Although competitions and training for racing and freestyle are important sources of income, many ski areas suffer the negative comments expressed by the general skiing and riding public over the loss of prime terrain. The solution for daytime-only ski areas may be to invest in slope lighting and shift more events and training activities to non-peak evening hours (dusk to closing)! Northern hemisphere winter daylight runs from approximately 8:00am to 4:00pm. This provides only 8 operational hours. Logically, any incremental increase in operational hours can extend revenue. The typical daytime ski area begins receiving customers from 7:00am for “First Tracks” until lift closings at around 4:00pm The bulk of attendance comes between 8:00am and 10:00am; approximately 70%. During that time, as much as 30% of terrain can be dedicated to ski race training and/or events. Terrain parks may account for only 5% to 15% of the ski area. Obviously, every area is different, but based upon participation, numbers generally fall along the same breakpoints. Ski areas that service local towns or nearby cities may place an emphasis upon school programs that would provide weekday attendance. Adding nighttime hours to such programs can increase scheduling flexibility since the school day encompasses most of the daylight time during the winter.
ATTENDANCE
30.00%
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15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
7:00
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Adolescent race programs are usually the most popular, accounting for 70% of youth program participation. The remaining formal training may be categorized as freestyle. It should be noted that freestyle popularity is increasing and is directly associated with the
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