Young Ambassador's Program
Ambassador program for young adult patrollers
Mission
To prevent injuries before it’s too late
Goal
Available for anyone to help promote the High Fives Foundation’s B.A.S.I.C.S program.
Why
The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system “is also expected to serve a role in the larger public health system through public education and prevention efforts.” (Christopher Coughlin, PH.D). Peer-to-peer interaction can be another avenue of influence.
How
- Distribute information cards to skiers and boarders that have website address, logo, safety message, and email for chance to win free stuff.
- Have an information table setup in the lodge or outside at the base with the ambassador spreading the word about B.A.S.I.C.S using videos and handouts.
- Give a B.A.S.I.C.S presentation at your mountain, school, club and/or community events.
Get Involved
Gray Dinsel
Leader of YAP B.A.S.I.C.S Ambassador Program
dinselga@gmail.com
Meet Fiver!
Fiver is the face of the High Five Foundation's B.A.S.I.C.S program!
Fiver and his friends, JT Holmes, Cody LaPlante, Elyse Saugstad, John Egan, & Connery Lundin are here to remind you to stay smart on the snow. They know that whether you're earning your turns in the backcountry, lapping the terrain park, or slaying powder inbounds, being aware of your surroundings will keep you stoked for years to come.
History
Young Adult Patroller Promotes Being Aware in Critical Situations (B.A.S.I.C.S) Program
At 10:30 am on Saturday, February 2nd, a teenage skier fell off a jump in the terrain park. He lost consciousness and was not wearing a helmet. Fortunately, he regained consciousness by the time patrollers arrived. The skier’s mother explained, “He has a concussion and will be okay. He will be returning to the mountain again but this time with a helmet.” While the outcome here was not tragic, wearing a helmet could have diminished or even prevented the severity of the incident. How could we “prevent injuries before it’s too late”? The above statement is the mission of the HighFives’ B.A.S.I.C.S program.
B.A.S.I.C.S Program for Young Adult Patrollers
When I first heard about the High Fives Foundation through a National Ski Patrol email, I thought it would be a great idea to leverage their program to directly promote mountain safety on the slopes. I see a lot of teens that enter our patrol room with head injuries that could have been prevented. The Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system “is also expected to serve a role in the larger health system through public education and prevention efforts” says Christopher Coughlin, Ph.D., author of EMT Crash Coursebook. Since peer-to-peer interaction can be a powerful avenue of influence, I worked with High Fives to develop the “B.A.S.C.I.S Ambassador Program for Young Adult Patrollers (YAPs)”. The program is designed to have YAPs promote the teaching of the B.A.S.I.C.S program in three ways. First, we can speak with the public face to face and hand out our informational safety cards. One of the best ways to do this one-on-one is with the young athletes on the chairlift. Second, we distribute pamphlets and show videos at an information table at the mountain during business hours. Finally, we can perform a B.A.S.I.C.S presentation in a group setting by showing videos and facilitating Q&A sessions.
What I’m doing with High Fives
Locally, at the mountain where I volunteer, I started deliberately initiating conversations with young skiers and riders not wearing helmets. They were receptive to my safety message and respectively took my information card. Furthermore, late in the season one Sunday afternoon, I set up an information table with a fellow YAP, Nolan Fogarty. The table was placed at the base of Bear Creek Ski Resort with support from my Patrol Director, Phil Barker. The table, under a pop-up tent with a High Fives banner hanging behind us, a monitor playing a loop of the short (roughly 90 seconds) B.A.S.I.C.S videos. We also had High Fives safety stickers and informational safety cards. After educating individuals on the B.A.S.I.C.S program, we handed out informational safety cards and candy as a thank you for stopping and listening to our message. I crafted these informational safety cards using a simple business card template and High Fives completed the cards with their logos and color themes. These cards remind the public to always wear a helmet, secure the ski lift bar down, and know his or her skiing ability/environment. I am also planning on giving a B.A.S.I.C.S presentation to our lift operators and ski/ride instructors. These presentations reiterate HighFives’ safety messages and subtopics in elaborate detail. Furthermore, I am looking into scheduling these presentations at surrounding local high school’s ski clubs. I was really stoked to roll out the B.A.S.I.C.S Ambassador program at the YAP Seminar at Smugglers Notch in Vermont. Although the seminar was canceled this year due to COVID-19, I would like to thank Corbin King, Maddy Bennett, Dean King, and Mason Rinker for joining our program as ambassadors. They said they will promote the B.A.S.I.C.S program at their mountain. While the B.A.S.I.C.S program is geared towards young adults, all ski patrollers can help by handing out informational safety cards and politely advising the public to follow the reminders on these cards. Together we can reduce the number of injuries on the mountains. Contact me at knowb4Ushred@gmail.com if you want to be B.A.S.I.C.S Ambassador or if you want information cards.
About Me
I am 17 years old and patrol at Bear Creek Ski Resort in Macungie, Pennsylvania. I have been patrolling for two years and really enjoy the occupation and the people I get to work with. I am also a certified EMT and will be working with a Fire Department in the near future. The reason I wanted to become a ski patroller was to test if I really wanted to go into the medical field. As of now, I want to go to college and major in biochemistry or biomedical sciences and want to become a surgeon.
