, enthusiasts of the Canadian Ski Marathon have watched the average age of its participants increasing. Also, it is not easy to practice the sport in many places where young people live.

With an eye to the future, it was clear that part of the solution would be to widen the accessibility of cross-country skiing to all schoolchildren, regardless of their background or socio-economic status.

Apart from the obvious health benefits, this would also lead to increased youth participation in large-scale sporting events, including the CSM itself. Following a pilot program in the MRC Pontiac in 2016 – 2017, where the deprivation index is higher than average, a full program was launched.

Since then, SAS has evolved to cover the rest of the Outaouais region and plans to expand further, so that cross-country skiing serves as a catalyst for healthier life-styles across the entire Québec community.

Our Team

Initiated by the Canadian Ski Marathon, the Ski At School program is based on the of:

Generous volunteers who have at heart a vigorous generation of tomorrow, whose opportunities are fair and healthy!

A team of seasoned ambassadors who travel to schools and community centers to share their passion!

Local outdoor cooperatives and other organizations that ensure the regionalized and decentralized development of the program!

A small administrative team that ensures the smooth running of operations and funding for the Ski At School Foundation!

A donation to our Foundation

Like many schoolchildren who cling to a passion or a sport to get through their school career, Ski At School shows resilience and hard work.

The Foundation of our organization is dedicated to ensuring our independence, our flexibility and our high quality service, in order to make a lasting mark on each human being with whom we share our passion.

Donating to Ski at school will empower our community, one young person at a time. It is using outdoor and experiential activities to instill emotions and personal pride in this 6 to 16 year old age group.

A donation is the ability to slide the entire community toward equal opportunities, including being well supported, healthy and happy.

Grand don, Grande aventure.

Chez Ski à l‘école, le côté expérientiel est vital. C’est pourquoi il est possible de faire un cadeau, à vous-même ou à un être cher, d’une expérience extérieure stimulante, sécuritaire et mémorable.

En plus de faire rayonner votre communauté via un don à notre Fondation, vous-même rayonnerez après avoir effectué une expédition caritative, unique et tout inclus.

Lorsque vous réservez votre place au sein d’une expédition caritative de Ski à l’école, le coût que vous défrayez sera ainsi utilisé :

0 %
du déboursement servira à couvrir les coûts inhérents à l’expérience unique choisie.
0 %
du déboursement ira à la Fondation de Ski à l’école.

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Our desire for an active community

There is a legend in the world of cross-country skiing that endures – and for good reason. Herman Smith-Johannsen, also known as Jackrabbit, was a larger-than-life force who lived to the age of 111 and was still participating in the Canadian Ski Marathon at 100!

The secrets of his legend are perhaps embodied in the values that this follower of outdoor and experiential activities advocated, namely: enjoyment, testing one’s limits, love of nature, and moderation.

Like this great man, Ski At School intends to play a role in the healthy proliferation of these values and to contribute, through the dynamism of youth, to an active and united nation. Our big dreams include well-being and vitality, which would reduce the strain on our healthcare system, in addition to galvanizing our national athletic potential.

Outdoor and experiential activities are key to the vitality of our society.

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