Collingwood’s National Ski Academy opens its classes to non-ski-racing athletes looking for alternatives to traditional high school.
by Roger Klein
Tobin Walsh, the head of school at the National Ski Academy (NSA), is proud to be at the helm of a high-level ski racing academy right here in downtown Collingwood.
“We are designed to offer a high-performance ski racing program and we’ve integrated rigorous academics into that program. We are the only ski academy in Canada,” explains Walsh.
The NSA was founded nearly 40 years ago to develop athletes in grades 9 through 12 who are focused on alpine sports.
“At a certain level, high-performance skiers miss so much school that it’s simply not possible to continue, or it’s very difficult to continue, in the regular public school system. So parents are looking to the NSA to allow their child to continue racing at the high level without compromising their academic success or their post-secondary education,” says Walsh.
NSA students typically spend more than 120 days a year outside the classroom on snow in a variety of locations. The program is demanding but the experience offers an opportunity for personal development. The school’s motto is “Racer Ready For Life.”
“Ski racing is a sport that requires a lot of resilience. There’s literally falling and getting back up again—and doing that time and time again. Sometimes it’s two steps forward and one step back. Ski racing is not always comfortable,” says Walsh.
While the school’s athletics remain focused on skiing, the NSA is expanding its academic programs and opening its doors to non-NSA students who are looking for academic alternatives as they pursue other sports.
“We have phenomenal teachers, very small class sizes and lots of additional support. So often in our community there are other student athletes who are looking to take an academic course or participate in an academic program outside of regular high school. We are opening up our doors to allow for that,” Walsh explains.
Students can now engage in a course or two online or in person to help supplement what they are doing with their home schools. The NSA is an Ontario Ministry of Education-inspected independent school.
“Although the priority is skiing, it doesn’t take away from us being able to offer a rigorous university preparatory academic program. We can do both really well and we do,” says Walsh.
