Park Record
Park City and Wasatch Back News
The Youth Sports Alliance is accepting scholarship applications through Sunday, continuing a tradition of community fundraising and support for young athletes.
The scholarships now include need-based awards for athletes on the organization’s seven competitive winter sports teams, $3,000 merit-based scholarships for graduating seniors heading to college and financial assistance for students in the organization’s after-school programs.
Last year, 137 local athletes received funding through the Stein Eriksen Dare to Dream scholarship.
Laurie Santoro, business manager at the Youth Sports Alliance, said for many of them, it wasn’t just about affording gear or covering race entry fees, it was about staying connected to the one place where they feel safe, supported and seen.
“We hear time and time again from kids who are bullied in school or don’t have a great home environment,” said Santoro. “And sport becomes not just their outlet, but their anchor. Their team, their coach are who get them through. And without that, they really don’t know where they’d be.”
The Stein Eriksen Dare to Dream scholarship is available to athletes enrolled in one of the organization’s seven member teams, which include competitive programs in alpine skiing, snowboarding, nordic, luge, freestyle, figure skating and biathlon.
The scholarship can be applied to a wide range of costs, including seasonal program fees, coaching, travel, lodging for competitions, race entry fees and summer and spring training sessions.
“If you’re a skier, that includes everything from dryland conditioning in the fall, to winter competitions, spring camps and summer sessions,” said Santoro. “It’s meant to carry them through the whole year.”
Applications are reviewed by a scholarship committee and are need-based. Families fill out a detailed application outlining both their financial situation and their child’s athletic involvement.
“If you’re on one of our seven-member teams and need help staying in sport, you fill out the application and we do the rest,” Santoro said.
The Dare to Dream scholarships are made possible by the Stein Eriksen endowment, a $2 million fund established in 2016 to keep kids active in winter sports. The endowment began as a way to help families weather economic fluctuations, giving parents and their athletes a sense of stability when other things are not.
“Sometimes families are dealing with layoffs, or the economy is just in a downturn,” said Santoro. “The endowment helps carry these kids through the highs and lows of all that.”
The organization aims not only to introduce kids to sport, but to make sure they have a way to stay in it long term.
“Our big vision is to introduce kids to as many sports and activities as we can with our after-school programs,” Santoro said. “They might try sailing, mountain biking, skiing, luge — whatever lights them up. And when they find their passion, they can join one of our teams. And if they need help paying for it, we’re here for that too.”
In addition to the Dare to Dream scholarship, the Stein Eriksen endowment supports a merit-based scholarship for graduating seniors at Park City High School and the Winter Sports School.
“We believe that sport really teaches kids how to prioritize and the goals in their life, along with dealing with the highs and lows of wins and losses,” said Santoro. “This was developed for those kids to be able to be rewarded for doing so well.”
The scholarship is meant for seniors who’ve maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher while staying committed to one of the alliance’s seven competitive teams for at least three of their four high school years. Recipients are awarded $3,000, paid directly to their college.
Since 2010, the organization has awarded more than $1.3 million in scholarships, made possible through community fundraising at Jan’s Winter Welcome and support from the Stein Eriksen endowment.
“Sometimes kids can afford our after-school programs, but when they want more, when they want to join a team, they can’t afford to keep going,” said Santoro. “We want to give them that opportunity.”
In addition to scholarships, the alliance also steps in with donated gear, winter clothing and other essentials, making sure that every kid, regardless of their background, has what they need to show up and take part.
“Our idea is that every kid who gets on the bus, gets on the bus together. They all have skis, they all have jackets, they all have mittens, they all have boots. So they’re all getting on with their classmates together. Nobody is pointed out as being different,” said Santoro.
Families and athletes interested in this year’s scholarships, visit ysausa.org before the end of the month.
Park City Home
Summer 2025
The Park Record newspaper publishes twice weekly in Park City, Utah, and has been serving the Wasatch Back since 1880.
