THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 4, 1996 TAG: 9601040035
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
WHEN DR. CHERYL CAUTHEN started skiing in 1983, African-American faces on the slopes were few and far between.
But she found more camaraderie after a friend introduced her to Black Ski, a Washington-based club started in 1972 that has mushroomed into the second largest African-American ski club in the country.
``I learned how to ski and became active in the club,'' Cauthen said. ``It was a way to meet people. It introduced minorities to skiing and raised monies to support minority kids in preparation for the Olympic ski team.''
When Cauthen moved to Norfolk in 1986 from Washington, D.C., she continued to ski with her old Black Ski group, and encouraged new friends here to get involved.
``More and more people would go skiing with us every year,'' said Cauthen, a 38-year-old ophthalmologist. ``It was new for some people. . . and there were some people who maybe had had an opportunity to ski in the past.''
As their numbers grew, so did the idea of a Hampton Roads ski club for African-Americans. So Cauthen and several friends started Ski Breeze of Hampton Roads, which meets twice a month in Virginia Beach.
The club now boasts more than 100 members and is a chapter of the National Brotherhood of Skiers, a nationwide association of African-American skiers. Based in Chicago, the organization has more than 14,000 members and 80 chapters in 72 cities.
The role of the national brotherhood and its chapters is to increase minority participation in the sport and cultivate young African Americans into expert skiers.
``We were chartered to find African-American youth and get them involved with the sport of skiing so that eventually they can get on the USA Olympic ski team,'' said Robert F. Hagans, a Norfolk attorney who is president of the Hampton Roads chapter.
``We're trying to find talent,'' Hagans said, because ``there's never been a black on the U.S. Olympic ski team and we're trying to fill the void.''
The club, however, is open to anyone of any nationality and any age, Hagans said.
Talented young skiers are eligible for a scholarship from the national brotherhood to attend special boarding schools throughout the country that provide daily ski instruction in addition to academic subjects. The brotherhood helps skiers find colleges that offer skiing scholarships.
The Hampton Roads club is still fine-tuning its youth programs, Hagans said, but there is an emphasis on recruiting kids from all walks of life.
``The controlling philosophy is. . .we give others the opportunity to participate,'' he said.
The club, which will be traveling to Lake Tahoe, the Pocono Mountains and Austria, this year, subsidizes the costs of trips for youths. In the off-season, the club sponsors a summer boat ride, canoeing, picnics and other family-oriented activities.
Recently, Ski Breeze sponsored an overnight youth trip to the Timberline Resort in Davis, W.Va. The trip cost $45, but the club helped subsidize the cost of the trip. Scholarship monies from NBS also are available to clubs to help youths interested in skiing. And many members, in order to help further defray skiing costs, swap clothing, gloves, or other items needed for the sport. Also, traveling in large groups nets good discounts for members and non-members to tag along.
While in school at Brooklyn College in New York, Antoinette Grant used to ski for her university team. Now, the Virginia Beach resident is picking up the sport again as a hobby and is considering joining Ski Breeze.
``This trip is going to make or break me,'' said Grant, smiling after heaving several bags of equipment onto the bus to West Virginia. ``This is the first time I've ever been with this large a black group. This is what blacks need in their community.''
Although more and more African Americans are taking up the sport, for many blacks it is still like crossing into foreign territory.
``It's just not something that you traditionally see within the black neighborhood,'' said Russell Bacon, vice president of the eastern region of the national brotherhood. ``I guess it was geared more as an elitist type sport.''
In addition, a history of segregated facilities, high costs and long travel to reach the slopes have been deterrents to blacks participating in the sport.
``Those facilities just weren't open to black people and I guess the bulk of the black population weren't living close to ski areas,'' Bacon said.
But now, ``as black people are telling more black people about it and they're finding out that it's fun, they're starting to do it,'' Bacon said.
With group discounts, clothing and equipment swaps, bargain shopping and other creative financing, the sport is becoming more affordable.
``It's a great way to bring people together with similar interests,'' Cauthen said. ``Now I spend all my money on ski vacations.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
THOMAS ESCOE JR.
Members of Ski Breeze of Hampton Roads enjoy an outing in Colorado
last February. This year's plans: Lake Tahoe, the Poconos and
Austria.
Photo
JEN FRIEDBERG
Youlander Hilton, left, a Ski Breeze member, loads skis onto the
club's chartered bus as driver John McClamy looks on.
Graphic
SKI CLUB NOTES
Ski Breeze of Hampton Roads meets at the House of Jazz on
Constitution Drive in Virginia Beach every second Tuesday of the
month, except during the summer. The group has a 24-hour hotline:
552-7679. Membership is $40 a year for individuals, $70 for
families.
KEYWORDS: SKIING CLUBS by CNB