Ski team equipment

Question
QUESTION: Hi!

I'm thinking of joining a university ski team, and I consider myself an intermediate skier (been skiing on and off since age 3) but I have never done slalom before and I have never owned my own skis. I'm trying to decide what kind of skis I should get. Do you think I should go ahead and get racing skis, or get some for more all-around use? What brands would you recommend? I'm female, 5 ft 6", and I'm about 140 lbs.

ANSWER: Hello!  It's great to hear that you're getting into racing, especially with a university team.  I have a few questions, though, before I can answer yours-

1.  What is the primary focus of the team - would you describe it as a race team or a ski club?

2.  How often will you be skiing this winter, and what kind of skiing will you be doing - race training (on race courses) or general all-mountain skiing?

3. How many races (and what kind/level of races) will you do this season?  Will you race slalom and giant slalom?

4. Are you looking to buy new skis every year, or would you like them to last for a while?  And will you need, or would you consider, buying more than one pair of skis for this season? (Perhaps a slalom ski and a giant slalom ski, or a race ski and an all-mountain ski?)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick reply!

The team is more like a club. I go to school in NYC and we would go to the slopes once a week. Then there are competitions once a week as well, on the weekends.

I guess I would be skiing twice a week, mostly on not-so-great snow. We'll do both all-mountain and race training. I will be racing both slalom and grand slalom, but I am only interested in buying one pair of skis, so I guess it would have to be something more all-around? I think there will be 6-7 races within the span of 1.5 months.

I would prefer the skis to last for a while, but I don't think I will be able to ski for the team the year after this one (I anticipate my curriculum next year being much more of a burden.)

Answer
Sorry about the delay in this response!
For your needs, I would recommend a race ski, indeed - but a junior GS race ski, somewhere around 165 cm.  I'm a big fan of Dynastar, and they make a Team Course Comp in 164 cm. Atomic, Volkl, and Rossignol will all make a similar ski.  (And don't let skiing on a junior ski hurt your ego - they carry nearly all the same engineering as the adult ski but in a much more manageable construction!)  And to make sure that the skis last several years, be sure to get them tuned and waxed regularly (after every 4-6 days on snow) and keep a coat of wax on them during the off-season.

Another interesting ski for you would be an all-mountain carver, such as the Dynastar Skicross ski in 165 cm.  Again, Atomic, Volkl and Rossignol will all have something similar.

Have a lot of fun this season!  Good luck!