NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
John Haley organizes a number of boots Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 morning during the first ever Ski Swap event in Medicine Hat.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker
Medicine Hatters were able to trade in old skiing and snowboarding equipment this weekend to get a deal on new gear.
Saturday marked the first ever Ski Swap in the city,
“This is designed to help families recirculate their ski equipment,” said organizer John Haley. “This is a good way for people to get rid of old stuff they may not need, while being able to select new equipment before the season starts.”
Registration took place Friday and Saturday was a sales day, with the group serving dozens throughout the day Saturday.
“We went through a good bit of our inventory right when we opened up,” said Haley. “This is going really well for our first time.”
Haley says it is an important event for a number of reasons.
“First, it’s about moving dangerous equipment away from the hills,” he said. “The Canadian Ski Patrol also wants to interact with the community a bit more, and this is a great way to do so.
“This also serves as a bit of a fundraiser for us and any money that is left over can help us buy first aid equipment.”
Haley says the group ran out of short skis right at the beginning of the event and is hoping to be able to offer a larger selection in future years.
“The short skis went rapidly,” he said. “We’re really hoping to be able to help more people out in the future when it comes to kids skis.”
