The 2019 Ski Swap. (Image from John Haley)

By Chris Brown

Swap 'til you drop

Ski Swap provides ‘best opportunity’ to upgrade your gear

Oct 18, 2020 | 8:57 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – With sub-zero temperatures and snow blanketing parts of the province this weekend, thoughts are turning to winter pursuits.

For many, that means the ski hill

The Canadian Ski Patrol Palliser Zone is ready for you with its second annual Ski Swap on Oct. 24.

Ski Swap coordinator John Haley says it’s grown this year to include four retailers in addition to all the consignment items from members of the public.

Medicine Hat stores Gravity Sports and The Boarding House will be joined by Alpenland and Boarderline from Lethbridge. Haley says the four will have more than 600 items at the event.

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“It will probably be the best opportunity in the province this year to come under one roof and get such a huge selection from retailers,” said Haley. “And the opportunity for the skiing public to recycle old equipment either that they don’t want to use any more or they got out of the sport or they’re upsizing for their children.”

The Ski Swap, on Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will take place at the South Ridge YMCA this year. The larger space, compared to the Downtown YMCA, allows for more people as gathering and capacity limits are always a consideration in this time of COVID-19.

Haley says public health measures will be enforced such as mandatory masks and collection of information for contact tracing. Hand sanitizing stations will also be in place.

With COVID making many indoor winter sports a challenge, now might be the time to get into skiing.

“Skiing’s a great sport. We like to think that we’re promoting healthy lifestyles and winter sport,” said Haley. “There’s a great teaching staff at the Hidden Valley Ski Resort. They have an excellent staff of ski instructors and it’s a great family hill for people of all ages and all abilities really to ski and enjoy it. By attending the ski swap it provides them with an opportunity to get into the sport at reasonable prices to get into the sport.”

Haley says people should come prepared with cash or cheque or be prepared for a little bit of a wait to do an e-transfer. An ATM may be on site but there’s no guarantee, he says, and the swap will not be able to accept debit or credit card payments.

Items to be sold can be dropped off on Oct. 23 from 5-9 p.m. and pickup of unsold equipment or cheques for sales can be done after 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 24.

Sales of the consignment items are split 80-20 between the seller and the ski patrol, which puts the finds toward first aid equipment and training for its members. New members must go through a 75-hour training program and everyone needs to recertify each year through a 16-hour program.

There are about 35 Canadian Ski Patrol members in the Palliser Zone, who also provide services in the off-season at events like Conquer the Coulee and the Water Run.