RENTAL OPTIONS THROUGH CENTRAL BOOSTER CLUB:

• We have rental skis (mainly skate skis) and poles that athletes can use for the season ($50). We have a limited number of classic skis available.

• Athletes must purchase their BOOTS when using our rental equipment:

  • • BOOTS MUST WORK WITH NNN/PRO-LINK compatible bindings for almost 100% of our rental equipment.

    • For new skiers, we recommend COMBI boots (boots that will work for either SKATE or CLASSIC skiing). This is good news as ski boots can be expensive!

PURCHASE YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT:

If your student is growing a lot and new to this sport, we would not recommend this unless you are prepared to purchase new equipment the following year or there are up and coming siblings. Skis are mainly fit to an athlete's weight-if a student's weight changes dramatically between years, the skis will no longer be ideal and your skier will experience excessive drag and go slower and do much more resistance training than intended!

New equipment:

(NOTE: This list is in alphabetical order! We have starred where we'd recommend as fitting skis correctly can be tricky. If you are competing at the highest level with CLASSIC SKIS, we would recommend the most experienced "fitters.")

• • Finn Sisu (Lauderdale) ***

  • Gear West Bike and Ski Gear West (Long Lake) ***

  • Hoigaards (St. Louis Park)

  • Joes Sporting Goods (St. Paul)

  • Pioneer Midwest (Osseo) ***

Used equipment:

(NOTE: Purchasing used equipment can decrease the costs of equipment greatly, but if your athlete wants the best "Training and Racing Fit" with skis (i.e. fast skis), this may not be the way to go unless there is an experienced fitter.

Head Coach Robb often volunteers to fit skis at the MYSL Ski Swap. Ski Swaps at ski shops often have many experienced fitters at the event. This is not usually a benefit you'll have at a "used sports equipment shop."

Getting used boots (as long as they fit the NNN/PROLINK binding system and are either COMBI (fit either skate or classic skis--good option for newer skiers or trying to stay more economical) or correct for the skiing your athlete plans to do (skate boots for skate skis AND/OR classic boots for classic skis) and used poles is always a great option. Growing athletes quickly outgrow equipment and fitting these things is not as precise.

We sometimes include "bounding" up hills for our dryland ski training (depends on whether there is snow or not!). Dryland poles can be anywhere from armpit height to shoulder height. Skate length poles cannot be used for bounding! Dryland poles can be the oldest poles on earth! These are definitely a good buy at a used equipment place or ski swap!

• • Ski Swaps (these already occurred in 2022, most on the weekend of November 12-13, but consider for next year--try to connect with coaches before trying to get equipment at these or see the advice given above:

    • • Minnesota Youth Ski League (MYSL) Yearly Ski Swap

      • Pioneer Midwest Ski Yearly Ski Swap

      • Gear West Ski Yearly Ski Swap

      • Finn Sisu Yearly Ski Swap (this one is usually earlier than the other ski swaps--October in 2022)

  • Play it Again Sports (St. Paul, Roseville, etc.)