Scholarships

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED FOR 23/24 SEASON.

We awarded over $27,000 across 32 athletes in 2023-2024 Fall Scholarships!

SPRING SCHOLARSHIPS MAY BE AVAILABLE - EMAIL NOTICE WILL BE SENT IN THE SPRING IF/WHEN THIS APPLICATION IS OPEN.

DWSC Scholarship Program

The Scholarship and Support Program helps ensure that the many costs involved with winter sports do not act as a limiting factor to an athlete’s entry or continued participation in the sport of competitive skiing and snowboarding.

MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR SPONSORS AND DONORS

We are grateful to our sponsors, donors, volunteers, and in-kind supporters who help subsidize the overall cost of our programs by about 10% for all athletes. In other words, a program that would normally cost $1000 costs $900 because of this generous support. We recognize that this is not enough for some families and reserve approximately 10% of budgeted tuition revenue to go towards providing up to 90% tuition assistance to scholarship applicants demonstrating financial need.

Scholarship application open from 8/25/2023 - 9/30/2023

The Registration "Scholarships" is not currently available.

PROGRAM SUMMARY AND PROCESS

Durango Winter Sports Club offers both need and merit based scholarships in keeping with its mission to promote inclusivity and access, as well as athletic excellence. Emphasis and priority will always be placed on need over merit.

Scholarship Awards are confidential and final. Scholarship award selections are solely at the discretion of the program directors through an anonymous process. Scholarships are awarded as a percentage of tuition costs for the athletes selected program; the maximum scholarship awarded is 90% of a program’s tuition.

Limited funds are available. The Scholarship Budget is established by the fiscal year budget approved by the Board of DIrectors in August of each year. Approximately 10% of the prior year tuition revenue is used as a baseline level for scholarship funds.

Scholarships represent a relationship and a “two-way street.” First and foremost, scholarships are intended to help and support student-athletes who represent need and/or merit. All scholarship recipients, along with any member of DWSC, are expected to fulfill any volunteer requirements to their team and be positive ambassadors for DWSC and its programs.

Need-Based Scholarship Policy

The Need-Based application process itself is confidential and applicants remain anonymous throughout the process. The Scholarship Committee and/or Administrative Staff collect scholarship applications and anonymize them. The Program Directors review the anonymous applications and award scholarships on an anonymous basis at up to 90% of the program tuition. Once awards are determined only the Scholarship Committee, Administration and the Program Directors are privy to scholarship award information. Asking families to provide financial information is an essential part of the process and this information is kept strictly confidential. We do not ask for tax documentation in the application; however, this may be requested later in the process if needed for income verification.

The application period is approximately September 1 - September 30. Applicants will be notified within 4 weeks of the application end date if their application has been accepted or not. Awarded applicants that have already registered for programs will be refunded accordingly.

The DWSC Scholarship process is primarily based on demonstrating financial need. With need being the highest priority, the Scholarship Committee also requires that applicants can demonstrate a commitment to:

Academics and success in school
DWSC programming
DWSC core values

NOTIFICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOLARSHIPS

Within 4 weeks of the close of the scholarship application, scholarship recipients are notified by email (and phone) by their program director of any awarded confidential scholarship. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by the Scholarship Committee.

*Note: scholarship funds are applied towards tuition for program registration, and are not distributed to the individual or other organizations outside of DWSC. Scholarships are not transferable for cash.

End-of-Season Need-based and Merit Based Scholarships

Each year between 5% and 20% of the total scholarship budget is reserved for a second round of need-based scholarship and merit-based scholarship applications. Each spring the scholarship process is followed for athletes that have qualified for end-of-season competitions or special opportunities. Each Program Director is responsible for determining which events may qualify as applicable for end-of-season scholarship requests and setting appropriate deadlines for applications with the DWSC Scholarship Committee.

In addition to the end-of-season scholarships, Program Directors may budget to subsidize travel and coaching expenses for regular recurring end-of-season competitions or opportunities.

This scholarship policy was established by the DWSC Scholarship Committee, shaped by model programs and US Ski and Snowboard recommendations, and approved by the Board of Directors in August 2023. Dates may be adjusted as needed.

DWSC Scholarship Program and Policy Information

Heath Corley

Scholarship Committee Co-Chair

Phone: (406)214-0855

Eligibility Requirements

Applications are due and must be received by September 30, 2023
Scholarships are awarded by October 28, 2023
Applicants must demonstrate financial need and desire to participate
Consideration is given when there are multiple athletes from the same family
Athlete/Parents must complete volunteer requirements , as applicable by team

FINDING THE FALL LINE...

with the help of sponsors and donors, 250 kids across our programs our on the hill weekends and weekdays pursuing their passion of winter sports. We encourage them to find the fall line on the ski hill and in life by instilling sportsmanship, friendship, perseverance and absolute fun. Thank you for your support!