| Sale History |
|
The high cost of skiing and availability of good cheap ski equipment have been challenges for as long as most old-timers can remember. However, enthusiasts in any sport have always been creative in trying to solve their problems inexpensively.
And so it was that a group of Calgary skiers established the first Calgary Ski Swap in 1963. This event provided the model for the later ski swaps in Vancouver, Toronto and elsewhere. The Calgary sale is the oldest of its type in Canada – and among the very largest.
At a meeting of the Calgary Ski School, a group of mothers were complaining about the high cost of the Calgary Ski Club’s racing program and the cost of outfitting their children. Out of the complaints came a brainwave....why not organise a swap of equipment and clothing among the families to help defray the annual cost of skiing? At that time the Calgary Ski Club was a family club that encouraged ski racing and offered programs to develop children’s ski racing.
For a couple of years in the early ‘60s, the exchange or sale of ski gear was an informal affair held in someone’s basement. However, as with all ideas whose time has come, rapid growth led to changes. First there was a move to the facilities of the Calgary Tennis Club, and then in 1965 to Stampede Park where the Sale was to remain until 1996 when it moved to Max Bell Centre.
In 1964, the Ski Sale was organized by Jean Robb and it was under her leadership over the next eight years that the small basement operation grew into a large event, which drew inquiries from other skiing centres. Skiers heard of the success of the Calgary Ski Sale – then known as the Ski Fair - and wanted to start similar events in their areas. One inquiry came to the Calgary Ski Club from a club in New York City asking for advice and information on the running of the Ski Fair.
Isabel Elliot was another person very involved in the early days of the Ski Swap. Isabel subsequently moved to Vancouver where she was instrumental in starting what has become the very large and successful annual Vancouver Ski Swap.
With the move to Stampede Park, the Ski Fair, as it was called, grew from a one-day event to three days in early November each year. Later the Ski Sale evolved into a five-day format with two evenings of consignment, Wednesday and Thursday; two days of the sale itself, Friday evening and Saturday, followed by one day of equipment reclamation, cheque payment and clean-up on the Sunday. Then in 1988, with the advent of a better computer system, it was possible to open for sales on Sunday also. This resulted in the move of the Half-Price Sale to Sunday followed by Reclaiming and Payment as well as clean-up on Sunday evening.
For 19 years, the Ski Sale was held at the Agricultural Building at Stampede Park until continued growth necessitated a move to the larger facilities of the Round-Up Centre in 1984 where we remained until 1996 with the move to Max Bell Centre, separating from the Ski Show at the Round-Up Centre.
As the Ski Sale grew in size, reputation and success, it was realized that the Calgary Ski Club needed help. The obvious choice lay with a group knowledgeable in skiing, equipment and crowd control ….and so it was that the Canadian Ski Patrol System (Calgary Zone) came to help with the Ski Sale in 1968. It is interesting to note that it was the Calgary Ski Club led by Ozzie Larue who started the Calgary Ski Patrol as the first volunteer ski patrol in Western Canada in the late 1940s. Eventually the CSPS joined the Calgary Ski Club as a full partner in 1970, creating a joint organizing committee with a director, who comes each alternate year from each organization.
About this time the Calgary Ski Club changed from a family ski-racing club to an adult recreational ski club comprised of singles. Many members of the club who remained interested in ski racing and the junior development program joined the Lake Louise Ski Club. Thus the Calgary Ski Club lost its racers, who included Mike Wiegle, Reto Barrington and a junior racing star by the name of Ken Read. Dee Read, the mother of Ken Read, was asked by Jean Robb to operate the first small clothing section in the 1970 Ski Sale. The following year, Dee organized the first exclusive clothing section and operated it under the auspices of the Lake Louise Ski Club, making a profit that year of $150. Each year thereafter, the Lake Louise Ski Club has contributed its volunteers to run the clothing section of the Ski Sale.
The Ski Sale could not have succeeded without the active support of the local ski retailers. Ski shop proprietors such as Ozzie Larue (Ozzie’s Ski Shop), Hans Reinhart (Ski Cellar) and the Compton brothers, Al, Bruce and Ethan from Premier Sports donated a tremendous amount of time and expertise. They, together with their staffs, came and appraised equipment as it was consigned for the Ski Sale. Also the local ski shops started to consign their unsold stock from the previous year, establishing a tradition that has continued to the present day. By 1986, some 30 ski shops and ski areas consigned new and rental equipment. This help continues to the present with Jean Hunt and Dan Russell of Ski Cellar continuing the tradition.
By 1977, the Ski Sale had grown so large that the job of keeping track of equipment and clothing consigned and sold, as well as preparing the cheques for goods sold had become a major problem. The solution was to install a large computer in the Agriculture Building for the duration of the Ski Sale. Initially we had sponsorship from minicomputer manufacturers starting with Wang and later Sperry. Since 1988, personal computers and a custom software program have been used. By 2000, the PC network had grown to 10 computers for data entry and up to six cash tills during the Ski Sale. In 2011, the Sale introduced new software developed by a CSPS member in Vancouver and already in use at major swaps across Canada including Toronto and Vancouver. New computer hardware and scanners were also introduced.
In 1984, the Ski sale moved to the Round-Up Centre and became associated with the Calgary Ski, Travel & Recreation Show. This continued until 1996 when rising costs of rent, door admissions and parking at Stampede Park led to a decision to move to our current location at Max Bell Centre. By that time, many of our customers were complaining that they wanted to buy ski gear at the New & Used Ski Sale and were not interested in attending a ski show.
The Ski Sale today is successful because it meets its long-standing purpose:
Over the years, as many as 1,000 individuals, 35 ski shops, and ski areas and manufacturers representatives have consigned up to and beyond 10,000 items. The Ski Sale is a huge materials handling and volunteer management challenge. Giving guidance on ski gear appraisal and sales, while very important, pales compared to the challenges associated with lifting and moving up more than 10,000 items, maintaining security and tracking their consignment, sale, reclaiming and payment. Some 300 volunteers working 800 shifts over five days (approximately 4,000 hours) do the equivalent of a season’s business of a small ski retailer.
The average price of an item sold is approximately $100. The Ski Sale caters to “Bargain Hunters” looking for low prices, “Quality and Value Purchasers”, “Speciality Buyers” looking for a special type, size, brand or colour of item within a broader price band.
The Calgary New & Used Ski Sale has a very loyal following in the community. Surveys suggest that:
|
