Scholarship Programs
Each year, members of the Sugarloaf Ski Club Community Scholarship Committee meet to award money to assist youth in their goals for skiing & riding. Last year over $72,000 was budgeted to help more than 400 deserving youngsters. The funds awarded allow recipients to participate in CVA, CVA's Weekend Programs and Sugarloaf Mountain's Bubblecuffers, Minicuffers, Hayburners and other listed Perfect Turn Programs.
The money is made available through Sugarloaf Ski Club fund raising efforts. In addition to Sugarloaf Ski Club's revenues, these awards are made possible with the help of our funds listed below. Please read the fund descriptions and eligibility requirements before applying.
King's Kids Initiative. With the help of a $500,000 challenge grant from the King & Jean Cummings Charitable Trust, the club has launched a Million Dollar Fundraising campaign. The donations have been placed in an endowment fund. The earnings from the fund will be used to assist youth who reside in Franklin & Somerset Counties. The purpose of this fund is to make skiing & riding more affordable to area youth. Various programs are being established to fulfill the goals of this fund.
Town of Carrabassett Valley Fund; a generous grant from the Town of Carrabassett Valley for the Ski Club to administer. Distributions are to RSU58, Stratton and Carrabassett Valley youth for ski and snowboard program participation.
Dick and Martha Ayotte Fund; For 39 years we have been running an annual golf tournament to help with its funding. We are all proud of the successful growth of the Ayotte fund. A few years ago an endowment fund was established with The Maine Community Foundation to ensure the continued growth of the fund. Distributions from the Ayotte Fund will be limited to applicants from Maine with preference given to applicants from Franklin & Somerset Counties and/or employees or volunteers serving Sugarloaf area businesses.
Dan McKay/Mike Waddle Fund. This fund was established to help our kids with their travel expenses to out of region competitions Each year on President's day we have a ski race and BBQ to honor these two former members of the Sugarloaf Junior racing programs who lost their lives as young men. This event is not only a great fund raiser, but also a good time to be had by all. The race course is fun and forgiving and racing is an option, not mandatory for participants.
McKay/ Waddle funds will only be used for merit scholarships, to help ski club member ski & snowboarding competitors who have excelled in their sport and have qualified for out-of-division competitions or been invited to attend high level invitation only camps run by USSA or USASA. No geographic restrictions on applicants. These awards are given out in the Spring as part of the Sugarloaf Ski Club Merit Award program.
RSU/58-Stratton Ski Skate Program;Annually we award money to our four local elementary schools, Strong, Phillips, Kingfield and Stratton. This money comes originally from the G. Norton Luce Fund, established to assist youth who participate in the area ski/skate program. It now comes as part of our King's Kids initiative, which is a fund created to honor King & Jean Cummings and G Norton Luce. This very important low-cost ski/skate program has been responsible for giving a chance to local kids who otherwise might not be able to ski or ride at Sugarloaf.
Spring Merit Awards; Our final round of scholarships is based on merit and is awarded in the spring. These awards are established by the Ski Club to help ski club member ski & riding competitors who have excelled in their sport and have qualified for out-of-division competitions or been invited to attend high level invitation only camps run by USSA or USASA. The old adage, "the better you get the more expensive it is", applies to ski and snowboard competitors. These athletes know that their club is there to help them achieve their competitive goals. The family must be ski club members members by Jan 10, 2022. There are no residency requirements. These funds come from The McKAy/Waddle Fund and General Sugarloaf Ski Club revenue.
The Ski Club welcomes you to make a donation to support our scholarship programs
In summary, the Sugarloaf Ski Club Community Scholarship Committee administers funds from the following sources:
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Town of Carrabassett Valley Fund: for RSU 58 and Stratton students only
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King's Kids Program: A new program to assist kids who live in Franklin & Somerset Counties. Funded by the Ski Club's KIng & Jean Cummings & G Norton Luce Endowment Funds.
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Ayotte Fund: This fund, set up in memory of Carrabassett Valley residents Dick and Martha Ayotte in 1982, has served hundreds of young, local skiers and snowboarders for many years.
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Dan McKay and Mike Waddle Funds: These funds are reserved for competition fees and travel expenses for upper level Sugarloaf Ski Club athletes.