Author: Anne Stairs

For more than a half-century, Knowlton Academy’s venerable ski program has introduced Brome Lake area children to alpine skiing. The program plans to celebrate its 55th anniversary next year, after COVID scuppered a planned 50th celebration in 2020. Physical education teacher John Parry initiated the school’s ski program in 1970, running it until he retired in 2004, when he was succeeded by Nicolas Lemaître.

The school’s program aims to introduce children to the thrill of skiing at a young age while limiting the expenses associated with the sport. But running a ski program is not all fun and games. It relies on a community commitment thick with volunteers and thoughtful planning.

Before the snow even flies, Lemaître sizes students for equipment from the school’s stockpile of 155 sets to help control costs. The equipment is also available to rent, for a very low fee, to school families on evenings, weekends, and holidays. Proceeds are used to maintain and replace equipment.

With the closure of Glen Mountain in 2004, Lemaître was invited by Owl’s Head owner Fred Korman to move the program to his ski centre. Five years later, transportation costs fueled Lemaître’s decision to move operations to the less distant Mont Sutton. Money saved from reduced travel was used to hire instructors to give students high-quality instruction.

At the hill, skiers are separated into ability-based groups. Beginning skiers start out on the bunny hill until they can stand up, make it down the hill, and master getting on the lift on their own. Heroic parents spend days on the easy slope, heaping encouragement on snow-suited bundles until they graduate to the chairlift.

The program provides an opportunity that is beyond some family budgets. In 2004, it only cost $15 per student for five school days of skiing. Ever-increasing fuel prices and general inflation mean that in 2025, the fee is now $100—at $20 a day, still a bargain for both lift tickets and use of equipment. Transportation is covered by fundraising, a time-consuming task essential to the functioning of the program. Community partners like the firemen, Lion’s Club, and Optimists lend a hand, and the school now offers tax receipts for donations to the program. Lemaître dreams of the day a trust could be set up to sustain this unique and rewarding program.

While some may question time away from the classroom and on the slopes, there is no doubt that the program is a confidence booster. Students quickly experience measurable growth in their skills, and the pastime lifts morale during the dark days of winter.