2024 Northern Interschools Snowsports Championships Survey - Key Findings

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to participate in the 2024 Northern Interschools Snowsport Championships survey. Your feedback is invaluable, and we greatly appreciate the insights shared by school coordinators, parents, and community members.

This feedback will play a crucial role in helping us enhance future events, improve communication, and better support participants and schools.

The survey gathered feedback on various themes related to event experience, school participation, volunteer involvement, and the snowsports pathway. Some of the key findings included:

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Overall, participants expressed positive feedback about the event. A significant number rated the Championships as "Very Well," with 94% indicating interest in attending future events. However, some respondents suggested improvements, such as earlier access to schedules and volunteer rosters to help with planning.

Volunteer support is essential, yet 55% of schools found it challenging to meet volunteer course official requirements. Common obstacles included insufficient volunteer availability, childcare issues, and a lack of skiing experience among parents. Clearer role descriptions and more support for recruiting volunteers are areas we will focus on for future events.

The introduction of the moguls qualifier event received positive feedback, with 25% of respondents reporting increased confidence in participation. For multiclass events, while 19 schools were aware of the opportunities, only two schools who participated in the event completed the survey, suggesting a need for increased outreach and accessibility to encourage broader involvement.

The survey revealed mixed perceptions of the role of Interschools in the snowsports pathway. Most respondents saw it as an entry-level event, however it was indicated that there is a need for greater awareness and clarity around snowsports pathways and other sport opportunities, with many schools and families lacking information on progression and available training opportunities.

School participation in the Interschools Snowsport Championships varied, with 44% of schools reporting increased involvement and 18% seeing a decline. High expenses, scheduling conflicts, and accommodation challenges were noted as barriers to participation for some families. Clearer communication through channels like EDM/e-newsletters, websites, and WhatsApp was requested to improve the planning process and help schools better manage logistics.

Based on the survey findings, several recommendations have been proposed for the 2025 Northern Interschools Snowsport Championships:

- Develop engaging videos to showcase the benefits of participating in Interschools, and volunteering shared via e-newsletters and social media.

- Provide clearer role descriptions for volunteer course officials and remind school coordinators to share course official videos with volunteers.

- Improve event rules communication by sending short info sheets and adding links to event rules on WhatsApp.

- Expand the availability of multiclass events and improve access to event information online.

- Increase collaboration between schools and resort snowsports clubs to support student-athletes and raise awareness of snowsports pathways

We look forward to using these insights to improve the event experience and better support snowsports participation in the future. Thank you again for your valuable contributions!