About five years ago I took a class through the Maine Winter Sport Center's Healthy Hometowns program. The class was geared for adults who planned to work with novice skiers to teach them the basic skills of cross-country skiing (it was my first year organizing a 4-H ski club). This class had the adults playing several variations of tag, skiing through hula hoops and participating in other games that had many of us shaking our heads and wondering what the heck we'd signed up for. But after a successful slide on my skis through a hula hoop (with a less than stellar landing once I cleared it) I realized the point of the class.
Cross-country skiing doesn't have to be about mileage and endurance. It can simply be about having fun in an open field on a pair of skis.
I brought those ski games back to not only the ski club I was leading that year (and let me clarify that I did not have a strong skill set for cross-country-skiing myself when I started that club), but to my family's own cross-country ski trips.
And we still play many of these games today.
Sometimes when my family goes out on the trail, we take goofy pictures with my digital camera (in-the-air photos are a favorite, which require the skier – the girls or mom – to jump in the air with our skis from a standing still position). Jumping is a great activity to work on balance control, which comes in handy on ungroomed trails and hills.
I'm also known to ski with a hula hoop strapped to my pack. It's a particularly enjoyable way to ski down small hills. The ability to direct and maintain ski position is a key skill for kids (and adults) to learn. It also teaches skiers how to bend their knees and straighten back up while moving, which helps with balance control. I'm always amazed at how quickly kids new to cross-country skiing figure out how to get through that hula hoop. It's a great confidence boost, not to mention it provides some of the best trail entertainment we've ever had at any time of year.
My 12-year-old highly recommends bringing a hula hoop out on the trail. "It's fun skiing through the hula hoop and it's good at helping you balance on your skis. And it's funny to watch your parents try to do it, too!"
Yeah, it is possible for a 6-foot-tall, not-so-thin mama to ski through a hula hoop. The ending isn't always pretty, but I think the belly laughing that goes on among my audience is usually worth the brief humiliation.
And if you don't have a hula hoop lying around the house, simply skiing down a small hill, in a squatting or standing position, can be a lot of fun too.
When we're with our ski club, the kids often request a round of amoeba tag. A boundary of play is marked off with ski poles and one person is chosen as “It.” When the "It" tags another skier, those two skiers have to join hands and try to tag someone else. The game goes until one person is left. We typically play this tag game on one ski (the kids get one-footed gliding figured out pretty quick during this game) and it's one of my 11-year-old's favorite group games. "I can move around pretty fast on my ski so I don't get tagged. I really like to win that (amoeba tag) game."
My 12-year-old also recommends the one-ski gliding competition. "I like to glide on one ski. It's a fun game to see who can glide the longest way without putting your (ski-less) foot down. I like to win that game."
Simon Says is a classic stand-by when my kids' interest is waning out on the trail and we have a while to go to get back to the trailhead. My girls may say they're too old to play this game (they're 11 and 12), but even though they roll their eyes at me when I suggest it, they do get into it. Simon Says is one of those games that everyone likes, no matter their age. A chance to boss parents and siblings around a bit? What's not to like?
The games I've mentioned are really only a sampling of the many options that can be adapted for skis. When you make the focus of your adventure about playing games rather than how much of the trail you can cover, even families with little to no experience with the sport can have an enjoyable outing. It's all about the right mind-set – just get outside with your family and have some fun.
MORE INFO
The Maine Winter Sports Center offers a season-long rental program for organized youth groups through their Healthy Hometowns Program. Find out more about program
KID-FRIENDLY TRAILS
Here’s a sampling of trails my family has enjoyed.
Twin Brooks, Cumberland
The groomed trails ($2 requested donation for non-residents) offer a nice variety of open field skiing as well as a wooded trail area.
Fuller Farm, Scarborough
The rolling hills in the open field of Fuller Farm offer lots of options for ski games as well as open field skiing on ungroomed trails.
Mountain Division Trail, Standish-Gorham-Windham
This multi-use trail’s snow covering is often packed down by snowmobiles and gives skiers the feel of groomed trails without the expense. My family has also found a variety of animal tracks off the trails that make this area even more appealing to them.
Riverside Golf Course, Portland
These trails are also groomed (with a $2 requested donation) and offers families easy options to ski as short (or long) distance as they’d like and never be too far from the car.
Maine Winter Sports Center, Fort Kent
My kids really enjoyed watching the biathlon athletes training (shooting and skiing) on this groomed (and free) trail system when we visited. There is also a lodge open to all visitors. Rentals are available for a fee at the trailhead.
Originally published in Raising Maine Magazine, February 2009
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