Time: 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.

Dates: January 14 (please note change) to March 10, 2012. There is no class on February 11 due to the Birkebeiner Ski Loppet.

Fee: $50 plus a ENSC family membership ($100)

Location: Gold Bar Park

Contact: saturday.jackrabbits@edmontonnordic.ca (this is not hyperlinked to deter spammers; please cut and paste into your email program)

The program is based on Cross Country Canada's Skill Development Program for Children. The overall objective of the Saturday Jackrabbit Program is to help children develop a love of the outdoors, a healthy lifestyle, excellent technical skills, and a good level of physical fitness.

We try to encourage a sense of community among the families who join us. This Program is not intended to be a drop-off activity.

Structure of Lessons

The Program consists of 9 sessions beginning on Saturday January 14, 2012 and ending on March 10, 2012. There is no Saturday session the weekend of the Canadian Birkebeiner (February 11). Each Saturday's session begins at 1:30 in the afternoon and runs until approximately 3:00.

Each hour and a half session consists of:

• a 60-minute lesson with children in their skill-specific level i.e Bunnies through to Level 4;
• a 30-minute "extra activity" aimed at applying skills learned during lessons.

We strongly recommend that children come ahead of time to get skis waxed, scarves wrapped, bladders emptied, etc.

Class Cancellation

Classes will run each Saturday unless the snow conditions or temperature make it difficult or dangerous to run the lesson.  We will not run a class if the temperature is below -20 C. Wind chill is not a factor in our decision to cancel a lesson because we can still safely conduct the classes in many of the sheltered areas around the Pavilion.

If a lesson is cancelled we will make every effort to contact parents before the class.  If you don’t hear from us, assume the class is being held.

The final decision on whether to attend is always up to your discretion, especially for the younger skiers.

Post-Lesson Snack

After each lesson, it is important (and fun) for the children to warm up, rehydrate, and have a snack. The program will provide hot chocolate for the families during the break. Each week two families will be responsible for making the hot chocolate as part of their volunteer commitment. Families are responsible for providing their own snacks for their children.

Parent Involvement

Parents are welcome to tag along to watch the lessons. Instructors may ask you to assist with different activities. We would appreciate at least one parent per skier at the Bunny and Level 1 classes, at least to start. At levels 2 to 4, we recommend that parents consider encouraging their kids to ski without them.  Sometimes the kids are "braver" when Mom or Dad is out of sight.

Please work with your child's instructor to ensure that your son or daughter has the very best experience possible at Jackrabbits!

Volunteer commitment

The Jackrabbit Program relies heavily on parent volunteers to organize and teach. As such, a parent volunteer commitment is required from each family.  Parents can either take on one of the volunteer program positions or help out with the week-to-week tasks that keep the program running.