On these pages we’ll post various narratives, documents, and/or links focusing on useful “tips” for sports-minded or recreational travelers in general, and the skiing enthusiasts in particular.  Subjects related to Safety & Security, Travel Insurace, Performance-enhancement advice, and the broader travel industry will be covered.  We welcome suggestions and contributions from all our members. Please send all relevant materials electronically to the BRSC Webmaster for posting.  These pages are intended to be current, and their contents will evolve as warranted.

The National Ski Club Newsletter is published bi-monthly from November through May as a vital source of information about the ski industry in general and the nation’s ski clubs in particular. This publication is sent to the officers of approximately 2,200 ski clubs and 44 ski councils, with a total membership of about 75,000 skiers. This Newsletter is an independent entity with no official affiliation with any ski club, ski council, or commercial entity.

BRSC member clubs are encouraged to disseminate the contents of this publication among their members.  Articles or newsworthy notes appearing in this Newsletter may be copied or excerpted occasionally and presented in this web page.

National Ski Council Federation Newsbeat, containing the latest news affecting the skiing community such as resorts, skiers, and other related subjects.

BRSC Clubs' Newsletters

• Baltimore Ski Club Newslatter "The Schuss"
• Black Ski Blog
• Club Crabtowne Newletter
• DC Fagowees Newsletter
• Ski Club of Washington DC (SCWDC) Newsltters

Special Offers For Our BRSC Members

• Ship-Skis Service. Ship your skis, snowboards and luggage directly to your destination at a discount. To use this service, please use the following link.

Other commercial discounts will also be posted when available for the 2021-2022 season.

Links of Special Interest
BRSC is providing these links as a Public Service to our members, and no endorsement of the content providers is implied.

• Vacation Disaster Preparation:

A guide For Travelers

• This is a very comprehensive Guide/Tutorial on the many aspects of traveling, particularly abroad, that can spell disaster or at least major inconveniencies that may ruin even a well-planned vacation. There are several sections to this Guide, covering such topics as Trave Safety – a check-list, Overcoming Personal and Natural disasters, actual threats of Terrorism, and more.

Traveling Abroad with Disabilities? Your Insurance Coverage

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• Is skiing becoming too expensive? Only for the top One Percent? Get Details

Seniors have become an important market for ski clubs, according to the National Ski Areas Association and the Associated Press in a December story. The article noted that skiers 68 and older averaged 9.5 days of skiing per season, whereas those aged 49-67 averaged only 5days per season. The article also cited shaped skis, more groomed slopes and even artificial hips and knees as reasons. But, a very important contributing factor is the cost of skiing, as referenced above. Seniors, whether retired or not, seem to have better resources and more time to spend on the sport. So, Ski Clubs take notice: Market more heavily to the older crowd, they may be your bread and butter.

• The Ultimate Cheklist for Travelin g Abroad: USA Today published an article containing very pertinent and useful information on this topic. We have copied it for your benefit. Get the Details

Skiing’s Words: An amusing Lexicon (ot Thsaurus) of words and terms used in Skiing, as compiled by Bob Jablon of Potomac Valley Skiers. Click here for the details

Travel Insurance - Limited or Comprehensive?
Question: how much Trip Insurance coverage should one buy?  Answer: it depends!

Comprehensive Coverage: For trips involving large amounts of physical activity, remote destinations, civil unrest or risky transportation, for example, comprehensive coverage that includes trip cancellation, medical rescue and evacuation, trip delays, personal property losses and even re-patriation emergencies, is a must. Whether this coverage needs to be purchased separately from a commercial Travel Insurance carrier, or can be obtained (at least on a case-by-case basis) from one’s current Health-Property (Homeowners & Automobile) or Credit Card insurance is a judgement call for each individual. It should be recognized, however, that each of these “insurers” wants to be the “secondary insurer” or insurer of “last resort”. In other words, read all your insurance coverage documents carefully before deciding which to rely most heavily on. Commercially, this type of coverage is generally priced based on the trip’s cost and/or duration, as well as the insured’s age bracket.

Limited Coverage: If the cost of travel insurance is a factor, then coverage that at least includes medical emergencies, evacuation and even re-patriation is strongly adviced; particularly where the destinations and/or physical activities present clear health risks. This coverage may also include certain types of trip delays and their attendant costs. Generally this type of insurance is “fixed-price” and relatively inexpensive, as it is not determined by the trip’s cost, although the insurer’s age my be a factor.

Again, Read the Fine Print! Not just the summary of coverage, whose language may be very ambiguous! As this traveler recently discovered when submitting a claim for a “trip interruption” event, the Basic “medical, etc.” which has become a standard group policy included in many of our overseas ski trips, will NOT cover events and claims under the “Trip Interuption” clause, as this coverage is available only under the “Trip Cancellation” (full covereage) option. In other words, claims for situations where on the return trip a traffic accident or similar circumstances may prevent reaching an airport in time to board a scheduled flight, resulting in rebooking fees, layover expenses, etc., will not be covered under the “basic medical” insurance.

But, it will cover the cost of trip delays (like overnight lodging and meals) due to missed airline connections when a flight is delayed and a connecting flight is missed for reasons not under an airline’s control and therefore not covered by them. Lost or delayed baggage costs are also covered. Leson learned: please read the entire policy to learn the extent of its coverage, and not be surprised and disappointed after the fact.

Shop Around: There are many travel agents and insurance carriers in this business, with some rates available for half the cost of others, so shop around. The BRSC may be of help to its Member Clubs or individual travelers in identifying firms with reasonable rates and claims-response records.

Consumer Affairs Reviews: This link will access many suggestions and reviews of top travel insurers.

Air Travelers Identification Requirements

The following link contains official information on the types of acceptable identifications for air travel to domestic and foreign destinations. The requirements differ for domestic versus foreign travel destinations from or within the US.  These are presented in some detail. Please be mindful that there are differences between TSA and airline security identification requirements: The requirements to get through the TSA-security controlled area, and the airline requirements for boarding an aircraft. Additionally, there may be different standards or procedures between traveling to a foreign destination and returning from one.