Parent's Guide to U.S. Ski & Snowboard U14 Alpine Ski Racing 2025-26

U.S. Ski & Snowboard requires every member to have valid primary medical/accident insurance for the whole membership year, as a condition of membership and of taking part in official training and competition.

• Carry proof of primary insurance at every event, so prompt medical or hospital care can be authorized.
• Members of a U.S. Ski & Snowboard member club also get excess accident medical coverage during sanctioned or registered events, including official training at those events. This only applies on top of primary coverage that's in force.
• Members of a CLIP member club have broader excess coverage, including supervised training, conditioning and club activities.

You're responsible for understanding your own policy's terms.

Under the 2026 Alpine Competition Guide helmet rules:

• A helmet designed and made for the event being raced is required in all scored and non-scored races and in official training.
• It must carry a CE mark and meet a recognized standard such as CEH.Din 1077, ASTM F2040, SNELL S98 or RS 98.
• From U14 up, helmets must meet FIS standards for GS, SG, DH, parallel and Kombi. (In Kombi, use a GS, SG or DH helmet.)
• The helmet must cover the head and ears, with no spoilers or protruding parts. Event-specific protection such as a chin guard on a slalom helmet is allowed.
• Soft ears are allowed only on slalom helmets (not for parallel slalom).
• No helmet cameras or camera mounts. Stickers and other non-protruding decoration are fine.

Caution after a crash: age and use reduce any helmet's protection, and a helmet damaged in a fall or other impact may no longer protect enough, even with no visible damage. Ask the manufacturer if you're unsure.

U14 equipment rules for national (non-FIS) races, from the 2026 Alpine Competition Guide (unchanged from 2025):

Ski length tolerance is +/- 1 cm.

Also required:

• Working ski brakes that function with the ski, plate and binding being used.
• Pole baskets, and no metal baskets.
• No fluorocarbon waxes at any sanctioned race. At U14 and younger races, no wax benches in the race arena and no waxing anywhere on the ski resort property.

The Jury can stop an athlete from starting if equipment is inappropriate for the event. Parents of minors are responsible for their child's equipment being maintained and used as the manufacturer intends.

U14 is the youngest age class allowed to race downhill. The events U14s can race:

Recommended course lengths for U14 (by winning time): SL 35-45 sec, GS 45-55 sec, SG 40-60 sec, DH 30-60 sec, Kombi 40-50 sec. Which events your child is offered depends on your division's schedule.

Under the 2026 Alpine Competition Guide's start limitations, U16 and younger athletes (including U14s) may not begin racing until the second full weekend in December.

The competition year runs July 1 to June 30, and your child's age class for the whole competition year is set by year of birth.

Only with permission. Under the 2026 Alpine Competition Guide, U14 and younger athletes may race:

• Outside their home division only with permission from their coach, their divisional manager, and the divisional manager of the division they want to race in.
• Outside their home region only with permission from their coach, their divisional manager, their regional director, and the regional director of the region they want to race in.

Exception: a division may designate certain races as "Open". Those are open to athletes from other divisions in the same region without specific permission.

Your child affiliates with the region and division where they train for most of the season. That choice is made at the start of the season and holds for the whole season.

Because it's not allowed. Under rule U612.4.1, any event that includes U14 and younger athletes may not post real-time results or times on an internet-based timing or results platform during the race.

What can be posted: competitor lists such as club entries, start lists, results and referee reports. Standings and times should be updated at the conclusion of the event.

Under the 2026 Alpine Competition Guide:

• Helmet and body-mounted cameras are not allowed in sanctioned competitions, and neither the camera nor the mount may be on the helmet in official training or competition.
• Cameras built into goggles are allowed at scored and non-scored races (and FIS races), but not at World Cup, NorAm Cup or National Championship races.
• Personal, non-commercial photos and video are fine. Commercial media rights belong to U.S. Ski & Snowboard and/or FIS.
• Drones must comply with federal, state and local law and ski area rules. Even then, a drone can be used only at the Jury's discretion, as a point-of-view camera before the forerunners, never during the actual competition.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard's concussion action plan (2026 Alpine Competition Guide):

1. Removed from training and competition. The Head Coach or Technical Delegate can bench any athlete with a suspected concussion.
2. The family receives U.S. Ski & Snowboard's concussion information and medical evaluation form.
3. The suspected concussion is reported to U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
4. Because your child is a minor, their membership goes on medical hold until the completed evaluation form is returned, signed by a medical professional trained in concussion management within the past three years.

Watch for: headache or pressure in the head, nausea or vomiting, dizziness or balance problems, double or blurry vision, sensitivity to light or noise, feeling foggy or sluggish, confusion or memory problems, mood changes, or just "not feeling right" after a bump, blow or jolt to the head or body. Loss of consciousness, even briefly, is a red flag. More information: cdc.gov/heads-up.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard follows the U.S. Center for SafeSport and USOPC requirements. Member clubs, and all U.S. Ski & Snowboard or FIS-sanctioned events in the US, must apply them to adults working with athletes:

• Criminal background screening every two seasons for coaches, officials, staff, board members, contractors and volunteers in regular contact with, or authority over, athletes.
• SafeSport training every year (core course, then refreshers).
• The Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy (MAAPP), which limits one-on-one interactions between adults and minor athletes.
• Clubs must enforce these policies and be ready for random compliance audits by the Center for SafeSport.

Parents can take free SafeSport courses (including age-appropriate courses for minors) through the Center, and can check a club's good standing using U.S. Ski & Snowboard's public tools at usskiandsnowboard.org/public-tools.

Championships start at the U14 age group. For U14s, that means the U14 Regional Junior Championships, held in each of the three alpine regions (Eastern, Rocky/Central and Western).

Under the 2026 Alpine Competition Guide:

• Your child needs a Competitor membership.
• Athletes may race only in the Regional Championships of their own region.
• Entry is limited to athletes who qualify through regional procedures. Each region fills its quota by its own rules, within national guidelines, and divisional quotas must reflect current gender numbers.

How many spots your division gets and which races count for selection vary by region and division.