November 17, 2004
Swapping skis and acquiring accessories at Ski Swap
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Hours before a bitterly cold dawn Saturday, an orderly line formed outside the Traverse City West Junior High School gym.
By 6 a.m., enterprising members of the Central High School Ski Team were selling coffee and donuts to patient bargain hunters waiting for the 50th Annual Ski Swap Sale to begin.
Organizers began handing out tickets at 7 and the doors officially opened at 9.
At that point, an orderly stampede ensued as savvy shoppers snapped up boots, skis, snowboards and cross-country equipment. A forest of necessary accessories, such as bindings, helmets, racing suits and poles, were also on hand.
In all, thousands of pieces of equipment were available, dropped off by area residents and organizations Friday evening. Representatives from area ski stores helped determine pricing while Grand Traverse Ski Club volunteers meticulously numbered, organized and displayed each piece.
For the snow-inclined outdoor winter aficionado looking for equipment, West Junior High was the place to be this weekend.
"By the time we started handing out tickets at 7, there were a couple hundred people in line," said Steve Klein, president of the Grand Traverse Ski Club. "I've heard we're the biggest ski sale in town, we'll put $80,000 through here over the weekend."
The four-day weekend and the opening of hunting season cut into that typical gross some: by the end of the two-day event Sunday afternoon, sales totaled $74,000. Of this, 20 percent - or approximately $14,800 less expenses - will go to the ski club.
The ski club uses the funds from the annual ski swap to conduct programs including learn to ski, racing clinics and snowboard lessons. Some money is also designated to local high school teams and junior high programs.
The Ski Swap Sale also allows the club to donate equipment to Hickory Hills, including snowmaking machines and groomers. The club sponsors a range of clinics, classes, races and tournaments at Hickory Hills each winter.
"Without the fund-raiser, our prices [for classes, races and programs] would probably have to double and we wouldn't be able to do as much as we do," said Ken Weaver, co-organizer of the event.
Sheila Lowe of Traverse City foraged Sunday afternoon among a field of ski boots for a pair to fit her son, Grayson's growing feet. Last winter Grayson, seven, began skiing and is eager to hit the hills again as soon as the snow flies.
"I've been on the biggest hill at Mt. Holiday and I bombed it," he boasted of the process of going straight down a ski hill - fast.
Although Grayson is a ski enthusiast, he has bigger plans for his winter sports activities.
"I want to ski for maybe three more year and then I want to snowboard," he noted.
Volunteers with the Grand Traverse Ski Club, the event's sponsor for half a century, dispensed advice, rang up sales and kept everything moving both Saturday and Sunday.
By the quieter Sunday afternoon shift, Bruce Lockwood of Elmwood Township turned his volunteer shift into a shopping spree. He wanted to find cross-country ski equipment as well as snowboard boots for his daughter, Lili, seven. Already an avid downhill skier and regular racer last winter on Hickory Hills' slopes, Lili was ready to branch out.
"We live on the Leelanau Trail so we have to have cross country skis," said Lockwood, a member of the Grand Traverse Ski Club. "She already has a snowboard but we've been using her ski boots with it and that doesn't work very well."
The decrease in shoppers at this year's Ski Swap Sale was offset some by the greater purchase volume of each shopper. This reflected the high caliber of the merchandise, noted Weaver.
"The trend is we're getting better equipment in and up to the end on Sunday we had quality equipment, especially for kids," he said.