Nordic Sport for Schools

Dates & Booking Requests

School programs are available weekdays from mid-December to early April, excluding holidays. Our booking request form opens early to mid-September annually. We accept booking requests from all districts, however, Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton schools will be prioritized until early to mid-October, provided that requests are received by this date. Booking requests received October 31 onwards may be waitlisted. We will contact you if dates become available.

Information collected using our Booking Request Form will be used for the sole purpose of communicating about field trips. All contacts will be added to our mailing list. If experiencing issues with our web form or to be removed from the mailing list, please contact us directly. 

If your school will be booking multiple classes/dates, please include all classes in a single request form. Trips are reserved on a first come first served basis. Due to the length of our season, we have a limited number of dates available. During the initial booking period, we can accommodate one visit per class. If you have requested 2 dates for the same class(es) we will waitlist your second date. Additional dates will be offered to schools in waitlist order in November/December or as they come available. 

Booking Confirmation

When your trip is confirmed, a Booking Confirmation email will be sent to all contacts provided. Upon receiving this email:

1. Review your confirmation email and booking details. Carefully read our Booking Policies. Understand your booking obligations, including deposits, payments, changes, and cancellations. A 50% deposit is due as soon as possible.
2. Visit our "Know Before You Go" page for teachers and parents.
3. Show students what they can expect by sharing our video and Physical Literacy resources.
4. Help us learn more about your group!

• Guided Lessons/Tours: Determine skier skill levels and divide students into groups of approximately 10-12. Include boot sizes for ski rentals. A sizing chart, skier levels cheat sheet, and lunch order form are included with all confirmation emails. Groups, boot sizes, and lunch orders (where applicable) must be sent two weeks in advance of your trip. Sizing is not required for snowshoe rentals. Any additional information about your students will be helpful, e.g. behavioural cues, adaptive needs, etc. 
• Self-Guided Trips: Send boot sizing only for ski rentals. 

Accessibility & Inclusion

Contact us to discuss any accessibility needs/barriers to students and ways we can support. Adaptive equipment and leisure buddy support can be provided in cooperation with Whistler Adaptive, to integrate any participant into a ski lesson. Please contact Whistler Adaptive directly to make arrangements for leisure buddy support.

lunch Program

Whistler Cooks Catering provides an optional hot lunch program for lesson/tour groups. Order forms are included with your booking confirmation, orders must be summarized and submitted to us pre-trip. All options include a side of veggies, dip, and hot chocolate.

• Grade K - 7 menu: Choice of individual pizza, grilled cheese, veggie chili
• Grade 8 - 12 menu: Choice of chicken and bacon panini, vegetarian/vegan sandwich, two grilled cheese, or upsized veggie chili

Please send a representative to the cafe for payment and order confirmation on arrival at the park. Lunch orders will be delivered to the Cross-Country building.  We kindly ask that schools distribute lunch orders.

Self-guided groups are welcome to order food and beverage items at the cafe. For larger groups, please let us know if you plan to buy lunch on-site.

Group Size & Supervision

HOW MANY STUDENTS CAN WE ACCOMMODATE?

Guided lessons/tours can accommodate approximately 60 students or 2 - 3  classes each day. Schools are welcome to book a self-guided experience if lessons/tours are at capacity.

WHAT ARE THE INSTRUCTOR/GUIDE RATIOS?

For ski lessons, instructors are reserved on an 1:10 ratio (groups of 12 - 15 are permitted in some circumstances). For snowshoe tours, we reserve approximately 2 guides per class. If a biathlon program has been requested, additional instructors/guides are reserved to supervise the biathlon range. 

In addition to paid staff, Whistler Olympic Park volunteers may assist on program. They can be identified by a green vest. 

TEACHERS & CHAPERONES

A chaperone is a teacher, educational assistant, support staff, parent or guardian. We ask that these individuals help us in the following areas:

• Assist students in the rental shop with equipment pick-up/return. Help students with boots/skis/snowshoes.
• Ski with a group and assist with supervision during on-snow activities, washroom breaks, etc. Those who are not skiing may walk on trails in designated areas only.
• Supervise students during lunch.

To ensure a student focused learning environment, chaperones need to have the same or greater skiing ability as their assigned student group.

Complimentary tickets and rentals are provided for teachers and chaperones on a 1:10 ratio plus a floater. For example, if you book 50 students, we will provide tickets and rentals for 6 chaperones at no additional fee. A rate of $25 per person applies for each chaperone in excess of this ratio. Additional complimentary tickets/rentals can be requested for EA's and 1:1 support staff. We do not charge for chaperones who have season passes and/or their own ski equipment. 

Payment

Taxes apply to all products. Please email us if you require a breakdown of applicable taxes.

A quote will be provided with your confirmation email, and a hold placed on your trip date(s). To secure your booking, we require a 50% deposit upon receipt of a confirmation email, and no later than two weeks prior to your trip. We will issue a final invoice for the balance owing no later than 2 weeks post-trip. If you wish to pay in full prior to your trip, we will refund the difference if numbers decrease (see “Changes To Group Size” below for more information if your numbers change significantly).

For credit card payments (preferred), we will provide a credit card authorization form. If payment must be made by cheque, please make cheques payable to Whistler Sport Legacies, 1080 Legacy Way, Whistler, BC, V8E 0K3 - include the name of your school, trip date, and indicate that it is a deposit. E-transfers are also accepted, please contact us for EFT information.

Changes & Cancellations

CHANGE OF DATE

Historically, we have not had capacity to change dates after December 1st. If a scheduling conflict arises, please contact us as soon as possible. 

CHANGE TO GROUP SIZE

Changes of more than 10% within 1 week of your trip may result in fees charged for 90% of your booking. We understand that numbers fluctuate, please contact as soon as possible to make adjustments. 

CANCELLATION

• More than 2 weeks notice - no penalty.
• Within 1 – 2 weeks, 50% deposit is non-refundable.
• No Show – 100% of original booking value applies.

We understand public health orders have seen on-going change over the past two years. Refunds will be provided for COVID related cancellations if public health orders prohibit field trips, large group gatherings, travel between communities, or if a class has been directed to isolate. Admin fees may apply. 

Cancellations made by WOP or as a result of district-wide bus cancellations or highway closures will not be penalized.

Contact us prior to your trip if you are considering cancelling due to extreme cold. Admin fees will apply if we are notified last minute / day of. WOP remains open during rain or cold weather events. Our staff are prepared with contingency plans to facilitate programs in variable weather. The Callaghan Valley can experience different warming/cooling patterns in comparison to Whistler/Squamish – check our Weather web page for current conditions. Some schools choose to come despite the cold, therefore extreme cold cancellations are at the discretion of the school in consult with Whistler Olympic Park. In the event of extreme cold, we recommend following Cross Country BC’s cold weather policy for event cancellations. Temperature is what will be expected/measured at program start time, start time may be delayed if warming is predicted.

• -15°C cancel event for age 12 & under
• -20°C cancel event for age 13 & up