As part of the Vision 2020 Infrastructure Enhancement Program, Chicopee will be auctioning off a limited number of chairs from the old North chairlift. The funds raised from this initiative will go towards new chairlifts (North and Sugarbowl), new runs by Fairway Rd, and a state-of-the-art chalet to replace the existing home to outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. Learn more about Vision 2020 by clicking here

Our online auction will be open from Monday May 30th (9am) - Friday June 3rd (1pm). Please visit our online auction page and help build Chicopee’s future!

Click here to bid!

Kitchener, March 21, 2011 – Chicopee Ski Club gathered around its North chairlift yesterday to celebrate and commemorate “the last ride” before it is dismantled to make way for the new quad chairlift coming this Fall.  It was an exciting day for members, staff and volunteers who came out to witness the special event and close the 2011 winter season with much pride, excitement and emotion.  The last ride was dedicated to the entire Club as well as an honourary member Bill Duench who is Chicopee’s longest-standing member of 71 years.  He was accompanied on the ride by Steve Lockner, the 2010 President of the Board of Directors and Keith Reinhardt – Manager of Operations who has been with Chicopee for 38 years.

“This is the beginning of a brand new era for skiers and snowboarders in the Tri-City area” states Reg Verley, COO and Executive Director of the 76 year-old Ski Club. “ And this is only the first step of many designed to upgrade and extend existing facilities”.

At an Annual General Meeting last October, Chicopee’s membership approved the purchase of a new chairlift for the North Hill, where a triple-chair lift will be replaced by a quad lift well ahead of next year’s ski season. Serving one of the Club’s most popular runs, this new lift will be able to bring up to 2,400 people per hour to the top of the hill. 

Chicopee Ski Club has 3,000 members and is governed by a volunteer board of directors; it has always sought to serve the public first by offering affordable and accessible outdoor activities, programs and lessons to local people.

A not-for-profit organization with a proud and successful history stretching back to 1934, Chicopee’s members have always relied on the Club’s traditions of inclusiveness, family fun and innovation to guide decision-making processes. With these traditions in mind, the Board of Directors and Management Team, after consultation with other community stakeholders, recently developed a ten-year strategic plan – Vision 2020 – which will not only improve existing programs and services, but introduce brand new activity and entertainment facilities as well. 

Vision 2020 is a bold and exciting plan for the future that will require community and corporate support in order to succeed. Starting this year, Chicopee will begin actively inviting support from the communities it serves: watch for opportunities to sponsor, donate and volunteer!
 
We invite local and regional media to support our Club and its members through coverage of the special events and ongoing programming we have scheduled for this season. And please watch for more information regarding a “groundbreaking” fundraiser we have planned for this Fall! 

In his speech at yesterday’s event, Reg Verley announced that the old lift chairs from North will be available for sale throughout the upcoming months through an online auction and at various events.  Each purchaser will receive their chair with a personalized name plate and certificate recognizing their contribution.  He advised everyone to watch the website and emailers for details on this one-of-a time sale.

For more information regarding Vision 2020, the progress of the new Quad Chairlift, fundraising,  Chicopee’s memberships, tickets, programs, camps, events and facilities, please call Guest Services.

For more information or questions regarding this Press Release, please contact:

Lori McCrae
Manager, Business Development
P. 519-894-5610 x238
C. 519-501-6346
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Chicopee Ski Club kicks off its 10-year strategic plan “Vision 2020” – with the purchase of a new Quad chairlift!

Kitchener, February 14, 2011 – Chicopee Ski Club is proud to announce the beginning of a brand new era for skiers and snowboarders in the Tri-City area. This is only the first step of many designed to upgrade and extend existing facilities, the facility will begin construction of a new quad chairlift in May, 2011.

At an Annual General Meeting last October, Chicopee’s membership approved the purchase of a new chairlift for the North Hill, where a triple-chair lift will be replaced by a quad lift well ahead of next year’s ski season. Serving one of the Club’s most popular runs, this new lift will be able to bring up to 2,400 people per hour to the top of the hill. 

Chicopee Ski Club has 3,000 members and is governed by a volunteer board of directors; it has always sought to serve the public first by offering affordable and accessible outdoor activities, programs and lessons to local people.

A not-for-profit organization with a proud and successful history stretching back to 1934, Chicopee’s members have always relied on the Club’s traditions of inclusiveness, family fun and innovation to guide decision-making processes. With these traditions in mind, the Board of Directors and Management Team, after consultation with other community stakeholders, recently developed a ten-year strategic plan – Vision 2020 – which will not only improve existing programs and services, but introduce brand new activity and entertainment facilities as well. 

Vision 2020 is a bold and exciting plan for the future that will require community and corporate support in order to succeed. Starting this year, Chicopee will begin actively inviting support from the communities it serves: watch for opportunities to sponsor, donate and volunteer! 

We invite local and regional media to support our Club and its members through coverage of the special events and ongoing programming we have scheduled for this season. And please watch for more information regarding a “groundbreaking” fundraiser we have planned for this Fall!

For more information on Chicopee’s memberships, tickets, programs, camps, events and facilities, please call Guest Services or visit: http://www.discoverchicopee.com

Information
Date: Tuesday October 5th, 2010
Time: Starts 7:30pm Sharp
Location: Chicopee Ski Club - 396 Morrison Rd, Kitchener ON

Letter to Members

Dear Member,

A recent review of Chicopee’s long-term strategic plan by the Board of Directors and Management Team has resulted in some important recommendations for infrastructure enhancements. A key initiative among these is the replacement of the chairlifts on the North and Sugar Bowl ski runs.

Replacing these lifts is a necessary step to ensure the continued safety of our members. Audits recently completed by the TSSA to determine the condition of the ski hill’s equipment revealed that these two lifts were still safe to operate, but the TSSA’s made it clear that in the next few years it will become increasingly difficult to find the materials, parts and expertise necessary to support the continued maintenance of the lift equipment on North and Sugar Bowl. 

Replacing these lifts will also enhance the “ski experience” at Chicopee. Three decades of improvements to lift technology will allow us to move more skiers up the hill, which will mean less time in line at the bottom of each run. Fewer towers (on North 5 versus the existing 8) will be required to support the new lifts, which will result in more ski-able space as well.

Because of financial restraints at this time only one lift can be purchased. Taking safety and business risk into consideration, it has been determine to move forward with the North Chair first at a projected cost of $1.5 million. As soon as finances become available the Sugar Bowl Chair will be replaced at a projected cost of $1.4 million.

The North Chair will be purchased from Leitner-Poma who is our existing lift suppliers. This is cost effective for operational and maintenance issues. The chair will be slightly relocated to enhance the unloading zone at the top to create a better and larger space for traffic flow. The chair will be a fixed grip quad chair, with 52 chairs and only 5 towers on the hill. This will provide a capacity of 2400 people per hour. The chairlift will be ordered in early December 2010 with installation beginning in May 2011 with a completion date of October 15, 2011.

The financing of this project was done through a request for proposal with a number of financial institutions providing funding options.  After careful review by the Audit and Finance Committee, and endorsed by the Board, CIBC was selected as our financial partner with this project.

Chicopee has a reserve of $250,000 dedicated to this project with another $200,000 projected to be added following the membership blitz at the end of November. The financing of $1.2 million will consist of a 7 year term through the CIBC at a cost of approximately $145,000 per year. As this is a term loan we will have the advantage of making over payments should the opportunity arise. For existing members you may recall the Club secured a loan from the GRCA for $1 million for a variety of projects in 1999 which carried a 10 year $100,000 annual payment. The final payment on this loan was made in November 2009. This new lift replacement project will not significantly impact membership pricing over the repayment period of this loan.

The layout of the chairlift is available for your viewing below.

(Towers on the North run will decrease from 8 to 5. Landing area at the top of the hill will be expanded. 4-seat chairlift will be installed replacing the existing 3-seat chairlift. Easy Rider will be widened.) Note: The above image is to be used as a rough image of the proposed chairlift. Layout and design are subject to change.

As a further means of assisting with the funding of this project and further capital enhancements required at Chicopee a fund raising strategy is being developed. Once this program is in place we will be coming to the membership for assistance to unleash this in our community.

We look forward to seeing you at Chicopee’s AGM in October when our members will be asked to approve financing for our plan as outlined above. In the meantime, the Board welcomes any and all questions you might have regarding this project. Email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 519-894-5610 ext 224.

Best regards,

Steve Lockner
President, Board of Directors
The Chicopee Ski Club