Great Gear Makes a Difference

I was standing in the lodge at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl in Vermont one morning when I was almost bowled over by a girl who spied me from across the room, ran, and tackled me with a hug. It was Molly, a girl our foundation sponsored in ski lessons. Molly was at the mountain skiing with her classmates on a day her school came to ski. And Molly was out skiing on “her” mountain, on the trails she knew, joining the other kids in her school who had equipment and knew how to ski.   She had broken a barrier and was so proud to be out there with the kids who ski (and not on the beginner hill) with the right equipment and the right clothing—she fit in.

Stride was founded 25 years ago with a mission to empower girls like Molly through sports and to reinforce the message with mentoring. We want girls to get all of the benefits of sports, from higher self-esteem to better grades in school to health benefits that last a lifetime, to name a few.

From our point of view, one of the most important parts of unlocking the benefits of sports is removing any barriers to participation and success. In skiing, that means providing season passes, equipment, and purpose-built clothing. We are grateful to have generous support from the Snow Bowl Snow School and Ski Patrol for this program. Several years back, one of Stride’s stalwart donors, whose kids attended one of Vermont’s iconic ski academies, mentioned to me that it would be nice if the Snow Stars girls had a uniform of sorts so they all felt part of something larger than themselves. She suggested Arctica.

Arctica was a perfect fit for us. The girls get jackets and side-zip pants that stand up to Vermont winters. They use them only for their ski lessons; in other words, this is their ski uniform. They fit in with the rest of the skiers on the mountain, which removes any stigma or barrier they might feel. Molly was certainly a testament to that effect.

We run four mentoring programs (Nordic skiing, Alpine skiing, and two basketball programs) as well as support girls through scholarships to camps.

Snow Stars is our ski program. On the Alpine side, girls from elementary school through high school are sponsored in a lesson program at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl in Vermont and are mentored by women members of the Ski Patrol, who are college student/athletes.

I want to thank Arctica for supporting Stride and the girls who ski with us. Your gear truly makes a difference and, like lessons and mentoring, is part of what makes the magic happen on the mountain. Thank you!

Leslie Wright, founder, Stride: The Wright Foundation for Female Athletes

www.stridefoundation.org