Although the spring sports teams are sure to appreciate this warm spring weather, the ISU Ski and Snowboard Club has been forced to cancel this weekend’s “Rail Jam” event on Welch Avenue because of a lack of snow.

“Rail Jam,” which was scheduled to take place 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday on Welch Avenue, was first held last year as a way to get students interested in the two sports and showcase the talented skiers and snowboarders that the club has, said club secretary Sarah Campbell, who worked at the event last year.

“I think the Rail Jam is a great event, because it allows students to see a different aspect of skiing and snowboarding that they usually wouldn’t see around Ames,” said Campbell, senior in civil engineering. “It’s disappointing since we spent a lot of time planning it, but the event should be back next year.”

Vice president Eric Small, who has been a club member for three years, said he is also disappointed that the weather didn’t cooperate.

“We are very bummed that the event won’t happen this year, after all the meetings and prep work we put into it,” Small said. “But the one bright spot is that we learned exactly how to go about setting it up for next year.”

Although “Rail Jam” won’t go on as planned, there is still a big trip the club has to look forward to, when they travel to Park City, Utah, for Spring Break.

The club, which consists of around 250 members, will take 51 members along on the trip for four days of skiing and five nights of lodging. The cost of the trip is $465 per member, which Small said is cheap compared to alternative plans that students may make for Spring Break.

“The biggest things we offer students are cheap trips to the mountains – much cheaper than going to Cancun, for example,” he said.

The club also took a trip to Big Sky, Mont., this past Winter Break, which was attended by 152 members.

Campbell said she loves the trips the club takes from year to year because it has given her the chance to ski in different states.

“Since I joined the club, I have been to Crested Butte, Colo., Jackson Hole, Wyo., Steamboat, Colo., Summit County, Colo., and Big Sky, Mont.,” she said.

The club puts together a racing team and a freestyle team each year for those members who wish to compete with other clubs.

Stewart Barr has co-coached the club’s race team for the last two years and said that the race team is a great experience for members interested in improving their skiing ability.

“It’s a great thing to go out there and become a better skier,” said Barr, senior in health and human performance. “There’s going to be some people out there better than you that you can model your form after.”

For more information on the ISU Ski and Snowboard Club, visit the club’s Web site at www.ski.stuorg.iastate.edu or e-mail the club at [email protected].